This is Lily’s first Christmas, so it’s really brought the magic back for me.
It’s made me want to snuggle up, stay home and feather our nest.
To renew old traditions, like putting our stockings up on Christmas eve and listening to mum read The Night Before Christmas before trundling off to our beds. But also to create some new ones of our own.
My husband is Dutch, so Lily is a bit too, and I felt I should bring a little Dutch magic into the house. There are little blue and white canal houses dotted throughout our stubbornly English townhouse, I have candlelit ones for Christmas and Dutch ceramic ornaments for the tree.
When I spotted Tessa’s Dutch stamped cookies, I thought they’d be just the thing for everyone to enjoy while hanging ornaments. Mine are far less glamorous than Tessa’s, let’s be generous and call them rustic!
I looked everywhere for her old wooden stamps, but had no luck so chose something more simple.
Simple enough that Lily and her friends can help me next year!
I used stamps to make my biscuits, but you could also just roll them out and use cutters if you prefer.
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To make about 20 cookies you’ll need:
245g (2cups) plain flour
145g (10tbsp) softened salted butter (use unsalted if you prefer, but the salt really boosts the almond flavour and stops them being too sweet)
115g (1/3cup) marzipan
50g (1/4cup) caster sugar
1tsp almond extract
1tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
Non-stick baking sheet
Preheat your oven to 150c/300f. Beat together your butter, marzipan, sugar, egg yolk and extracts (a kitchen aid really comes in handy here! ) until creamy. Mix in your flour until it all comes together as a dough. Then you’ll want to scoop 1 tablespoon amounts into little balls and place them on your baking sheet.
Leave enough room for them to be squished!
Don’t worry if you have dough left over, you can bake in batches.
Dust your stamp with some flour and push down onto the cookie dough ball, until you see little bits trying to escape at the edge.
You can trim these bits off if you’re striving for perfection. I prefer the decidedly homemade look.
Keep going until all of your balls have been thoroughly squished.
Bake in the middle of your oven for 15mins, or until very slightly golden around the edges.
You want them quite pale and buttery.
Cool on a wire rack while you cook the next batch!
Sneak at least one for the chef while you wait, you deserve it!
Stack onto a big plate.
Serve with tea, coffee, chilled milk or iced champagne.
These crumbly, buttery little things will melt on your tongue and wont last a moment!
So best to make a double batch.
It would be a real marzipain to run out before you’ve finished trimming the tree!
Crumbs! Almost forgot, here’s my Christmas playlist if you want something to dance around the kitchen to while baking, that’s already one of our little family traditions, Christmas or not.
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