Hello lovelies,
For me, one thing which always reminds me of Christmas is cookies! You can guarantee that when November 1st hits, every single supermarket will bring out their Christmas cookie collections.
Me and my family ALWAYS buy boxes of cookies to enjoy on Christmas Day with a nice cuppa tea. Every single year we go for the shortbread cookie box and the chocolate cookie box and it’s become a tradition of ours. I honestly couldn’t imagine Christmas without seeing those boxes on my table Christmas morning.
We usually share a biscuit or two on our ‘break’ from opening presents! You can guarantee that come 8am we’ve got a cuppa tea in our hands and we’ve demolished half of the cookies in each box. ITS THE BEST!
so when deciding what festive blogposts to do this year, it came to my mind to create my own cookie box for my family to enjoy over the festive season!
I wanted to do something a little different from your standard cookies that you get during Christmas and step a little outside the box. These certainly aren’t classed as ‘traditional’ but they are going down a treat and I truly believe there’s a cookie for everyone in today’s cookie box.
Now, today’s post is going to be a long one as I’ll be sharing with you how to make each cookie individually! i didn’t want to just tell you a couple and leave you wondering how to make the rest, so get your cooking gear on and let’s get into the baking…
COOKIE BOX COOKIES!
Lemon Shortbread Ingredients & Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 125g Of Butter, Room Temperature
- 180g Of Plain Flour
- 2tsp Of Lemon Extract
- 65g Of Caster Sugar + Extra For Sprinkling On Top Of Shortbread
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together all your ingredients and equipment, line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 150oC / Gas Mark 2.
- Secondly, in a large bowl cream together the 125g of butter and 65g of caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the 2tsp of lemon extract.
- Next, add in the 180g of plain flour and roughly combine.
- Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough.
- Once the dough is formed, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for around 15 minutes.
- When the 15 minutes is up, remove from your fridge and roll out onto a floured surface to around 3-5mm in thickness.
- Using a cutter of your choice, cut out your shortbread into shapes. Once you’ve got your desired shape, place onto the lines baking tray and using a fork, prick holes into your shapes.
- Sprinkle with sugar and place into the oven for around 12-14 minutes.
- Once cooked, allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing them from tray and placing on a wire rack for further cooling.
Chocolate Orange Shortbread Ingredients & Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 175g Of Unsalted Butter
- 75g Of Caster Sugar
- 235g Of Plain Flour
- 35g Of Cocoa Powder
- 1Tbsp Of Orange Extract
- Bar Of Milk Chocolate
- Terry’s Chocolate Orange
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together all your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C / 160F / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl cream together the 175g of unsalted butter and 75g of caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Next, add in the 235g of plain flour, 35g of cocoa powder and 1tbsp of orange extract and mix together until a dough is formed.
- Dust your work surface with some spare flour and roll out your dough to around 1cm thick.
- Using a round cutter (or any cutter of your choice) cut out the cookies and place onto the baking tray. Keep re-rolling the dough and continue cutting out cookies until the dough is used up.
- Once all your cookies have been cut, place trays into the oven for around 15-18 minutes until baked through (they’ll be relatively firm!).
- When the cookies have been baked, take the trays out the oven and leave cookies to cool on trays for around 5 minutes before transferring them into a wire rack to further cool.
- Once your cookies have completely cooled, in your microwave, melt the bar of milk chocolate and drizzle over half of the cookie.
- Finally, add a Terry’s chocolate orange segment onto each of the cookies for the finishing touch!
White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies:
Ingredients:
- 150g Of Salted, Softened
- 80g Of Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
- 80g Of Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tsp Of Vanilla Extract
- 1 Large Egg
- 225g Of Plain Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 1/4 Tsp Of Salt
- 200g Of White Choc Chips
- 200g Of Cranberry Pieces
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together all your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 190C / Fan 170C / Gas Mark 5.
- Secondly, in a large bowl add the 150g of softened salted butter, 80g of light brown muscovado sugar and 80g of granulated sugar and beat until creamy.
- Beat in the 2tsp of vanilla extract and one egg.
- Now add the 225g of plain flour, 1/2tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 1/4tsp of salt and mix in.
- Add in the 200g of white choc chips and 200g of cranberry pieces and stir well.
- Using a ice cream scoop or teaspoon, make small scopes of the mixture and place onto the lined baking trays making sure to space them apart.
- Now, place in the oven for around 8-10 minutes until they are light brown on the edges and still slightly soft in the centre (if you press them).
- Leave on the tray for a couple of minutes to allow the cookies to set then lift off onto a wire rack to allow further cooling.
Smarties Cookies:
Ingredients:
- 150g Of Salted, Softened
- 80g Of Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
- 80g Of Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tsp Of Vanilla Extract
- 1 Large Egg
- 225g Of Plain Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 1/4 Tsp Of Salt
- Tube Of Smarties
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together all your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 190C / Fan 170C / Gas Mark 5.
- Secondly, in a large bowl add the 150g of softened salted butter, 80g of light brown muscovado sugar and 80g of granulated sugar and beat until creamy.
- Beat in the 2tsp of vanilla extract and one egg.
- Now add the 225g of plain flour, 1/2tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 1/4tsp of salt and mix in.
- Add in the tube of smarties and stir well.
- Using a ice cream scoop or teaspoon, make small scopes of the mixture and place onto the lined baking trays making sure to space them apart.
- Now, place in the oven for around 8-10 minutes until they are light brown on the edges and still slightly soft in the centre (if you press them).
- Leave on the tray for a couple of minutes to allow the cookies to set then lift off onto a wire rack to allow further cooling.
That’s your 5 cookies prepared, cooked, decorated and ready to eat!
I really hope you enjoyed today’s blogpost and it gets you in the spirit to get baking yourself. I feel like these cookies will just be loved by everyone who tries them so I had to share them with you all today!
Sending you all tons of love and hugs as always,
Elle xo
