Wednesday 11 December 2013

Choc-Vanilla Christmas Cookies















I think the reason it's called "the festive season" (ignoring the actual season)  is so someone in Australia can bake cookies with snowflakes on them in the middle of summer... and cook a turkey in the oven on a 30+ C day... and boil a traditional Christmas pudding on the stove for hours when the sun is blazing in the sky... and buy Christmas cards with snowmen on them in a heatwave... and then after doing all that, jump in the pool.



Choc-Vanilla Christmas Cookies
from Donna Hay
Makes 8

125g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
225g plain flour, sifted
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the paddle attachment, put the utter and sugar and beat on medium speed for 10 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for a further 2 minutes. Add the flour and beat on low speed until it form a dough. Remove 2/3 of the mixture and set aside. Add the coco to the 1/3 of mixture left in the bowl and beat until the cocoa is fully incorporated.

Roll each portion of dough to 3mm thick between two sheets of baking paper and chill in the fridge to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Lightly grease a large baking sheet and line it with baking paper.

Use a 7cm round cookie cutter to cut 8 rounds from the vanilla dough. Use a 4.5cm snowflake cookie cutter to cut out, you guessed it, snowflakes from the chocolate dough. Place the snowflakes on top of the rounds and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks.


10 comments:

  1. Awww it must be so weird! Here it's all cold and snowy and everything. Your cookies are really cute, they're different from what I'm use to and I think that I'm going to do it :)

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    1. Actually, we've grown up celebrating Christmas this way, so it's not so weird. These are no-fuss cookies, but delicious and buttery, just like you want a Christmas cookie to be.

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  2. I think though you really have the best of both worlds, but it must seem weird to have "traditional" heavy foods when all you probably want are mojitos, salads and BBQ. Lovely cookies, and no messy royal icing decorating involved. Awesome!

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    1. We only do tradition food on the day really, and even then we provide lighter food too. The rest of the time we eat light, summery food. Christmas usually means beach holidays, sun, surf and, as you said, mojitos, salads and BBQ. And after all, a cookie is a cookie, no matter what time of the year it is.

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  3. These look wonderful and I'll bet they smelled divine when baking!

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    1. The smell of cookies baking in the oven should be bottled.

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  4. they are so pretty and creative!

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    1. Thanks Dina. I can't draw to save my life, so my creativity has to come out somewhere I guess?

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