European Christmas Cookies
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European Christmas Cookies 10 EASY & DELICIOUS RECIPES ! INTERNATIONALDESSERTSBLOG.COM COPYRIGHT © 2019 INTERNATIONAL DESSERTS BLOG All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including by photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Got a question? Email Cate at [email protected] Welcome! Nothing gets me into the holiday When I can't celebrate the holidays spirit like baking Christmas cookies in Europe, making European for family and friends. Christmas cookies is the next best thing! I love how warm and cozy my house feels when I've got a batch of The recipes in this ebook use simple Swedish Dream Cookies, Speculaas ingredients and most are easy to Spice Palmiers or Finnish Pinwheels whip up. Your friends and family will in the oven! love them (and you). Mmmmmm... Happy Holidays! I’ve celebrated Christmas in Europe Cate several times (Germany, where I used to live, as well as Ireland and P.S. Click here for ebook bonus Switzerland) and it's my favorite resources! time of year to visit. The lights, outdoor markets, mulled wine...I love it all. INTERNATIONALDESSERTSBLOG.COM Table ofContents 07 A USTRI A N 08 CRO A TI A N 09 FINNISH 10 SPECUL AA S 11 GERM A N V A NILL A C O C O N U T PINWHEELS SPICE R U M B A LLS CRESCENTS B A LLS P A LMIERS 12 G R E E K 13 ICEL A NDIC 14 IT A LI A N 15 POLISH 16 SWEDISH HONEY CORNFL A KE CHRISTM A S KOL A CZKI DRE A M S P I C E COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES Don't Forget Your Bonus Resources! Get a printable shopping list, recipe notes, and even more delicous recipes! Click here! Austrian Vanilla Crescents The key to shaping these delicious cookies is to keep the dough very cold. SERVINGS: 2 DOZEN PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES BAKE TIME: 15 MINUTES INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold 1 Preheat oven to 325 F / 160C. 5 Place cookies on a prepared cookie sheet and 1 1/4 cup (150g) all-purpose flour bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 1 egg yolk 2 Cut cold butter into small cubes and place in a 1 tsp vanilla extract food processor with the flour. Pulse until it forms 6 In a small, wide bowl combine powdered sugar 1/2 cup (50g) almond meal crumbs. Place in the freezer to keep very cold. and vanilla sugar. (Click here to learn how easy it is 5 Tbsp (35g) powdered sugar to make vanilla sugar.) 1/8 tsp salt 3 In a large bowl lightly beat egg yolk and vanilla. Take butter crumbs out of the freezer and it to the 7 Let cookies cool for a few minutes, then dip in the For the cookie coating: bowl, along with the almond meal, powdered sugar, powdered sugar. Coat well. Let cookies cool before 1/2 cup powdered sugar and salt. Stir until a dough forms. Knead dough a serving. 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar (get the recipe here) few times to ensure everything is well combined. TIPS 4 Place one half of the dough in the fridge. Take the other half and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each I buy almond meal at Trader Joe's. Click here for a video showing how to piece into a sausage shape, tapering the ends shape these cookies, make homemade slightly as you round dough into a half-moon shape. vanilla sugar, and other cookie baking tips! If dough becomes sticky and hard to shape, put it in the fridge for a few minutes. 07 Croatian Coconut Balls You won't be able to stop eating these easy no bake treats! SERVINGS: 2 DOZEN PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES CHILL TIME: 1-24 HOURS INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS 1 cup (60 g) butter 1 Heat butter, water, and sugar in a saucepan over 1/2 cup (60ml) water medium heat and bring to a boil. 3/4 cup (150g) sugar 1 cup (125g) powdered milk, sifted 2 Simmer for 5 minutes. Then set aside to cool for a 2 Tbsp vanilla extract bit. 1 cup (100g) unsweetened desiccated coconut, divided 3 Add powdered milk, vanilla, and half of the 24 hazelnuts, toasted shredded coconut. Stir until thoroughly combined. TIPS 4 Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer you chill the mixture, the easier it will be to roll into Store in an airtight container in the fridge. balls. I found chilling overnight works the best. Click here for recipe tips! 5 Roll the mixture into 24 small balls and press a hazelnut into the center. Roll each ball in the rest of the shredded coconut. 