Christmas wreath cookies are perfectly beautiful & super easy to make. They are full of spices and decorated with cranberries, white chocolate & pistachios. Go bake.
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Have your children finished school already and are keen to help you prepare for Christmas? Get them making these wreath cookies for you. They will love the decorating part.
I've been getting my girls to help a lot this year. We made the Christmas pudding weeks ago. And last weekend we ticked off the mince pies - they're in the freezer ready to bake when we want them.
We've also been doing all the usual traditions associated with Christmas baking - making wishes as they stir the Christmas pudding, exclaiming 'erghh Mummy, that's gross' when I tell them that the original mincemeat for mince pies - made way back in the 13th century - would have included a mixture of meat, fruit and spices. Mine does not. In fact, it is vegan mincemeat. Christmas baking is definitely great fun, especially when you can get others to take part with you.
Anyway, pudding done, mince pies frozen, all that's left to do is the sausage rolls. By tomorrow evening I'll have a batch safely stashed away in the deep-freeze. This feels weird - I'm never this organised.
However, I'm not one to knock a golden opportunity. And the opportunity is that I have enough time to make another batch of these Christmas wreath cookies to really get me into the Christmas spirit. They're not only full of Christmassy flavours (think spice, citrus, cranberries), but they also look beautifully festive.
Top Tip for Making these biscuits
Secret: these wreath cookies are actually a bit of a whizz to make. Just don't tell anybody that bit when they are congratulating you for being so clever in the kitchen and wondering where you find the time to be so clever, especially at this time of year… shhhhh.
The way to perfection with these cookies is to chill them for 30 minutes after you cut them out. This helps them to retain a perfect shape rather than splodging out all over the place as they bake.
I love these Christmas Wreath cookies, as they are exceptionally crunchy and full of interesting flavours without being too over the top. The drizzle of white chocolate doesn't overpower the lovely buttery biscuit beneath it.
These wreath cookies keep well making them perfect for having on stand-by for unexpected guests or carol singers. Does anybody still get carol singers?
They also make a great gift too - that's if… if, if, if… you can bear to part with them.
More fun Christmas treats to try
📖 Recipe
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Christmas Wreath Cookies
Ingredients
- 75 g/ ½ cup Rice flour
- 200 g/ 11/2 cups Plain (all purpose flour)
- 225 g/ 1 cup Unsalted butter - cubed
- 40 g/ ⅓ cup Icing (confectioner) sugar
- 45 g/ ¼ cup Vanilla caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon Mixed spice
- Finely grated zest of ½ an orange
- Finely grated zest of ½ a lemon
Toppings
- 100 g/ ¾ cup White chocolate - chopped & melted
- 40 g/ ¼ cup Pistachio nuts - finely chopped
- 40 g/ ¼ cup Dried cranberries - chopped small
Instructions
- Put the flours, sugars, spice, citrus zests and butter into a bowl and rub together using your fingertips until the mixture first resembles breadcrumbs and then starts to bind together. Knead briefly and gently until the mixture forms a smooth biscuit dough
- Roll out on a lightly floured work-surface to approximately ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. Press out circles of the dough using a pastry cutter with a diameter around 7cm (2 ½ inches). R-roll the dough once and cut out any extra biscuits that you can
- Using a much smaller cutter* of around 2cm (¾ inch) in diameter, cut out the middle of the biscuits, then lay the biscuits on baking sheets and chill for 30 minutes before baking. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 140°C/ 275°F/ GM 1
- Bake the biscuits for 25-30 minutes until very lightly golden - you are not looking for these biscuits to brown significantly - they are cooked long and low to get a nice crunch without a suntan
- Once baked, allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cooled biscuits, zig-zagging as you go. Finally, sprinkle the cranberries and nuts over the top. Once set, you may need to carefully poke any chocolate/ cranberries & nuts through the middle to reveal the hole
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
Jane these sound sooooo good. Love the citrus zest in there! And of course they look beautiful. I've come to expect that from you 😉 I really want to bake this Christmas...just have to get myself organized. Any tips 🙂
Jane Saunders says
Thanks Christine. Um tips... if only you knew what chaos I'm in right now. I'm not sure I'm qualified to give tips. However, do bake these - get your kiddos to help decorate them and 'clean' that chocolate bowl afterwards 😉
Terryk says
Thanks Jane. I will try them again because the flavor of the biscuit is wonderful. Even naked they are yummy. I found your cookies on Monique's blog and she can attest to my struggles at times. I used chips and melted my Ghirardelli white chocolate over a double boiler. Maybe Hershey would have been better. Heart shaped for Valentine's Day sounds good? Thanks again for your tips and Merry Christmas!
Jane Saunders says
We all have our stumbling blocks - see my post on flapjacks and how I struggle with those! I think heart-shaped would look great for Valentines - great idea
Terryk says
I surely did something wrong. My dough would not knead together. It is cold butter that is used correct? I wonder if it could be done in a food processor. I managed to get a few bisquits rolled each time and persevered. The flavor is great even without the trimmings. I also had difficulty melting the chocolate. Maybe I started the project too late in the day.
Jane Saunders says
Hi there, I'm sorry to hear that you've had trouble. I'm not sure why, we've made these biscuits several times and the butter to flour ratio seems to work. I've not made them in a processor, but if that's what you normally do, I see no reason why they wouldn't work - just be careful not to overwork the dough in there. White chocolate is notorious for being tricky to melt. It seems to vary according to brands, with some seizing more easily than others. I melt mine in a microwave in short 20 second blasts on high power. Once it's half melted I keep stirring until it's fully melted. If you find a brand that's less prone to seizing then stick with it. Hope you try them again and have better success.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Wow these wreaths look PERFECT.. and so festive too! It's only a couple of days left till Christmas, so I definitely think I can squeeze these cookies into my baking list!
Jane Saunders says
Pleased you can just squeeze them in - have fun making them.
Lokness says
These cute little wreaths are great ideas! I am sure they make perfect gifts!
Jane Saunders says
They look pretty packaged up in cute boxes & tins or in cellophane bags and they keep well, so you're right, perfect as gifts
Kimwithak says
I found these on Monique's blog and can't wait to make them!
cheri says
These are perfect, found these first on Monique's blog. Thank you for sharing!
Jane Saunders says
I hope you enjoy making them and eating them!
Monique says
I made these this morning and will now make them every single year.
They are wonderful cookies..and thanks so much for having shared the recipe.
I hope you do not mind if I share on my blog..referring back to you of course.
With appreciation...Monique
Jane Saunders says
Thankyou, Monique. I'm so pleased you enjoyed them. I feel very honoured that you want to mention them on your blog, so go ahead.
Monique says
Thank you..Meilleurs Voeux de la saison~
Monique says
Well..I had Pinned similar ones a loooong long time ago..you have inspired me to stop Pinning them and make them..Your recipe is just the kind I like..with rice flour and icing sugar..
So pretty!
huntfortheverybest says
what pretty, festive cookies!