Ho ho ho – it is getting very close to all that is festive… the ‘where has the year gone?’ conversations, the ‘what am I going to buy Aunty Carol?’ questions, the musings on when to bake to avoid the heat of the day…
Here in Sydney December is always a bazillion degrees. Often humid, too. And very often followed by a thunderstorm late in the day. As I type we are experiencing a house-shaking, sky-piercing, ear-throbbing thunder and lightening spectacular.
I used a snowflake cutter to make these cookies / biscuits as it is the newest member of my constantly expanding cookie cutter collection. We don’t get snow, so I don’t understand the fascination with all things frozen. Having said that, I’m not sure what a Southern Hemisphere festive-season cutter would be shaped like – a sun? A huge fly? A sunburnt tourist on Bondi Beach?
Maybe we’ll stick with tradition then…
Feel free to use any cutter you like. As you can see I also made stars, as they are so cute and perfectly bite-sized.
GATHER:
250 g softened butter, diced
¾ cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 ¼ cups plain flour
topping:
egg white
1/3 cup caster sugar mixed with two teaspoons cinnamon
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
In bowl of electric mixer beat butter and sugar until pale, then add vanilla and egg yolk and beat until combined.
With beaters on low add flour and mix until combined.
Divide in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap and place in fridge for half an hour.
Using a rolling pin roll out dough between two pieces of non-stick paper until 5mm thick.
Use cutters to cut out shapes, and then carefully transfer to tray.
Place in freezer for 10 minutes – this will help the shapes stay true.
Using pastry brush coat tops with egg white, then sprinkle over the combined sugar / cinnamon.
Bake for between 8-12 minutes, depending on size.
Cool on sheets for five minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
the hungry mum 
How adorable are these! Love the cinnamon on top. That cracks me up, the idea of Aussie Christmas bikkies in the shape of the sun, flies, sunburnt tourists….may I had mozzies, surfboards and an Akubra with corks dangling from it? Yeah, maybe just stick with snowflakes and gingerbread.
an Akubra! How could I have overlooked that? #badAustralian I’m team Cinnamon all the way 🙂
Should have said ‘add’. Darned sausage fingers.
Christmas cookies are literally my favorite part of the holiday season! 😀 Those snowflakes and stars both look so cute!
I love Christmas baking! Just wish Christmas wasn’t summer in Oz – often is too hot to do anything but flop on the sofa with the AC on.
Those look tummy!
cheers! They are very buttery and easy to eat!
I love your fondness for Donna Hay recipes, always makes me smile. These look so delicious.
Donna Hay obsessive? Who, me? 🙂 My mantra in life is, WWDD (what would Donna Do)
These look delicious and fun to make!
Thanks so much – rolling out dough is quite therapeutic.
These biscuits look amazing! Love the cinnamon spice, perfect for Xmas! Also, love Donna Hay recipes, they’re always great!
so pretty and so yum with that cinnamon! Was just thinking this morning that we’re looking at Christmas cookie season–woohoo 🙂 Thanks for kicking it off!
These look super yum, and oh so easy too!
Loved your intro – maybe a little snow wouldn’t go astray this past week; 42 degrees in The Hunter is soooo hot, and yet I’m enjoying it too. (I would love to experience a white Chrissy, though, at least once in my lifetime. Maybe next year!?) 😉
sugar cookies are my favorite!
You can’t go wrong with a classic 🙂
These look so yummy, I love cinnamon 🙂
Cheers! I also love cinnamon, I add it to almost everything I bake!
Same here! 🙂
Pretty
Beautiful
thanks!
I’ve been on the hunt for some christmas cookies recipes and this look perfect! I wish I had a couple to dip into my tea now! 🙂
I hope you got a chance to eat some yummy Christmas bickies over the break! And had a lovely cuppa to go with 🙂
So festive!! Love the shapes, and the love you put into making these treats!! xxoo
I am a bit obsessed with a cold weather Christmas-I think it’s all the Christmas specials on tv that I watched growing up. I still love watching them! 😀
Amen, sister! Happy Days has so much to answer for! A white Christmas is on my ‘to do’ list.
Yum! I love anything Donna Hay inspired!! Love the look of these cookies – what a great gift for Christmas!
Isn’t she fab? I am a bit #fangirl, actually 🙂
Oh, I love christmas cookies! I tried baking some from a packet mix and miserably fail (have a history of packet mix failure)… I guess I’ll have to make a batch from scratch using your recipe 🙂
Bake from scratch! Bake from scratch! Cheaper and waaaaay more healthy (no fake stuff in a home-made bickie).
Only my favourite part of the holidays! I eat these cookies by the handful 😛
Yours look so good!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
By the handful! V impressive! Hope your week is full of sweet things 😉
I am having a giggle at the thought of a cookie cutter in the shape of a sunburnt tourist – I saw one of those yesterday at our local mall. I much prefer a hot Christmas day where I can be outside and enjoy all it offers – and with these snowflake cookies it would be perfect 🙂
I too am wondering where the year has gone and I’m starting to panic as I seem to be very behind on all fronts. The cookies are gorgeous and I love their snowflake shape – closest we’ll see to the real thing this Christmas! xx
can’t we just all just agree that Xmas comes around too often and make it a once every-two-year event? Every parent would support this idea, am sure…
Very christmas-y! 🙂
Ho ho ho! They are perfect for this time of year!
I bet the girls had such fun helping! They look delish, too. Maybe when my Thanksgiving pies are all gone…:)
hehehe – tis the season for eating, eh?! The gals love helping in the kitchen. Cleaning up, not so much :O
Smart girls!
This is from my mum 🙂
Hi Hungry Mum, I made your Donna Hay Christmas Biscuits. I didn’t use cinnamon as topping, as I didn’t have any at the time, Just topped them with egg white and a sprinkle of raw caster sugar.
Delicious! I have since purchased a cinnamon sugar mixture, which I will use next time.
A very nice, and inexpensive recipe, great for Christmas eating and giving. Cheers,
The hungry Nana.
Hohoho! 😀
I made this delicious recipe & used white spelt flour in them! They were superb!
oh, fab! Glad to hear that you loved them – thanks for letting me know x
Reblogged this on the hungry mum.
Tried a hand at sugar cookies this weekend. These look amazing…will definitely try this recipe.
I hop you love them as much as I do – they are so versatile.