{Bake} Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Pops and My Perfect Vanilla Bean Cookie Recipe!!

Sorry it has been a couple of very busy weeks and l have failed to post anything but life has been rather hectic here with renovation mayhem!!  But finally l have a BEAUTIFUL new kitchen and now l can bake and create even more than l normally do with my double oven!  However l have not had the opportunity to use it to it's full potential as yet as l have been too busy cleaning up my saw dust ridden house but l can deal with the cleaning up knowing l have a wonderful space to work in now and feel very organised and now l just need to do the rest of the house!!



I had sooo much fun preparing for Alex's first birthday and Alex has one very clever Mamma organising such a wonderful party from the other side of the world!  The venue was great and kids of all ages had a wonderful time and Alex was such a cutie in her pink petti skirt and top!  Just too cute!

Byron, Kaitlyn and Audrey at Day Dreamers Play Centre

For my contribution I decided to do another dessert inspired cake pop and went with one of my favourites a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake!  And it looks like they were a hit especially amongst the adults as they were all clambering for one and went in about 10 minutes!  There is something irresistible about a dessert on a stick!  Just one delectable bite to indulge the senses and not feel guilty about!  So next cake pop could be lemon meringue l think or a chocolate molten pudding could be fun but not sure how to master the chocolate oozing out the middle so l might leave that one to Heston??

Heston inspired meatballs on a stick!!! Nah pops ready to be dipped!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Pops

When l tested my owl cookies a few weeks before l wasn't completely happy with my cookie recipe but l have definitely nailed it now and they are the perfect cookie for decorating with royal icing!  Previously l thought they were still a little soft and l wanted my cookie to have a bit more crunch so l substituted 1/2 a cup of flour for rice flour and it really worked a treat and gave the cookie the exact texture l was after! So l thought l would share my recipe with you as l did have many requests at the party and l was truly pleased with the results so now you can give them a go!!  This recipe does make two batches of cookies but l like to halve it and roll it into a log and have it in the freezer ready to roll when needed!



Vanilla Bean Cookies
190g butter (l like to use salted but if using unsalted add a pinch of salt)
1 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste or scrape seeds of 2 vanilla beans
2 cups of plain flour
1/2 cup of rice flour
1 egg

Place butter and sugar and vanilla bean paste in food processor and mix until combined and then add egg and mix until creamy. Add the flours and pulse until a soft dough forms.  Turn onto a floured bench and knead together.  Take half of the mixture and roll each half into a log and wrap both in cling wrap and place in fridge for 30 mins.  I like to put one of my logs in the freezer to save for later or if making a large batch of cookies then put both in fridge to then roll and use.  Each log should make around 20 medium size cookies but depends on your cookie cutter.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Remove dough from fridge and proceed to roll between two sheets of baking paper until dough is 4mm thick and then take desired cookie cutter and cut shapes and place on baking trays lined with baking paper and evenly place on trays and bake for 10-12 mins or until golden. Remove trays from oven and let sit for 5 mins and then place onto cooling racks until completely cool for decorating.

For a cookie decorating tutorial and royal icing recipe head on over to Cake Journal http://www.cakejournal.com/archives/how-to-flood-cookies-with-royal-icing

Whoooo'd like an owl cookie??

Hope you enjoy baking these cookies and please let me know how you go as l LOVE Feedback!

Will have some more party inspirations next week as l start to prepare for Byron and Kaitlyn's Birthdays!  Very exciting and hoping to use that oven of mine to bake some macarons and other treats this week!

Take Care Lovelies and Bake, Create and Celebrate!