Christmas cookies – French biscuits de Noël
For the French, the holiday season is always the perfect opportunity to gather with family around a delicious banquets with dishes fit for a king. These feasts are always followed by an impressive selection of delectable desserts, such as the yule log or bûche de Noël, chocolate truffles, and Christmas cookies, to name just a few.
Children love baking at Christmas! The kitchen becomes a vast playground where they create original cookies with cookie cutters shaped like Christmas trees, Santas, candy canes, stockings, stars, moons, snowmen, snowflakes, and of course, little hearts… A sprinkle of coloured powdered sugar, and of course, candies will add the finishing touch to these pastry masterpieces.
Nothing is left to chance when it comes to making the most colourful, original, and delicious Christmas cookies! Making them is child’s play, as the recipe is truly quick and easy!
The basic ingredients are, of course, flour and sugar; however, what sets them apart are the various spices we add (ground spices are easier to use), such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, anise, cloves, vanilla, orange blossom water, ground almonds, and lemon or mandarin zest, to name just a few.
Ingredients for Christmas cookies – serves 6
- 250g of self-raising flour
- 100 g of softened butter
- 125 g of sugar (honey is better)
- 50g of ground almonds
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon of water
Spices: no more than 4 in order to avoid an overpowering flavour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon clove
- 1 teaspoon aniseed
- lemon or orange or tangerine zest (to taste)
- 1 egg yolk (mixed with a little water)
Preparation – 15 minutes
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar or honey, softened butter, egg, and almond flour.
- SStir with a wooden spatula.
- Add the spices (4 to taste).
- Knead the dough by hand until smooth and form a ball.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
- Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies on it.
- Mix the egg yolk with a little water.
- Brush the Christmas cookies with the diluted egg yolk.
- Bake for 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 200°C (thermostat 6-7) (400°F).
- Baking time may vary depending on the oven; therefore, keep an eye on them, but the cookies are ready when they are golden brown.
- Take the Christmas cookies out of the oven and let them cool. It’s that simple!
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Header by GutMaze CC BY-SA 4.0 – Gingerbread man by Theo Crazzolara CC BY 2.0 – Photo2 by Nenad Stojkovic CC BY 2.0
