The first time I made my own Christmas cookies was two years ago – and I must admit that I have nearly given up back then. I considered myself way too impatient and unexperienced and wasn’t happy at all with the result. By now I have definitely improved my cookies skills, being both more experienced and, more important, more patient. The secret for delicious and pretty Christmas cookies is: to use high-quality ingredients. Get the best butter, eggs and flour you can find, and then kneed, kneed and kneed the dough thoroughly. Be gentle to your cookie dough – and the prettiest, most tender little Christmas cookies shall reward you in return.
Happy baking and merry Christmas!
Love,
Lea Lou
“Wiener Kipferl”
For about 50 “Kipferl”
100 g ground almonds
180 g cold butter
A pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
60 g icing sugar
10 g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground madagascan vanilla (e.g. by Dr. Oetker)
180 g wheat flour
200 g dark cooking chocolate
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Place the almonds in a large pan, heat over medium heat and carefully roast your almonds from all sides until light brown. Transfer the almonds to a large plate and allow to cool. Safe two tablespoons to sprinkle over the cookies at the end.
Cut your butter in small chunks, mix it with salt, egg yolk, icing sugar, caster sugar and vanilla and kneed all ingredients with the dough hook of your mixer until well combined, yet still slightly crumbly. Add almonds and flour and kneed the dough with your hands until the dough is one soft, even ball. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and cool for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Briefly kneed the dough again with your hands and form two rolls with a diameter of approximately 2–3 cm. Cut the rolls in 25 pieces each of the same size and form little half-moon shaped cookies with your fingers. Place the cookies on your baking trays and bake for about 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Melt the chocolate and coconut oil over a water bath. Dip the ends of your Kipferl into the chocolate, sprinkle with ground almonds and allow the chocolate to dry before storing them in airtight containers.
Matcha cookies
For about 55 cookies
200 g soft butter
75 g icing sugar
10 g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground madagascan vanilla (e.g. by Dr. Oetker)
1 egg yolk
250 g wheat flour
1 tablespoon matcha tea powder
1 pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons double cream
60 g caster sugar
Mix the butter, icing sugar, caster sugar and vanilla with the whisk of your mixer for about five minutes until creamy. Stir in the egg yolk.
Fold in the flour, matcha powder and salt, kneed until all ingredients are well combined.
Divide the dough into two parts, form both parts into two rolls with a diameter of 4 cm. Wrap your dough rolls in cling film and cool for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Line two baking trays with baking powder.
Whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Place the sugar on a large plate. Dab the cookie dough rolls with the egg and cream mixture and roll them in sugar after. Using a sharp knie slice the rolls into thin cookies, arrange them on the baking trays and bake for about 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Chocolate cookies with lemon frosting
Makes a large batch of cookies
175 g cold butter
325 g wheat flour
50 g cocoa powder
350 g icing sugar (150 g for the cookies, 200 g for the icing)
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
2 teaspoons caster sugar, mixed with a pinch of ground madagascan vanilla (e.g. by Dr. Oetker)
8 teaspoons lemon juice
Hundreds and thousands, stars, etc. to decorate the cookies
Cut the butter into small pieces and place it in a bowl. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and 150 g icing sugar, add the mixture to the butter. Add egg, salt, sugar and ground vanilla and kneed the dough with your hands until all ingredients are well combined and the dough is one soft even ball. Wrap it in cling film and cool for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Divide the dough into two parts, roll out the first half on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin until it is about 3 mm thick. Cut the dough in cookies of any shape such as christmas trees, gingerbread men, stars, hearts, etc. Place your cookies on the baking trays, bake for about 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Whisk together the remaining 200 g icing sugar and lemon juice. Spread the frosting on your cookies and decorate them however you like. Allow the frosting to dry before you store them in air-tight containers.
Homemade chocolate
300 g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 handful dried cranberries
2 handful salted shelled pistachios (I couldn’t find shelled ones, so I shelled them myself)
1 handful coconut chips
Melt the chocolate, coconut oil and maple syrup over a water bath. Spread the chocolate on a sheet of baking paper, sprinkle with cranberries, pistachios and coconut chips. Allow the chocolate to dry before breaking it in small pieces to enjoy or give away.
