<p>Around this time of year, there’s no such thing as too many Christmas cookies. We have a couple of cookie recipes perfect for the holiday seasons.</p><h2>Coconut and Oats Cookies</h2><p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p><ul><li>2 cups oats</li><li>2 cups coconut</li><li>2 cups flour</li><li>Pinch of salt</li><li>1 egg</li><li>250g butter</li><li>2 cups sugar</li><li>2 tablespoons golden syrup</li><li>2 teaspoons baking soda</li></ul><p><strong>Method:</strong></p><ol><li>Mix the dry ingredients.</li><li>Melt the butter, syrup, and sugar, but don’t let it reach boiling point.</li><li>Add the egg and baking soda to the hot mixture and mix well.</li><li>Fold the hot mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.</li><li>Roll the dough into balls, space them on a greased baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.</li></ol><h2>Jam Biscuits</h2><p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p><ul><li>¼ cup butter</li><li>⅜ cup sugar</li><li>1 small egg</li><li>1 cup flour</li><li>⅛ teaspoon salt</li><li>1 teaspoon baking powder</li><li>¼ teaspoon vanilla essence</li><li>Jam of your choice (preferably apricot or plum)</li></ul><p><strong>Method:</strong></p><ol><li>Mix the butter and sugar well with a wooden spoon.</li><li>Add the egg and mix well.</li><li>Add the vanilla.</li><li>Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into the mixture and stir until it forms a firm dough.</li><li>Press the dough flat, divide in two equal parts and divide each half into twelve pieces.</li><li>Roll each of these pieces into a small ball and space them on a greased baking tray approximately 4 cm apart.</li><li>Using your finger, make a dent in the middle of each cookie.</li><li>Spoon a teaspoon of jam into each dent and bake at 200 C for 10 minutes until golden brown.</li></ol><h2>Rock Cakes</h2><p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p><ul><li>1 teaspoon chopped lemon rind</li><li>½ cup raisins or sultanas</li><li>½ teaspoon vanilla essence</li><li>1 egg</li><li>6 tablespoon butter</li><li>½ cup sugar</li><li>2 cups flour</li><li>3 teaspoons baking powder</li><li>¼ teaspoon salt</li><li>2 tablespoon milk</li></ul><p><strong>Method:</strong></p><ol><li>Wash and finely chop the raisins, sultanas and rind.</li><li>Place a sieve over an empty bowl and measure the flour, salt and baking powder into it. Sift it all together.</li><li>Rub the butter into the dry mixture with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.</li><li>Add the chopped raisins, sultanas, rind and sugar. Mix well.</li><li>Whisk the egg and milk together. Add the vanilla and add this mixture to the dry mixture.</li><li>Stir until it forms a firm dough – don’t make it too runny.</li><li>Using a tablespoon, spoon heaps of dough onto 2 well-greased baking trays. Space the cookies well as they will rise during the baking process and could run into one another if they are too close together.</li><li>Bake at 200 C for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Allow cooling on a drying rack.</li></ol>
