CHRISTMASSY BUTTER COOKIES

This has been an amazing, exciting, super busy month. I am surprised I am sitting and calmly banging away at the key-board and my brain dares to think a thought. The long list of to-do baking grows longer with each passing year as requests and orders keep pouring in and closer to the holidays some genius decides on making my life more exciting by ordering 20 kgs of fruit cake, 15 kgs of cookies and so on ….mind you, I am not complaining because pressure, planner and performer are my three aliases and I thrive, thrive, thrive on all 3. One complements the other in my life. Under pressure an eerie calm takes over my mind and I become this insane planner and then after the meticulous planning I execute/perform with the precision of an executioner, ticking the orders off the board! So dear reader my philosophy is simple, “No pressure, No performance”. I just got the last of the big deliveries off my living room sofa and now that I reclaimed my place to sit….I decided to Blog!

I have decided to share the easiest recipes out of my Christmas favourites for 2 simple reasons – I can rattle off the ingredients without referring to my little black book and secondly, the only pics I managed to get are of the cookies! (LOL). 🙂

The cookies are sweet with a hint of salt, ginger and cinnamon. The spices are so subtle that they are barely there. The dough rolls out well after a few hours of refrigeration, but if you are in a hurry feel free to make small balls and flatten them between your palms. The shaped cookies are unbeatable.

This recipe can’t go wrong unless you don’t know the meaning of flour, butter, sugar and spice. Now the 2 men are pros at making the dough too and handling the beater and of course packaging. The 2 handsome menials have earned their medals and will be rewarded with a boxful of cookies and brownies when the “masterbaker” finishes her many other commitments. What would I have done without their supreme packaging ideas (which were flung out the window) and their ribbon tying and sticking skills which I humbly and gratefully accept. 🙂

Just in case I don’t manage to get in another post before the year ends, my heartfelt Thank yous to all those people out there who step into my little space and leave me with encouraging words and Likes. May God’s Love, Kindness and blessings touch each one of you. Happy Holidays and Sweet Endings and Sweeter Beginnings!

RECIPE

CHRISTMASSY BUTTER COOKIES

1/2 kg all-purpose flour plus a little more for rolling

360 grams Butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 heaped teaspoon dried ginger powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

• Sift together, flour, salt, ginger powder and cinnamon and baking powder. Keep aside.

• In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and thoroughly incorporated.

• Add in egg and beat. Mix in vanilla and continue beating.

• Add in the dry ingredients in 3-4 batches and beat well after each addition. Add the last batch and mix together with a wooden spoon. Remove on a lightly floured surface and bring the dough together. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add a tablespoon of flour and knead it in.

• Cover with cling wrap and chill for atleast an hour in the fridge.

• Preheat the oven too 180^oC. Roll out the dough on a well floured surface and using Christmas themed cutters, cut out the cookies.

• Lay them out on a well greased baking sheet, 1” apart and bake for 14- 15 minutes until golden around the edges. After 10 minutes of baking, change tray position up to down and front to back, to ensure even baking.

• Remove from the oven, let cool in tin for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling mat or wire rack. They keep well in an air-tight container for 6-7 days (if they last that long). If you want to bake fresh cookies it’s a good idea to wrap the dough and freeze it. Remove from freezer, thaw and use.