CHRISTMAS COOKIES

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

There is no better time to make cookies than Christmas.

It is the perfect holiday activity. I loved making these with my daughter Nicole all through her school days. Every Christmas season we both would sit down and decorate these into the most gorgeous Christmas-themed cookies, which we would then arrange beautifully on the serving trays.

You can get really creative with icing these beautifully shaped cookies.

Option 1: Dip them in colourful chocolate

Option 2: Drizzle them with jam

Option 3: And, if you want to try your hand at making very artistic cookies then try royal icing. It spreads easily and leaves to set. It can be kept to dry overnight. The icing once set stays quite firmly on the cookie.

These cookies do keep fresh for a long time in an air-tight container. So this holiday season, go ahead and start baking these delicious cookies. You can have all the creative fun making them and at the same time relish them too !!! Quite a win-win I must say.

Ingredients : 

• 225g / 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (or use salted, skip salt)

• 1 cup castor/superfine sugar

• 1 ½  tsp vanilla extract

• 1 large egg

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (maida)

• ¾  tsp baking powder

• ¾  tsp salt

Method : 

• Preheat Oven to 180°C.

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

• Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy 

• Add egg and vanilla, beat until completely combined.

• Add flour, baking powder, and salt.

• Start mixing slowly, then beat until the flour is incorporated – it will be clumpy.

• Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Pat together then cut in half, then shape into 2 discs.

• Roll out into 1/8" if you want the cookies to be thinner & crispier cookies) or 1/4" (for thicker, softer cookies)

• Sprinkle with flour under and over the dough so it doesn't stick while rolling the dough. 

• Use cookie cutters to press out shapes and use a knife or spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets.

• You can repeat rolling the dough and cut out more cookies.   

• After cutting the cookies keep them in the fridge for around 15-20 minutes. 

• Now bake for 10 -15 minutes minutes, until the surface is pale golden and the edges are just beginning to turn light golden.

• Allow cookies to cool completely on trays. 

And if you do not have the time to decorate them, then serve them plain.  These sweet vanilla cookies taste wonderful as they are.