The snow falling outside the window, slowing down the pace and muffled the sounds, the crackling of the fire in the fireplace, a joyful melody echoing through the living room, and the lights dancing merrily on the decorated tree: everything really seems ready for the holidays! ...But there's still something missing to make the Christmas season perfect: have you guessed it? Of course, it's cookies!
Delicious, fragrant, beautiful: transform your Christmas into a Christmas...very special with this simple recipe from our food ambassador Silvia!
From a refined classic shortcrust pastry to the chocolate one beloved by children, from the cinnamon-spiced one that's a must-have at Christmas, to the crumbly and unique almond one: with this recipe, you can make Christmas cookies perfect for cheerful family breakfasts during the holidays, but also ideal for filling romantic tins for Christmas gifts to relatives and friends. The final decorations, in dark and white chocolate, will add a touch of elegance, making them even more delicious and irresistible. The secret to making your cookies even better? Prepare them slowly with the people you love.
Ingredients - Classic Shortcrust Pastry
- 125g plain flour
- 75g butter
- 50g powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- Grated zest of half a lemon/orange
- 1/2 sachet of vanilla / seeds of half a vanilla pod
- 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients - Cocoa Shortcrust Pastry
- 100g plain flour
- 25g sweet cocoa
- 75g butter
- 50g powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 sachet of vanilla / seeds of half a vanilla pod
- 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients - Cinnamon Shortcrust Pastry
- 125g plain flour
- 75g butter
- 50g powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch of salt
- (optional: 1 pinch of cardamom)
Ingredients - Almond Shortcrust Pastry
- 75g plain flour
- 50g almond flour
- 75g butter
- 50g sugar Granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 sachet of vanilla / seeds from half a vanilla pod
- 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients - For decoration
- Dark chocolate
- White chocolate
- Red berry jam
- Icing sugar
PROCEDURE
You can proceed this way individually for each type of pastry.
- In a bowl, mix the butter, sugar, herbs/spices, and a pinch of salt until fluffy.
- Fold in the egg yolk.
- Add the flour and any other dry ingredients specific to each pastry (cocoa/almonds).
- Briefly work the ingredients on a work surface until they form a smooth dough.
- Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
For the bull's-eye cookies:
- Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin on a floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm. Cut out circles and rings using cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 10-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool. Spread the tops of the round bases generously with jam and place them on the pastry rings.
For the other cookies:
- Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Cut out the pastry using your favorite cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool.
- Melt the white chocolate and the dark chocolate separately in a bain-marie. Decorate the tops of some of the cookies with the melted chocolate. Place them on parchment paper and let them dry for about an hour.
RECIPE BY:
Silvia Coletto is a chef, food blogger, food photographer, and passionate connoisseur of typical products and traditional recipes from Trentino-Alto Adige, and Primiero in particular.
On her blog, www.dolcimariemonti.it, she pays particular attention to selecting local ingredients. You'll find traditional Dolomite cuisine as well as some new and easy modern interpretations. You can also follow Silvia and her Cucina delle Dolomiti stories on her social media channels, Instagram and Facebook.
