Maple and spice christmas cookies

Photographer: adam
Makes around 40 small cookies

Whichever part of the world you are in, if you celebrate Christmas then you are likely to have your own little traditions that you like to revisit each year. Growing up in my family we had a few traditions which we repeated each year.

On Christmas morning we would line up at the hallway door (in order of youngest to oldest) before going in to see the presents beneath the tree, with the specific time set the night before by mum and dad – “not before…”

We also used to leave out milk and cookies on Christmas Eve to refuel Santa on his epic journey – with a carrot for Rudolf too of course, and in the morning there was always an empty glass and crumbs to show he had made his rounds.

This year Fisher & Paykel decided to make it official and help us all to keep a tradition alive by designing a custom glass and cookie cutter for friends and family, along with this Christmas cookie recipe from the blog team.

The recipe is based on a traditional spiced Christmas cookie, with muscovado sugar added to bring a deep richness to the flavour. If you don’t have one of our custom cookie cutters, cutting a small notch in the biscuits will more than suffice to get Santa’s attention.

Merry Christmas and I hope you can keep some tradition alive or start a new one with your friends and family this year!

Tip: Roll the dough out nice and thin to achieve the perfect biscuit crunch!

INGREDIENTS


2 ¾ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
8 tbsp butter, softened
½ cup dark muscovado sugar, packed firmly
1 egg
½ cup maple syrup

METHOD


1. Sieve the flour, baking soda, salt and spices together.
2. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then the maple syrup, whisking well after each.
3. Fold the flour, spices and fresh ginger into the butter mixture. When it starts to come together turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured bench and work with your hands until the dough is without lumps.
4. Wrap in cling-film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 160ºC Fan Bake or 180ºC Bake. Grease and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
6. On a lightly floured bench roll the dough 5mm thick. Transfer this dough onto the lined baking sheet and once again place into the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the sheet from the refrigerator and using your cookie-cutter, cut shapes from the dough. Take off the excess and roll this into a ball — this can be rewrapped and refrigerated for your next batch.
8. Cook for 6-8 minutes then take the tray out and bang it lightly on the bench a few times to flatten the cookies.
9. Place them back in the oven for a further 6-8 minutes then take them off the baking sheet and place onto a wire rack to cool.