If you haven’t gathered by now I LOVE Christmas! It’s definitely my favourite time of year, particularly for food. (Surprise, surprise!) This combination of flavours is a new one on me but one that I think may be my new personal favourite, lemon and ginger. It’s beautiful and works so well with the white chocolate, you seriously need to give these Christmas cookies a try!
Love cookies with ‘warming’ spices? Try my cranberry walnut cinnamon cookies too – you’ll LOVE them! If it’s cute you’re after, these CRAZY cute reindeer cookies will be right up your street!
Lemon and Ginger Christmas Cookies
Here is what you will need to make 30 – 35 cookies.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 250g Unsalted Butter, room temp
- 200g Golden Caster Sugar
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger
- Zest of 2 Lemons
- 450g Plain Flour
Decoration
- Green Fondant Icing
- Red Icing (In a squeezy tube) *
- 200g White Chocolate
Essential Equipment
- Small Holly Plunge Cutter
- 7cm Round Cookie Cutter
*You could also use fondant icing and roll into little balls between your fingers then stick them on with a little cold water.
Instructions
To make the cookies, either in an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, ginger and lemon zest and beat again until it’s all combined.
Tip in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until it clumps together to form a dough.
Tip out onto a work surface and knead gently to bring together into a ball. Divide it into two, then roll each one in-between 2 large sheets of baking paper to 6mm/1/4″ thick.
Place both into the fridge to chill for about an hour. This is important as if you don’t chill the dough, when you cut out the cookies they won’t hold their shape well.
Meanwhile, we can make the sugar decorations.
On a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out the green fondant icing to about 2-3mm thick. Using a holly plunge cutter, cut out approx 35 from the icing and place on a plate.
Take your red icing tube and pipe 3 red balls into the middle of each holly. (If they stick up a bit just dampen your finger slightly and gently press them down.) Alternatively, roll red fondant icing into little balls and stick them to the hollies using a tiny bit of cold water. Allow them to dry/harden either at room temperature overnight or, if you don’t have that much time, pop them in the fridge to speed up the process.
Back to the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge and cut as many 7cm circles out as you can. Re-roll the leftover dough to the same thickness and cut more cookies until all the dough is used up.
Chill the cookies for 15 minutes whilst you preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 180°C.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat. Fill with cookie discs, leaving room in-between each one for possible spreading, then bake for 10 minutes until the edges are turning golden. I turn the tray round halfway to ensure an even bake.
Allow the cookies to cool for a minute or two on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. You will likely need to bake in batches so repeat the process for the remaining cookies.
Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
When you’re ready to decorate, break the white chocolate into a small-ish bowl and melt in the microwave in 20 second intervals. Stir well between each time until it’s nice and smooth.
Set out a large sheet of baking paper for you to put your cookies on. Dip each cookie half way into the white chocolate. Shake off any excess then place onto the baking paper. Press a holly decoration into the chocolate and leave to set at room temperature. Repeat until all the cookies are decorated.
Store in a metal container at room temperature, (they will soften in a plastic container) and consume within 1-2 weeks.
How pretty are these cookies?! I absolutely adore the flavour too. That winter warmth from the ginger and the pang of freshness from the lemon, it’s like your being hugged by the happiest Christmas jumper in the world! Definitely a flavour combo that I will be using again in the future.
Got a taste for baking and want to learn more? Check out baking for beginners. Boost your knowledge and bag my Top 5 Tips to Guarantee Baking Success!