X-Files cookies

For 20 cookies, you will need:

1 1 cup flour
2 ¼ cup icing sugar
3 ½ cup butter
4 1 egg
5 1 pinch fine (or table) salt
6 1 lime
7 2 tablespoons whole almonds
8 5 drops food colouring

Change those ingredients for: 10 cookies 20 cookies 40 cookies 60 cookies

Change measures: Metric

Metric weight Metric volumes

How long does it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
1 hour 5 min.	2 hours	30 min.	3 hours 35 min.

Keeping: Several days in an airtight tin. .

At what time?

When will I finish if I start the recipe at a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?

Work this out...

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 5 min.

Put into a food-precessor bowl: 1 cup flour, ¼ cup icing sugar, ½ cup butter cut into small pieces, 1 egg, 1 pinch fine (or table) salt, 5 drops food colouring, and the juice and zest of 1 lime.

Stage 2 - 5 min.

Knead on slow speed until evenly mixed.

Stage 3 - 5 min.

Tip the dough out onto a sheet of stretch plastic film.

Stage 4 - 2 hours

Fold the film over and press the dough into a flat cake.

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

This cooling time is essential as the dough is very soft at room temperature. The time in the fridge will firm up the dough.

Stage 5 - 5 min.

After this time, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to just under 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick.

Stage 6 - 5 min.

Now comes the tricky momnt: cutting out the "alien" shapes. I used a calisson cutter for the pointed end.

Stage 7 - 5 min.

Then I cut the top of the head using a normal round cutter.

But you can cut them out perfectly well with a small knife.

Stage 8 - 5 min.

Shape the rounded part if necessary by pushing around the edge with your finger.

Stage 9 - 5 min.

Make the eyes with 2 whole almonds, the pointed end towards the centre. Press them lightly into the dough to make them stick.

Stage 10 - 20 min.

Use up all the dough like this, placing the cookies on a baking sheet as you go.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).

Stage 11 - 5 min.

Put the offcuts onto a baking heet, shaped or not. Here I've made Star Trek logos (yes, I know, this is an American TV series recipe...).

Stage 12 - 30 min.

Bake for around 30 minutes. Watch carefully for colouring towards the end of the cooking time to keep the lovely green colour. So don't overcook them.

Remarks

Green is the obvious colour to use, but they look good in pink, too (in which case, leave out the lime).

Nutritional information

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 20 cookies : 1.79 €
Per cookies : 0.09 €

Note : These prices are only approximate

Change currency:

	Flour: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Coq au vin, Kugelhof for Nanou, Nantes Tourton, Boeuf (beef) bourguignon, Walnut short bread, ... All
	Butter: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Roast pork with sage, cooked in a bag., Caribbean upside-down cake, Nantes Tourton, Quail egg canapés, Crème de foie gras, ... All
	Icing sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Hazelnut and orange cake, Financiers, Toasted almond cake, Rich hazelnut buttercream, Walnut short bread, ... All
	Whole almonds: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Crusty pistachio, almond and apricot flan, Chocolate thins with toasted nuts, Chinese style chicken, Rice pudding with fruit and nuts, Chocolate Truffles, ... All

Cooking-ez.com