Growing up, my siblings and I had a more spiritual approach to Christmas. But we also knew that in other parts of the world, it was a time when those who didn’t, took time to enjoy the company of family and friends as well as exchange gifts.
Over time, this as well as other traditions have been blended into our Christmas holidays. One of which is my daughters and I making these almond Christmas cookies with chocolate.
What started as a desire to make Christmas cookies, turned into an experiment to give them an almond flavor which then bore a curiosity of what they might taste like dipped in chocolate.
But what I came to realize is that hidden behind that chocolate curiosity, there may have been a wish to make decorated Christmas cookies that didn’t include royal icing.
Ouch yes, I know I am breaking tradition here. But I wanted to make Christmas cookies that weren’t overly sweet which is what sadly, royal icing is all about. But other than that, I am not the best at decorating cookies but wanted them to be just as festive. And knowing that I wasn’t alone in this royal icing non-decorating pool of home bakers– I figure why not dunk the Almond Christmas cookies in chocolate and use that to decorate instead? So here goes…
How to Make Almond Christmas Cookies With Chocolate
Step 1: Cream the softened (not melted) and caster sugar until the butter turns pale and is of a creamy consistency.
Step 2: Add in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract then whisk only until incorporated.
Step 3: Sift the flour, almond flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt over the butter mixture.
Use a spatula to combine, then whisk using a hand/stand mixer on low speed, then once most of the flour is incorporated, mix on medium speed just until there are no flour pockets on the bottom of the bowl.
Step 4: Divide the cookie dough into 2. You need to roll out each portion into 1/2 inch thick, so prepare 2 sheets of parchment paper and put the dough in the middle. Use your hands to shape it into a ball then cover it with the other parchment paper, and roll it out. When done, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Lightly dust your working surface with some flour then very gently peel off the parchment paper from the cookie dough.
Brush some flour onto the dough and flip it onto your working surface as you peel the other side of the parchment paper off and lightly dust it with flour then roll it to a thickness of 1/4 inch before cutting out the shapes and placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Let the cutout cookies rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. Roll the leftover bits of cut-out pieces of dough into a ball and store it in between parchment paper as you did before to be used for more cookies.
Step 6: preheat the oven to 175°C /347°F for at least 5 minutes before taking the cookies out of the fridge. Bake for 13-14 minutes making sure to rotate the baking tray halfway through for even baking and browning.
Step 7: Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or over a bain-marie while the cookies cool. Then dip the completely cooled cookies into the dark chocolate and leave them over a wire rack. While they set, start melting the white/milk chocolate if using then proceed to decorate your cookies.
Store your Almond Christmas cookies with chocolate in an airtight container preferably in the fridge.
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Almond Christmas cookies with chocolate
(+5 rating, 1 votes)
Loading...These Almond Christmas cookies with chocolate are snappy, not overly sweet with a slight tang from the cream of tartar and the chocolate just wraps it up to another level. The perfect addition to your homemade Christmas gift bag.
Ingredients
- FOR THE COOKIES
- 227g unsalted softened butter
- 236g granulated sugar
- 1 medium egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 90g almond flour
- 277g plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- FOR THE DECORATION
- 250g chocolate of your choice (milk, dark or dark chocolate)
- 150 chocolate to be used for decoration
Instructions
Cream the softened butter and caster sugar until the butter turns pale and is of a creamy consistency.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract then whisk only until incorporated.
Sift the flour, almond flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt over the butter mixture. Whisk with the stand mixer on low speed, then once most of the flour is incorporated, mix on medium speed just until there are no flour pockets on the bottom of the bowl.
Divide the cookie dough into 2. You need to roll out each portion into 1/2 inch thick, so prepare 2 sheets of parchment paper and put the dough in the middle. Use your hands to shape it into a ball then cover it with the other parchment paper, and roll it out. When done, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Lightly dust your working surface with some flour then very gently peel off the parchment paper from the cookie dough.
Brush some flour onto the dough and flip it onto your working surface as you peel off the other side of the parchment paper and lightly dust it with flour before cutting out the shapes and placing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Let the cutout cookies rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 175°C/347°F for at least 5 minutes before taking the cookies out of the fridge. Bake for 13-14 minutes making sure to rotate the baking tray halfway through for even baking and browning.
Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or over a bain-marie while the cookies cool. Then dip the completely cooled cookies into the dark chocolate and leave them over a wire rack. While they set, start melting the white/milk chocolate is using then proceed to decorate your cookies.
Store them in an airtight container preferably in the fridge.
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