Saffron & Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies
These golden saffron and hazelnut crinkle cookies are a foolproof treat that are fun to make and very easily devour! They’re a delicious Christmas cookie with a crisp exterior, a soft centre and a little crunch from the nuts.
If you follow me you’ll know that I have a fondness for saffron, a Christmas spice that you’ll see in many baked goods in Scandinavia in the festive season. I adore the glorious colour and the subtly, earthy flavour and aroma, it has sweetness too, similar to floral honey.
A few tips on how to bake Saffron & Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies:
- Make sure you start with room temperature ingredients so the butter and egg mix together easily.
- Make sure you chill the cookie dough for at least 3 hours. The dough is quite sticky and easier to manage once it has been chilled (the longer, the better).
- Once they’re rolled into balls and placed onto a baking tray, there is no need to press them down. They will naturally bake into shape.
- You may wonder why there are 2 coatings of sugar? if you skip rolling the cookies in caster sugar the icing sugar just melts away as they cook. So it’s a necessary step.
- Make sure your oven is pre-heated before baking!
I urge you to give these little nuggets of sunshine a try, they’ll definitely brighten your day.
Saffron & Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 70 g butter room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar
- a good pinch saffron
- 1 Tbls milk
- 1 medium egg room temperature
- 90 g plain flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 35 g hazelnuts skinned and roughly chopped
Topping
- 50 g caster sugar
- 50 g icing sugar
Instructions
- Begin by crushing the saffron stamens into a powder in a bowl, then add a tablespoon of warm milk and leave to steep for 10 minutes, to maximise the flavour.
- Whisk butter, caster sugar, vanilla extract and saffron lightly in a bowl. Whisk the egg and add to the butter mixture in 3 additions, whisking in-between.
- Place the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and stir well. Add to the wet ingredients stir to form a smooth dough. Wrap and place in the fridge for a least 3 hours.
- Set the oven to 175C fan.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 30 pieces, rolling each piece into a ball.
- Roll each ball in caster sugar then follow with a generous amount of icing sugar.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-14 minutes until the surface crackles. Love eaten soon after they have been baked. They will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Saffron & Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies – Perfect fika treats.
Tips:
- If you’re dairy-free, this recipe works equally well with sunflower oil instead of butter.
- Add the zest of an orange or lemon for additional flavour.
- The dough can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days. Bake as and when want to fika!
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