Name: Loaded festive cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 15 cookies
Ingredients: 100 g baking margarine; 100 g caster sugar; 100 g soft brown sugar; 200 g plain flour; 1.5 tsp baking powder; 1.5 tsp ground ginger; 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon; Zest of 1 orange; 2 medium free range eggs; 60 g blanched almonds (roughly chopped); 30 g dried cranberries; 40 g white chocolate chips; 40 g milk chocolate chips; 140 g icing sugar; 2 tbsp juice from your orange; Edible gold dust; Edible silver balls

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If you’re looking for an excuse to get the festive celebrations started early with some Christmas baking, these cookies are just the ticket. They’re loaded with warming spices, cranberries, chocolate and nuts and topped with a citrus icing and a dusting of edible gold glitter.

With a crisp outer and gorgeously soft inner, these festive cookies are packed with the flavours and aromas of Christmas time.

Here’s how to make them.

Ingredients

100g baking margarine
100g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
200g plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange
2 medium free range eggs
60g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
30g dried cranberries
40g white chocolate chips
40g milk chocolate chips

For the icing

140g icing sugar
2 tbsp juice from your orange
Edible gold dust
Edible silver balls

Instructions

To make the cookies

Preheat oven to 180C/355F (160C/320F fan). Put both sugars and the margarine in a mixing bowl and beat together.

Add the flour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon and fold through.

Add the orange zest and eggs and combine into a loose cookie dough.

Add in the almonds, cranberries and chocolate chips and fold together.

Drop separate spoonfuls of the mixture, spaced well apart, onto a greased baking sheet, using more than one baking sheet if necessary. At about 50g per dollop, I got 15 cookies.

Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until golden-brown – since they contain brown sugar and cinnamon, you’ll find they go a little darker than standard sugar cookies.

To decorate

Mix the icing sugar and orange juice together until you have a thick, runny paste.

Drizzle over your cookies in a zigzag pattern.

Spray with the gold dust, as sparingly or generously as you wish, then add a few silver balls to each cookie while the icing is still wet and leave to set.

Once set, eat immediately or store in an airtight container to keep them fresh.

If you’d like to print this recipe to try for yourself at home, just hit PRINT on the recipe card below.

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5 from 9 votes

Loaded festive cookies

With a crisp outer and gorgeously soft inner, these festive cookies loaded with cranberries, spices, chocolate and nuts are packed with the flavours and aromas of Christmas.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Festive makes

Servings: cookies

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Emily Leary

Ingredients

For the cookies

100 g (3.53 oz) baking margarine
100 g (3.53 oz) caster sugar
100 g (3.53 oz) soft brown sugar
200 g (7.05 oz) plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange
2 medium free range eggs
60 g (2.12 oz) blanched almonds roughly chopped
30 g (1.06 oz) dried cranberries
40 g (1.41 oz) white chocolate chips
40 g (1.41 oz) milk chocolate chips

For the icing

140 g (4.94 oz) icing sugar
2 tbsp juice from your orange
Edible gold dust
Edible silver balls