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1
Make the cookie dough from the ingredients marked *.
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2
Cream the butter and mix with the sugar until smooth.
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3
Then add the egg yolks, mix, sift in the flour and matcha and fold in with a spatula until it's no longer floury.
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4
Split the dough into 6, wrap with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the refrigerator.
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5
Making the bread dough.
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6
Add the butter and milk to a heat-resistant bowl and warm to body temperature in the microwave.
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7
Mix until the butter has melted, add in the yeast and sugar and mix once more.
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8
Add 1/3 of the flour and mix with a whisk until it's no longer floury.
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9
Then add the remaining 2/3 of the flour and fold in with a spatula.
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10
Add the matcha and blend in for 1 minute.
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11
Once the colour starts to change a little, it should be enough, so wrap the dough and warm for 30 seconds in a 200 W microwave.
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12
Turn out onto a dusted surface and knead the dough until the colour becomes even and it stops sticking to your hands.
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13
You may need to re-dust the surface.
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14
To keep the surface of the dough nice and even, form the dough into a ball by folding the dough under itself.
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15
Wrap with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 15 minutes under a damp cloth.
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16
Once the dough has expanded to 1.5 times the original size, deflate the dough and it's ready for shaping.
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17
Split the dough into 7 pieces.
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18
Take 1 of the 7 pieces and use it to make the eyes and feet.
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19
From this piece use 1/4 of the dough for eyes so split into 12 pieces.
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20
Split the rest of the 3/4 into 24 pieces for the feet.
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21
Keep these pieces under a damp cloth.
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22
Take the 6 big pieces of dough and roll each one out to a size of 2.5 x 17 cm.
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23
You should be able to make 6 crocodiles with 1 body, 2 eyes and 4 feet each as in the photo.
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24
Let's make the crocodile's body.
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25
To create the tail, form the dough gradually into a point and create the snout by pressing the dough at the front down with your finger.
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26
Poke some holes in the end of the snout with a toothpick to create the nostrils.
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27
Add some cocoa mixed in water into the nostrils to give shadow and a more relaistic looking croc when it's done.
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28
Roll out the cookie dough to a 5 x 12 cm rectangle.
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29
To avoid dealing with the stickiness try rolling it out between 2 sheets of cling film.
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30
Rest this cookie dough on top of the body you made in step 8.
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31
Once you've wrapped the cookie dough over the edges, start working on top of a sheet of parchment paper.
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32
This is because when you start putting things together it will become had to move.
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33
With a toothpick, carve some triangle patterns on to the crocodiles back.
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34
It's an annoying but necessary step if you want your crocodile to look real.
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35
Make the dough for the eyes into balls and flatten one edge of the feet down to make them easier to attach to the body.
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36
Carve some claws into the feet and attach everything together by pressing with your fingertips.
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37
If you have egg whites left over from the cookie dough you can use this as a type of glue to fix everything together better.
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38
And now you've got a full body!
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39
Try bending the tail to one side for a sense of motion.
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40
Because it takes so long to form 1 body, keep the rest of the dough covered with a damp cloth while you are working.
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41
Once the tail is bent, get it on the baking tray.
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42
Wrap with cling film and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds at 200w.
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43
Leave to rise for 20 minutes and then bake in an oven preheated to 200C for 30 minutes.
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44
Once baked, leave to cool and apply finishing touches such as chocolate eyes to finish.
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45
I burned these a little and their faces went a bit brown.
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46
Their nostrils stand out thanks to the cocoa mixture.
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47
December 2008 - tried making the bread dough in a bread maker.
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48
It came out plumper than making it in the microwave.
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49
When using a bread maker, reduce the amount of yeast to 3 g. You could add more matcha or green tea without affecting the taste.
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50
If the dough is browning too much try covering it with foil while it's baking.
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51
If you are using a gas oven with a strong flame please adjust the cooking time appropriately.
