Crispy Clementine Cookies

Crispy Clementine Cookies

Every Christmas since my twenties I have been baking these Crispy Clementine Cookies which I adapted from an orange based recipe in my mother’s old 1970 cookbook called Super Scoff. I posted these cookies in my first year of blogging and looking back at the photographs I decided it was high time for a refresh as these cookies really deserve to shine. Oranges and Clementines are an integral part of Christmas for me, I remember as a child putting my orange peel over the flame of a candle just to enjoy the heady Christmasy aroma that mingled with smell of pine from the Christmas tree and the many candle decorations my mum used to make. Not a year went by without blocks of oasis being bought and holly and pine fronds being gathered and made into arrangements with a candle and a bauble of two. I don’t share my mum’s floristry skills but luckily the culinary genes were passed on!

So yesterday I baked a batch Crispy Clementine Cookies and popped them into our gold cherub adorned Christmas cake tin. As soon as my daughter came home from school she saw the tin on the worktop and remarked that she remembered this tin as it once had Crispy Clementine Cookies in it! I told her to open it and you’ve never seen such a beaming smile. A glass of milk and a cookie were quickly devoured. Later my son turned up in the kitchen and on seeing the cookies said “Yay, I love these” before tucking in! Isn’t it great how food and memories can spread such joy.

In the past we used to put these biscuits into little home made cellophane bags (small roasting bags) and tied with a red ribbon along with a label for my kids’ teachers (my daughter loved making the dough and cutting the shapes). I also remember taking along a tin to my son’s toddler group mums’ meeting when we spent the evening wrapping presents and organising the group’s Christmas party. So these Crispy Clementine Cookies have become a very important part of our Christmas tradition and I hope that when my kids eventually leave home they will carry on the tradition-)

I do hope you bake these cookies this Christmas as they so simple and easy to make and the crispy sugar topping makes them extra yummy! Do you bake biscuits at Christmas, do let me know in the comments! I asked some fellow bloggers what they like to bake at this time of year and here are their ideas:

Orange Cinnamon & Chocolate Chip Cookies – Sew White
Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Stars – Supper in the Suburbs
Orange Chocolate Truffle-centred Cookies – Family Friends Food
Christmas Butter Biscuits – Tin & Thyme
Danish Vanilla Wreaths – Fab Food 4 All

For old times sake here are a couple of pictures from my original post  4 years ago – you can see why they needed updating!

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Crispy Clementine Cookies

A buttery, Clementine infused biscuit with a crispy sugar glaze, perfect for Christmas.

Course Snack

Cuisine English

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes

Total Time 57 minutes

Servings 44

Author Camilla Hawkins

Ingredients

• Grated zest of 4 large clementines or 1 orange & 2 clementines
• 140 g / 5 oz Butter
• 2 Eggs large separated
• 225 g / 8 oz Self raising flour
• 140 g / 5 oz Castor sugar
• Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.
2. Grease 3 large baking sheets lightly with butter (you’ll need to bake in 3 batches). If you don't have ample baking sheets then just wash up as you go along and re grease.
3. Sieve the flour and rub in the butter.
4. Add the sugar and grated rind.
5. Mix to a stiff dough with the egg yolks.
6. Halve the dough and roll out to 4mm thick.
7. Cut out the cookies with Christmas shaped cookie cutters.
8. Place cookies on baking tray allowing enough space for them to spread, brush with egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
9. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 7 – 10 minutes until slightly golden. Take care as they burn easily!
10. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
11. Then repeat process with the other half of the dough.