Christmas Shortbread Cookies decorated with M&M Christmas lights
Ingredients
- Plain Flour – 1¾ cups
- Cornflour – ¼ cup
- Icing Sugar – ½ cup
- Butter, room temperature – 225g
- Vanilla Essence – 1 teaspoon
- Icing Glaze
- Icing Sugar – 1 cup
- Milk – 2½ tablespoons
To Decorate
- Mini M&Ms
- Egg White – 1
- Icing Sugar – 1½ cups
- Black Food Colouring, piping bag
Instructions
1. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
2. Place the butter in a mixing bowl and using electric beaters, beat until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla, beating together for a minute until fluffy and combined.
3. Add both flours and beat until combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead and form a ball. Flatten into a disc. Dust the bench and a rolling pin lightly and roll the disc into an even slab around 1cm in thickness. Don’t roll it too thin or it’s likely to break when you move.
5. Cut your shapes with a lightly floured cookie cutter.
6. Place the dough shapes on the trays and put them in the fridge for at least an hour. In a preheated 190°C oven, bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
7. To make the glaze, mix together the icing sugar and milk to a pouring consistency. Transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl and dip the surface of the biscuit into the mix. Lift gently and let the excess drip off, before quickly turning it over and leaving it to set. Let set for around 30 minutes.
8. Make the royal icing by mixing together the egg white and the icing sugar.
9. Add a squirt of black food colouring and mix in. Add a few drops of water if required to thin it out to a piping consistency. Transfer to a piping bag.
10. Pipe a string of black icing onto the biscuit. Press the Mini M&Ms into the string to make lights – and you’re done!
A delicious DIY homemade Christmas gift
As mentioned above, these Christmas shortbread cookies are great for hungry kids but they also work well as a homemade Christmas gift. You will need to wrap the cookies individually in cellophane bags or wrap. Cellophane bags from your local cake or cookie suppliers are awesome. Just seal them with sticky tape.
We love the idea of placing your cookies in a sturdy wooden box like the $4 Kmart Bamboo Trays. Add a bit of festive shredded paper to the bottom and then place your cookies on top. If you’re adding a few different cookies or baked treats to the box, start adding the biggest treats in first, then fill up the spaces.
What other baked treats can you add to your gifting box besides Christmas shortbread cookies? Bake a batch of gingerbread biscuits, or even roll some no-bake bliss balls for a delicious gift.
Then add a pretty ribbon, a gift card and some candy canes for that festive touch – and YOU’RE READY TO GIFT IT!
Check out our full section of Christmas baking for more great biscuits to make, decorate and enjoy:
