Santa’s Whiskers

Chopped red candied cherries add a pop of festive colour and delicious flavour while the toasted walnuts and coconut add crunch and chewiness. Santa’s Whiskers can be prepared in advance and frozen. To bake, just slice and pop them into the oven!

Santa’s Whiskers are one of those cookies you can make long in advance. They are rolled into a log, well wrapped, and can be refrigerated or frozen until you feel like baking. They are packed with toasted walnuts and chopped candied cherries too!

I tend to use a lot of walnuts at Christmastime – partly because we love them, but also, walnuts add so much flavour and texture to cakes and cookies. Here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen, you can find a plethora of holiday recipes that feature walnuts. Try these Walnut Shortbread Balls. They are dipped in melted chocolate and topped with crushed walnuts. One of my favourite holiday treats of all time, are my mom’s Walnut Oh Henry Bars. They are loaded with walnuts!

There are over 100 Christmas recipes to be found here, but none as popular or loved as my Apricot and Walnut Fruitcake. I first shared that recipe in December of 2017. It was an immediate hit! Here we are a few years later and it’s still the most popular Christmas recipe. Even if you don’t like fruit cake, you should go take a look at it. It’s very unlike a traditional fruitcake, so it just might change your mind!

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – I’m using salted butter. You can use unsalted butter too. There won’t be much of a difference to the taste in the end.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  In this recipe, it adds the sweetness, because we are not using regular granulated sugar here.
• Egg – One large egg is all you need. Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Vanilla Extract – Probably the most common extract and the most common flavouring used in cakes and cookies.  
• Flour – I always use all-purpose flour, unless otherwise stated. I have not tested this recipe with other flour alternatives.
• Walnuts – Walnuts have a mild, buttery flavour which is why they are perfect in cookies and cakes.  When they are baked, they soften slightly, which makes them easier to slice through too, so they won’t ruin those perfect slices of cake!
• Candied Cherries – These are very popular in Christmas baking, especially in fruitcakes. 
• Coconut – You will need to use unsweetened desiccated coconut here.

HOW TO MAKE SANTA’S WHISKERS

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and confectioner’s sugar. Beat for 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat to incorporate. Next, add the flour and beat until combined with the wet ingredients. Finally, add the chopped candied cherries and the toasted walnuts. Use a wooden spoon to stir these through the cookie dough. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough into a long log, about 18 inches in length. Sprinkle the coconut over the top of the log and on the sides. Roll the log into the coconut, pressing gently so that it sticks. Roll the log in the parchment paper and then into plastic wrap.

If you plan to bake the cookies the same day, refrigerate for one hour. Otherwise, you can refrigerate the cookie dough for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. (If frozen, remove dough from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and continue with the following steps.) When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Next, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone liner or with parchment paper and set it aside. Remove the plastic wrap and parchment paper from the cookie log. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/4 inch slices.

Lay the slices onto the prepared baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 14 minutes or until the bottom edge of the cookies have browned. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove and transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

CANDIED CHERRIES

In this particular recipe, I use two cups of candied cherries in total. I love candied cherries and I love how the red colour just jumps out and create a wonderful contrast to the butter-coloured cookie. They’re perfect for Christmas!

When I’m looking to use candied cherries, Paradise Fruit Company is my go-to source. They have the brightest, most plump, most perfectly round red and green cherries.  You can get all of their products online. Be sure to check out the website!

Just for a bit of trivia, let me just add this in here. Candied cherries are basically maraschino cherries that have been processed in a thick, sugary syrup. They become intensely sweet and take on a chewy texture, which works very well in baked goods.

DESICCATED COCONUT

Desiccated coconut is the dried flesh of a coconut, processed into fine, dry flakes with most of its moisture removed. It has a dense texture, retains a sweet tropical flavour, and is used in baking and as a decorative element in recipes like cookies, macaroons, and energy bites. It is most often found in a very fine shred. It is – in most cases! – my go-to type of coconut for baking.

TOASTING WALNUTS

The first thing you should do is toast your walnuts. How do you do that? It’s very simple! To be perfectly honest, this applies to any nuts or seeds, not just the walnuts for this recipe. If you are not familiar with toasted nuts, then please try it just once. You will probably never revert to using nuts in your cooking or baking again without toasting them first!

I have tried using non-stick frying pans for toasting, but nothing works as well as a stainless steel pan. See the frying pan in this picture? That’s the exact one that I use all the time. I’m not suggesting you buy the same cookware set, but I wanted you to see the pan – remember, do not use non-stick if possible. You’ll get better results will plain stainless steel.

So, unlike most cooking where you’re required to preheat first, you don’t want to apply that same rule to toasting nuts. Add the walnuts to a cold pan. Place the pan on the burner and turn the heat on – no higher than medium and probably even less if using a gas burner.

Keep the nuts moving about. I use a rubber spatula. Once you start to smell that warm and toasty aromatic smell, pay close attention. The nuts will take on a slightly golden colour. Don’t let them get too dark. Once you’re satisfied, immediately remove them from the hot pan and transfer them to a dinner plate where they can be spread out to cool.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Santa’s Whiskers, you certainly can! Once they are completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in! 

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!