Christmas Cookies have a lovely Scandinavian feel to them. But I have found that if the dough is good for rolling it does not taste very nice and if it tastes good it doesn’t roll too well. After years of searching for a good recipe for have found the perfect one! I know that the list of ingredients is long but it makes a big lump of dough which will last for weeks in the fridge and be there for you to use when you need something to do on a rainy day. The fun part is in the rolling, the cutting and the icing. If the children are impatient to get going, have the dough ready before you start.
125g butter
150g caster sugar
5 Tbs cream
3 Tbs black treacle
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
Seeds of 8 cardamom pods ground
Jest of one orange
375g plain flour
½ tsp bread soda
Warm butter, sugar, cream, treacle, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and orange zest over a low heat until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved
Sieve the flour and soda together and add to the pan, stirring to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface. It is very soft but firms as it cools
Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour . I have kept the dough for weeks at this stage.
Bring back to room temperature and roll out to the thickness of a euro coin
Cut into Christmas shapes and
bake on lined trays at 160 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack
Before they cool, make a small hole in the top if you will want to hang them up
When cool decorate with water icing: sieve ½ cup of icing sugar into a bowl. Add a little water and stir. Keep adding water slowly until you get the consistency you want
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