If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that I'm not much of a baker. I've definitely improved in the past year or so, and I've shared a few of my baking triumphs recently, but it still doesn't come nearly as naturally to me as cooking does. So, when Quaker oats asked if I'd like to recreate their recipe for these oaty galaxy cookies, I was a little nervous.
That utterly gorgeous galaxy-inspired swirl on top seemed like the sort of thing that could end up looking absolutely amazing - or it could look like a complete mess. And knowing myself as I do, I was sure it would be the latter.
Quaker are currently celebrating the power of the mighty oat with a new space-related campaign. It's based on the fact that before the Apollo 11 space mission that landed him on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin set himself up for the day with a bowl of porridge. You can see him talking about it here - such a cool dude.
Through the winter, I start almost every day with a bowl of oats - a healthy breakfast always sets me up well for the day ahead. I may not be able to fly a space shuttle, but if Buzz can fly himself to the Moon after his bowl of porridge, I figured the least I could do was to face my fear and give these galaxy cookies a try.
And I hope you'll agree, they were a big success! Turns out, these cookies are pretty hard to get wrong after all. The batch makes 12 biscuits, and I didn't have a single failure - all 12 looked great, even my very first attempt. There were a couple of places where the icing overflowed the edge of the cookie a little because I went a bit overboard, but since the galaxy design is supposed to look like it has a bit of movement to it anyway, it's very forgiving. If I can make these galaxy cookies look good, anyone can.
To start off, I baked up a quick batch of oaty biscuits using Quaker oats.
The recipe's nice and simple, and makes a really tasty cookie. It's a great base for all that icing, but they're great on their own too. I'll be making these again.
And the coolest thing about these biscuits? The oats I used have literally been into space. No lie! They were launched from a secure location in the UK and the 'Space Oats’ mission saw them entering space at 19.6km. They travelled in their own special capsule, and were tracked through the journey until they safely landed back on Earth.
If that's not the coolest thing I've ever heard, I don't know what is.
Once you've baked up a nice oaty cookie (you can use regular Earth oats, if you prefer!), the galaxy decoration is actually really straightforward - just 4 easy steps:
- Place a cookie on a flat surface, and add a spoonful of black icing. Add a dollop of each of your coloured icings - I used pink, purple and blue.
- Slowly rotating the cookie, use a cocktail stick to carefully spread the icing out to the edges. This will start the marbling of the colours.
- Next use the cocktail stick to swirl the colours a little in the centre of the cookie.
- Add some star-shaped sprinkles and gold shimmer spray to decorate, if you like.
Pretty easy really! I am so impressed with myself - here's to taking on challenges and succeeding.
What do you challenge yourself to do after your morning porridge?
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Oaty galaxy cookies
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
For the oaty cookies:
- 120 g plain flour (~ ¾ cup)
- 100 g butter, cut into cubes (~ 3.5 oz, or ~ 1 cup when cubed)
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 sachets Quaker Oat So Simple Original (~ ⅓ cup oats)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon milk
To decorate:
- 250 g icing sugar (~ 1 ½ cups)
- Gel or paste food colouring - I used black, pink, blue and purple
- Small chocolate stars, gold shimmer spray, etc (optional)
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, and add the cubed butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until no large lumps of butter remain.
- Add the sugar, oats and vanilla extract. Use a palette knife or small spatula to cut the mixture together, adding a tablespoon of milk at a time until you have a soft dough (I used about 3 tablespoon in total).
- Wrap the dough in cling film, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F). Line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough until it's around ½ cm thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter, re-rolling any trimmings. I ended up with 12 cookies measuring around 7cm in diameter.
- Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, and bake for around 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow them to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes until they've firmed up a little, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- When the cookies are completely cool (I left mine overnight), you can ice them. In separate bowls, mix up a small amount of each different icing colour. For each colour, you'll need a couple of tablespoons of icing sugar, a squeeze of food colouring, and a tiny dash of hot water. Mix well to combine. You can adjust the colour by adding more food colouring if necessary, and adjust the consistency by adding more icing sugar or a tiny bit more water. The icing shouldn't be too runny, or it will overflow the edge of the cookie.
- Place a cookie on a flat surface, and add a spoonful of black icing. A teaspoon should be more than enough - you'll probably need less. Add a small dollop (½ teaspoon or so) of each of your coloured icings - I used pink, purple and blue.
- Slowly rotating the cookie, use a cocktail stick to carefully spread the icing out to the edges. This will start the marbling of the colours.
- Next use the cocktail stick to swirl the colours a little in the centre of the cookie.
- If using star-shaped sprinkles, add them while the icing is wet. Gold shimmer spray can be added when the icing has dried.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Nicola says
These look so good and I love the effect of the galaxy icing!
Erica says
I have to congratulate you on writing the most entertaining "sponsored post" I've ever read! :)
Sadly, I haven't seen any Space Oats here in the USA, but I'm looking forward to trying the cookies with regular oats. Glad to see a cookie recipe that's so low in sodium.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Haha! Thank you! Yes I'm sure not everyone will be able to get their hands on the Space Oats haha, but regular oats would work just fine too! ;)
Bee says
Ah I love them, almost too pretty to eat!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Almost... ;)
Camilla says
How cool are these, love oaty biscuits and with the icing on top that makes these even yummier:-)
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry says
These cookies are so pretty and fun. Oats are SOO good for you and your heart. Bet the kids will love these
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says
I love oaty cookies, plain or decorated. These lok really fun and you are far braver than I am to take on the decoration.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
They turned out much better than I was expecting them to, that's for sure!
Elizabeth says
This would be so awesome for a child's space-themed birthday party. My nearly 8 year old was not so subtly hinting about a 'friend party' and not a 'family party' for his upcoming birthday - you've inspired me!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Haha aw how sweet that he wants a friend party. A space theme would be really cool!
Platter Talk says
Very cool looking cookies and your right- the recipe is super easy!
Ciara Attwell says
These look fab Becca! My daughter would love to make them so I'm definitely going to try them with her!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I think they're hard to get wrong really! :)
Just Jo says
Oh I love everything about these! I have been making those cookies for years and I do love Quaker Oats in general. I do my galaxy glaze with mirror glaze (a sort of ganache set with gelatine) but haven't thought to do it with runny icing - what a great effect and so easy too! Lovely post :D
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I don't think I'm skilled enough (yet!) to do a proper mirror glaze, but this method worked really well I thought! :)