Christmas Cookies

  
Christmas has come but the snow hasn't, hhhhmmmm.....!!!!

All the neighbourhood around our house are decorated with beautiful lights and colourful Santa garden decorations. It looks so cute but the cold weather is a real hinderance to enjoy the lights up close. Anyway the decorations do lift up my soul as it is going to be a rainy Christmas.

Almost all the blogs are adorned with fruit cakes / cupcakes / cookies / edible gifts / drinks etc which truly speaks of festive season. I have been drooling over all the goodies as each and everyone of the recipes compete with each other in presentation, colour, flavours, ingredients etc and I almost forgot to post something in my blog ... Well done foodies..:))

These cookies are something that I made for my daughter for her playschool. It was a fun activity for me and her together - rolling the dough, cutting out shapes, baking, placing the icing and sugar decorations on the cookies. She enjoyed it so much that she didn't want to part with the cookies in her playschool..:))

There would be some imperfections in the cookies but hey, I loved it...:))

Christmas cookies are something similar to shortbread cookies but with less butter and a dash of orange flavouring. These cookies are very simple to make and freezable too. Just make the dough, wrap it up in a cling film and put it in the freezer [can be stored upto a month]. When time to make the cookies, defrost the dough for a couple of hours, roll the dough and cut out the cookies. Bake as per the recipe instructions below.

You can vary the flavourings and decorations as per your taste - vanilla, cardamom, lemon, lavender etc. These cookies are not just for Christmas but can be used for various other occasions and celebrations like kid's birthday parties, valentine's day or just for evening snacks.

For the cookies: 
All purpose flour: 150 gms.
Unsalted butter: 100 gms.
Caster sugar: 75 gms.
Orange zest : 1/2 tsp.
Salt: 1 pinch.
Yolk of medium egg: 1.

1.In a mixer, whiz together the flour and butter until it resembles bread crumbs. You can use your hands if you don't have a free standing mixer. I don't have a mixer so I used my fingers to make the dough.
2. Add the salt, sugar, orange zest and egg yolk and mix until just combined.
3.Tip onto a floured surface and roll into a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
4.Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180 degrees C/Fan 160 degrees C.
5.Roll the dough to a thickness of 3-4mm and cut out shapes from the dough. Re-roll the trimmings and repeat until all the dough is used up.
6. Arrange the cut out shapes 2 cms apart on a baking tray lines with nonstick baking paper.
7.Chill for 10 minutes in the refrigerator and bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm.
8.Cool on the tray for 5 minutes and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate:
Icing sugar: 4-5 tbsp.
Few drops of water.
Sugar crystals

Mix the icing sugar with a little water until smooth but not runny. Spoon into a piping bag and snip off the tip of 1mm diameter. Place tiny drops on the cookies and place a sugar decoration on top of the icing dot. Place the cookies in an airy place for a couple of hours and let the icing dry out.

Once dry, store the cookies in an air tight containers of fill up goody/gift bags with label tie ups ... perfect Christmas present for friends and family.

Notes: I used a zip-lock bag to pipe the dots which very well serves the purpose. You can make your own piping bag with baking paper or plastic sheet or get readymade ones. I have not used royal icing for decorating but you can if you wish to. If you wish you can actually draw various designs on the cookie and place the sugar decorations accordingly.

Add tints of colours to give a more festive look or use colour sprinkles instead. 

A Very Merry Christmas to all ....

Enjoy...


Scribbled by Reva