These spiced Christmas cookies without butter are a must for the holiday season, offering a perfect combination of lightness and flavor. After years of pandoro and ricotta truffles, homemade chocolates or nuts stuffed with mascarpone and chocolate, this year I’ve chosen to make something simpler and more genuine. With a delicate mix of spices like cinnamon and star anise, each cookie is an explosion of warm and enveloping aromas, perfect for accompanying a cup of tea or coffee on cold winter days, also ideal as an after-meal treat.
A recipe with a spicy touch that speaks of tradition…the kind we seek at Christmas!
See you in the next recipe!!!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, Christmas
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 tsp star anise (ground)
- 2 tsps cinnamon (ground)
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Tools: spiced Christmas cookies
- Bowl
- Electric whisk
- Embossed rolling pin
- Christmas cookie cutters
- Pastry board
- Baking tray
Recipe: spiced Christmas cookies
Fragrant, delicious, irresistible…and without butter!
In a bowl, beat 2 eggs with an electric whisk until they become frothy.
Add the sugar and sifted flour mixed with a packet of baking powder, then mix.
Work the dough well, even with your hands, until you get a smooth ball.
If desired, to make part of the cookies dark, you can add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to half of the dough.
Now spread a sheet of parchment paper, flour it and place the dough on it, sprinkle more flour on the surface and place another sheet of parchment paper on top.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 0.8 inches (don’t make it thinner, otherwise the cookies will be too dry).
Remove the top parchment paper and pass the decorated rolling pin over the dough, then use Christmas cookie cutters to cut out cookies until the dough is used up.
Take a baking tray, grease it, and sprinkle with ground anise and cinnamon.
Arrange the cookies, spacing them slightly apart, and bake in the oven at 356°F for 2 minutes, then lower the temperature to 302°F and continue for another 10 minutes (always check the baking time as it can vary from oven to oven).
Remove from the oven and let cool on a cookie rack.
Can you smell the cinnamon and anise? These are the freshly baked spiced cookies, a unique delight that I’m sure will win you over immediately. Fragrant, simple, and in Christmas shapes, these butter-free treats will accompany you throughout the holidays.
Storage and tips
Storage: these cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Tips: I recommend maintaining the thickness of the dough when rolling it out and not going below 0.8 inches, otherwise these cookies, being butter-free, will tend to become less crumbly.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
I can’t find ground anise, what can I do?
You can take whole star anise and proceed as follows:
cut the spice into smaller pieces, then crush it in a mortar or better yet, grind it in a coffee grinder.
Can I make these cookies with shortcrust pastry as well?
Sure, you can also use classic shortcrust pastry and proceed to flavor the cookies as indicated in the recipe. Here’s my shortcrust pastry recipe and if you want to try the flavored version, here you can find the cinnamon shortcrust pastry.
