This the season for Christmas cookies and Hanukkah recipes. As the end of the year approaches, it is accompanied by some of the most important dates for spending time with family and, regardless of which holiday you celebrate, we have a recipe for you. Is your kitchen ready to bid farewell to 2021? Let’s get cooking!
How to make Christmas cookies
Around this time of year, the thought of how to bake Christmas cookies has probably crossed your mind on more than one occasion. The first thing you should know is that there are many kinds of Christmas cookies, especially because the finishing touch is up to you: the design will depend on the type of accessories used to shape the cookies.
There are cookie molds shaped like Santa Claus, Christmas trees and snow flakes, to name a few, and the cookies can then be decorated to create countless personalized combinations. Check out this alternative to get started with your Christmas cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Italica olive oil
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 heaping Tbsp sugar
- 3 heaping Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Christmas-themed silicone molds
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° F and place the silicone molds on a baking sheet while the oven heats up.
Which molds should you use? Whichever you prefer! Get your hands on an array of Christmas-themed silicone cookie molds and welcome the holiday spirit into your home. The number of Christmas cookies will also depend on the type of mold you use. You will get approximately 10 regular size cookies. You can always double the ingredients if you need to make more cookies.
Let’s make the cookie dough. You will need two large bowls: one for the dry ingredients and another for the wet ingredients. Start off with the dry ingredients by placing the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar in one of the bowls and stir gently.
For the wet ingredients, mix the egg, extra virgin olive oil, milk and vanilla in the other bowl. Whisk until the mixture is thoroughly combined, and if the consistency is too thick, simply add a small amount of milk.
Next, combine the contents of the two bowls by folding the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients using a silicone spatula until a uniform consistency is reached.
Now simply fill the silicone molds with the dough and bake for 15 minutes. After taking the cookies out of the oven, allow them to cool before placing them on a plate.
This is where the fun begins: add the toppings of your choice and decorate the cookies using your imagination: you can use food dye or melted chocolate to “paint” the cookies with a silicone spatula.
Making this cookie dough with olive oil instead of butter will help you give a healthy touch to your Christmas cookies recipe thanks to the many benefits of olive oil.
*Chef’s tip*
To prevent the cookies from sticking to the baking sheet, lightly grease it with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil before placing the silicone molds on top.
How to make Hanukkah sufganiyot
If you celebrate Hanukkah, this recipe is for you! For some people, food made with olive oil symbolizes the miracle of Hanukkah, when the menorah that was lit with olive oil in the Temple in Jerusalem miraculously burned for eight days instead of one. Below we explain how to make the traditional jelly donuts Hanukkah recipe:
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 7 3/4 cups flour (35 oz)
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 cup Italica olive oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- Jam
- 1 kitchen towel
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Directions
We begin by making the dough. In a large bowl, beat the eggs using a whisk. Next, add the flour, baking powder, oil, sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
Mix well until a uniform consistency is reached. Next, shape the dough into a large ball and allow it to rest, covered with a kitchen towel, until it rises. This may take approximately 20 minutes, but check it periodically.
In this jelly donuts recipe, once the dough has risen, shape it into small balls. We will get between 6 and 10 jelly donuts, depending on the size we have given them. Now it’s time to cook them.
The oil must be very hot before adding the dough (be careful, not to let it boil). Fry the pieces until golden.
After removing the fried donuts from the oil, wait until they have cooled a bit but still warm, and then open them along the middle and fill with jam. Finally, dust them with some powdered sugar, and our jelly donuts Hanukkah recipe is done.
*Chef’s tip*
You can use different fillings in your Hanukkah sufganiyot recipe. Try other types of jam to give your Hanukkah treat a different flavor. You can also use a piping tool to add the jam.