Christmas Stars Recipes

CHRISTMAS STAR TWISTED BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy. In another bowl, combine milk, egg, butter, sugar and salt; add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 12-in. circle. Place on a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Spread with one-third of the jam to within 1/2 in. of edge. Repeat twice, layering dough and jam, and ending with final portion of dough., Place a 2-1/2-in. round cutter on top of the dough in center of circle (do not press down). With a sharp knife, make 16 evenly spaced cuts from round cutter to edge of dough, forming a starburst. Remove cutter; grasp 2 adjacent strips and rotate twice outward. Pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining strips., Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes. (Watch during final 5 minutes for any dripping.) Remove from oven; brush with melted butter, avoiding areas where jam is visible. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHRISTMAS STARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for three hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
• On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into star shapes using a 3- to 4-inch star cookie cutter. Using a 1- to 2-inch star cookie cutter, cut a star into the center of half of the big stars. Place the full stars on one cookie sheet and the "tops"--the cookies with the center cutouts--on another. Sprinkle colored sugar on the star tops, if desired.
• Bake in preheated oven until edges are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely. (You can re-roll the mini stars cut out of the centers, or bake them separately for about 5 minutes.) Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
• After cookies cool completely, spread 1 teaspoon of preserves in the center of each full star cookie. Place a cut-out cookie on top of the layer of preserves. Pack cookies between waxed paper in a covered tin to preserve freshness.

CHRISTMAS STARS

Steps:

• In medium bowl, with electric mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg, corn syrup, lemon extract and lemon rind until well-blended.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour and salt.
• Gather dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic.
• Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
• Soften dough a bit at room temperature before rolling out.
• Heat oven to 325 and lightly grease two baking sheets.
• Roll out dough between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/4" thickness.
• Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2" satar cookie cutter.
• Bake 12 - 15 minutes (until lightly browned).
• Cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks.
• For glaze: whisk together confectioner's sugar and lemon juice.
• Divide the glaze into two bowls and tint one with yellow food coloring.
• One cookie at a time, spread either the white or the yellow glaze onto the cookie.
• Using a toothpick, drag the alternate color of glaze through the wet cookie to make wispy designs.
• Dip edges of cookie into sugar crystals.

CHEESE STARS

Steps:

• Unroll the pastry and sprinkle most of the cheese over one half of the sheet. Fold the pastry in half to cover the cheese and seal it in.
• Dust your rolling pin and work surface with a little flour and put your pastry sheet on it. Roll it out until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Using cookie cutters, cut the pastry into shapes and put them on the prepared baking sheets. (Put the cutters on the dough close together so that less pastry is wasted. You can fold the trimmings back on themselves and re-roll to cut out more shapes.)
• Brush the shapes with milk and add a pinch of cheese and a sprinkling of your chosen topping, if using.
• Bake in the oven for 10-12 mins or until risen and golden, then transfer to a serving plate. Will keep in an airtight container for 3 days.

DANISH, PUFF PASTRY, CHRISTMAS STARS

Steps:

• Put prunes, water& sugar in a saucepan.
• simmer for 20 minutes, cool, drain off any excess liquid & puree coarsely.
• Roll out the thawed puff pastry to make 4 12x12 inch squares.
• Cut into 3" squares and place a level teaspoon of prunes into the center of each square.
• Cut a 1 1/2 slit from each corner toward the center of each square.
• Fold alternate points toward the center and press together in the middle.
• Let rest on an ungreased baking sheet or baking stone (cover the stone with a sheet of baking paper) for 15 minutes.
• Brush with beaten egg.
• Place in 450F oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until flakey and golden.

CINNAMON STARS

Steps:

• Stir together the almonds, cinnamon, and lemon zest until combined.
• Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Slowly sift in the confectioner's sugar, continuing to beat until the mixture is stiff. Set aside 1/3 cup of the egg white mixture for the glaze. Fold in the almond mixture.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a surface that has been sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. Using a 2 1/2-inch star cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on the cookie sheets.
• To make the glaze, add the lemon juice to the reserved egg white mixture, stirring until smooth. Brush the tops of the cookies lightly with the glaze. (If the glaze starts to thicken, add a few more drops of lemon juice.)
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When done, they will be light brown and soft in the center. Remove and cool on wire racks.