Christmas Cookies Gift Idea

• Gingerbread Dough
  Inside the stand mixer, pour the sifted flour and baking soda, add the cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and nutmeg; also add the cold butter cut into pieces. Turn on the stand mixer for a few spins, just enough to create a sandblasting effect. Now also add the honey, egg, and pinch of salt, turn on the stand mixer again at medium speed.

• Try not to overheat the dough; it will be ready once it becomes nice and uniform. If it seems too sticky, add a little more flour; once ready, take it out of the mixer and create a nice compact loaf.
  
  

  

• Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
  After the time has passed, take it out of the fridge and roll out the dough creating a sheet with a thickness of at least 4 mm.
  To make the rolling process as easy as possible, always work your dough on a lightly floured surface, but if you prefer, parchment paper will also work.

  

• Using the cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake in a preheated oven at 340-355°F for 10-15 minutes.
  The cooking time is indicative, always go by your own oven, take the Christmas cookies out of the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack.
  
  To create your Christmas cookies, choose various cutters; you’ll see that your gift will have a great effect, and you can also get creative with the decorations. Choose here the cutters you prefer.

• To start, finely chop the toasted hazelnuts and set them aside for later.
  In the stand mixer with a dough hook, place the butter in pieces with the powdered sugar, salt, and flour, then add the previously chopped hazelnuts.
  Let the ingredients amalgamate and add the eggs with the teaspoon of vanilla.

• When the dough begins to compact and detach from the sides, stop the mixer and remove the dough. Work the shortcrust pastry on a floured work surface until you get a homogeneous and smooth loaf.
  Knead only for the necessary time so as not to overheat the shortcrust pastry. Once ready, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

  

• After the resting time, take the hazelnut shortcrust and on a floured work surface, roll out a dough about 4-5 mm thick. Use cutters to cut the cookies, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in a hot oven at 340-355°F for about 12 minutes until they turn a light golden color.

  Always remember that each dough may have different baking times, so always go by your own oven.

• In a bowl, place the butter with the sugar and vanilla, work the ingredients with a wooden spoon or electric mixer at low speed.
  We need to obtain a somewhat sandy but at the same time homogeneous mixture.
  Also, be careful not to work the ingredients into a cream, as we do when making a cake, otherwise the cookies will puff up during baking.

  

• Once the butter has been well incorporated, add the slightly beaten egg, a little at a time. Let it absorb well and add the flour, now work the dough with your hands.

• If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour, but if it is too dry, add a little lightly beaten egg. Adjust as needed, and in the end, the dough should be nice and compact and easy to roll.
  When rolling, it should not stick to the rolling pin; to facilitate the task, always sprinkle a little flour on the work surface. Roll out a sheet with a thickness of about 5 mm.

  

• Cut the cookies with the desired cutter and place them on a baking sheet previously lined with parchment paper.
  Bake in the oven at 375°F for about 10-12 minutes, always remember that the temperature and baking time is always indicative. Always check the cookies after 10 minutes.

  

• Work with the electric whisk, the egg white with the powdered sugar and lemon drops, whisk until you get a nice smooth and lump-free icing.
  To make it colored, just add a little bit of coloring of your choice,
  transfer the royal icing into a pastry bag and decorate the cookies as you like. Otherwise, you can cover them with sugar paste

• To give our cookies as gifts, we can use Christmas cardboard boxes or tin boxes, I love both. They come in various sizes and with various decorations, with compartments or not. Alternatively, if looking for a more economical method, there are also many food-safe bags decorated with Christmas designs, to be finished with colorful ribbons and a card.
  Another original method is to use glass jars or wooden boxes that will come in handy once the cookies are gone.

  

• I usually buy my gift boxes ahead of time, so I just have the pleasant task of choosing. I leave you with some really interesting proposals you can look here
  
  
  Also, the tin boxes are very beautiful and can be reused for many purposes. A really nice idea is to buy Christmas mugs, there are those big enough for mug cakes. Fill them with cookies and wrap them with transparent paper, then embellish your creations with colorful bows made of cotton or organza.
  The nice thing is that we can prepare the cookies in advance, keep them well sealed in glass jars until it’s time to prepare our little gifts.
  Now let’s choose the dough we prefer and let our imagination run wild for this gift idea and happy snuggling!
  
  
  

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