Kris Kringles
Wow, what a beautiful and great tasting cookie! As I continue to make my way through all the holiday cookie recipes in Cookies by Bess, I continue to be amazed at the different types of cookies and the great, new flavors I’m experiencing. Kris Kringles are similar to the Butternut Swedish Cookie recipe in how the cookies are made and how they look, but there are very different in the way they taste. The grated orange and lemon rind really make this cookie spectacular!
I am rating Kris Kringles 3-stars for cooking difficulty because of all the steps involved in getting the cookie together before baking. I’m used to the process, so it went quickly for me, but if you haven’t made the Butternut Swedish Cookies before, it might take you a bit longer to get a routine down for rolling the dough, then rolling the dough ball in egg whites and then again in chopped nuts. But, once you get it down it goes pretty fast.
This recipe calls for candied cherries. I’ve used maraschino cherries before, but never candied cherries. I picked them up at my local grocery store, they were with all the holiday baking ingredients. Easy to find during the holidays, not sure if they are sold through out the year. The big difference I noticed between candied and maraschino cherries is the texture. The candied cherries are not packaged in liquid, so they are much more dense and even sticky. Their flavor is less sweet, which surprised me. They have almost a slight anise type flavor.
The other big difference in this recipe is the cake flour. The basic different between cake flour and all-purpose flour is the protein content. Cake flour has less protein (about 8%) than all-purpose flour (about 10%). So, it’s not a good idea to substitute one for the other.
The recipe calls for chopped nuts…but doesn’t tell us what kind! I decided to go with walnuts because I wanted this cookie to be different than the Butternut Swedish Cookies, which uses pecans, and I thought the walnuts would pair nicely with the citrus and the candied cherries flavors.
Once I got all my ingredients together, I was ready to get moving on making the dough. I tried to be as prepared as possible, so I grated the orange and lemons before I started mixing everything together. I think this helps save time and then I don’t have to keep starting and stopping the mixer. Sometimes I get confused or mixed up if I start and stop too many times ?
I also prepared the egg whites, nuts, and candied cherry before beginning to assemble the cookies. This way, I could breeze through my routine versus having to start and stop at each stop. Efficiency is the key when making this type of cookie!
The consistency of the dough is slightly wet versus dry. The recipe says to put the dough in the refrigerator to chill, which I did for about 15-20 minutes. The dough is much better after it’s chilled. I noticed it started sticking to my hands once it warmed up, so I put it back in the refrigerator between each oven batch to keep it nice and cool and firm.
The recipe mentions rolling the dough balls in beaten egg whites. To do this, I used an electric hand mixer to slowly beat the egg whites until they were a little frothy. This took about 2-3 minutes. I didn’t want them foamy or firm, just a little frothy.
To begin assembling the cookies, I set up everything needed and a cookie sheet prepared. I made the dough balls small, about ¾ of an inch round. After rolling and shaping with my palms, I rolled the ball in the egg whites and then in the finely chopped walnuts. The finely chopped walnuts stuck nicely to the dough ball.
Next, I placed a small piece of candied cherry on each cookie. I tried to cut the cherries into shapes that fit on the cookies with out covering it up completely. Make sure to press the cherry down a bit so it sticks.
Finally, I was ready to put them in the oven.
The cookies look the same before and after they bake! The bottom of the cookie ball flattens out a little, but other than that the cookie looks the same when done. It doesn’t increase in size and the shape stays the same. This is helpful because it allows you to put quite a few cookies on each cookie sheet, you don’t have to worry about them spreading.
I was so pleased to see how pretty these cookies turned out. The candied cherry adds a nice shine, so it almost sparkles when in the light. The color of the cookie remained a creamy blond color and the walnuts provided just the right amount of texture to make these cookies really stand out when placed on my holiday cookie platters.
The flavor is out of this world! The butter with the orange and lemon is just dreamy! Paired with the earthy walnut flavor and a bit spicy candied cherry is just the right combination to make this cookie a superstar!
This fancy little cookie is beautiful, tastes great, and will make the rest of your holiday cookies and decorations look festive and homey. I hope you Kris Kringles this holiday sesson…I know you will love them!
Happy Holidays!
XXOO,
Janet
Kris Kringles
Ingredients
1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 Tbs grated orange rind
2 tsp grated lemon rinds
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups cake flour
¼ tsp salt
Chopped nuts
Candied cherries
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar, add egg yolks, orange and lemon rind and lemon juice. Mix well. Stir in flour and salt. Beat well. Chill dough. Shape into small balls, and dip into beaten egg whites. Roll lightly in nuts. Press a piece of candied cherry in center of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Recipe Yield
Makes about 8 dozen 1x
Cookie Category: Molded or Shaped
Cookie Difficulty Rating
