Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

Christmas is around the corner… days are getting busier and shorter… evenings with friends and family… catching up with loved ones after a long time… reminiscing memories of previous Christmas… drinking wine and creating more memories with your loved ones… spreading your share of kindness and love around you…. isn’t this the best season? For various reasons this season brings out the best in everyone… the contagious feeling of love and kindness is in the air…. If only this could remain forever!!

I have fond memories of my mom baking away as Christmas is approaching… the aroma from the kitchen just filled my home with joy! And I am so blessed to carry out this tradition….Thumb print cookies are very popular and easy to make if you plan ahead. It’s a favorite of mine and they make great Christmas gifts once they are packaged well.

 

 

 

I managed to bake two batches so far and I enjoyed making these buttery treats with my 6 year old for my loved ones.... So here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy baking them!

I adapted this recipe from here with a little variation.


Makes : 36 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4cup  granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam

Icing

• 1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) cream or milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep it aside.

2. In medium bowl mix together flour, Baking powder and salt and set it aside.

3. With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and continue to beat. Then add flour mixture half cup until fully combined. Then add the rest of the flour till dough is formed and for this step I used my hand in order to bind it well. If the dough is still too sticky add a little more flour to smoothen it out.

4. Chill this dough for at least 3 hours.

5. Before you start making the cookies, leave it out for some time it’s just about to soften up.

6. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into small circles till they are nice and smooth. Lightly press your thumb in the center of each ball. If the dough cracks, smoothen it with your fingers and place it on the lined baking sheet. Fill each indentation with a teaspoon of jam.

7. Bake the cookies for 15 - 20 minutes till it’s slightly golden at the edges. Do not over bake.

8. Allow the cookies to cool for 30 minutes before glazing.

9. Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk all the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Add more milk to thin out if needed or sugar to thicken. Drizzle it over the cooled cookies with a spoon. The glaze will quickly set in 15minutes.

 

 

 

the cookies are packed in this cute tin to gift!

Tips:

• Cookie dough must be chilled and can be made overnight. It can also be frozen for 2 months.

• Choose any flavor of jam.

• Instead of jam you can use chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.

• These cookies can be refrigerated in a tight box.                                                                                                              

 

Happy Holidays and Happy Baking!!!

All images are clicked by me







 

Baking Memories: Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

There was a lot to celebrate last weekend. It started off with our traditional harvest festival called Onam, followed by my wedding anniversary and my daughter’s birthday. Days are passing by so fast and our routine and lifestyle are getting hectic …And I keep reminding myself to slow down to make memories for my little princess, which will last for a lifetime. And she is growing up so fast!! I remind myself to take time and focus on life’s simple pleasures, which is just enough to create an everlasting bond with my daughter.

So last weekend we created some baking memories. My five year old decided to bake some sugar cookies. So we got down to it and decided to give away these cookies as a token of appreciation to the kids who came to celebrate her birthday. We ended up having a fabulous time and I enjoyed watching her excitement.

Baking these cookies are absolutely stress free… you just need to plan ahead… and get your ingredients ready! So here goes the recipe

Serves 20
 
Ingredients

• 90g unsalted butter softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 1  egg      
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 200g plain flour
• ½tsp baking powder
• ½tsp Salt

Method

In a bowl sieve together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl whisk butter and sugar till pale. And then beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Add the flour to the butter mix till dough is formed. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C. Roll the dough out on a floured surface

Cut out the cookies with different shaped cutters and transfer these on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Roll up the trimmings and repeat the steps above to make more cookies.

Bake these for 8 to 12 minutes until golden. And then transfer them on a wire sheet to cool before icing.

 

Sugar icing

This icing is super fast and easy and you just need two ingredients! It gives a perfect glaze for your cookies

·         1 Cup Powdered Sugar

·         4 tsp Milk

Method for Sugar Icing

1.      Mix the powdered sugar and milk with fork till smooth. If you like thinner consistency you can add more milk or thicker by adding powdered sugar.

2.      You can also add food colour to the icing and pipe in a icing bag and decorate the cookie or use a knife or spoon to spread the icing.

3.      Immediate after spreading the icing, add sprinkles right away as the icing will begin to dry immediately.

4.      Once the icing on the cookies is set, you can start to pack them in cute give-away boxes or store them for yourself.

 

Packed in small gift bags



and packed in good bags that I made from brown paper bag, ribbon and doily

 

I hope you get to create some baking memories with your loved one!!! And I would love to hear about your baking adventures.

 

 

Images are clicked by me

 

 

 

Recipe for the month: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had the most unexpected rewarding experience recently when my 4 year old offered to help me bake cookies!!! She was keen to learn, offered to add ingredients and had fun mixing. And the look of accomplishment on her face melted my heart…And surprisingly I was laughing at the whole mess created in the kitchen … truly a messy and pivotal moment!  This brought back a lot of nostalgic memories of childhood … remembered how I used to offer to help mom to make cookies… and afterwards licking the mixing bowl! I hope to continue to experience this with my 4 year old as she grows up and give her some beautiful memories to cherish.

Cookies are fun and comforting to bake, easy to carry while traveling and great to gift.  This chocolate chip cookie recipe by far is the closest to the subway cookie texture… soft and chewy… the kind that melts in your mouth.

my 4 year old kept these out assuming she may need these cookie cutters ;)

 

 

at this stage she found it hard to mix as the dough starts getting thick and heavy

 

 

 

 

As soon the cookies were baked and out of the oven, and in 5 mins it started mysteriously disappearing one by one!! Click here for the recipe and it gives a detailed instruction. It's from a great food blog called Sally's Baking Addiction. Enjoy baking these awesome cookies!!

 

Images are clicked by me