Here they are, our Christmas Cookies! I promised you, and a promise is a debt! 😀

For our Christmas Cookies this year, we experimented with a new pastry. It’s really good, you know? We made some excellent crumbly ginger-flavored cookies, which we decorated with our water icing, a glaze that, despite its simplicity, always gives us great results (the recipe is HERE).

Initially, I called these Christmas cookies “my cookies,” but it was a gross mistake, which I immediately corrected. Indeed, while it’s true that the dough is mine, the shapes and decorations are entirely the product of my twelve-year-old daughter’s imagination, so these Christmas cookies are rightfully hers too! My daughter is amazing; she loves making decorations and, above all, has a lot of patience! 😀

The following photo is to show you the Santa-shaped cookie in the center of the plate. Look at how patiently Flavia works: she sorts the sprinkles by color and then places them one by one to form the mouth, eyes, mustache, buckle. Such patience… not inherited from me, I assure you! 😅

In past years, I limited myself to making cookies with my classic pastry, but this year I wanted to try something new: using spelt flour, which I have been using frequently lately and it’s giving me great satisfaction, and flavoring the dough with fresh ginger.
I had never made cookies with fresh ginger before, and I wasn’t sure how much to use. I tried with half a teaspoon and it seemed like the right amount; here not everyone likes overly spiced sweets, and I didn’t want to overdo it in this first experiment. Next time I will try with a whole teaspoon, I’m curious to see what difference it could make, but I can recommend the half teaspoon used today with confidence, because the ginger aroma that releases during baking is noticeable and perfumes the kitchen, and when you eat the cookies, the ginger taste is there, but delicate and does not overshadow the good taste of this pastry. So… what can I say… I’m very satisfied with the result! 😀 In fact, the whole family is, given the greed with which these Christmas Cookies have already been devoured! And now… more production is urgently needed! 😋

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For more ideas, below you will find our other Christmas cookies: 👇

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 50 cookies
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Christmas

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup spelt flour
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder (scant)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
1 tbsp milk (or water)
water glaze
colored sprinkles
silver sugar balls

Tools

Cookie Cutters Christmas-themed

Steps

Pour the two flours into a large bowl and make a central well. Add the baking powder.
Add the sugar, egg, softened butter cut into pieces, and grated ginger.
Work with your fingertips until the sugar dissolves and the butter is well mixed. Be careful not to warm the butter, as always when working with pastry.
👉 The dough initially crumbles; I added a tablespoon of cold water (milk works fine too) to help the crumbs stick together, but it’s optional, depending on how the dough presents itself. The possible addition of a little water or milk can depend on the variety of flour used, the egg size, or the total flour amount, as in this case, I used 300 grams of flour instead of the 250 that my basic pastry recipe requires. And it’s a deviation I frequently make with the same amount of sugar and butter, so that extra tablespoon of liquid often helps me. 😉
Once the dough is made, place it in the fridge for about half an hour, then proceed with making the cookies.
Use the cutters you like best and decorate your Christmas Cookies with the water glaze I talked about a few days ago. 🙂
Add colored sprinkles, chocolate buttons, silver balls, in short… decorate your Christmas Cookies according to your imagination and, above all, that of your children!
And if by chance you don’t like the glaze, or if it’s too sweet for you, or if you simply don’t have time or desire to make decorations, I assure you that these Christmas Cookies, made with spelt flour shortcrust pastry and flavored with ginger, are excellent just as they are! Crumbly, light, great dipped in coffee with milk. Try them! 😀
Merry Christmas! 🙂