Snow Cookies, an LA Times Holiday Cookie Bakeoff Winner

Snow cookies are made using a recipe I created to imitate the flavors of a Snow Cake my mother used to make when I was a little girl. It’s now an award winning recipe!

Christmas in California takes some getting used to.

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I suppose for native Californians, 80-degree days with flowers blooming in December and dining alfresco for Christmas dinner is normal. As a non-native, I have become accustomed to the lack of “winter,” but I think it’s the only day of the entire year, when I would still like to see snow on the ground.

Another raspberry and coconut Scottish delight: Snowballs!

Of course, I’d want it gone by the next day, so I’m really not complaining about the lack of wintry weather (that’s why I moved here in the first place) it’s more of a lack of “feeling” or the atmosphere of what I grew up with as a child.

Growing up with Snow Cake

When I was a little girl in Scotland, my mother often made a snow cake, which had a biscuit (cookie) base, a slathering of raspberry jam, topped with a layer of cake, and crowned with white icing and shredded coconut. I have always been smitten with coconut, and I just adored this cake.

Making snow cookies, an adaptation of the snow cake my mother used to make, makes it feel more like the Christmas season to me–I mean, they look like beautiful snow-topped delights, don’t they? And if you think they just look lovely, you are so mistaken, because Snow Cookies actually taste even better than they look.

I’m sure it’s the combination of delicate, shortbread-like cookie, with the fruity, raspberry jam, the sweetness of the icing and coconut, all in one bite–its just a fabulous blend of flavors!

Here’s another wonderful thing about these cookies: they last a long time (well, I should say they “keep” for a long time; that is, if your family and friends don’t finish them immediately!)

You can make a batch of snow cookies (without putting the jam in the middle) and they’ll stay fresh in a tin for weeks. Just sandwich them together right before you plan to eat them or give them away. They’re perfect for Christmas and holiday cookie wwaps, or to give to friends and family in festive paper boxes, adorned with lovely ribbons or bows.

I think it’s safe to say that most people would enjoy delicious, homemade cookies much more than many other run-of-the-mill gifts.

As for a white Christmas, I suppose I’ll tough it out in the warm sunshine with the rest of my fellow Angelenos, yet again. We may not have snow, but we can have snow cookies!

Contest Winner

I am very excited and honored that my snow cookies were chosen as one of the LA Times Top 10 Favorite Cookies in the 2012 Bakeoff! If you are interested in my tour of the test kitchen and photo shoot, you can read about it and see some photos here. The recipe was printed in the December 15th edition of the LA Times newspaper.

*Jan. 18, 2014 – I am even more excited to add that this recipe has been chosen as the Better Recipes Editor’s Choice. My snow cookies won The Best Blogger Recipe Ever: Holiday Recipe Contest, and will be featured on The Daily Dish (online) and in print in Better Homes and Gardens magazine (April issue).

Snow Cookies

 recipe by Christina Conte based on Empire Biscuits  and Snow Cake       Makes about 24 2″ double cookies 

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 oz) good quality salted butter (I use Kerrygold), softened
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sugar
• 2 cups (10 oz) good quality, sifted, all-purpose flour
• raspberry jam (like Mackay’s or Bonne Maman – invest in good-quality jam, it will make your cookies taste better!)
• 4 cups (1 lb) confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, sifted 
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) milk
• finely shredded, unsweetened coconut (I like Let’s Do Organic brand, which is propylene glycol free)

Cream butter and sugar together, then add flour and mix until a dough forms.

Place half of the dough onto to a well-floured surface, and roll out to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut with a round cookie cutter (I use a 2″ or 2 1/2″ cutter.)

Using a metal spatula or turner, lift each cookie.

Then place onto a prepared cookie sheet (I like to use a silicone sheet). Bake in a 350º F oven for 8-10 minutes.

They should not start to brown. (I turn my trays around halfway through baking to make sure they cook evenly.)

Remove the tray from the oven and set aside for a few minutes before transferring cookies onto a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Allow to cool completely, then pair off similar shaped cookies together, placing the smoothest cookie on top.

Prepare the icing

Mix together confectioner’s sugar and milk. The icing should be the consistency of Elmer’s Glue (it will look like it too!)

Next, spread or pipe some icing on each top cookie only; do not ice all of them. I love to use a condiment style bottle to do the outline, then fill in the center. It’s really fun, and easy enough for kids to do!

Decorate the Snow Cookies

Don’t worry about getting it perfect, because once finished, they will look great!

Immediately sprinkle with coconut, and set aside with its mate. I usually let these dry overnight; they need at least 6 hours for the icing to set.

Paired cookies on the rack drying before being sandwiched together.

When the icing is dry, sandwich the cookies together with some raspberry jam. Place a few on a festive plate, or box them up for a lovely holiday gift! This is another great foodie gift.

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