Santa Cookies

Nothing announces the arrival of the holiday season like the smell of freshly baked cookies and there’s no better way to celebrate the festive season than by decorating Christmas cookies. These Santa cookies are easy to bake and are an eye-catcher on any cookie tray. They are fun, delicious and make heartwarming homemade gifts for friends and neighbours.
When the smell of freshly baked cookies wafts through the house and we decorate the cute little Santas, the Christmas spirit comes alive. These cookies are not only a treat for the palate, but also for the soul, as giving cookies a cute and festive makeover brings the joy and warmth of the season into our homes.

Dough	Decoration
250 g White spelt flour 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp sea salt 125 g Unsalted butter, softened 75 g Xylitol (or caster sugar) 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 Medium egg	100 g Icing sugar 1-2 tbsp Water Red food colouring Candy eyeballs Dark chocolate writing icing Desiccated coconut Mimosa white sugar

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and xylito or caster sugar in a bowl for 5 minutes or until pale and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and egg. Add in flour mixture and mix until combined.
Turn out the dough and knead briefly until smooth. Shape the dough into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness. Use a 6cm and 4cm heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, re-rolling trimmings if necessary.
Place cookies 3cm apart on the lined trays. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
Sieve the icing sugar and gradually mix with the water to form a thick icing. Remove about 1/3 and colour with red food colouring. Pour both icings into separately into two plastic piping bags, cut off a small corner of the bag with the red icing and apply the hats, then use the white icing to decorate the faces with hats and beards. Sprinkle some desiccated coconut on the beards. Attach the candy eyeballs to the larger hearts with white icing. Decorate the small hearts with dark chocolate writing icing as eyes. Press mimosa white sugar onto the hats for the bobble. Allow the icing to set.