Snowflake cookies are among the most beautiful and delicate Christmas recipes to prepare this season. Simple, fragrant, and wonderful, they remind us of classic gingerbread cookies and traditional Christmas cookies. Perfect to give as gifts in transparent bags with a nice bow or to use as place settings on the holiday table.
The recipe is really easy: a crumbly and fragrant vanilla shortcrust pastry, covered with water icing and decorated with small silver sugar balls. Few ingredients and a refined effect that always conquers.
I recommend preparing the cookies the day before so that they are well chilled, and making the water icing only at the time of use to prevent it from drying out.
So, shall we prepare them together? Christmas is coming, and these cookies cannot be missing from our table!
If you try my recipe, share it on my social media: I would love to see your creations.
See you soon, Susy!
I also leave you the recipes for:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 16
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's Eve
- Energy 174.35 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 27.18 (g) of which sugars 16.15 (g)
- Proteins 2.16 (g)
- Fat 6.87 (g) of which saturated 4.34 (g)of which unsaturated 2.44 (g)
- Fibers 0.34 (g)
- Sodium 29.70 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 28 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Snowflake Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg (medium size)
- 1 pod vanilla (seeds)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup vanilla powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- as needed sugar pearls (silver)
Tools
- Bowl
- Baking tray
- Cookie cutter
- Hand whisk small
Prepare the Snowflake Cookies
In a bowl, place the butter, sugar, and vanilla pod seeds. Work with your hands until you obtain a creamy and well-blended mixture.
Add the egg and incorporate it, then add the flour and a pinch of salt. Knead quickly, just long enough to obtain a compact dough.
Wrap the shortcrust pastry in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours: this step is important to cool the dough and make it more elastic.After the resting time, roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured pastry board, with a rolling pin, to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
With the cookie cutter, cut out the snowflake shapes, recombining the leftover dough each time to get more cookies until the dough is used up.
Place the cookies on a tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a static oven at 340°F for 13-15 minutes, until they are lightly golden.
Once baked, turn them gently in the tray to color them evenly and let them cool completely.Prepare the water icing by pouring the powdered sugar into a small bowl and adding two tablespoons of water. Mix with a fork, or better with a small hand whisk, until you obtain a smooth and lump-free mixture.
When the cookies are completely cool, ice and decorate the surface: dip each cookie in the icing, add the silver sugar pearls and let them dry on a wire rack.
Once dry, the snowflake cookies are ready to be enjoyed or packaged in transparent bags for Christmas.
Storage and Useful Tips
I store the snowflake cookies in a tin box or an airtight container: they remain crumbly and fragrant for 4-5 days.
I recommend arranging them in layers, separating them with a sheet of parchment paper to avoid damaging the icing.
For a more fragrant version, you can add a pinch of cinnamon or grated orange zest to the dough.
If you want a gluten-free alternative, you can use a mix of gluten-free pastry flours, the result will still be excellent.
These cookies are also perfect as a homemade Christmas gift: just package them in transparent bags and add a nice red ribbon to make them even more special.
