Christmas Chocolate Cookies

Original Recipe by Nigella Lawson

Difficulty Level: Easy

Preparation time: 1 hour

Servings: Upto 24 cookies

Ingredients:

FOR THE BISCUITS

• 250 grams of soft butter
• 12 tbsps. powdered sugar
• 5 tbsps. unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (Maida)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

FOR THE FESTIVE TOPPING

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup boiling water 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Christmas sprinkles

Method:

• Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and soft.
• To the whipped mixture, sieve the unsweetened cocoa and beat it in. 
• Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and beat them in. 
• When the mixture is soft and sticky, pinch off pieces about the size of a large walnut, roll them into balls, then slightly flatten them into fat discs.
• Place them on your baking tray lined with parchment paper. Keep them well-spaced.
• Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake each batch for 15 minutes. They will continue to cook as they cool. 
• Remove the baking sheet to a cold surface and let it sit for 15 minutes. 

To make the topping

• Put the unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar, water, and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and whisk over low heat until everything’s smoothly combined. Take off the heat for 10 minutes.
• When the biscuits are cool, drizzle each one with a tablespoonful of chocolate glaze
• Scatter the Christmas sprinkles, while the icing is still warm so that they will stick to the biscuit.

Tip: It is OK if the biscuits look cracked, or out of shape and the icing looks dribbly – that’s the charm of homemade delicacies!

-Deepa Perumal, 

IT Operations Head, PEAKS Academy