Raspberry Hazelnut Christmas Trees Recipe
Christmas Recipes
 Razzle Dazzle Recipes

 

Raspberry Hazelnut Christmas Trees

These cookies would make a nice centerpiece for the Cookie Table. Use a small Christmas tree and hang the cookies. An added touch would be to write each guests name on a cookie.

3 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1 C. chopped hazelnuts, toasted
2/3 C. sugar
1 1/4 C. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 t. vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar
Seedless raspberry jam, at room temperature

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a food processor, finely grind the nuts with the 2/3 cup sugar. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the ground-nut mixture; beat to blend. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

Divide the dough into 4 portions. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. (The dough can be made several days ahead.) Remove 1 disk at a time from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 10 minutes before rolling out.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Roll out the dough disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch on a lightly floured, cloth-covered work surface with a cloth-covered rolling pin. (Instead of flour, you can roll out the cookies on a cloth-covered surface covered with confectioners' sugar or a blend of confectioners' sugar and flour. It keeps the cookies from getting tough.)

Cut out the cookies with a tree-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.

Using about a 2-inch-long piece of a drinking straw, cut out round "ornaments" in half of the cookies. (You'll need a toothpick to clean the dough from the end of the straw.) Refrigerate scraps.

Bake the cookies until golden, about 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool about 1 minute on the cookie sheet so they will firm up slightly and are easier to remove. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack and cool. Repeat rolling and cutting the remaining dough disks and scraps.

Lightly sift confectioners' sugar "snow" over the cooled cookies with the ornament cutouts. Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam over the bottom of the solid tree cookies. Top with 1 ornament cookie and press gently together.

The cookies can be stored at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerate for longer storage. The cookies can be made about two weeks ahead. Place in a single layer in an airtight container and refrigerate.

          

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