I spent today making these lovely butter cookies for tomorrow’s Christmas party. They are also perfect as last minute gifts^0^

This is my sister’s recipe!

330g Butter, softened
180g Icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
450g Cake Flour, sifted

Icing (adapt from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2):

1 1/3 c icing sugar, sifted
2 tbs water

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Prepare lemon zest.

Combine sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and butter.

Add flour and mix to form a dough.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or until dough is firm

Separate dough into workable size if necessary.
Lightly knead and roll out until roughly 5mm thick.

Cut out shapes from the dough using cookie cutters.

Place on baking trays.
Bake for 8-20 mins (depending on the size of cookies) or until golden.

Remove from oven and let cool.

To make the icing, mix water and icing sugar until combined. Dip top side of cookies into the icing and decorate with sugar beads. Allow to set.

And you are done! This is a fast and easy Christmas Cookies recipe – your family and friends will love it!!

mErRy ChRiStMaS! ^0^

30-12-2009 Update:

Sanjou asked: How many does this recipe make?
Answer:This recipe makes HEAPS – I didn’t actually count – but I baked about 4-5 trays. I made various sizes, both small and big, remember that big ones take longer in the oven! Hope this helps!

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I used to think that Chai from cafes are better than those that you can buy in supermarket, but in short NO they are not. I worked in a cafe for a while and the Chai they served were just the Lipton powdered Chai you can grab from the supermarket for cheap, full of additives and artificial flavours, and OMG they sell it for the price of a freshly brewed coffee, what a rip-off. And you may have noticed that some other cafes try to make a more natural Chai tea by brewing fresh black tea leaves with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves – but it’s no better than the powdered Chai. Yes it’s more natural, but no thanks ‘cos it taste so awful. The true flavour of the spices don’t come out if you just soak it in hot water, so what you get is very little flavour of spice, diluted tea with diluted milk – yuck!!

If you live in Sydney, you’re in for a treat! Because we have the BEST Masala Chai – nothing I’ve tried beats it, it’s simply godsend!

This Masala Chai is cooked with freshly ground spices and fresh ginger in soy milk. It’s so smooth, so rich and has such a lovely aroma, it’s just full of flavour. Just one sip will get you hooked (well I got hooked ^0^)

Since I’ve discovered this Chai place 5 weeks ago, I’ve been back every Sunday for my treat, I just cannot get enough of it – you can see how desperate I am after a whole week without it. They also serve iced Chai on hot days, you don’t have to miss out on Chai because a hot drink will make you sweat like a pig =D

The store is decorated in an indian style, so you know you are getting yourself into some authentic stuff. You can see the owner cooking two big pots of Chai, and my advice is to get there early, otherwise you might miss out!

So now the big question is where to find this lovely store?!?!

The answer is:
The Marrickville Market (Every Sunday)
142 Addison Road
Marrickville NSW

At the market, you’ll see that almost every store owner will have a cup of Chai in their hands. And while queuing up for your cup, you’ll see people coming back for more!

If you are also in for brunch or lunch, grab a Gozleme to go with your Chai, it’s the perfect treat for a Sunday!

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