Ingredients
All purpose flour -3 cups
Sugar -1 1/2 cup
Egg -2
Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla essence -2 teaspoon
Unsalted butter - 1 cup
For decoration
Jam
Icing sugar - 4 -5 tablespoon
Mix butter, sugar and vanilla extract using a hand mixer. Slowly add eggs to this and beat well until it becomes fluffy. Mix it really well. Now slowly add sifted flour, baking powder and salt to this. Knead the dough in such a way that it gets the right consistency. Keep adding little flour or butter if its too sticky or dry. Once the dough is ready, refrigerate it for 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Place a parchment paper on the baking tray. Roll out the dough and make different shapes using cookie cutter. Immediately transfer cookies on the tray and bake it for 10 - 15 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack for at least 2 -5 minutes.
For decoration, I have used round shaped cookies with jam. Use round shaped cutter to make two discs for one cookie. For first disc, I have used jam in the center. And using a small cookie cutter, I have given different shapes in the center for the second disc. Keep these second discs with center cut outs on top of a wire rack. Now sprinkle little bit of icing sugar on top of it. Please refer to pics for better idea. Use jam in the center of the first disc, that is plain round shaped cookie at the bottom. You can use any jam depending on your likes. Here I have used Kissan mixed fruit jam. So that the jam in the middle will stand out and this gives the cookie that pretty look. :)
For the other decoration. First divide the dough in to two parts. Use orange colour for one dough and pink for the other. I normally use Wilton food colour which is bit costly but highly recommended by bakers. Now make a long strip out of orange coloured dough. Repeat the method using pink coloured dough. Slowly make swirls by combining both dough. That is just twist both the doughs together so it gets a swirl effect. Cut out different shapes using cookie cutter and enjoy the colourful christmas cookies.
I got this idea of cookies from Natalie Poeter from Vienna, Austria. :) After seeing pics of Nati's heart shaped Christmas cookies with jam, i got inspired and thought of trying it out though I have posted butter cookies before. Thanks to Clive n Nati for this idea. :)
