Holiday Recipe: Citrus Christmas Cutout Cookies

Stephanie Gordon
·2 min read
Stephanie Gordon poses with her twist on a long-standing family Christmas cookie recipe.
Stephanie Gordon poses with her twist on a long-standing family Christmas cookie recipe.

Home for the Holidays Series: This year, local reporters and editors are using Thanksgiving week to share our favorite holiday traditions and recipes with you, our readers.

Christmas cutout cookies are a seasonal classic, but these citrus cutouts are a tradition for my family — it’s just not Christmas without them!

With the addition of orange and lemon peel and freshly grated nutmeg, these cookies set themselves apart. This recipe originated from my husband’s grandmother, but I changed some of the ingredients to fit our lifestyle by omitting grains, gluten and soy.

Don’t let this hinder you from trying a new twist this holiday season. The cookies are bright, soft, slightly crunchy and topped with a traditional cookie frosting that complements the citrus and spice. You can find many of the ingredients at your local grocery store, health food store or Amazon.

I hope your family loves them as much as mine!

Ingredients:

Cookies

  • 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour

  • 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour

  • 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour

  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

  • 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest

  • 1 teaspoon palm shortening or butter

  • ¼ cup real maple syrup or honey

  • 1 egg

  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • Arrowroot flour, for dusting

Frosting

  • 2 cups organic powdered sugar

  • ½ cup palm shortening

  • 3 tablespoons dairy free milk (regular will work, too)

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • Natural food coloring

Stephanie Gordon's twist on classic Christmas cookies
Stephanie Gordon's twist on classic Christmas cookies

Directions:

  • Add cookie ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine until a dough ball forms. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours.

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  • Dust cutout surface and rolling pin with arrowroot flour. The dough will feel slightly wet. I like to sprinkle it with arrowroot flour. Don’t be afraid to add more arrowroot, if needed.

  • Roll the dough out to a ¼ inch thickness.

  • Take cookie cutters and dip the edges in arrowroot. Cut your cookies!

  • Place cutouts on the baking sheet. Don’t worry about spacing them out too much.

  • Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until slightly golden (time will vary between ovens).

  • While cookies cool, mix frosting ingredients and add desired food coloring.

  • Frost cooled cookies and let frosting dry, uncovered, for a few hours.

  • Cookies can sit at room temperature for seven days.

Makes about 20 cookies, depending on cookie cutter size.

— Stephanie Gordon is a blogger residing in Hillsdale, her hometown, with her husband, Matt, and three children.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Holiday Recipe: Citrus Christmas Cutout Cookies