Monster cookies

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a stand mixer with the paddle beater on medium speed until pale and fluffy, or this can be done by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Reduce the speed and beat in the egg until combined. Tip in the flour and baking powder and mix on slow until combined and you have a sticky dough.

Split the dough into bowls and tint with some strong food colouring gel - I have used green, orange and purple for these monsters. Drop in the chocolate chunks and mix on slow just to distribute a bit.

Grab a large walnut-sized piece of dough with a few chocolate chunks in and roll into a ball. It's pretty sticky and a good tip is to dampen your hands first as this helps to roll it without sticking too much. Line the balls up on the trays. They will flatten and spread into a large disc about double the size, so allow plenty of space between them.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, pressing down gently to help flatten with a spatula about halfway through, then bake until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges but are still a bit squidgy in the centre.

Press the smarties or eyes and teeth into the cookies while still warm to create the googly eyes, then allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before eating. These will keep for up to five days in an airtight container or tin.