To wait until Christmas or for the big day, these delicious Christmas cookies promise to delight young and old. Here is the recipe that conquered America.
The magic of the end-of-year celebrations is also felt in the kitchen, particularly with the preparation of delicious Christmas cakes and shortbreads, a strong tradition in the East of France. This time, for more originality, we invite you to revisit the famous cookies with a recipe that was a hit across the Atlantic! At the heart of this recipe, basic ingredients like butter, sugar, egg, flour and vanilla come together to create a creamy dough base. The addition of almond extract, although optional, is highly recommended to enhance the taste.
The preparation begins by making the cookie dough. The ingredients required for this cookie dough are classic. To obtain 24 small Christmas cookies, the American Sally from the site Sally’s Baking Recipes, renowned for her baking instructions, recommends the following dosages: 280 grams of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of salt, 170 grams of butter at room temperature, 1 egg and, if desired, vanilla extract and almond powder.
To start, mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. An electric mixer will help you get the right consistency quickly. Then add the egg and the vanilla and almond extracts, and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth.
A crucial step in the recipe is cooling the dough. After spreading it, it is important to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours. This process is essential to ensure that the cookies maintain their shape when baking. You can even leave it on for up to a day without any problem.
Once the dough has cooled, all that remains is to create the desired shapes. If you want to add a Christmas feel to your precious little cakes, use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Then place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, making sure to space them about 5 to 10 centimeters apart. They should be baked in a preheated oven at 180°C for 11 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Your cakes are already ready! Do you want to personalize them, for example by adding color or a shiny appearance? The icing, simple and quick to prepare, adds a nice finishing touch to these delicious cookies. Mix icing sugar (350 grams), vanilla extract, corn syrup (or a little sugar mixed with water, 2 teaspoons total) and water (5 tablespoons ) until you obtain the desired consistency. You can tint the icing with food coloring to give them a festive look. If you frost them, once decorated, the cookies must dry for about 24 hours to be enjoyed.
This entire process may seem long, but most of the time consists of resting the dough or baking the cupcakes out of the oven. You will be able to completely go about your other activities and party preparations during this time. Remember: these cookies can be stored for up to 5 days at room temperature or 10 days in the refrigerator. So you can prepare them in advance to eliminate the stress of last minute preparations before Christmas.