Snowflake Stenciled Shortbread Cookies Food

SIMPLE SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Fold a tortilla in half, then in half again and once again. Using a clean scissors or sharp knife, cut small triangles on folded and outside edges. Unfold tortilla; brush both sides with oil. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and oil. , Bake at 400° for 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Dust both sides of tortillas with confectioners' sugar while still warm.

SNOWFLAKE-STENCILED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt; process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round or square log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip edges in sugar if desired and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• To decorate: On desired paper, draw shape (use a cutter as a guide). Fold paper in half and cut out shape, leaving border intact.
• Lay either stencil on cookie. With a fine-mesh sieve, dust cookie with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder.
• Carefully lift off stencil.

HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt; process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round or square log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip edges in sugar if desired and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

SNOWFLAKE BISCUITS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it with electric beaters until soft and creamy. Beat in the sugar, then the egg and vanilla, and finally the flour to make a dough. If the dough feels sticky, add a little flour and knead it in. Chill for 20 mins in the fridge.
• Roll the dough to about the thickness of a £1 coin on a lightly floured surface. Cut out snowflake shapes using a biscuit cutter, then re-roll the off-cuts and repeat.
• Bake for 8-10 mins or until the edges are just beginning to brown. Leave to cool for 5 mins before trying to move them. Cool completely.
• Roll out the fondant icing to the thickness of a 50p piece. Use the same cutter to stamp out the icing. If you have smaller cutter you can stamp out holes in the middles of some of them. Brush each biscuit with a tiny amount of honey and press an icing snowflake on top.
• Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a pipeable icing, and spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a straight piping nozzle. Pipe patterns onto the snowflakes and add silver balls and sprinkles as you decorate. Leave to dry completely.

SHORTBREAD SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and cardamom in a medium bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flour mixture.
• Press the dough into a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Press parchment paper onto surface, and smooth top. Remove parchment; wrap sheet in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using snowflake-shape cutters, cut out cookies, and arrange by size on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED MACADAMIA COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, lemon zest and juice, and salt and beat until combined; beat in nuts. With mixer on low, add flour and beat just until combined, 2 minutes. Form dough into a 4 1/2-inch-long log, wrap in plastic, and freeze until firm, 30 minutes. Cut into 1/4-inch slices, transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze 5 minutes. Bake until golden at edges, 14 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks.
• Microwave chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until set, 10 minutes.

SCANDINAVIAN SNOWFLAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Line baking sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper, and sprinkle with flour.
• Heat the milk just to the boiling point in a saucepan. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl until well combined, then mix in the butter and gradually pour in the hot milk, mixing between each addition, until the mixture forms a stiff dough.
• Turn the dough out onto an oiled work surface, and knead until the dough is cool and smooth, about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces, then cut those pieces into 4 pieces, making 16 pieces. Divide each of the 16 pieces in half to make 32 equal-sized pieces of dough. Cover the pieces with a cloth, and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
• Working on a floured surface, roll each piece of dough out into a thin circle about 8 inches in diameter. Place the circles onto the prepared baking sheets, cover with a cloth, and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
• Fold each circle in half, then in half again. With a sharp knife or small cookie cutters, snip and cut shapes out of the folded dough the way you make a paper snowflake. Carefully open the circle back up, revealing the pattern. Stack the cut snowflakes between sheets of waxed paper on a flat surface.
• Heat oil in a deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be about 2 inches deep.
• Carefully lay a snowflake into the hot oil, keeping it flat. Allow it to fry until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Gently flip the snowflakes over with a tongs to prevent breakage. Drain the fried snowflakes on paper towels, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.