Travel and Living

Christmas is a time of joy and fun, and I for one am glad that it is that time of the year, not because of the gifts, the love or the family that gathers all around you. It is that time of the year that we all try out our hand at making cookies and it is fun doing it.

For one, the cookies are never perfect and we know that it has been prepared with love and affection. I have a huge family and both men and women try out their hands at making the magic cookie each and every year, the magic part is that as you bite into it, it brings out this big smile on your face especially as you see the chefs looking anxiously at you.

The recipe is a very simple one to follow and anyone can do it, at least that is what they say at my place while they all try their hands at making it.
Take about 2-3 ounces of chocolate, my favorite ones are the bitter chocolate ones, then about 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar,2 large eggs well beaten,little bit of vanilla for that nice sweet smell.

In addition to the above, take some 2 and 1/4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, some salt for the balance[ I never get this part right, the last time I made cookies it turned from sweet cookies to salty ones] and any additional that you want to pop into the mixture.

Now, first heat the pan, melt the butter and then the chocolate until it is well melted into a smooth paste with no lumps of any sort.Add the sugar and shake it and stir it. Sometimes the chocolate and sugar mixture may stick to the sides, don't worry too much about that.Once it is all blended, add the vanilla,salt[be careful here] and the flour and anything else as well and mix it all up.put the whole thing in the fridge for some time and while it is in the fridge, take out your cookie cutters, clean it and rub some butter on to the cutters so that as you cut the cookies the dough does not stick onto it.Now take out the dough from the fridge, roll it and smack it as much as you want to.

Remember it is all about love and caring so who cares if it gets a little messy, the whole fun is in making it.

Now using the cutters, cut it in any shape you want to, then put the cut raw cookies onto some butter sheets and in a big pan. Heat the oven to some 350 to 375 degrees and cook for some 8-10 minutes. And once they are made, take them out and cool them for some time.

Now is the fun part, you ask all of those who are there in your house to eat it and if possible you record their expressions on a camera so that you can all laugh at the Magic cookie and the expressions that it brings to your face as you eat it!