Oma's Hazelnut Lemon Cookies

My beautiful Mum passed away on the 1st October 2013.

Mum never wrote down the recipe for her cookies. Luckily my niece knew the recipe by heart because she and Mum had made them so often together (hence the name 'Oma's cookies').

You can enjoy these cookies anytime (Mum always made sure the cookie jar was full!) but for me they are the perfect Christmas Eve treat.

Ingredients:
60g icing sugar
105g brown sugar
250g butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200-250g plain flour (approx.)
175g hazelnut meal
Juice of half a lemon
Icing sugar (enough to form icing consistency)
Walnut pieces

To make the cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
2. Cream butter, icing sugar and brown sugar until light and creamy.
3. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla.
4. Sift half the flour into the mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Gradually mix in the hazelnut meal.
6. Continue to add flour until the mixture forms a cookie dough.
7. Roll teaspoons of dough into balls and place on trays lined with baking paper.
8. Using a folk, gently press down on each ball until slightly flattened.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until tops of cookies are only just starting to turn light golden brown at the edges (it is important not to over bake).
10. Cool cookies on wire racks.

To decorate:
1. Mix together lemon juice and icing sugar until desired consistency is achieved (just enough so that the icing doesn't run too much when placed on the cookies).
2. Using a knife or teaspoon, spread a small amount of icing over each cookie.
3. Place a couple of walnut pieces immediately on top of the icing.
4. Allow to set completely.

Variation:
To make plain chocolate chip cookies, omit the hazelnut meal, change the quantity of flour to 315g and add chocolate chips to the mixture after Step 6. Leave un-iced or ice with melted chocolate instead of lemon icing. You can also keep the hazelnut meal and just add chocolate chips to the mixture.

Pfeffernüsse

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
200g brown sugar
60g butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of white pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 egg, beaten (extra)
150g dark chocolate
silver cachous

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
2. Combine all ingredients and blend until well blended (mixture will appear crumbly).
3. Add half of extra beaten egg, then knead the mixture with your hands until it holds together (use more beaten egg if necessary).
4. Shape dough into a ball.
5. Roll teaspoons of mixture into balls and place on baking trays (approx. 2.5 cm apart).
6. Bake for 7 minutes, or until cracks appear on the surface and tops are pale brown.
7. Cool on wire racks.
8. Melt dark chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
9. Dip pfeffernüsse into melted chocolate and place on baking paper to set. Decorate will silver cachous, if desired.

Lemon Shortbread Stars

Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons rice flour
200g unsalted butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice, extra
silver cachous
coloured decorative miniature stars

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line 2 baking trays with non-stick paper.
2. Place the plain flour, rice flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the lemon rind and lemon juice; process until mixture forms a dough.
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll out to a 5mm thickness.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly coloured.
6. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Use a knife to spread the icing over the biscuits, then decorate the biscuits with the silver cachous and miniature stars before the icing sets.

Adapted from "Shortbread stars with lemon glaze" in Family Circle. (1994). Biscuits & slices step-by-step. Sydney: Murdoch Books.