Claus Cookies (Santa Claus Cookies)
Holiday cookies featuring oval Santa Claus faces and bell-shaped bodies, decorated with royal icing and candy embellishments.
Ingredients
Cookie dough (recipe on p.118)
to taste
Royal icing (recipe on p.118)
to taste
Powdered egg white (for royal icing)
to taste
Red melted candy (for gluing)
to taste
Oval cookie cutter (largest size for cutting the head)
1
Red licorice lace (cut into 1½ inch segments for arms, 1¾ inch segments for legs)
to taste
Large spice drops (flattened then cut into shoe and glove shapes)
to taste
Instructions
1
Make cookies in advance
Prepare and roll out the dough. For each Santa Claus cookie, cut 1 head using the largest oval cookie cutter, and cut 1 body using the bell-shaped cutter in the set (cut off the bell clapper). Bake the cookies and let them cool completely.
2
Decorate head cookies
Decorate the cookies with royal icing on a cake board lined with parchment paper. Spread a light peach color over the oval head cookies. Use a size 8 piping tip to pipe the hat, extending the tail about ½ inch beyond the edge of the cookie (smooth it with a finger dusted with cornstarch). Add C-shaped beard, zigzag hat brim, swirled pom-pom and outline ears using a size 3 piping tip.
3
Add head details
Use a size 1 piping tip to dot the eyes and nose, and outline the mouth; let dry.
4
Decorate body cookies
Spread red royal icing over the bell-shaped body cookies. Use a size 3 piping tip to pipe round decorations, and outline buttons with a size 1 piping tip; let dry.
5
Cut candy accessories
Cut the licorice into 1½ inch segments for arms and 1¾ inch segments for legs. Glue the pieces to the back of the body cookies using melted candy.
6
Make shoes and gloves
Flatten the large spice drops between sheets of parchment paper. Cut 1 inch half-circles as shoes, and shape ¾ inch ovals as gloves. Glue them on using melted candy. Pipe zigzag decorations on the gloves with a size 3 piping tip; let dry.
7
Assemble the cookies
Glue the head to the body using melted candy; let set. Each cookie serves 1 person.
