December 14, 2018
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The ultimate Hallmark Christmas movie inspired sugar cookie...the messier you make them, the better.
It’s Christmas, so you know what that means: Hallmark is showing more Christmas movies than we have time to watch and what better way to celebrate than with a cookie.
In honor of this beloved tradition, I have broken down the Hallmark Christmas movie essence, if you will, and added it to a sugar cookie. So, what does a Hallmark Christmas inspired cookie taste like?
Well, first of all, its base is filled with holiday cheer, stemming from the ever popular cut-out sugar cookie.
What makes it extra special though is the hint of cinnamon, cardamom and orange zest that complete the cookie's flavor profile. It brings in tradition with added joy, love, and luck. It’ll warm your spirit just like a Hallmark movie.
Though this warm spirit can sometimes be hindered by the fact you just saw the same movie an hour ago and even though the title and cast is different, it's somehow exactly the same storyline. But the thing is...you love it, you’re not going to stop watching it, you're invested anyway. So, if you want to capture that same feeling, leave the cookies out for a bit and let them grow a little stale. They'll still be addictive.
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Cookies
3 cups of flour
3/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 TBL milk
1/4 tsp orange zest
Cinnamon Stick
Cardamom
Icing
1/4 cup water
1 TBL light corn syrup
1/4 tsp almond extract
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar*
Cookies:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cream the butter and sugar together. Once it’s mixed thoroughly, add the egg and milk. Once blended, add the orange zest and mix well.
Start adding the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. After putting in a cup of flour, zest a cinnamon stick so it lightly dusts across the batter, about 1/4 tsp (feel free to add a little more), add a pinch of cardamom to enhance the other flavors. (You could use ground cinnamon, but a fresh stick, in my opinion, can add a slightly subtle deeper flavor.)
Mix well and add in the rest of the flour slowly. As the dough forms, take out and wrap in saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or two.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once dough is set, roll it out and cut out shapes. Bake for about 7 min, but watch closely. The moment the edges turn a little brown, they’re ready. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Icing:
Combine ingredients together. The more confectioner’s sugar you use the thicker it will be. If you want more of a glaze, stick to about 2 cups. If you want to pipe it, stick to 3 cups.
Feel free to be a little messy when icing the cookies. For some reason, the cookies are always perfect in the movies until the self-proclaimed cookie master decorates cookies with her love interest. Then, somehow, the cookies end up looking like an amateur made them.
All in all, these are the perfect cookies to make when you go home over the holidays and get reminded that life is, in fact, not a Hallmark Christmas movie. Because yes, you're getting grilled by your family, and, oh my god, is that your ex? Is there a plane leaving early you ask yourself? Yes? Cool. You can eat these cookies on the plane ride home to whatever big city you came from.
Until suddenly, you find yourself on the plane, chatting and sharing your cookies with love interest #2. (I don't make the rules.)
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