One of my favourite Christmas albums is Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong. You can listen to the title track here. She released the album in October 2006, and every Christmas I dig up the disc. The whole album has a peaceful and reflective feeling, and no matter what's going on around me, it makes me slow down and breathe. I decided it was the perfect accompaniment for baking some Christmas cookies. Check out this sneak peak.
Here's my recipe:
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
(I used freshly grated nutmeg - Yum!)
1/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 egg
6 Tbsp butter (softened... leave it sitting on the counter the night before)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla
Throw all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them well with a fork.
In another bowl, beat the egg, butter & sugar until smooth. Add molasses and vanilla and mix well.
Slowly add the dry mix into the wet mix, stirring with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Use your hands to form a ball of dough, wrap it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4" thickness.
Use an assortment of cookie cutter shapes to cut out your cookies.
Place on a baking sheet (fitted with parchment paper). Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Remove cookies from baking sheet and put on cooling rack to cool.
You can serve them up plain, or you can add a little frosting to jazz them up.
Quick Frosting:
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup icing sugar
Beat the egg white with an electric mixer for about 4-5 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Add vanilla and mix. Slowly add the icing sugar, beating for another 3-4 minutes until glossy.
To decorate, use a piping bag (or a ziploc, with the tip cut).
I also used some silver dragees to add a little sparkle. You can find them at most grocery stores or perhaps a bakery. I was surprised to find them at our local HEB down the street.
Baking Christmas cookies is even more fun when you do it together. Here is my nephew cutting out cinnamon stars to bake in the oven. He's a pro!
The Cinnamon Stars comes from my Dr. Oetker "German Baking Today" cookbook from my mum. (It's a must-have!). The cookies are gluten-free and extremely delicious!
Here is the recipe. We found the dough a bit sticky, so we added an extra cup of ground nuts. After most of the stars stuck to the counter, we decided to just made little balls (much easier to make and much easier to eat, too!)
We also made these "No Bake Chocolate Chia Power Balls" from The Honour System.
They were also extremely sticky, and I was very happy to have help making these! My mother-in-law mixed the dough (she recommends a wooden spoon as it gets very tough to stir) and my sister-in-law helped to roll the balls (she suggests washing or wetting your hands every so often, to avoid getting your hands too gooey).
Another lovely addition is chocolate coated dried apricots, inspired by my sister. They add a beautiful bright colour to the plate, and they're easy to make. Just melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or baking chocolate) on the stove-top, and dip the apricots in to coat them. You can use a double-boiler or small metal bowl, over a small pot of lightly boiling water. Be careful to avoid getting any water droplets in the chocolate, or it will harden/seize.
Lay the chocolate-coated apricots on a plate covered with wax paper or parchment paper and leave them in the fridge for an hour or until the chocolate is set.
Merry Christmas from our family to you!
