Grandma’s Christmas Cookies with Dried Fruits and Candied Fruits are rustic-looking cookies that are very tasty and full of flavors, scented with orange and garnished with dark chocolate, almond slivers, and pistachio granules.
They are very simple cookies just like our grandmothers used to make, good to munch on alone or to dip in milk and coffee, but also great accompanied by a cup of tea and perfect for any time of the year.
If you use baking ammonia in the dough, they will be taller and crumblier, with baking powder a bit less.
I recommend trying them; they are really very good and fragrant, and if stored well, they remain crumbly for many days.
I used a square cookie cutter for these cookies, but you can also use a different shape.
TRY THESE RECIPES TOO
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 20
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Grandma’s Christmas Cookies with Dried Fruits and Candied Fruits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6.5 tbsp butter
- 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs)
- 0.5 cup sugar
- 1.75 oz candied orange (or zest of 1 orange)
- 1.75 oz toasted almonds (chopped)
- Half packet baking ammonia (or baking powder)
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1.75 oz dark chocolate
- as needed almond slivers
- as needed pistachio granules
Tools Used
- 1 Blender mixer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Cookie cutter
Steps for Grandma’s Christmas Cookies with Dried Fruits and Candied Fruits
To prepare the cookies, start by roughly chopping the quick candied orange peels (I used my very fragrant ones), set them aside, then proceed with the toasted almonds not very pulverized but roughly, so you can feel them when you bite into a cookie.
If you don’t have candied fruits, use the grated zest of one orange.
The dough can be made by hand in a bowl or with a planetary mixer.
In a bowl, pour the sugar with the softened butter, mix well with a spoon, then add the eggs, beat them well into the mixture.
Add the rest of the ingredients: the chopped almonds and candied zest, mix for a few more minutes, and finally add the baking ammonia dissolved in a tablespoon of milk, don’t be alarmed by the unpleasant smell, it goes away with baking, and finally the sifted flour.
If you don’t have baking ammonia, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of baking powder, but they won’t be as crumbly, tried that myself.
Mix everything well until you get a smooth dough; the dough is a bit sticky, shiny, and oily; if needed, add a bit more flour to work it well, then place it on a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and let it rest in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Not too long, otherwise it becomes too hard to work with.
After resting, take the dough again, preheat the oven to 356°F and keep it warm.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper to a thickness of about 0.4 inches. Cut strips and shape the cookies into the sizes you prefer, mine are 2.5 inches per side, you can use a cookie cutter or a pastry cutter.Place the obtained squares on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them a little apart.
BAKING
Bake Grandma’s Christmas cookies in a preheated oven at 356°F, place the baking sheet in the middle and bake for about 13-15 minutes, checking visually; the cookies should be nice and golden, the baking time varies depending on your oven’s power.
During baking and especially when you open the oven, you’ll smell a pungent odor from the baking ammonia, but don’t worry, once cooked and cooled, the odor evaporates and can’t be detected anymore.
After baking, remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool completely before decorating them.
Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or a few minutes in the microwave, drizzle over each cookie with a syringe, complete with almond slivers and pistachio granules, and let the chocolate set.
Grandma’s Christmas cookies are ready to be enjoyed, but they’re even better and more fragrant after resting!
Also try stracette typical Calabrian cookies, similar to Grandma’s cookies!
Storage and Tips
To maintain the cookies’ crispness, store them airtight in a tin or glass cookie jar; they keep well for many days.
Use fragrant candied fruits and toasted almonds for good cookies.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What if I don’t want candied fruits?
Use more orange zest or half a vial of orange flavor.
Use more orange zest or half a vial of orange flavor.
