vanilla mint snowflakes
Every holiday cookie box deserves a frillier, dantier occupant. Cue these snowflake shortbread cookies. Greek yogurt lends to an extra soft chew and peppermint extract – used very sparingly, we want refreshing in this recipe, not a swallow of mouthwash – spruces up the traditional buttery and lightly sweet flavor a shortbread proudly boasts. And look how cute they are! As much a delight as the taste, I think.
I’ll admit, I’m a miserable cookie decorator. At least when I was younger I had youth on my side when my Christmas tree sugar cookies resembled a scribbled crayon disaster rather than an adorably wonky pine tree. Nowadays, I have very little excuse aside from continual inexperience. These shortbread cookies felt like a redemption to me, for all it takes to add a bit of charm is some simple glaze and frosty silver sprinkles to mimic the glow of newfallen snow. You cookie artists, of course, can swirl some stained glass patterns in or a Baby Yoda face if you please – if you do, please show me!
Every cookie box deserves a shortbread snowflake or three. I love these with a cup of hot chocolate. Peppermint and mocha hardly fail in occasions of culinary unison. If you’re more of a tea person, I recommend a black tea. Heck, if you wanted to create a solid all-around gift for someone involving these shortbreads, add a sachet of their favorite brew to the box.
Haven’t seen the rest of my 12 Days of Christmas posts? Here’s what’s happened so far:
Day 1: Holiday Cookie Box
Day 2: Butterscotch Snickerdoodles
Day 3: Gingerbread Crumb Bars
Day 4: Giant Turtle Cookies
Day 5: Salty Pretzel Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Tried these snowflakes out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and as always, find me on Instagram and say hello!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk or water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream butter, yogurt, and granulated sugar until soft and whipped, about 1-2 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined, then pour in peppermint and vanilla extracts. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients in two batches to wet and beat until a ball of dough forms. If the dough crumbles, add 1-2 tbsp of milk until it comes together. I only needed one for the dough to adhere.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Break the ball into two – this isn't necessary but makes creating the cookies much easier. Flour a slab of parchment, place one ball atop, then flour a second and put on top of the dough ball. Roll to about 1/4 inch thickness. Make the snowflakes with an appropriately shaped cookie cutter, or freewheel it if that's your style (I'd royally mess them up if I tried). Keep the scraps and re-roll them into more cookies. You might get up to 24 or so depending on the size of your cookie cutter, so don't be fooled by the seemingly small batch of dough! Place each cookie on the baking sheet. Once all the dough is used up, set baking sheets in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Chilling your cookies before baking ensures they won't spread overmuch.
- While the dough chills with a bottle of beer haunting your top shelf, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once cookies are done with their libations, bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are only slightly golden brown. Let cool a few minutes on the sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. This took about 30 minutes in my cold apartment.
- Just before the cookies are ready to decorate, make the icing. Whisk powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth and drips lightly off the tines of a fork. You may need the milk to get the consistency right – if so, add just a teaspoon at a time.
- You may be more surehanded than I and opt to make patterns on your cookies, but my skillset is limited with decorating. I simply dipped mine in the icing, let the remnants drip off, set them on parchment, and immediately sprinkled some silver sugar atop to make them sparkle a bit. Some crushed candy cane bits or nonpareils would love stunning atop if you want to jazz them up for gifting.
