Piped Lemon Nutmeg Cookies & Sweet Greetings

 

Santa Claus
North Pole
H0H 0H0

Dearest Santa,

Please find attached, an invoice for damages sustained to our roof, chimney fireplace and floors during your last visit. I hope that this will receive your immediate attention, as I have had your mail returned undeliverable each month for the past eleven months.

It is not that we do not appreciate your hard work and generosity; we, in fact, look forward to your visit each year. This year, however, we'd much prefer you and your reindeer skip our home. Your visits have become too stressful and costly an event - awaking with a start thinking our home is being broken into and finding our fireplace and floors destroyed and shingles displaced, no longer appeals to us. We will find a more reasonable way to fill the space under our tree with gifts.

Respectfully,
J
p.s. - In the event you visit, I am certain you will enjoy these cookies. I've shared the recipe below.

Each year, I create e-cards to send to family, friends and colleagues using family photos, or other christmas stock photos. As I was developing this post, it occurred to me that a few of the shots I took would translate well into holiday cards - Sweet Greetings, let's say. I think my photographs have improved somewhat from last year, so this year, in addition to e-cards, I'll be printing up a few of these Sweet Greetings to send via snail mail. Each card will include a recipe on back of the treat featured on the cover. And the best part, it's done all from the comfort of my swivel chair, using iPhoto.

So there is only one question you need to ask yourself...have you been nice or naughty?

Piped Lemon Nutmeg Cookies

Perfect for the holidays, the combination of lemon and nutmeg play nicely on the palate. Just mix, pipe, bake and enjoy!

Print Recipe

Course: Dessert

Servings: 3 dozen

Author: I Sugar Coat It

Ingredients

• Cookies
• 650 butter soft
• a pinch of salt
• 10 g vanilla
• 400 g icing sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 6 eggs
• 150 ml milk
• 500 g pastry flour
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• Toppings
• 150 g raspberry jam
• coating chocolate
• Chocolate
• vermicelli

Instructions

• With the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, cream the butter, salt, vanilla and sugar on the low/medium until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Zest the lemon and grated the nutmeg directly onto the batter. Mix.
• Add the eggs to the above one at a time until incorporated. Scrape bowl.
• Slowly add the milk and mix until blended.  Scrape the bowl.
• Sift and add the flours to the above and mix until just incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the bowl, ensuring all ingredients are well blended.
• Prepare a large piping bag with a #6 star tip. Pipe cookies onto lined baking trays. The batter should fill 4 -5 baking trays depending on size. To ensure cookies bake evenly, pipe cookies that are similar in size onto one sheet. Leave enough space between each cookie (approx. 1.5”) for expansion and to allow even heat distribution.
• Bake at 375ºF for approximately 10 minutes until light brown in color. Let the cookies cool.
• To decorate cookies:
• sandwich the smaller cookies together with raspberry jam, dip half the hearts in melted chocolate and sprinkle with vermicelli, or drizzle with chocolate.

Notes

The original recipe called for a combination of 320g shortening and 330g butter. The shortening makes the batter easier to pipe and prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking. I try to avoid shortening, so opted for all butter. Ensure
the piped batter is chilled prior to baking, to prevent extra spread.

Tried this recipe?Mention @isugarcoatit or tag #isugarcoatit !