Christmas Cookie Recipes With Tropical Flair

Cookie Traditions in the Making

How does a cookie achieve legendary popularity? Through the decades, each generation votes with its taste buds, as home-baked cookies are enjoyed at school events, holiday gatherings and family feasts. Many recipes reflect the ingredients popular in their era, while others are simply easy, with classic tastes that never go out of style. Holiday baking, more than any other, honors the past with traditional family favorites – yet, new recipes find their way into cherished collections each year.

This year, America’s Dairy Farmers offer several new must-have holiday cookie recipes. Each cookie features Real Butter for its incomparable taste and texture in baked goods, along with a trendy, of-the-moment ingredient – a flavor that will have your friends and family reaching for more. The following recipes are a twist on classic holiday cookies. Coconut-Lime Thai Snowballs (tender, hand-rolled gems, also referred to as Mexican wedding cookies) and Mojito Jammies (mint-filled cut-out cookies) are sure to start a new tradition in your family.

Visit www.ButterIsBest.com for the complete must-have holiday cookie recipe collection.

Coconut-Lime Thai Snowballs

Butter imparts a delicious melt-away texture to this popular wedding cookie reinvented with the vibrant Thai flavors of coconut and lime. Dusted with powdered sugar and coconut, these festive little cookies resemble snowballs and are sure to become a new holiday tradition.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. pure lime oil (or 2 tbsp. lime juice) (see shopping notes)
• 1 ½ tsp. finely grated lime zest
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (see shopping notes)

Coating

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (see shopping notes)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 ½ tsp. finely grated lime zest
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch, sifted

Shopping notes

• Pure lime oil is available in many specialty food stores. Alternatively, use 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice.
• Unsweetened coconut can be found at many specialty and health food stores. Look for medium shred.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F with racks in the lower and upper thirds.
2. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy. Add lime oil; beat to combine.
3. Gently fold in lime zest, salt, flour and coconut. Blend well.
4. Lightly flour hands and roll dough into small, approx. 1-inch balls and place about 1 ½ inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until puffy (not browned) and bottoms are just golden, about 15 min. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for about 5 min.
5. Meanwhile, combine coating ingredients in a quart- or gallon-size plastic bag. While cookies are still warm, toss them in the coating. Remove and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Mojito Jammies

These lime-flecked butter cookies filled with mint jelly take their name from the popular Cuban cocktail known as the Mojito. Made with the same lively combination of lime, mint and Island Rum, these charming cookies brighten any holiday cookie tray.

Makes 2 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. lightly packed grated lime zest
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, cool but not too firm
• 2 tbsp. cream cheese
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp. rum (or 1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract)
• ¼ tsp. peppermint extract

Filling

• ¾ cup mint jelly
• 1 tbsp. rum or water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preparation

1.Combine the sugar and lime zest in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the salt and flour, mix to combine.

2.Add butter and cream cheese; mix until dough resembles coarse sand. Add egg yolk, rum (or vanilla) and mint extract. Mix until the dough clumps together. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and knead with your hands until it holds together in a ball. Divide dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 to 30 min.

3.Preheat the oven to 350 °F with the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or butter them evenly.

4.Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness between sheets of lightly floured wax or parchment paper. Slide the rolled dough, still between sheets of paper, onto a baking sheet, and chill for 10 to 20 min. Remove top paper – carefully turn over and remove remaining paper.

5.Using a 2- to 2 ½-inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes and place about 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cut a hole out of the center of half the cookies to make a window for the filling. Gather remaining dough scraps into a ball, reroll and cut into shapes. Do this only once.

6.Bake, rotating the baking sheet about halfway through, until lightly golden, 10 to 15 min. The top cookies with the cutout centers will bake more quickly. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

7.Combine mint jelly, rum (or water) and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 2 to 3 min., cool to room temperature.

8.Using a small strainer or sugar shaker, dust the top halves of the cookies (the ones with the holes in the centers) with confectioners’ sugar. Place about ¾ teaspoon of mint jelly onto a cookie bottom, smearing it lightly around the whole cookie leaving a small mound in the center. Top with a sugar-dusted half.

Courtesy of ARA Content.