[I have partnered with Lidl Deutschland for this article]
Is Christmas around the corner for you or still light years away? Here in Germany, you can buy Christmas cookies since late August already. We don’t have a “Thanksgiving season” between summer and Christmas ;P The first time I heard “Last Christmas” from Wham! this year happened quite some time ago… a sign for you to get the Christmas presents ready ;)
For me personally, Christmas season started beginning of October. I met with some blogger colleagues on an event in Hamburg called “Lidl-Backstube”. Christmas songs were playing constantly, mulled wine and loads of Christmas cookies like my Macadamia White Chocolate Kisses. From that point on all was about Santa and the jolly time of the year ;)
End of September I was looking via Instagram for someone to be my “plus 1” that day in Hamburg for a couple hours of baking, chatting about baking, and taking pictures of loads of baked goods ;) Ramona aka. zuckerschneiderin won the little raffle and joined me and the other bloggers for the action. The bloggers were btw. Laura from Try Try Try, Stephie from Meine Küchenschlacht, Karin from Lisbeths Cupcakes & Cookies and last but not least lovely Mara from Maras Wunderland. I was the only male baker. As usual ;)
Each blogger was accompanied by one other person and each one brought their favorite Christmas cookie recipe to bake that day. Mine was the recipe for Macadamia White Chocolate Kisses – the ones you can see here now. Ramona’s Christmas cookies were the “German version” of thumbprint cookies with raspberry filling. We call them “Engelsaugen” aka. angel eyes ;)
On location, there was a photographer from Lidl to take pictures of the cookies so they can appear on the Lidl recipe website (https://www.lidl-kochen.de/de/Rezepte/Macadamia-White-Chocolate-Kisses). Some of the cookies even made it into a magazine you can find in the stores ;)
Anyways… you got the recipe here too, so try them. If you like macadamia nuts, you will probably love the cookies :) One warning: Do not overbake the cookies! If you bake them too long, they will turn out dry and crumbly, so check your oven and watch them carefully. They are ready, when they have some cracks but still soft and absolutely no color! ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the dough:
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar
1 vanilla bean pod
1/2 cup (120g) cold butter
1.7 oz (50g) macadamia nuts (unsalted), chopped
For the decoration:
3.5 oz. (100g) white (or semi-sweet) chocolate coating
Für den Teig:
130g Mehl (Type 405)
40g Speisestärke
30g Puderzucker
1 Vanilleschote
120g kalte Butter
50g Macadamia Nüsse (ungesalzen), gehackt
Für die Dekoration:
100g weiße Kuvertüre (oder Zartbitterkuvertüre)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Mix the flour with cornstarch, and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Add the seed from the vanilla bean pod and the cold butter (in small pieces) and knead until you get a nice smooth dough. Work quickly. Add the chopped macadamia nuts and knead in. Form 24 small balls (about the size of a small walnut) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Use the back of a wooden spoon to make little depressions into the dough and then bake for 10-12 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down a bit on the baking sheet, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
3. Chop the chocolate coating coarsely and melt carefully and slowly – you can do that in a heatproof bowl over a pot with simmering water or in several steps in the microwave. Mix the chocolate until smooth, then let cool down again – it should not be too runny. Use a spoon or fill the melted chocolate in a piping bag and fill the depressions in the cookies with chocolate. Let dry completely.
2. Das Mehl mit der Stärke und Puderzucker in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Das Mark der Vanille auskratzen und zusammen mit der kalten Butter (in kleinen Stücken) dazugeben und alles recht fix zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. Die gehackten Macadamia Nüsse dazugeben und unterkneten. Aus dem Teig 24 Kugeln formen (etwas kleiner als eine Walnuss) und auf das vorbereitete Blech setzen. Mit dem stumpfen Ende eines Kochlöffels eine kleine Vertiefung in jedes Plätzchen drücken und dann für 10-12 Minuten backen. Aus dem Ofen nehmen, kurz auf dem Blech abkühlen lassen und dann auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
3. Die Kuvertüre grob hacken und vorsichtig schmelzen – entweder in einer Schüssel über einem Topf mit köchelndem Wasser oder in der Mikrowelle und glattrühren. Die Kuvertüre wieder etwas abkühlen lassen, damit sie nicht zu flüssig ist und dann mit einem Löffel oder mit Hilfe eines Spritzbeutels in die Mulden der Plätzchen füllen und trocknen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Macadamia White Chocolate Kisses
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 12
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 24 1x
Description
Delicious and easy to prepare Christmas cookies: Macadamia White Chocolate Kisses. The perfect little snack for XMas.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 vanilla bean pod
- 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter
- 1.7 oz (50g) macadamia nuts (unsalted), chopped
For the decoration
- 3.5 oz. (100g) white (or semi-sweet) chocolate coating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Chop the macadamia nuts finely.
- Mix the flour with cornstarch, and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Add the seed from the vanilla bean pod and the cold butter (in small pieces) and knead until you get a nice smooth dough. Work quickly. Add the chopped macadamia nuts and knead in. Form 24 small balls (about the size of a small walnut) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Use the back of a wooden spoon to make little depressions into the dough and then bake for 10-12 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down a bit on the baking sheet, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
- Chop the chocolate coating coarsely and melt carefully and slowly – you can do that in a heatproof bowl over a pot with simmering water or in several steps in the microwave. Mix the chocolate until smooth, then let cool down again – it should not be too runny. Use a spoon or fill the melted chocolate in a piping bag and fill the depressions in the cookies with chocolate. Let dry completely.
Notes
- Enjoy baking!
*I have partnered with Lidl to bring you these delicious cookies. That is why I have to declare this here in Germany as Advertising. All I wrote in this article is still based on my own opinion and has not been affected by anybody :)
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
