These beautiful Christmas sand cookies have a delicate, sandy texture that melts in your mouth. What truly sets them apart is the luxurious earl grey chocolate filling, where the fragrant notes of earl grey tea and rich cocoa come together in perfect harmony. Each cookie boasts a perfectly crisp exterior, golden and buttery, that gives way to a rich, velvety center.
Lovingly shaped into various holiday figures – from Christmas trees to Santa Clauses and snowflakes, every cookie offers complex layers of flavour that dance on your palate. Perfect for holiday gatherings, gift-giving, or simply enjoying with a cozy cup of tea, these festive treats bring warmth and cheer to your gatherings!
Table of contents
- What are sand cookies?
- Why you’ll love these Christmas sand cookies
- Ingredients for Christmas sand cookies
- How to make Christmas sand cookies
- Success tips for making Christmas sand cookies
- Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar?
- How do I know when sand cookies are done baking?
- How to store leftovers?
- More Christmas recipes
What are sand cookies?
Sand cookies are tender and crumbly cookies often with a filling sandwiched in between, such as jams, chocolate ganache, or buttercream. They have a sandy texture with a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth quality, and a delightful crisp exterior.
Why you’ll love these Christmas sand cookies
- Delicate, sandy texture with a crisp exterior: These sand cookies are baked till golden-crisp, offering a satisfying snap as you take a bite, with a delicate crumb that melts in your mouth!
- Smooth, velvety ganache: Nestled in between, the earl grey chocolate ganache is luxuriously smooth and creamy, complementing perfectly with the rich, buttery flavor of the cookies.
- Perfect for festivities: Beautifully shaped in holiday figures, these sand cookies bring joy to the table during the festive season – perfect for holiday gatherings!
Ingredients for Christmas sand cookies
- Unsalted butter: The main ingredient contributing to the buttery flavour of cookies.
- Powdered sugar: This creates cookies with a softer, more tender texture, providing a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth quality.
- Vanilla extract: A splash of vanilla extract adds a subtle sweetness and aromatic quality to the cookies.
- Egg yolk: Using only egg yolk enhances the flavours with richness, and creates more tender cookies.
- Cake flour: Containing cornstarch, cake flour or soft flour provides a softer, more tender texture to the cookies.
- Salt: For flavour enhancement.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream adds a rich, smooth texture that creates a luxurious mouthfeel, achieving a silky consistency for the ganache.
- Earl grey tea powder
- Dark chocolate: I used dark chocolate to create the ganache with a richer cocoa flavour to balance out the sweet, buttery flavours from the cookies.
How to make Christmas sand cookies
- In a mixer bowl, soften and spread out the unsalted butter using a spatula. Add in powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
- Mix in egg yolk and vanilla extract.
- Sift in cake flour and salt, then cut and fold the batter until a dough forms.
- Place the dough between 2 large baking sheets, then use a rolling pin to flatten into 3mm thickness.
- Transfer the flattened dough to the freezer, and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes, and transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the earl grey chocolate ganache. In a pot, mix together heavy cream and earl grey tea powder. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it just begins to simmer.
- Remove from heat and pour it over chopped chocolates in a heatproof bowl. Let it sit for about 1 minute.
- Stir gently until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is silky and smooth.
- Transfer the earl grey chocolate ganache to a piping bag, pipe onto the bottom of each cookie, then place another cookie on top.
Success tips for making Christmas sand cookies
Use room temperature ingredients.
Be sure to use room temperature butter and egg when making this recipe. This allows them to blend better to create a smoother batter.
Freeze the dough.
This allows the flavours to meld and prevents the cookies from spreading too much when baking.
Press cookie cutters firmly.
Since the cookie dough is rolled out thinly and chilled in the freezer, the dough is going to be quite hard when cutting into shapes. Be sure to press down the cookie cutters to create cookies with smooth edges and clear designs on top.
Potential temperature issues when making ganache.
When making the earl grey chocolate ganache, be sure not to boil the heavy cream mixture, as it’ll be too hot when mixed with chocolate, causing separation of mixture. Conversely, if the chocolate is too cool, it may not melt properly.
To fix this:
- Reheat gently: Try gently reheating it over a double boiler while stirring continuously to help re-emulsify.
- Add warm liquid: You can also add a small amount of warm cream or milk while stirring to help bring it back together.
Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Using granulated sugar will cause the cookies to become crispier but less delicate. Sand cookies are known for their sandy texture, so I’d recommend sticking with powdered sugar.
How do I know when sand cookies are done baking?
Sand cookies should be lightly golden around the edges. They may look slightly underbaked in the center but will continue to firm up as they cool. Since they are rolled till thin, they can easily be browned and even burnt on the top surface, so pay attention to them when they are nearly done in time.
How to store leftovers?
Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container. They can last up to 3 days at room temperature or a week in the refrigerator. If it’s very hot and humid during summer, be sure to store them in the refrigerator after 1-2 days.
Delicate and melt-in-your-mouth tender with a golden-crisp exterior, these Christmas sand cookies are a delicious treat that gives you moments of bliss. The silky, smooth earl grey chocolate ganache sandwiched in between adds a rich flavour to complement the buttery cookies, making them incredibly irresistible.
Ideal for sharing, gift-giving, or simply as a special treat just for you, these Christmas sand cookies are the perfect accompaniment to your favourite cup of tea or coffee.
More Christmas recipes
I’d love to hear about your experience making my recipes! If you’ve tried this Christmas Sand Cookies recipe or any other recipe on HomeCookJournal, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Feel free to take snapshots of your experience with my recipes and share them on Instagram so I can repost on stories! And if you have any other foods you’d like to make, please feel free to comment as well!
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Christmas Sand Cookies
Ingredients
- 60 g unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 35 g powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
- 110 g cake flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the earl grey chocolate ganache
- 70 ml heavy cream
- 1 tbsp earl grey tea powder
- 50 g dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
Prepare the cookies
- In a mixer bowl, soften the unsalted butter, then add in powdered sugar, and mix well.
- Mix in egg yolk and vanilla extract, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl to combine well.
- Sift in cake flour and salt, then use cut-and-fold method to mix until a dough forms.
- Place the dough onto 2 large baking sheets. Use a rolling pin to roll out and flatten the dough into 3mm thickness.
- Transfer the flattened dough to a freezer and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC.
- Use cookie cutters to cut into your desired shapes, then transfer them to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. The dough will be hard after freezing, so be sure to press the cookie cutters firmly. This recipe makes about 18 individual cookies (i.e., 9 sand cookies).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Prepare the earl grey chocolate ganache
- In a pot, mix together heavy cream and earl grey tea powder.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat until it just begins to simmer.
- Remove from heat and pour it over chopped chocolates in a heatproof bowl. Let it sit for about 1 minute.
- Stir gently until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is silky and smooth.
Assemble the sand cookies
- Transfer the earl grey chocolate ganache to a piping bag, pipe onto the bottom of each cookie, then place another cookie on top.