AT THIS time of year in Scandinavia, there is a great custom for ladies to get together to prepare cookies for the Christmas season. Each lady brings her recipe and ingredients, and there is lots of coffee, sweets and sometimes a little brennevin (a favourite Icelandic tipple) to enjoy, as they prepare cakes and biscuits to share with their friends. Here are a few of my own favourite Christmas cookies to make by yourself or with friends.
Shortbread
1 cup (225g) butter
1/2 cup (125g) sugar
2 cups (300g) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar, for the top
Cream the butter and sugar. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and fold both mixtures together. Spread on to a buttered baking sheet and pat with a fork into a rectangle half an inch (1cm) thick. Bake in a moderate oven (350F or 175C) for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of sugar on top and cut into squares.
These are usually made with pecan nuts, but those are very hard to come by here in Portugal. Walnuts make a very good substitute if you cannot find pecans.
1 cup (250g) butter
1/2 cup (125g) powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup (100g) finely ground pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 cups (275g) plain flour
Powdered sugar to cover
Cream the butter and add the sChristmas Crescentsugar and vanilla. Add the nuts and beat in the flour until just blended. Wrap the resulting dough in plastic film and chill for at least an hour.Divide the dough into eight pieces and roll each one into 12 inch (30cm) lengths. Cut each into eight pieces and shape each piece into a crescent. Put onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a low oven (300F or 115C) for 18 to 20 minutes. When cool, roll them in powdered sugar and store in an airtight container.
