Poinsettia Cookies

 Within the next few days, I need to make my final decision on what cookies I am making for gifts and family enjoyment this Christmas season. 

I started to see if there were any that caught my eye.  These Poinsettia Cookies look incredible.  The recipe isn’t hard, just takes a little more time and probably a little finesse, something that I am not sure if I have patience for this year.  If you are baking cookies with the kids, this may be a fun cookie to play around with.

I read through the reviews.  Here is the scoop:  just about everyone who made them and wrote a review loved the way they looked.  Some cooks ditched the skewers/sticks  and instead just laid them out on a plate.  Some cooks got really creative and added leaves, poked them with wooden skewers and placed them in a terra cotta pot with paper grass and wrapped them in cellophane as a gift.  It seems that you are only limited by your own creativity.  But the most important thing in regards to any cookie is taste….The bottom line from the reviews is that the cookies tasted very bland and many of them were surprised that there was no sugar in them.  So, a few added about 1/2 cup of sugar and even a tsp of vanilla to put some “umph” into the taste of the cookie.  They said by doing that they tasted great.

I will have to think on this cookie, but it looks like a great idea.  I may have to stay far away from roll-out cookie dough this year though.  It is unseasonably hot and humid in Florida this year.  I will probably just end up with a huge mess.  But these cookies sure look festive.

Poinsettia Cookie

Recipe courtesy of Gala Gand

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 30 servings

3/4 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Parchment paper
30 wooden Popsicle sticks
1 cup red sugar
30 green M &M candies

*Note:  You may want to add about a 1/2 cup of sugar.  Most people said that the cookie wasn’t sweet at all.  If you are adding  sugar, vanilla or any other type of flavoring (almond or peppermint extract), you want to do that when you are mixing the butter, cream cheese and egg yolk.

With a paddle attachment beat butter, cream cheese and egg yolk until smooth, reserving the white for later. Stir in flour and baking powder. Mix until stiff dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Lightly beat egg white and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
On lightly floured surface, roll dough, 1/2 at a time, into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. With sharp knife, cut dough into 3-inch squares. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased, parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Brush with egg white. Lightly press about 1 1/2 inches of wooden stick into bottom center of each dough square. With sharp knife, cut the dough diagonally from each corner to within 1/2-inch of center of each square. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon red sugar over each square. Fold alternate corners of the square to the center to form pinwheel, overlapping the dough at the center pushing down gently to seal in center. Press one M & M in center of each pinwheel.
Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until set. Using spatula, immediately remove from cookie sheets.