CHRISTMAS SWIRL FREEZER COOKIES, seasonal kid/ult indulgence

So pretty they could stand in for baubles on a tree...

A hint of peppermint, a pretty swirl, sparkly bits - kid/ults will love these
'If they came in a packet, I would eat the entire lot in one go'.'Very delicious. Great texture; not dry or hard.'

Crumbly and crunchy, breaking easily for dunking, this is another of the very handy American-style freezer cookies which sit nicely frozen until you're ready to bake them in the quantities required.  

The dough is made in advance, popped into the freezer, then sliced and decorated when needed.  And, yes, the swirly bit takes a teensy bit more work than a standard freezer cookie but the dough itself is so easy-peasy, older kids could handle it.  

And it is Christmas.  And the kids will love them -- both rolling the biscuits in icing and coloured bits.  And the eating of them!

The blog is not a fan of artificial food colouring but, thankfully, Waitrose sells several basic colours without 'E' numbers.  However, the colour is not as intense; 67's dough needed a good 2 teaspoons of W/R red colouring before it took on a pink colour; even then the finished product didn't show pink at all...

Cost: £4 without decorative flourishes
Makes: 40-50 (2 good-size freezer rolls)

Ingreds: make this dough twice, one plain; one pink (see batches below)

   75gm/2.6oz unsalted butter that's not too cold or too warm; in cubes

   150gm/5.2oz white common flour  
     75gm/2.6oz granulated sugar
     pinch salt

     flavouring - see Batches below

     1 med egg
     1 well-cooked cooked egg yolk (left in boiled water at least 10 mins)

     Batch 1: 1/2 tsp vanilla
     Batch 2: 1/2 tsp essence of peppermint 
                  2-2.5 tsp red food colouring (or until dough takes on pink colour)

Icing:
   1/4 cup powdered sugar
   1 tbsp cherry brandy (adults) or water or milk plus 1/2 tsp water

   coloured sugar or other decorative bits: stars, coloured balls, hundreds & thousands (opt)*

Method:

1. Mix flour, sugar & salt
2. Add butter; process or rub between fingers until mix is the size of peas 
3. Add egg, flavouring & well mashed egg yolk; work in with processor or hand mixer until well combined and coming together
4. Wrap in cling film; refrigerate 30 mins
5. Repeat with second batch of dough, colouring it pink 
6. When ready, turn white dough out onto lightly floured large piece of cling film; cover with similar sized cling film
7. Roll out to a thickness of 1/3inch/3mm to an 11x8inch/28x20cm rectangle  - this is your base; set aside
8. Repeat with pink dough; cut away 1/4inch on all four edges; centre pink layer on top of white 
9. Roll up tightly along the long edge; wrap in cling film, twisting the ends to help the cookies take on a circular shape OR shape into a square or triangle & wrap in cling film
10. Bake within 3 days or freeze until ready to use
11. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 200c/180fan/375f
12. Cut in 1/4 inch/1cm slices using a sharp serrated knife (the dough can be sliced from frozen)
13. Place on baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper or a silicone mat, leaving just a bit of space in between
14. Bake 10 mins, turning tray from back to front if one side browns quicker than the other
15. Cool on a baking rack

When completely cold:

1. Mix icing 
2. Sprinkle coloured sugar on flat plate
3. Take each cookie; roll the edges only in the icing, then in coloured sugar
4. Place on cooling rack until icing has set

*Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons

Comments:

• 'If these came in a packet, I would eat the entire lot in one go.  Good and crunchy, and cute to look at as well.  I like the sparkly things.' Political Agent
• 'Very delicious.  Really good nice sweet biscuit with the sparkly bits adding a contrasting flavour.  Great texture; not dry and hard; breaks easily.' Campaign manager.

Tips:

• 67 used white common wheat flour & granulated sugar to keep the colours 'clean' but anyone concerned about sugar highs could substitute 75% white flour and 25% wholemeal and use light brown sugar.  The cookies  would also work with spelt flour.
• sadly neither of my guinea pigs could taste the peppermint but the un-iced ones at home had a noticeable peppermint flavour
• small households could make just one batch and divide it into two.

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.