New Zealand Holly Cookies

"Almost too pretty a cookie to eat, but they taste so good! I actually won first prize for these cookies when I was a girlscout at age 13. Although I am unsure of the origin of the recipe, I thought it was too good to keep to myself. If you're creative and are up for a challenge, this is a perfect recipe for you. (requires a clean small paintbrush)"
 
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photo by Candy Rose photo by Candy Rose
photo by Candy Rose
photo by Debra M. photo by Debra M.
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
15
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ingredients

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directions

  • Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
  • Cut in margarine (like pie dough).
  • Make a well in the center of the dough.
  • Combine egg and 1/4 cup milk and pour them into the well.
  • Stir dough until moist.
  • Flour a flat surface and roll dough out to 1/8" thick.
  • Cut into 2" circles.
  • Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes.
  • Place on a rack to cool.
  • Once cooled, place 1/2 tsp jam on the bottom of one cookie.
  • Cover the jam with another cookie, ie cookie- jam- cookie.
  • In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to make a glaze.
  • Glaze the top of one side of each double cookie and place 2-3 cinnamon candies into the glaze.
  • The candies are to be the holly berries.
  • Allow glaze to set.
  • Use a small clean paintbrush to paint several holly leaves and a stem on each cookie using green food coloring.

Questions & Replies

  1. How do you keep the green food coloring from bleeding?
     
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Reviews

  1. While making these today, I refreshed my memory as to how many years I've been making these cookies. My recipe is the orignal page that I pulled from Better Homes and Gardens magazine, dated December 1985. They were the $1000 grand prize winner submitted by Kate Beckman from Chino, CA. I'll never forget stepping back from the finished product the first time I made them...those with me and I were in awe....make them just one time and they'll become a tradition in your family too.
     
  2. These have been made in my family as long as I can remember but 85 was my first Xmas. That said we use a toothpick to draw the holy leafs.
     
  3. Thank you so much for sending this in. I used to make these almost 20 yrs. ago and always got rave reviews. I lost the recipe and have searched endlessly. The one thing to remember is be sure to use seedless jam. I hve decorated these to match many different holidays square flags, oval Easter eggs etc. I'm soooooo happy to have the recipe again.
     
  4. These are so beatiful! They're abit time-consuming, but not difficult to make. Mine came out abit bigger because my cookie cutter was 2 1/2" wide, so I baked them for about 12 minutes. That was good, but I still think next time I'll make them smaller because you have to remember that you're really eating two cookies at one time - they're wonderful! Thanks for a festive, elegant cookie!
     
  5. These cookies have become our favorite Christmas cookie of all times. It's just not Christmas without them. I've been making them for many years and thought I would never find the recipe again until I looked here and found Debbie's. Thanks so much...our tradition will carry on.
     
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