Is it too early? Yes?
But if you’re reeeaaally honest with yourself, can it ever be too early for Christmas cookies?
No.
Today my friend told me the Christmas market is already open, so it’s more than legit to post this. Yes, it is.
Also, I didn’t really bake these already. The photos are from last year. I didn’t post them then because it was nearly Christmas and I mean, how completely not cool is it to post recipes for Christmas when you know no one will try them because their homes are already stuffed to the top with endless stacks of Christmas cookies? Right. Not cool at all. Now, guys, you have about one month left to try three of the most delicious Christmas cookie recipes on the whole planet. Not exaggerating here. You have to try them! They might be a little more fuss than your regular sugar cookie-cutter stuff, but who is gonna eat these anyway? Except the kids? No one.
And look how beautiful they are.
Haaaaww, can you feel the Christmas spirit? I even made the tiniest Christmas tree last year and put the tiniest fairy lights on it. And a teensy handmade, gold-plated star. Isn’t that awesome? Yeah I know.
As for the cookies: The vanilla cookies (Vanillkipferl) recipe is the best. My mom used to make them since… always. And hey, you really get to appreciate good Christmas cookies as you get older. When I was little, I only liked the sugar cookies (which were boots, mushrooms, and particularly Christmas-y elephants) and the ones with lots of jam on top.
My friend gave me the recipe for chocolate crescents, it’s one her mom always makes and it’s unbelievable. You have to grate the chocolate yourself, which might get a little tricky as it tends to melt and break and then you probably end up getting really frustrated so you swear to yourself never to make Christmas cookies again and just dump this sh… stuff. And then you taste these divine cookies and you immediately admit that it was worth every effort. Alternatively, if you succeeded to get your boyfriend in for the fun, you can simply let him grate the chocolate and address yourself to one of the other two recipes. Just tell him that grating chocolate is a much less complicated task than beating egg whites to a perfect stiffness. Not that I have ever done that. I just think it would be convenient.
Finally, the coconut mountains (or Kokosmakronen if your German)! I don’t have much to say there, they’re simply divine. Perfect consistency. Not as dry as other recipes because of the cream cheese, and if you feel like it, you can additionally dip them in melted dark chocolate. Believe me, you will feel like it.
Just one request: Please use vanilla beans, real vanilla paste, homemade or Bourbon vanilla sugar (you know, the one you can see those little dots in). No vanilla flavorings, no extracts (ideally) and, for heaven’s sake, no regular vanilla sugar (which only contains artificial flavors as well). Thank you.
Oh, and I’m very sorry to tell you, but Bourbon doesn’t have to to anything with booze. It’s French, ah oui. Stands for Île Bourbon, how Réunion was once called. If you insist, you can pretend you didn’t read this and keep using Whisky, of course. I won’t judge you.
Happy Baking! Have a wonderful pre-Christmas season :)
(yields about 40)
| ingredients: | directions: |
| 100g ground almonds 60g grated dark chocolate (not cocoa!) 150g flour pinch of salt 50g sugar real vanilla 100g butter (little flakes) 1 egg yolk |
Combine all ingredients, knead by hand and form two rolls. Pop the rolls into the fridge for one hour. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).Meanwhile, cut the rolls into even disks, form crescents and bake them for 10 to 15 minutes in your preheated oven. Immediately but carefully take them off the baking sheet so they don’t burn. Let them cool, then dip the ends in melted dark chocolate. |
(yields about 30)
| ingredients: | directions: |
| 4 egg whites pinch of salt 150g powdered sugar 65g cream cheese real vanilla 250g coconut flakes |
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Mix egg whites and salt, then beat together with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Form blobs (I don’t know a nicer word) of the coconut meringue with two spoons on a baking sheet, one generously heaped table spoon each. Bake them for 15 to 20 minutes, let them cool and dip the bottoms in melted dark chocolate (optional, but highly recommended). |
(yields two baking sheets)
| ingredients: | directions: |
| for the cookies: 280g flour 80g sugar 200g butter (flakes) real vanilla or bourbon vanilla sugar 100g ground almonds for the coating: |
Knead all the ingredients by hand, form rolls and pop them into the fridge for one hour. Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Cut the rolls into even disks, form crescents if you want to (or rather: if you’re not as lazy as me). Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar together and put the coating into a bowl. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, then immediately and very carefully take them off the baking sheet and roll them in the sugar coating while they’re still hot, so that they’re generously covered. |
Here, have a completely blurred photo of me proudly presenting my Christmas cookies, because I was alone and it was getting dark and no one helped me. :(
Cream and Roses 