Spiced Snowflakes Recipes

GLAZED SPICED SNOWFLAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add half of flour mixture, then 1/3 cup water, then remaining flour mixture, beating on low after each addition until just incorporated. Shape dough into 3 disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Working with one disk at a time, roll out to 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured parchment. Cover with a doily; gently roll to make an imprint. (Dough should now be about 1/8 inch thick.) Remove doily and freeze dough until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut dough first using a 5-inch snowflake-shaped cutter, then cut remaining dough using a 3-inch snowflake-shaped cutter and 1 1/2-inch snowflake-shaped cutter. Chill and reroll scraps. Arrange large cookies on one parchment-lined baking sheet and medium and small cookies on another; freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Bake until cookies set around edges, 16 to 18 minutes for large, 12 to 14 minutes for medium and small. Transfer cookies on sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. If necessary, add more milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is slightly thicker than heavy cream. Dip each cookie, design-side down, into glaze, tilting to evenly coat, then transfer to rack until glaze is set, about 10 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

DELICATE ICING SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Beat powdered sugar, meringue powder and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until sugar is moistened. Beat on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until very glossy and stiff peaks form.
• Place icing in decorating bag with #10 tip. Or place icing in strong plastic bag; cut off a tip from one corner of bag. Keep damp paper towel over tip when not in use to prevent icing from hardening.
• Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper or cooking parchment paper. Enlarge or reduce patterns (use your browser's search to find and print snowflake patterns); slide patterns under waxed paper. Trace patterns by piping on frosting, tracing longest lines of pattern first. Use a small paintbrush dipped into water to smooth any irregularities, working on each snowflake as it is piped. For candles, draw snowflakes freehand or use toothpick or pin to etch design before piping icing.
• Lightly brush entire snowflake with water; immediately sprinkle with glitter (use only edible glitter or sugar if snowflakes are to be eaten). Let dry; remove from waxed paper. To hang as decorations, attach nylon thread to one end.

BUTTER SNOW FLAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and egg yolk; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Fill a cookie press or pastry bag with dough, and form cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cookies are golden brown on the peaks and on the bottoms. Remove from cookie sheets at once to cool on wire racks.

SPICED SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, spices and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. If dough is too soft to mold, refrigerate until firm enough.
• Spoon dough onto large sheet of plastic wrap. Roll into 7-inch-long, 2 1/4-inch-diameter log. Wrap tightly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets. Unwrap dough and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place on baking sheets, spacing slices 1 inch apart. Bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)
• Place doilies or stencils atop cookies. Sift powdered sugar over. Carefully remove doilies or stencils and serve.

GLITTERY SNOW FLAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Combine the flour and cornstarch; beat with the mixer for 5 to 10 minutes. The batter needs to be soft and fluffy.
• Fit a cookie press with a star disc and fill with cookie dough. Press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with edible glitter.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. They will not brown on top so peek at the bottom of a cookie after 20 minutes. Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight tin for up to two weeks.

PULL-APART PUFF PASTRY SNOWFLAKE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Lay a sheet of puff pastry on a clean, flat surface. Place a 9-inch round cake pan on top of the pastry and use a paring knife or pastry wheel to cut out a 9-inch circle of pastry. Discard the pastry scraps. Set aside and repeat with the remaining pastry sheets.
• Place a pastry circle on the prepared baking sheet. Brush evenly with half of the melted butter, then sprinkle half of the brown sugar and half of the spice mix over the sugar. Repeat with another pastry circle and the remaining butter, brown sugar, and spice mix, then place the remaining pastry circle on top and gently pat down to press the layers together.
• Place a 1-inch round cutter in the center of the dough. Do not press down or cut through the dough.
• Use a pastry wheel or bench to cut the dough into 4 triangles, fanning out from the center circle. Then, cut each triangle into quarters, creating 16 wedges. Remove the cutter from the center.
• Lift 2 adjacent wedges and twist away from each other, then pinch the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining wedges.
• Brush the snowflake with the beaten egg, covering completely.
• Bake the snowflake until the edges are golden brown and crispy and the center is cooked through, 40-45 minutes. If the edges are getting too dark before the snowflake is finished baking, cover lightly with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the snowflake to a serving platter and dust with the powdered sugar. Serve with chocolate sauce for dipping.
• Enjoy!