St Nicholas Cookies

Dear Friends and Customers,

Because this will be such a strange Christmas for so many of us, I thought I'd share my favorite Xmas cookie recipe. It always brings cheer to my family, and I hope it does the same to yours. The recipe was given to me by my neighbor Georgette Vermeersch, who came from Belgium, but I've modified it, of course, to boost its Omega-3s.

St. Nicholas Cookies

Ingredients:

3 2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup flaxseed meal

2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

4 TBS Milk

3 TBS molasses

1 package vanilla sugar (I use a packet of Dr. Oetker's Vanilla Sugar but there may be a way to make it yourself)

250 g grass-fed butter (such as Kerry or Anchor or a local option)

100 g slivered almonds, toasted

dash ginger powder (1/2 teaspoon)

lemon zest, grated, from one lemon

Directions:

Lightly toast almonds in a broiler

Combine and mix all ingredients in a mixer

Divide the mixture into thirds and shape each third into individual logs, approximately 2 inches in width.

Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to several weeks.

When ready to prepare, remove a log and slice as thinly as possible, a little less than 1/8" inch (see pic; I use a bread knife for this).

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until very lightly brown. Watch this carefully as the cookies can easily burn. The cookies also darken as they age. BTW, the flavor of these cookies also intensifies as they age. They keep really well in an airtight tin.

Merry Christmas from Susie's Smart Cookie. I hope we can all find ways to safely share the joy of the season.

Susie