Ingredients

Method

For the cookies
• 80 g icing sugar
• 175 g butter
• 65 g cornflour
• 140 g cake flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ t vanilla essence
For the decorations:
• 225 g milk chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup fresh cream
• small salted pretzels, candy eyes and small red candy for noses

Method

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. To make the cookies, cream together the icing sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the cornflour and flour, then mix until the dough comes together and is soft and very silky, 3–4 minutes.

4. Add the vanilla essence and mix. If the dough is too soft to handle, chill for 30 minutes.

5. Roll about 1 T of dough into a ball, making sure the outsides are nice and smooth. Place the ball on the baking tray, then, using a teaspoon or your thumb, gently press down the middle of the ball to form a dent. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing the cookies about 2 cm apart.

6. Bake until the cookies are just turning light golden brown on the edges, about 18 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, then use a teaspoon to gently press all the centres down again to deepen the wells. Let them cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. To make the decorations, place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute or two, then, using a spatula, stir until nice and smooth. Leave to sit until it’s solidified into a fudge-like ganache, about 20 minutes.

9. Place about a teaspoon of ganache in the centre of each cookie, add two candy eyes, a red candy for a nose, and a pretzel broken in half for the antlers.

 Find more biscuit recipes here

Extracted with permission from The Lucky Kitchen by Angie Batis Durrant