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Christmas cookies

I received this recipe from my Mom. They are very easy to make,  and the most important, they can be made by kids.

George Sand, a French novelist, in her novel "The Snow Man" describes the holiday spirit and especially the Christmas dinner. I did not bake (not yet)  French Bûche de Noël, but these cookies (their shapes and flavor) give everything what is essential during holiday season.

Photos
The repast brought by the officers was capital; but Christian saw plainly that the young girls, and the danneman himself, were sadly mortified at the sight of all this good food, and that after looking forward with delight to offering them their rustic viands, they scarcely ventured to place them on the table. Accordingly he made it a point to eat of these, and to praise them; and, indeed, his politeness cost him little, for the danneman's smoked salmon and fresh game were excellent, the butter made of reindeer's milk was delicious, the turnips were tender and sweet, and the sweetmeats — some northern berry preserved — aromatic and refreshing. Christian did not like so well the beverage of sour milk, which was handed round in pewter pitchers; he preferred the light wine made from a different sort of berry, which grows in the greatest abundance throughout the country, and which the people cook and preserve in a thousand ways. But most of all, he admired the Christmas cake that was brought on with the dessert, and which had been made expressly for the danneman's guests, so that they might be able to cut it; for custom required that the cake reserved for the family should remain untouched until Twelfth Night. 

"The Snow Man" by George Sand

Total Time:  1 h 
Prep:          15 min
Chilling:       30 min
Baking:       10-15 min
Level:          Very easy

Ingredients:
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 1/3  sticks (500 gr) butter
  • 2 oz  fresh yeast 
  • 1/2 cup milk + 3 tsp sugar
  • 1-2 egg whites
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Direction:
  1. Warm milk to about 90 -110 degrees F. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar  over warm milk, stir until dissolved  Let stand for about  10-15 minutes.  Yeats must be activated with sugar and milk until it forms a foam.
  2. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Dice  the cold butter and add into flour. 
  4. Work until it resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. 
  5. Pour  the yeast mixture. 
  6. Add 1 egg yolk. 
  7. Combine well all ingredients.
  8. Place the dough into the fridge for 30 min. 
  9. Remove dough to lightly floured surface. 
  10. Divide the dough into two equal parts if necessary.
  11. Roll out one part the dough to get a square.  
  12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
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13. Cut the rolled dough using various cookie cutters of your choice. 

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14. Dip gently ONLY one side of the cookie into the egg white.

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15. Dip gently the white egg side of the cookie into sugar.

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16. Place cookies ( with the sugary surface on the top) 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. 

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17. Bake cookies around 10 minutes or until gold. 

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