'Phases of the Moon' Christmas cookies
makes
24
"Polvorones are to Spanish Christmas what mince pies are to the British. There’s no Christmas without polvorones or turrón (nougat) in Spain. Polvo means ‘dust’, and it refers to the way this cookie turns to dust when you bite into it because it contains lard rather than butter. This ancient recipe only requires four ingredients, although I have added some ginger (of course) and cinnamon to them. As the polvorones are traditionally dusted with icing (confectioners’) sugar on top, they make the perfect candidates for representing the phases of the moon." This is an edited extract from The Book of Gingerbread by Helena Garcia, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally, RRP $34.99. Photography by Patricia Niven.
Ingredients (6)
- 400g (14oz/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 125g (4½oz/1¼ cups) ground almonds
- 200g (7oz/14 tbsp) lard
- 150g (5oz/1 cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Don't forget you can add these ingredients to your Woolworths shopping list.
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1.Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Mix the flour and ground almonds on a large baking tray. Toast in the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to help it toast evenly. Once it's golden, remove from the oven and let cool completely.
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2.In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the lard and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the toasted flour mixture, ginger and cinnamon, and mix to combine. Bring together into a dough, then cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
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3.Line two baking trays with baking paper or a silicon mat.
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4.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1cm (½in) thick and cut out 12 discs with a 5cm (2in) cookie cutter. Re-roll the trimmings and cut the rest. Place them on your prepared trays and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray as they are extremely delicate.
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5.Once cooled, use a piece of paper to cover part of the cookies as shown before dusting with icing sugar to create the different phases of the moon: new moon, waxing crescent, waxing half, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, waning half and waning crescent.
Recipe Notes
If you would like to make a sun polvorón for the moon ones to be displayed with, bake in a sun silicon mould. Once cooled, brush with a little sugar syrup and stick gold leaf on top.
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