Santa's Whiskers

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas, North American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 14

Chill Time: 1

Total Time: 1 29

Servings: cookies

Calories: 186kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

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!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
2 cups chopped red candied cherries
1 cup unsweetened coconut

Instructions

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.

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