Merry Little Cookies

Making cookies for the holidays is a beloved family tradition, one that usually consists of pulling out an old recipe box to re-create familiar tastes and yearly favorites that we love to experience over and over again. This winter, consider adding a few new sweet treats to the mix from “Let It Snow: 24 Recipes for Festive Sweet Treats” by Agnes Prus. These cookies are beautiful to look at and even better to eat, and the book includes one recipe for every day of December before Christmas Day. To add a bit of greenery to your cookie tin, try the delicate-looking Matcha and Coconut Trees. For some chocolaty goodness, whip up the Chocolate and Pecan Snowballs. And, to complement the mulled wine recipe on page 56, try the layered Mulled Wine Tartlets. Regardless of what recipe catches your eye, chances are you’ll want to add it to your cookie lineup for holidays to come. As Prus writes in her introduction, the recipes will help you create a genuine winter wonderland in your very own home. Happy baking! —Katie Ballalatak

RECIPES AND PHOTOS FROM “LET IT SNOW" BY AGNES PRUS © 2019 REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HARDIE GRANT BOOKS, AN IMPRINT OF HARDIE GRANT PUBLISHING. PHOTOS BY FRAUKE ANTHOLZ. Mulled Wine Tartlets MAKES ABOUT 12 COOKIES

For the Jam For Decorating ½ cup red wine confectioners’ sugar, 2 strips of orange peel for dusting 2 cloves 1 cinnamon stick Extra Equipment 1 piece star anise star-shaped cookie ¼ vanilla bean cutters, in three sizes ½ cup grape juice 1/3 cup preserving sugar or granulated sugar mixed with 1½ teaspoons pectin

For the Dough 7 ounces (14 tablespoons) butter 2/3 cup raw cane sugar seeds of 1 vanilla bean (See Editor’s Note) pinch of salt 1 egg scant 2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for floured surface 1 cup blanched ground almonds

1. For the jam, put the red wine with the orange peel, spices, scraped out vanilla bean and vanilla seeds into a saucepan. Bring to a boil on a medium heat. Immediately remove from the stove, cover and steep for at least 2 hours. Strain the wine mixture through a sieve and pour back into the pan. Mix in the juice and the preserving sugar. Bring to a boil and then a fast boil for 3 minutes. Pour into a sterilized jar and allow to set. 2. For the dough, cream the butter with the sugar, vanilla seeds and salt. Add the egg and beat in well. Add the flour and almonds, and work everything into a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in a cool place for 1 hour. 3. Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch on a floured work surface and press out stars in three sizes. Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and bake for 10 to 12 minutes (you might need to take the small ones out of the oven earlier). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. 4. Heat the jam in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Spread the jam on the large and medium-sized stars before stacking them together with the small ones on top. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and add a final dab of jam. Store in a tin. Editor’s Note: If you don’t have vanilla bean, you can use vanilla extract—figure a 2-inch vanilla bean portion equals 1 teaspoon extract, so 1 typical vanilla bean will equal 3 teaspoons extract.

MATCHA AND COCONUT TREES

Matcha and Coconut Trees MAKES ABOUT 35 COOKIES

For the Dough 1 cup dried shredded coconut ½ cup confectioners’ sugar 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for floured surface 2 teaspoons matcha powder 4 ounces (1 stick) cold butter, diced 1 egg yolk grated zest and 1 teaspoon juice of 1 lime pinch of salt

For the Icing generous ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar about 3 tablespoons milk

For Decorating ground dried shredded coconut

Extra Equipment tree-shaped cookie cutter

1. For the dough, very finely grind the dried shredded coconut with the confectioners’ sugar in a coffee grinder or a food processor. Thoroughly mix the flour with the matcha powder and add to the coconut mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and quickly knead everything into a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in a cool place for at least 30 minutes. 2. Heat the oven to 320°F. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of about ¼ inch and, using the treeshaped cutter, press out the trees. Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and bake for about 15 minutes. To make sure they stay nice and green, the trees should hardly be browned. Take out of the oven and allow to cool. 3. For the icing, pour the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl and stir with the milk until smooth, if necessary adding milk drop by drop until the desired consistency is achieved. Decorate the cookies with it sparingly and sprinkle with dried shredded coconut. Leave until completely dry and store in a tin.

Cook’s Note: The matcha powder can be replaced with barley grass powder.

