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Regional, seasonal food with original recipes by Susan S. Bradley

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Home/Christmas Cookies/Almond Butter Poinsettia Cookies

Almond Butter Poinsettia Cookies

Almond Butter Poinsettia Cookies | LunaCafeAlmond Butter Poinsettia Cookies

This recipe is super-sized, as are most of my holiday cookie recipes. I suggest shaping poinsettias out of the first rolling only, however, as the scraps may be a little too dry to shape easily. Thus you will not get quite as many poinsettia cookies here as you might expect. The scraps can be rolled a second time and cut with cookie cutters.

5 cups King Arthur all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 cups unsalted butter, cool room temperature (15 minutes out of the refrigerator)
2½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, cool room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon almond extract
several drops of red food coloring

Decoration
clear sanding sugar or sprinkles
opal or silver shot

  1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  3. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until well incorporated, and then beat in the extracts and food coloring.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix very briefly in short bursts, just until incorporated.
  5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, divide into four equal portions, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  6. On a flat countertop, lay out a pastry cloth and cover a heavy rolling pin with a rolling pin cover. Flour the pastry cloth and rolling pin cover lightly.
  7. Working with one disk of dough at a time (keeping the others in the refrigerator), roll the dough out to a square shape with approximately 1/8-inch thickness.
  8. Using a 2- to 2½-inch-wide plastic ruler, cut the dough into 2- to 2½-inch squares. Cover the rolled dough with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out as you work. These cookies take time to shape.
  9. Remove one cookie square at a time from under the plastic wrap cover. Using any utensil with a ½-inch radius on one end, impress a ½-inch circle in the center of the cookie, without cutting through the cookie.
  10. Using a small pizza cutter, pastry wheel, or sharp knife, cut from each corner to the edge of the center circle you just marked. Carefully fold every other cut point to the center of the cookie and press gently to adhere.
  11. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies, one-by-one, immediately after shaping.
  12. When the sheet is full, press 3 balls of silver or opal shot into the center of each cookie and then sprinkle heavily with clear or red sanding sugar.
  13. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, let sit for 1 minute, and then remove with a thin spatula to a wire rack to cool.
  14. When completely cool, pack in layers, separated by parchment paper, into a cookie tin.

Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark location, the flavor and texture of these cookies will actually improve over 2-3 weeks. They may also be frozen for 2-3 months.

Makes about 5 dozen poinsettia cookies, plus 3 dozen “scrap” cookies.

Copyright 2015 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Written by:
Susan S. Bradley
Published on:
December 7, 2015

Categories: Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Deck the Halls Cookie Collection, DessertsTags: butter cookies, Christmas cookies, holiday cookies

About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren

    December 8, 2015 at 6:01 pm

    I love almond flavored anything so these look wonderful. I may try to make these with a paleo flour blend this weekend!! So festive

    • Susan S. Bradley

      December 9, 2015 at 9:57 am

      Lauren, me too. 🙂

  2. Abigail Raines

    December 8, 2015 at 9:54 am

    Oh these look so festive and delightful! With almond and butter flavors – I am totally sold to these! Yum!!!

  3. Sara

    December 8, 2015 at 8:34 am

    These are absolutely beautiful, I want to make them with my kids soon!

  4. Marye

    December 8, 2015 at 5:27 am

    These are so pretty and they sound delicious!

  5. Christie

    December 8, 2015 at 5:08 am

    These remind me of spritz cookies, which happen to be my favorite. I have a feeling these would be my “new” favorite.

  6. melbourne based dentist

    September 11, 2014 at 2:19 am

    Hi there! This is my first visit to your blog!
    We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a
    community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial
    information to work on. You have done a extraordinary
    job!

  7. melbourne based dentist

    September 11, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Hi there! This is my first visit to your blog!
    We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a
    community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial
    information to work on. You have done a extraordinary
    job!

  8. EB Ferdig

    January 3, 2009 at 8:22 am

    Tiffany made these for Christmas & they were wonderful. I lucky to have brought some home & Selaam & I just finished the last ones this morning. Definitely a deliciously special cookie!

    • sms bradley

      January 3, 2009 at 10:07 am

      Thank you, EB, I’m so glad you liked them! I’ve got another sensational cookie for you and Tiffany that I’m testing today for LunaCafe’s February All Chocolate All Month It’s All about Love celebration. Nuvrei Bakery in the Pearl (http://www.nuvrei.com/) makes these and I have to buy one every time I am anywhere near their little shop or one of the coffee shops that sells their goodies. They are intensely chocolately, loaded with walnuts, and wonderfully chewy. I’m now offically addicted to them. 🙂

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