Leading up to Christmas, time seems to get away from you, and all your plans of what you want to accomplish suddenly become impossible. I usually make quite a few baked goodies for the festive season, my first item for this year was this really great tasting reindeer cookie. Whilst reading the current Donna Hay Christmas Magazine I came across this really great recipe for the spiced reindeers https://www.donnahay.com.au/magazine/
It is really important to roll this dough between two sheets of baking paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm it up. Once you have cut out the reindeer or whatever shape you decide and put the left over dough back together, I would suggest that you repeat the roll and refrigerate step as the dough is very soft.
The cookies don’t spread a great deal so it is okay to put them fairly close on the baking tray. Allow them to cool on the baking tray for a couple of minutes for them to firm up a little.
I decided not to decorate my cookies as I thought the taste was really good as is. You can put icing decorations on the cookies if you wish. Donna Hay just used a little royal icing dots on the nose and three spots on the back.
You can really taste the spices and they are a treat to eat. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups (225g) plain flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- Pre-heat oven to 160˚C (324˚F).
- Put butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6-8 minutes or until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat for a further 2-3 minutes or until well combined.
- Add the flour, cinnamon and mixed spice and beat until the mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to 5mm thick and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Using a deer cutter (or any other shape you might like to use) cut out shapes.
- Re-roll the dough as needed. (I would suggest refrigerating again)
- Place on large baking trays lined with baking paper and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
- Allow to cool on trays for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
- You can use royal icing to decorate your shapes, or leave as is.