Orange Christmas Cookie- My Confectionery Salute to the Christmas

Here I’m, standing next to my kitchen counter, with my laptop in tow, totally inspired, thinking of a cookie recipe.

No ---Please don’t judge me yet, Bengali cooking still remains my forte but with blogosphere all abuzz with Christmas and the cookies, I’m itching to bake this season. After all being a ‘Global Netizen’ , I can definitely canker up my oven and copy a recipe or two.

 I have to admit that all the resistance is because Christmas cookies were never a part and parcel of my growing up days. I think that had more to do with a vast repertoire of Bengali sweet treats which my mother dutifully covered for each season and festival that she never got to baking cookies; it was something we always bought from the nearby bakery and since it was store bought it had no business to be on our holiday table. Of course, how could we celebrate any sanctified occasion with store bought food? A sacrilege!

Now with a toddler in the house who is beginning demand a C-O-C-K-EEE every now and then, I really felt a strong need to get her some home baked cookies echoing the holiday spirit. Finally, Christmas cookies at home seemed to be the answer. Baking things at home would also mean that it can occupy a space on the holiday table.

Call it a ‘thinking’ inheritance if you must.

Well, it was fun, although after my first day spent entirely in the kitchen baking, I had Mangsho aar Luchi(Chicken and puffed fried bread) for dinner - I think my Bengali side was tetchy against this entire baking and butter overdose.

Now that I’m done, you can have a look at what I came up with :

Orange Christmas Cookie (Yields 24 Smiling Cookies)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Zest of 2 Large oranges
1 tsp Salt
100gms /1 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar (I mixed brown and white Sugar)
1 Egg yolk
2 tbsp Heavy cream

To make the dough:
Mix flour, orange zest and salt. Blend butter, sugar, yolk and cream with a mixer until well combined and frothy. Now add the flour and keep mixing until a firm dough forms. It will be very coarse. Now wrap them in a plastic wrap and store in fridge for a few hours.

To bake:
Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut with the help of a cookie cutter. Now you can transfer baking sheet and bake for  9-12 minutes, until edges are golden in colour. Cool on a rack for a few hours and decorate as you please.

I used the reindeer theme.With chocolate horns and red candy nose.

Boy! Was she thrilled.

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