Christmas Cookies

From shortbread to cheesecake, we have rounded up our favourite Christmas cookie recipes! Pick your favourite below, or try them all this Christmas!

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Makes: approximately 12 cookies (quantity varies depending on size of cookie cutter)

Prep time: 1 ½ hours

Ingredients

  • 300 g (2 cups) white spelt flour
  • 125 g butter
  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) maple syrup
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • berry jam
  • chocolate, melted

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 160 C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  2. Sieve flour into a bowl then rub butter into flour until it resembles fine crumbs.
  3. Add maple syrup and egg and mix well until a firm dough forms.
  4. Wrap in baking paper and allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  5. Roll out on baking paper. Use cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place onto tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool, sandwich together two cookies with berry jam in the middle then coat in melted chocolate and allow to set in fridge overnight.

Christmas Snowballs

Makes: 6 snowball cakes or 12 snowballs

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • 80 g (3/8 cup) rapadura sugar
  • 80 g (2/3 cup) white spelt flour
  • 300 ml (1 carton) cream, whipped
  • 250 ml (1 cup) marmalade or jam of choice
  • 90 g  (1 cup) desiccated coconut)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Separate 4 eggs, retaining the yolks for later, and putting whites into a mixing bowl. Add a large pinch of salt then whisk with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes, until stiff.
  3. Add rapadura sugar and continue to whisk for a further 5 minutes until stiff peaks form.
  4. Continue to whisk, adding one yolk at a time.
  5. Gently fold in flour then transfer mixture to prepared baking tray.
  6. Bake for around 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  7. Allow to cool completely.
  8. For the snowball cakes, use a cookie cutter to cut out 12 sponge discs. Dollop jam on six of the discs and spread evenly before placing the six remaining discs on top. Covering each cake in whipped cream and sprinkle generously with coconut.
  9. For the snowballs, break up the sponge into pieces and place pieces into a large mixing bowl along with marmalade/jam of choice and 250 ml (1 cup) of whipped cream. Stir to combine then roll 1 ½ tbsp size portions into balls and roll in coconut. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

Snowballs

Break up sponge mixture into small pieces. Combine with 1 cup of marmalade or jam of choice and 1 cup of whipped cream. Roll 1 ½ tbsp portions into balls, coat with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Snowball cakes

Using a cookie cutter, cut out 12 sponge discs. Sandwich two discs together with ½ tbsp of marmalade/jam. Coat top and sides with whipped cream then sprinkle with desiccated coconut. Repeat with remaining sponge discs.

Santa Cheesecakes

Makes: 25 Santa Cheesecakes

Prep time: 5 hours (including 1 hour chilling and baking time and 3 hours setting time)

Ingredients

BASE

  • 200 g (2 cups) spelt flour
  • 100 g butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 20 g (2 tbsp) coconut sugar
  • 20 g (3 tbsp) raw cacao powder
  • 1 egg

FILLING

  • 250 g (1 cup) cream cheese
  • 500 ml (2 cups) Greek-style natural yogurt
  • 40 g (1/4 cup) spelt flour
  • 60 g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar, finely ground
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs

TOPPING

  • 25 strawberries, washed and patted dry
  • 300 ml cream, whipped

Method

BASE

  1. Set aside a square cheesecake tin.
  2. Place all ingredients into a high-speed food processor and blitz until a dough forms.
  • Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper until about 3 mm thick.
  • Gently press the cheesecake tin onto the rolled-out dough to mark the shape. Use a knife to cut around the marked shape, remove excess dough, then transfer dough square (still on parchment paper) to cover the bottom of the tin.
  • Place in fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes before adding the filling.

FILLING

  1. Preheat oven to 170 C.
  2. Place all ingredients into a high-speed food processor and blitz until smooth.
  3. Transfer filling onto prepared cheesecake base.
  4. Place cheesecake in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until centre of cheesecake is set.
  5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours before cutting into 25 squares and decorating.

TOPPING

  1. Slice the hull of each strawberry to give a flat base.
  2. Place one on cheesecake square.
  3. Transfer whipped cream to a piping bag and carefully pipe around each strawberry to make the fur of the hat. Finally squeeze a small amount of cream onto the tip of the strawberry. Serve and enjoy!