08 Finnish Pinwheels Get the whole family making these festive Finnish treats on Christmas morning! SERVINGS: 12 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES BAKE TIME: 15 MINUTES INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS 1 sheet puff pastry 1 Heat oven to 425 F / 215C. 12 tsp jam, one per pinwheel Powdered sugar for coating 2 Thaw and unfold puff pastry. TIPS 3 Cut pastry sheet into 12 squares of equal size. These delightful treats are best enjoyed 4 Spoon 1 tsp jam into the middle of each square. the day they're made. Use your favorite flavor(s) of jam. 5 Cut and fold pastry as demonstrated in the Click here for recipe tips! photos to make pinwheel shape. 6 Transfer to lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. 7 Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes. Then dust with powdered sugar. 09 Speculaas Spice Palmiers I love the flavor that Dutch speculaas spice adds to these easy French cookies! SERVINGS: 12 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES BAKE TIME: 15 MINUTES INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS 1 sheet puff pastry 1 Heat oven to 425F / 215C. 1 Tbsp sugar 3 tsp speculaas spice mix (get the recipe here) 2 Thaw and unroll puff pastry sheet. TIPS 3 Sprinkle sugar and speculaas spice mix on pastry sheet. (Click here for my speculass spice mix You can use cinnamon in place of the recipe.) speculaas spice. Click here to get the recipe for speculaas 4 Roll ends of dough towards the middle until they spice mix. meet in the middle. I rarely measure the ingredients for palmiers. I just eyeball it and they always 5 Cut into 12 slices. Transfer to a lined cookie taste great! sheet. Click here for recipe tips! 6 Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 10 German Rum Balls These scrumptious no bake chocolate treats can be made with or without hazelnuts. SERVINGS: 24 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES CHILL TIME: 30 MINUTES DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS 7 oz (200g) high quality chocolate, mix of milk 1 Melt chocolate in the microwave or in a double 6 Stir in hazelnuts (optional). and dark boiler. Set aside to cool. 7 Tbsp (100 g) butter, room temperature 7 Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 2 Tbsp cacao powder, sifted 2 In a mixing bowl cream butter until light and 3/4 cup (75g) powdered sugar fluffy. 8 Roll into 24 balls and then in cocoa powder or 2 Tbsp rum (or 1 Tbsp rum extract) chocoalte sprinkles. 7 oz (200g) hazelnuts, ground (optional) 3 Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar into the cocao powder or chocolate sprinkles butter and beat until well combined. 4 Add rum and stir. I recommend adding the rum a TIPS little at a time and then tasting in order to ensure you achieve your ideal flavor intensity. Not a fan of rum? Start with a small amount and add to taste. 5 Add cooled melted chocolate. Beat until Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. everything is well combined. Be sure to scrape Click here for recipe tips! down the sides of the bowl a few times. 11 Greek Honey Spice Cookies If you like baklava you'll love these cookies! SERVINGS: 2 1/2 DOZEN PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES BAKE TIME: 15 MINUTES INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour 1 Heat oven to 350 F / 175C. 7 Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge 1 tsp cinnamon for 30 minutes. 1/2 tsp ground cloves 2 Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp baking soda baking powder. Set aside. 8 Roll dough into small balls and place on a lined 1 tsp baking powder cookie sheet. Bake 15-18minutes or until golden 4 Tbsp (110g) softened butter 3 Beat softened butter, olive oil, and sugar on brown. Cool cookies on a cooling rack. 1/2 cup (115 ml) extra virgin olive oil medium high for 5 minutes until thick and creamy. I 3/4 cup (170g) sugar like to use a stand mixer for this. 9 Heat sugar, water, and honey over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Let cool. 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice 4 Mix egg yolks and orange juice together in a 1 tsp orange zest small bowl. Add to the butter and beat on low until 10 When cookies are cool to the touch, dip both 1/2 tsp honey combined. sides in the syrup. Then, carefully dip the top of Finely crushed walnuts each cookie in the crushed walnuts. Top with extra For the Syrup 6 Add dry ingredients a little at a time until orange zest.