Holiday Almanac December 8: Snowflake Cookies

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

I don’t own a snowflake cookie cutter.*

And I couldn’t find one before making these cookies, and even if I could, the recipe is called Snowflake Cookies, but the instructions demand that you cut them with a star-shaped cookie cutter anyway, so here we are.

For those of you counting at home, this is the second batch of star-shaped sandwich cookies I’ve made this week, the first batch being from the box, but not from the Holiday Almanac (and thus you won’t see the recipe until January, sorry!). I generally am not a fan of making star-shaped anything, since the points cook faster than the middle and it’s practically impossible to get them to brown evenly, but they are so adorable I figured I’d make an exception for these, and it was definitely worth it.

I cut the recipe in half because I didn’t want 4 dozen cookies (we’re only 8 days into December and I’ve already baked more than I usually bake in a month). It's easier to just make a full batch, though, so I've listed the full quantities below, which should give you around 4 dozen cookies, or around 2 dozen finished sandwich cookies.

These are adorable cookies and if you have a cookie exchange, bake sale, or similar event this December, they’re pretty perfect… and pretty easy to boot!

*This may not seem like a big deal, but if it doesn’t, it’s because you’ve never seen my cookie cutter collection, which is comprised of both holiday and everyday cookie cutters, and a whole lot of each.

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. They're easy and delicious sugar cookies, the recipe scales up and down easily, and even though the whole 'shaped like a snowflake' thing might be a little iffy, they're still twice as adorable as any other Christmas sugar cookies I've ever made.

The recipe:

Snowflake Cookies

The directions:
Cookies:

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sift together dry ingredients and stir in until mix is smooth.
Chill in freezer 30 minutes or fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Roll dough out very thin, then cut out with star cutter.
Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake 5 minutes, watching carefully.
Make glaze while cookies cool.

Glaze:

Mix all ingredients until smooth and glossy, then assemble cookies by placing a dot of glaze in the center of one cookie and laying another cookie on top, pressing gently to adhere.
Pour another spoonful of glaze in the centre of the top cookie and allow to drip into crevices of 'snowflake.'
Allow glaze to set before serving or storing.

The ingredients:
The cookies:

1/3 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c sifted flour (I forgot to sift mine and it was fine)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

the glaze:

1 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp corn syrup or golden syrup
1 tbsp hot water
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla