Party Cookie Recipes - Swiss Christmas Shapes Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large egg whites

• 1 1/4 cups/250 g superfine/caster sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar

• 1 1/2 tbsp dark rum

• 1 tbsp butter, melted

• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

• 2 1/2 cups/375 g finely ground almonds + more as needed for rolling

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

ICING:

• 1 1/3 cups/200 g confectioners'/icing sugar

• 2 tbsp hot water + more as needed

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Method:

1. Beat the egg whites and superfine and vanilla sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and glossy.

2. Mix in the rum, butter, cocoa, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix in the ground almonds and baking powder to form a stiff dough.

3. Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line four cookie sheets with parchment paper. Discard the plastic wrap.

5. Roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch (5 mm). Use a 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.

6. Gather the dough scraps, re-roll, and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used.

7. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until pale gold and firm at the edges. Transfer to racks to cool.

8. Icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar with enough water to make a thick, spread able icing. Spread over the tops of the cookies.