Snow Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust a work surface with flour, then flatten the cookie dough into a rectangle and roll to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. (If the large piece dough is hard to work with, cut it into 2 equal pieces.) Use a 3 1/2-inch circle cutter to cut as many rounds as possible (you should get about 10). Transfer to a baking sheet.
• Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut the centers from the larger circles to make "O's". Using the bottom of a small gingerbread woman cutter (or other cutter with a flat base), cut the rolled center scraps into bases for the snow globes. Place the bases on the baking sheet touching the bottom of each "O" (they will fuse together when they bake). Place the cut cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes. Pat the dough scraps into a disc and chill until you can roll again and cut out more cookies to make about 1 dozen snow globes. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookies to 2 room-temperature baking sheets lined with parchment paper, evenly spacing 5 cookies per sheet. Bake the cookies, rotating halfway through cooking time, until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• For the glass centers: Set up a workspace with your decorations and cooled cookies. (You will have to work fast once the glass syrup is made.) Transfer the cookies to clean pieces of parchment set on baking sheets. Stir together the sugar and corn syrup in a 2-cup or larger glass liquid measuring cup until it looks like wet sand. Microwave until the sugar is completely dissolved and is bubbling but still clear with no caramel color, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Stir and microwave 30 seconds more. (This will depend on the power of your microwave, you want the syrup to be bubbling rapidly, but before it begins to caramelize).
• Pour the syrup into the center of 2 or 3 cookies, letting it spread to fill the entire opening. Working quickly, while the syrup is still hot and has not yet begun to harden, sprinkle with the decorations of your choice. Continue, filling a few cookies at a time and reheating the syrup in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds to keep it pourable, as necessary, until all of the glass centers have been poured.
• For the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk to combine. With the mixer on low, add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and add about 1 to 3 tablespoons more water, a little at a time, to make an icing that drizzles slowly from a spoon dipped into the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until the icing is very smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon half the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. (Alternatively, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner.) Color the remaining icing in the bowl with red food coloring and transfer to another piping bag fitted with a small plain tip.
• Pipe the white icing on the top of the snow globes, leaving a little in the bag to decorate the glass, if desired. Pipe the red on the bases. If desired, use the remaining white icing to pipe small snowmen in the glass part of the snow globes. Let sit until the icing hardens, 20 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 325 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the nuts in the bowl of a food processor, and process until finely ground or the texture of coarse cornmeal, 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the flour and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Roll the dough into balls (about 24 dough balls) and place about 1 1/2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden and the bottoms begin to brown, 18 minutes.
• Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Roll the cookies in the confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar together. Add in egg, dry ingredients and vanilla. Mix well. Refrigerate for a while if dough is too warm.
• Roll out on lightly floured surface and cut in shapes. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Do not allow to brown. Cool on wire rack and decorate if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about 1 tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until bottoms are golden, about 15 minutes. Do not allow these cookies to get too brown: it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. While cookies are still hot, roll them in confectioners' sugar. Once they have cooled, roll them in confectioners' sugar once more.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour and pecans; set aside. Mix butter and sugar until well blended. Add water, vanilla and salt; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring until well blended after each addition. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
• Melt semi-sweet chocolate as directed on package. Dip each cookie halfway into melted chocolate, then press top lightly into grated white chocolate to create a snowy appearance. Let stand until set.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder.
• Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat until well blended.
• Stir in pecans.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.
• Bake in a 300° regular or convection oven until cookies are pale golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking.
• Let cookies stand on sheets until cool enough to handle.
• Place remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
• Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat all over; discard remaining sugar.
• Set cookies on racks to cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C.) Lightly butter 2 baking sheets, or line with parchment paper.
• Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour and salt; mix into the butter mixture. Stir in the pecans. Dust your hands with a little of the confectioners' sugar and roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
• Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes or just until brown. Put on racks to cool for 15 minutes, then roll in the confectioners sugar.

Steps:

• Blitz the flour, butter and caster sugar together in a food processor until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Add the vanilla and milk, and pulse to larger crumbs. Briefly knead on a lightly floured surface into a smooth ball, then wrap and chill for at least 30 mins. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment, then lightly oil the parchment.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll the chilled dough out on a floured work surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out rounds using an 8cm cutter, then cut holes from the middles using a 5cm cutter. Cut small holes in the tops of the biscuits using the tip of a round piping nozzle or a straw - this is where you'll thread the ribbon for hanging. Re-roll the offcuts and continue to stamp out biscuits until all the dough is used - you'll need an even amount, as you'll be sandwiching the biscuits together (you should get about 20). Carefully transfer to the prepared sheets.
• Bake for 6 mins until just golden at the edges. Meanwhile, put the mints or sweets in a food processor or pestle and mortar, and blitz or crush until finely broken up. After 6 mins, remove the biscuits from the oven and spoon the crushed mints into the cut-out middles (use about 1 heaped tsp per biscuit). Bake for 5 mins more until the mints have just melted, but haven't started to colour (they will turn golden if left too long). The middles will look bubbly, but will settle as they cool. If the melted mints haven't reached the edges, use a metal skewer to carefully ease the molten middles to the sides. Leave on the sheets to harden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with 5-6 tsp water until you have a thick, pipeable icing. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle. Decorate the bottoms of the biscuits (the melted mints will be flush with the bottoms, so this will leave more room for the sprinkles) by flooding them with icing, or piping on patterns or snowflakes. Leave to dry completely, setting aside the leftover icing in the piping bag.
• Once the biscuits are dry, carefully flip one over onto a clean tea towel so you won't damage the icing. Pipe a little of the reserved icing around the biscuit, being careful not to get too close to the middle or edges - the icing will spread when you sandwich the biscuits together. Spoon a teaspoon of sprinkles into the clear middle, making sure not to touch the icing, then sandwich with another biscuit, matching up the ribbon holes. Leave to dry completely before shaking, as the sprinkles will stick to any wet icing. Repeat with the remaining biscuits, icing and sprinkles. Thread ribbons through the holes and hang for decorations, or store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Tip the pecans into a food processor and blitz until they resemble a rough powder. Tip into a bowl and stir in the flour.
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter, caster sugar and orange zest together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the flour and pecan mix and stir with a wooden spoon until everything comes together in a rough dough. Shape into 10 even-sized balls and put on the tray.
• Bake for 15 mins until set but the top is still pale in colour. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 mins, then, once cool enough to handle, gently roll the balls in the icing sugar and return to the tray. Leave to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container for up to five days. Dust with more icing sugar just before serving.