Smarties cookies

I made these late one night - I'm not sure why I seem to do a lot of midnight baking! The recipe is from BBC Good Food and I think it's better than the candy cookies I've made previously. A definite hit at work as they disappeared really quickly.  They are buttery and crunchy with pretty Smarties on them. It's funny watching everyone choose, trying to pick one with the most Smarties. I tell them they're all the same (well kind of) but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I could have added the smarties by hand to each ball of dough to be fair but where's the fun in that? :)

 I added smarties to the batter 

 Yum!

250g butter

250g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

350g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

240g Smarties (original recipe suggested 160g but I like more)

• Preheat oven to 180C.


• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.


• Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 


• Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. 


• Gradually beat in the sifted dry ingredients to form a stiff dough.


• Finally stir in the smarties by hand.


• Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop cookie dough onto the baking sheets, spaced well apart. (These cookies expand in the oven)


• Bake for 12-15 minutes until pale golden brown.


• Allow to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.