Christmas Cookies

It’s so Christmassy! That’s what I thought when I saw these cookies for the first time.  I had been thinking of baking some cookies for some time but never really got a chance to do it. As we are only couple of weeks away from Christmas, I decided to make these gorgeous looking cookies. I not only enjoyed making them I also loved the fact that these cookies go so well with the festive atmosphere. Those little bits of red cherries in the light golden brown butter cookies make the perfect accompaniment for an afternoon tea in this festive season. These are not exactly instant cookies or very easy to make either but they are not very difficult too! The most difficult part of making these cookies (other than the waiting part!!) is making the logs, which I have explained later in the method.

Ingredients:

230 gm unsalted butter

200 gm white sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

350 gm all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

200 gm glazed cherries (chopped)

Method:

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients (other than sugar) and keep it separately. Melt the butter and add the sugar in it and start beating. I use an electric hand mixer to do this. When the mixture is little light in colour add the egg and continue beating till it becomes a pale yellow mixture. Now add the vanilla extract and mix well.  Now add the dry mix you made earlier to this egg, butter, sugar mix and continue beating until the dough forms.

Divide the dough into three roughly equal part and place them on individual greaseproof baking sheets. Now comes the most difficult part of the recipe. Making a log of this mixture. At this point the mixture will be bit sticky so to make a log I placed another baking sheet on top of the mixture and used a rolling pin to roll the top surface of the mixture to give it a uniform shape. Now press both the ends (width) inside so that the log is evenly shaped and when you cut the log you get even pieces.

My log was 10 inches long, 2 inches in width and about an inch and a quarter thick. Once you are happy with your log cover it with the baking sheet and seal the edges. Repeat the same procedure for all three portions and keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours or overnight ( I kept it overnight). You can also freeze them to bake later in the month.

 

Pre heat the oven at 190 degree C. Use a thin bladed knife to cut the cookies roughly about 5 mm thickness. Place them on a baking try lined with a baking sheet and bake them for 10 –11 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool them in a wire rack and then pack in an ait tight container. Enjoy with a cuppa!