During the holidays, there are office get-togethers and cookie exchanges everywhere you go. These cookies are sure to be the talk of the town with their exotic mix of spices and fruit flavours. Use the base recipe and choose your add ins for delicious holiday treats.
Ingredients
-
226 g / 1 cup of Mirage Margarine, melted
60 g / 1/2 cup of icing sugar, sifted
260 g / 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 g / 1 tsp salt
Add Ins
Cinnamon Date
-
3/4 cup of dates, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
Apricot Saffron
-
3/4 cup of apricots, roughly chopped
6 strands of Saffron
Green Cardamom Lemon
-
1 tsp of ground green cardamom
2 tsp of freshly grated lemon zest
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C)
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the Mirage Margarine on high speed for 3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides several times with a rubber spatula.
- Add in the icing sugar, vanilla and salt. If you are using saffron or lemon zest, be sure to add them in during this step, not with the flour. Mix on medium speed for 6 minutes, scraping the bowl down with a rubber spatula.
- While the sugar and margarine are creaming, combine the add ins of your choice with the flour. Mix thoroughly being sure to break up any clumps of the dried fruit.
- Scrape down the margarine mixture once more and add in the dry mixture.
- Mix on low speed until the dough is just combined and even. Over-mixing will make a tough cookies, so stop once the flour is no longer visible.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to properly hydrate the flour and make it easier to roll.
- Remove from the fridge and roll out onto a floured counter to about 2cm thick. Cut the cookies into any shape you wish, either with a sharp knife or cookie cutter.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with approximately 2 cm of space between the cookies.
- Place in the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Be sure to rotate the tray after 6 minutes of baking.
- Transfer the cookies to a resting rack and allow them to cool before eating or decorating.
