A chocolate and fennel cookie

and a Christmas story.

Dear Community

I have always been captivated by the magic of Christmas. As a child, my love of Christmas was cultivated by my father, who gave us glimpses of Western traditions. He sent piles of Christmas cards to everyone he knew and, in turn, he hung the many cards that we received around doorways and walls throughout the house. For a couple of years, I wrote letters to Santa and left them under the front door rug and on Christmas morning, I would find the exact gift I asked for at the door at the side of the house, addressed to me in neat capitalized handwriting. The first year, I asked for and received a Strawberry Shortcake purse and handbag. The second year, I wondered why Santa’s handwriting looked exactly like my dad’s. I worked it out soon after that and never wrote to Santa again. But still, I appreciated the gesture.

Me and my Christmas tree, at home in Sydney, early eighties

This month, in the spirit of giving, I’ll be sharing THREE new recipes, all designed for the festive season. The first recipe in today’s newsletter is a Christmas cookie, which is a big tradition over here in North America. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all the different types of Christmas cookies over the past few years and this season, I wanted to create one that encapsulated the flavours that I love. I hope you love it too.

Next week, I’ll be sharing two savoury recipes - a prawn-less cocktail (or you could say, shrimp-less cocktail) and a Brussels sprouts salad - that are perfect for Christmas lunch. More on this soon.

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NEW RECIPES THIS MONTH

This lamington ice cream cake is PERFECT for Christmas dessert. It’s made from store-bought ice cream so it’s just a matter of construction. Easy, delicious, memorable. I’ve already had lots of people raving about this recipe.

For a midweek change of pace, this mushroom and cottage cheese pasta is big on bold, umami goodness. Don’t be deterred by the beige sauce (as many of the NYT cooking commenters are, LOL), I agree with Nigella that earthly-hued food is often the tastiest.

If you need a break from holiday eating, try this butternut congee with chilli oil - it’s hugely comforting and restorative, with a nice, golden glow.

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THIS CHRISTMAS, GIVE THE GIFT OF TENDERHEART ❤️

Support a local bookstore and give the gift of vegetables, and a story of family, love, and the power of food to keep memories alive.

Tenderheart is available from all bookstores in Australia and New Zealand.

In USA, UK and everywhere else, give a gift to look forward to. You can preorder here, and in Canada here. Keep your receipts, we will be announcing preorder bonuses in the new year.

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THIS MONTH’S RECIPE

As many of you know, baking is not my first love, but at Christmas time, I become possessed with a fervor for it. I always bake a few of Nigella’s Chocolate Fruitcake to share with friends (and to freeze because fruitcake is my thing). And then there are Christmas cookies. I start planning my Christmas cookies at the end of November. There is always a thumbprint cookie (known as jam drops in Australia), which is my daughter Scout’s favourite. Decorated sugar cookies are a must because they are loved by all, young and old (namely, my husband) – I use either this Smitten Kitchen recipe or this one. And last year, I fell in love with almond cookies from Anja Dunk’s brilliant book Advent, which all about German Christmas baking traditions (and is now one of my favourite books of all time).

This year, I decided to create my own Christmas cookie, based upon the flavours that I love at Christmas time. This chocolate-fennel almond shortbread represents my favourite type of cookie – one with texture, nuttiness and a flavour-twist. It’s crumbly like a regular wheat flour shortbread, but not as rich. The anise attitude of fennel pairs perfectly with chocolate and using the seeds whole delivers a nice bite to each cookie. If you are less enamoured of fennel seeds, you could ground the seeds into a powder which will give you the flavour without the bite. I associate spiced orange with Christmas (a hangover from our years in London) so I’ve added orange zest to bring some citrus brightness. This cookie is delightful and surprising and importantly, not too sweet.

If you can get your hands on fennel pollen, it makes a lovely subtle decoration which reinforces the fennel flavour while also lending some delicate specks of colour. If you can’t find fennel pollen (admittedly, not available everywhere!), you could decorate with a few sparkly sprinkles to bring the festive cheer. You could also top with chopped, roasted almonds.

This is an easy one bowl mix (my favourite type of baking) but make sure you mix the butter into the dry ingredients very well to avoid any dry bits which may cause the cookies to fall apart. If you like, you can make these cookies in a mixer by creaming the butter and then stirring in the dry ingredients which will ensure a more even mix (though it will also mean washing up).

These cookies are gluten free. They could be easily made vegan by using a vegan butter.

Chocolate-fennel almond shortbread

Makes about 24 cookies

Notes

• Make sure the butter is nice and soft. This will make it easier to combine the ingredients.

• Ensure that every is VERY well mixed. If any of the dry ingredients are not hydrated, it may crack.

• The sparkling sugar delivers a really nice crunch. You could also use another coarse sugar such as turbinado or demerara.

• If your discs fall apart while you are slicing them, it means the dough is not mixed well enough. All is not lost - you can just press the dough back together and use your fingers to shape as well as you can. It will bake back together (though it may be a little misshapen).

Gluten free

200g (2 cups) almond flour
100g (1/2 cup) white sugar (granulated)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon orange zest (from 1 orange)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
112g (8 tablespoons / 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For decoration
White sparkling sugar, turbinado or demerara sugar
100g (1/2 cup) dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1/2 tsp neutral oil

Optional but recommended
Fennel pollen (see notes above for alternatives)
sea salt flakes

In a bowl, add the almond flour, sugar, fennel seeds, cocoa powder, salt, orange zest and whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and softened butter and using a flexible spatula or your hands, squish the butter until it is very well mixed with the dry ingredients. You want the dry ingredients well hydrated so it comes together as a dough.  

Place the dough on a piece of baking paper and roll the dough into a 30cm / 12-inch log that is about 4cm (1 ½-inch) in diameter. Make sure that the log is as even as possible all the way along, and that the ends are flat and not tapered off. Wrap the baking paper tightly around the log and gently roll it back and forth so it is as round as possible. Chill in the fridge overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180˚C / 350˚F. Prepare two baking trays (sheet pan) and line with baking paper.

Place some sparkling, turbinado or demerara sugar on a small plate.

Remove the log from the fridge and slice into 24 7mm (1/4- 3/8-inch) discs. Roll the edge of each disc in the sparkling, turbinado or demerara sugar and arrange 12 discs on each tray. Bake one tray at a time, and keep the other tray in the fridge until ready to bake.

Place one tray in the middle rack in the oven and bake for 14 minutes (there are no real visual cues because they are brown, but the edges should look set). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 – 20 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Bake the second tray.

Once both trays are completely cool, combine the chocolate and oil in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute on HIGH (if you don’t have a microwave, add the chocolate and oil to a heatproof bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water). Stir the chocolate until it is fully melted and shiny.

Dip a spoon into the chocolate and then gently flick the chocolate over the cookies to create a messy splattered pattern. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with a tiny amount of fennel pollen and sea salt, if you like. Allow to set for 2 hours or until chocolate is firm to the touch.

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days; freeze for longer storage. You can also freeze the uncooked log of dough. Defrost in the fridge overnight before slicing into discs.