Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas Cookies


The Christmas baking has begun. I made these Christmas tree cookies for friends. The recipe is basically a sugar cookie recipe, cut into the shape of Christmas trees with a cut out in the centre. You half bake the cookies and then pop some crushed lollies into the centres, another 5 minutes in the oven and you get this stained glass window effect. I made half the dough into these cookies and froze the other half. I may make some more in the shape of stars. They would also make cool Christmas tree decorations if you poked a little hole in the top to thread some ribbon through.



Last night was my second night all month with no function to go to. I was hanging out for some real food, as you tend to eat nibbly bits at functions and then don’t have much appetite for dinner. So I cooked some fish – I followed a recipe from the latest Jamie Oliver book which puts a topping of rolled oats and mustard on the fish before oven roasting. It was quite nice. We had it with new jersey benne potatoes, boiled and then lightly crushed and mixed with chopped olives, lemon juice and olive oil, and a salad of rocket, asparagus, almonds and avocado. Very yummy and just what the doctor ordered!


Stained Glass Window Cookies

250g butter
¾ c sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 egg
2 ½ c flour
hard boiled lollies, lightly crushed

· Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla paste until light and creamy
· Beat in egg
· Stir in flour until you get a firmish dough
· Chill dough for 30 minutes
· Roll out until about 4mm thin, cut into shapes, cutting out a wee shape in the middle of each cookie and then chill again (I always freeze the shapes at that point)
Bake at 180c for about 8 minutes, then place the crushed lollies in the holes, and put back in the oven for about 7 minutes. Cool on trays

1 comment:

Cakelaw said...

Another pretty cookie - love 'em. Also keen on the sound of Jamie's oat and mustard fish.