Christmas is upon us and I’m late with my Advent Calendar. We were supposed to open the first paper bag yesterday morning, still in our pajamas. I spent a few joyful hours in the kitchen this year, playing among flour, butter and chocolate, so I want to tell you about the cookies tucked into these white and red paper bags.
Today is December second — the second step in a long countdown that will carry us to Christmas in the blink of an eye. Last night I noticed the first holiday lights in Florence and began compiling gift ideas for friends and family. I’m ready to be happily swept up in the season’s magic.
My idea of Christmas is classic and uncomplicated: a red wool sweater patterned with reindeer, familiar carols, a kiss under the mistletoe, late-night gift wrapping to surprise loved ones in the morning, and long tables where family and friends sit elbow to elbow. I’m a romantic and a dreamer — Christmas is my favorite time of year.
Everyone seems to feel that special warmth at Christmas. It might come from the scent of baking sugar in the air, the balsamic resin and wood of a Christmas tree, or the mesmerizing glow of twinkling lights. Each year I find reasons to give in to the season’s charm.
Last weekend I celebrated the start of the season the way I did as a child: by making an Advent Calendar and hiding tiny shortbread cookies inside red and white paper bags. The kitchen filled with the festive aromas of butter and spices.
I used my mum’s pasta frolla recipe, the Italian shortcrust pastry I learned making crostate and biscotti on our marble kitchen table over many years. I swapped 100 grams of wheat flour for rice flour and used a local organic, lightly refined wheat flour. The result was crumbly, honest cookies with an authentic taste.
I melted some dark chocolate in a bain-marie and dipped half of the cookies into it. I wanted to recreate the traditional Italian frollini — shortbread biscuits half-coated in chocolate that you find in pastry shops. I flavoured the dough with a warming mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla; you can use your favourite holiday aromas, from cardamom to citrus zest.
And here’s my first Christmas gift to you: a new video recipe to bring a touch of magic to your kitchen.
Below is the recipe for these cookies, written clearly for home bakers, Sunday bakers, or anyone filling paper bags for an Advent Calendar, a stocking or a visit from Santa and Sint Niklaas.
Christmas cookies
Giulia
10
12
22
Cookies, Dessert
Italian
Ingredients
- 200 g of tender wheat flour
- 100 g of rice flour
- 150 g of cane sugar
- 150 g of butter, room temperature
- 2 pinches of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla)
- 1 egg
- 100 g of dark chocolate
Instructions
- Mix together the wheat flour, rice flour, cane sugar and spices. Add the diced butter and rub everything together with your hands until the mixture looks crumbly.
- Add a beaten egg and mix quickly, just enough to form a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, knead briefly to make it easier to work, then roll out to about 5 mm thickness using a rolling pin and a light dusting of rice flour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) and bake the cookies for 11–12 minutes, until they are lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler and dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate. Place the cookies back on the rack until the chocolate sets.
- Store the cookies in a tin or an airtight container — they will keep well for many days.
Some more ideas for your Christmas cookies
- If you want an impressive selection of Tuscan biscotti, try classic almond cantucci, or white chocolate and dried apricot biscotti, honey-and-walnut biscotti, or chestnut-flour cantucci.
- If you need gluten-free options, almond and rice flour cookies are a great choice.
- If lactose is an issue, try olive oil cookies or dried fruit biscuits for a dairy-free alternative.
- If you love chocolate and little treats, try calzoncelli — chocolate and almond Christmas cookies from southern Italy.
- From Siena, you can explore spiced traditional cookies with medieval roots: ricciarelli, cavallucci and panforte bites.