I have generously granted myself the right to post recipes for Christmas cookies here, on this little site of mine, well before the actual Christmas day arrives.
I do it all for the sheer good it can do to mankind, you know. I need people to know what my favorite cookies are, how else could they possibly go on? My sweet tooth plays no role in this game. Although, it might play a little role, if you insist. Okay, it plays a huge role! So now you know it!
Anyhow…
To kick it all off, I have made my very favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies today.
I will definitely be making these this month again. Mostly because they are just awesome! Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, full of chocolate deliciousness – pure heaven!
Here’s all the necessary steps that will get you to that lovely heaven too…
Here’s what we need.
1. First, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
I am making loads and loads of these delicious rolls for this year’s Christmas.
There are many poppy seed addicts in our family and I’ll try my best to satisfy them all.
These rolls are amazing and fun to make yeast-based pastries filled with a scrumptious poppy seed filling.
If you are still looking for a nice Holiday recipe then you should definitely give these a try.
They’ll make you happy.
Here’s what we need to prepare them.
Let’s start with the dried yeast.
Dried instant yeast is an awesome thing! Your baking will always be a success if using this kind of yeast.
1. Mix the yeast, warm milk and sugar in a bowl.
2. Place the flour, salt and butter into a large bowl.
3. Pour in the yeast mixture.
4. Using your hands or an electric mixer, combine the ingredients and then knead until you form a ball. You should knead until the dough ball is no longer sticky. It should be nicely smooth and elastic.
If you think that your dough is a little too dense to work with, add a little more milk. Start with one tablespoon of milk and if that’s not enough, add some more.
This is the kind of dough that likes a lot of attention (read: kneading). I love kneading dough – it’s the most wonderful way of relax for me.
5. Place the dough into a bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
In the meantime, we can prepare the poppy seed filling.
Of course, you can replace this filling with the canned, store-bought one.
But why would you?
Okay, I may know why… it’s simpler. But still – making your own filling will be a lot more fun!
6. So, for the adventurous ones – grind the poppy seeds.
7. Combine the sugar with hot water. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
8. Then stir in the ground poppy seeds, lemon zest and vanilla extract.
And that’s it – your poppy seed filling is done and ready to be used.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Turn the risen dough onto a floured surface.
11. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into four (4) equal parts.
12. Take one of the four parts…
13. And roll it out into a circle.
The circle should be about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter.
14. Cut the circle into 8 equal triangles.
15. Arrange 2 teaspoons of the filling crosswise at the wider end of the triangle.
16. And roll it up, starting at the wider end.
17. Pinch the edges to seal.
18. Let the rolls rise for another 10-15 minutes.
19. Then transfer them onto the lined baking sheet.
Work in batches here.
20. Beat the egg lightly. Brush each roll that you’ve transferred onto the sheet with the egg mixture.
Just like this.
21. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for 16 minutes.
Then repeat the process with the rest of the rolls.
Yum!
Double yum!
Enjoy, dear friends.
This is very, very good.
(This recipe makes 32 rolls and takes about 2 1/2 hours to prepare.)
And because the running oven makes it really, really warm in here.
The time before Christmas has a sweet and magical impact on me. I find myself in the kitchen even more often than usual.
Which actually means that instead of 14 hours a day I spend 20 hours here now.
Like yesterday, for example, I made 82 cookies and I don’t even know how that happened to me.
Strange.
Anyhow, these lovely Bowtie Cookies were one of those I made yesterday.
The dough has cream cheese in it. It remotely resembles puff pastry, but it is less layered and less fatty. And oh so delicious!
The dough is filled with jam. You wouldn’t believe how gorgeous that combination is.
Let me show you how I prepared them…
Here’s what we need.
1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes.
2. Then on low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. A crumbly mixture will form.
3. Using your hands, pat the crumbly mixture together to form a dough ball.
Oh, and the face – I had to. Again. It’s addictive. Sorry!
4. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Now, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a square or rectangle about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.
6. Cut the dough into even 2.5 x 2.5 inch (6 x 6 cm) squares.
I’ve found out that my pizza cutter works best when it comes to cutting pastry.
It’s perfectly sharp.
And pink.
I’m in love with it!
7. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square.
Use a really thick jam. There are even jam brands out there that are meant for baking. Get one of those, preferably.
Also, when I was making the first batch of these cookies I was a little too generous and placed a little more than one teaspoon of the filling in the center. And I also spread it.
I don’t recommend that.
Although the cookies looked amazing before baking, if there’s too much jam, it has a tendency to leak while baking.
In the second batch I was less generous.
And the cookies leaked less, they almost didn’t leak at all.
7. Back to the instructions… pull 2 opposite corners of the square into the middle, and pinch the edges together to seal.
Pinch the edges well, don’t give them a chance to open back into the square shape while baking.
8. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart.
9. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 12 minutes or until lightly golden.
10. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.
11. Dust the tops with sifted confectioner’s sugar while still warm, then let cool completely.
Enjoy, dear friends!
(This recipe was loosely adapted from Epicurious.com and makes 40 cookies.)
Of course, they can be enjoyed as a nibble or finger food year-round, but I think they are especially welcome at Christmas and New Year’s parties.
Mmm. I can imagine them with drinks, salads or thick soups even.
Also, creating these savory treats makes a great project for you and your kids. Just try making them together. I am sure there will be loads and loads of fun.
Here’s what we need.
Yes, this is one of those recipe where you only need very few ingredients.
I am a huge fan of such recipes.
1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the butter, cream cheese, flour, and salt into a bowl.
3. Combine the ingredients by hand just until a nice ball forms.
4. Place the dough onto a well floured surface.
5. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thickness.
If the dough gets too sticky during this process, just use more flour to make the work easier.
6. Now cut the dough into even strips. My ones were 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide and 4 1/2 inches (11 cm) long.
If you want them to look super fancy, use a fluted pastry wheel cutter.
Oh, and it helps a lot if you dip the cutter in flour beforehand.
7. Re-roll any scraps and cut more strips.
8. Lay the strips on the lined baking sheet. Brush them with a lightly beaten egg.
This will make them beautifully golden in color.
9. Lastly, sprinkle each strip with some salt, sesame seeds and cumin.
I only had ground cumin seeds on hand when I was making these cuties. I think that the whole ones would look even better.
10. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy, dear friends!
(This recipe makes about 30 straws and takes 45 minutes to prepare.)
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