Christmas Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale, light and fluffy.
• Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, a little at a time, until well combined.
• Stir in the flour until the mixture comes together as a dough.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1cm/½in.
• Using biscuit cutters or a glass, cut biscuits out of the dough and carefully place onto the baking tray. To make into Christmas tree decorations, carefully make a hole in the top of the biscuit using a straw.
• Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
• For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the food colouring.
• Carefully spread the icing onto the biscuits using a knife and sprinkle over the glitter. Set aside until the icing hardens.

Steps:

• To make the dough: In a medium bowl, combine the flours, salt, sugar, mahlab, and yeast. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix by hand or in a mixer until it forms a paste. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
• To make the filling: While the flour mixture rests, immerse the dates in hot tap water and allow them to soak for about 10 minutes or until softened. Once they are soft, drain thoroughly and pulse them in the bowl of a food processor along with the butter, espresso powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and cardamom to form a sticky paste. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 15 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, the dough will have hardened, so use a wooden spoon or other utensil such as a dough cutter to break up the dough a bit. Pour the milk and orange blossom water into the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Let stand at room temperature for another 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Cut four sheets of parchment paper to fit an 8-by-11-inch sheet tray. Form the dough into a ball and divide it into 2 equal parts.
• Press half the dough onto one of the sheets of parchment. Layer a second piece of parchment on top and, using a rolling pin, roll an even ¼-inch crust to the paper's edges. Remove the top layer of parchment and flip the dough into the sheet tray. Re-use the sheets of parchment and roll out the second ball of dough. Set aside.
• Sandwich the date filling between two new sheets of parchment and roll into an even ¼-inch layer, out to the paper's edges. Remove the top sheet and flip the date layer onto the dough. Remove the remaining parchment. Flip the remaining dough over the date filling and remove the final sheet of parchment.
• Transfer the sheet tray to the oven and bake, rotating the tray once, until the bars are light golden brown on the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and, when it is cool enough to touch, cut the bars into 2-by-2-inch squares. Transfer the tray to a wire rack to finish cooling. When the ma'amoul is completely cool, dust with the confectioners' sugar before serving. The bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• Tip the icing sugar, vanilla extract, egg yolk and butter into a mixing bowl, then stir together with a wooden spoon (or pulse in a food processor until well combined). Add the flour and mix to a firm dough. Shape the dough into two flat discs and wrap them. Chill for 20-30 mins. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and line two baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of two £1 coins. Cut out Christmassy shapes (use a cutter if you like) and place on the baking sheets. Using the tip of a skewer, cut a small hole in the top of each cookie. Bake for 10-12 mins until lightly golden.
• Lift the biscuits onto a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with a few drops of cold water to make a thick, but still runny icing. Colour with edible food colouring, if you like. Spread it over the cooled biscuits, decorate with edible balls and thread with ribbon when dry.

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add all other ingredients.
• Mix well.
• Chill at least 2-3 hours. Roll out.
• Cut in to shapes and bake in 400°F till edges are pale golden brown.
• Recipe easily doubled.