Chocolate and Pecan Snowballs MAKES ABOUT 60 COOKIES

scant 12⁄3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon gingerbread spice mix large pinch of baking soda pinch of salt 9 ounces dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped 3 ounces butter, diced 2 eggs ½ cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon corn syrup ½ teaspoon vanilla extract scant ½ cup espresso ¾ cup pecan kernels, finely chopped

For Decorating generous ½ cup sugar generous ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Mix the flour in a bowl with the baking powder, gingerbread spice, baking soda and salt, and set aside. 2. Melt the chocolate with the butter over a hot water bath/double boiler (See Editor’s Note). 3. Put the eggs and the brown sugar in a bowl and beat until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in the melted chocolate mixture and the corn syrup. Add the vanilla extract and espresso and mix in. Add the flour mixture and nuts and briefly blend everything to form a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to set, for about 3 hours. 4. Heat the oven to 350°F. Pour the sugar and confectioners’ sugar separately into two deep dishes. 5. Press out small portions of dough with a teaspoon and shape into balls. Roll first in the sugar and then in the icing sugar. For a really snowy look, leave the balls in a cool place for 15 minutes then roll in the icing sugar again. Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and bake for about 12 minutes. Take the snowballs out of the oven, allow to fully cool and store in tins.

Editor’s Note: Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a large, heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat, stirring, until melted. Remove saucepan from heat, keeping bowl over water.

Cherry and Poppy Seed Hats MAKES ABOUT 30 COOKIES

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for floured surface scant ½ cup confectioners’ sugar ¼ cup poppy seeds ¼ cup cornstarch 4 ounces (1 stick) cold butter, diced 1 egg yolk ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest pinch of salt 5 ounces black cherry jam or amarena cherries (about 30 cherries) 1 egg yolk, for brushing about 1 ounce white chocolate, for decorating

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, poppy seeds and cornstarch. Add the butter, egg yolk, grated lemon zest and salt, and work everything into a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in a cool place for 1 hour. 2. Heat the oven to 340°F. If using amarena cherries, pour the syrup off the cherries, drain them and roll them over paper towels until dry. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and cut into strips about 2 inches wide. Cut them into equilateral triangles with 3-inch sides. Put a scant teaspoon of the cherry jam or one cherry on each dough triangle and gently press the tips together over the jam. (The triangles should not be too big to avoid the tips slipping during baking.) Place the hats on baking sheets lined with baking parchment. 3. Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the hats with it and bake for about 12 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to fully cool on a cooling rack. 4. Coarsely chop the chocolate and melt it over a hot water bath/double boiler. Put a dab on the tip of each hat and allow to set. Leave the hats until completely dry and store in a tin.

Walnut Dreams MAKES ABOUT 40 COOKIES

For the Dough 11⁄3 cups walnut kernels 6 ounces butter generous ½ cup raw cane sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 egg yolk scant 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for floured surface ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon large pinch of baking powder large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg pinch of salt 3 ounces dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped 1 tablespoon honey large pinch of aniseed

For the Coating 4 tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoon honey ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For Decorating 5 ounces (about 2⁄3 cup) white chocolate, chopped about 40 walnut halves

1. Heat the oven to 320°F. For the dough, spread the walnuts out on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 minutes in the oven. Take out and allow to cool. Finely grind 1 cup of the nuts in a food processor and finely chop the remainder. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together. Add the egg and egg yolk and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and ground walnuts and add to the dough. Thoroughly mix in and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour. 2. Take 3½ ounces (about 1/7) of the dough and knead with the chocolate, honey, aniseed and chopped walnuts. Press out about 40 small portions, make balls out of them and leave in a cool place. Roll out the remaining dough on a floured work surface and press out circles of about 1½ inches. Put a ball on each one and push it into the lightcolored dough. Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and bake for about 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 3. For the coating, caramelize the sugar and honey in a small saucepan on a medium heat. Mix in the cinnamon. Add the nuts and cover them with the caramel. Spread out on baking parchment and allow to cool. 4. Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath/double boiler Coat the cookies with it, put half a nut on each one and leave the chocolate to dry before storing in a tin. 

WALNUT DREAMS

MULLED WINE TARTLETS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 342; FAT 18g (sat. 9g); CHOL 51mg; SODIUM 130mg; CARB 41g; FIBER 2g; ADDED SUGARS 17g; PROTEIN 5g

MATCHA & COCONUT TREES:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 81; FAT 5g (sat. 4g); CHOL 12mg; SODIUM 28mg; CARB 9g; FIBER 1g; ADDED SUGARS 5g; PROTEIN 1g

CHOCOLATE & PECAN SNOWBALLS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 77; FAT 4g (sat. 2g); CHOL 10mg; SODIUM 26mg; CARB 10g; FIBER 1g; ADDED SUGARS 6g; PROTEIN 1g

CHERRY & POPPY SEED HATS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 85; FAT 4g (sat. 2g); CHOL 19mg; SODIUM 4mg; CARB 11g; FIBER 1g; ADDED SUGARS 5g; PROTEIN 1g

WALNUT DREAMS:

PER SERVING: CALORIES 147; FAT 9g (sat. 4g); CHOL 19mg; SODIUM 39mg; CARB 15g; FIBER 1g; ADDED SUGARS 7g; PROTEIN 2g