Well, it took me much longer than in past years but I’ve finally gotten my bake-on for Christmas. Maybe it was the exhilaration of a lunchtime early-mark for the last day of work, maybe it was the sunshine – did you hear that? SUNSHINE and warmth and blue sky, thank goodness – maybe it was the realisation that it was only 2 days from Christmas and instead of 5 different kinds of cookies and 2 different pies and days of planning for a Christmas feast, I’d only made Cranberry Bars and Gingerbread.
So I started to bake, first the dough for these cutout cookies, then the other half of the Gingerbread and then 84th & 3rd @ The Pantry ChocChip Cookies.
I’ve already decided that there will be a New Years Pumpkin Pie, but that’s for next week!
The inspiration for these cookies came once again from a vintage family recipe. And once again I have turned it upside down and inside out – and I’m thrilled with the result. To start I used a combination of Amaranth Flour from Bob’s Red Mill and Organic Buckwheat Flour.
The nutty flavour of both the flours matched perfectly with a healthy dose of orange zest, and the coconut oil gave them a brilliantly flaky finish. Just between you and me this would probably make for a fantastic pie or tart crust. But for now cutout cookies – I’ve even saved some for Christmas Day – ha!
Orange Amaranth Cutout Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 c extra virgin coconut oil
- 1/3 c honey or apple juice concentrate
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- zest from 1/2 an orange
- 1 c organic buckwheat flour + extra to roll dough
- 1 c organic amaranth flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp almond milk
Orange Glaze
- 1/2 c icing sugar
- 1 tsp orange juice
- 1 tsp lemon juice
METHOD
Sift together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, beat coconut oil with a rubber spatula until creamy – the oil should be semi-soft at room temperature. Beat in honey or apple juice concentrate. Beat in egg, vanilla and orange zest.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk — starting and ending with flour mixture. Combine well, dough will be soft. Wrap dough and refrigerate for an hour or two.
Preheat oven to 180 C [350 F]. Line two baking trays with baking [parchment] paper or grease well.
Dust a large piece of baking paper with some extra buckwheat flour. Roll out half of the dough to approximately 2mm thick, using extra buckwheat flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the paper or rolling pin.
Dip cookie cutters into flour and cut out shapes. Press scraps back together and re-roll. If dough gets too soft while you are rolling it out pop it – still on the baking paper – straight into the fridge for a few minutes to firm back up.
Bake for approx 6 minutes. You want the cookies to be just golden on the edges. Watch them carefully from about 5 mins as thinner cookies and smaller shapes will cook more quickly.
Let cool and spread with orange glaze. Sprinkle with coloured sugar or any other decorations that take your fancy. Makes approximately 5 dozen small cutouts. Use bigger shapes, get less cookies.
For Orange Glaze:
Stir together icing sugar and juices until smooth, adding a few drops of water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Use a pallet knife or non-serrated butter knife to spread a thin layer over the cookies.
vegetarian // gluten-free // dairy-free // refined sugar-free // soy-free // nut-free
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Bob’s Red Mill was kind enough recently to send me some goodies. They didn’t ask me to do anything with them, but come on now, it’s a box of flours, of course I was going to have a play. And if a delicious recipe comes out of it, it is only fair that I share it with you!
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