Christmas Favourites: Christmas Santa Cookies with chocolate fudge icing

What are the key things you associate with Christmas? For me, it's the lovely traditional food we cook and enjoy at this time of year. Come January, I usually can't look at another piece of shortbread or a fruit mince pie since these foods have been my staple diet throughout December. But, without fail, by the end of November I'm looking forward to eating my favourite Christmas foods again.

This Christmas, we've teamed up with some talented chefs, passionate home cooks, food bloggers, and people who've just got a cracking Christmas recipe in our latest blog series, Christmas Favourites. This series will feature a selection of our favourite Christmas recipes to get us through the silly season.

Our first recipe is a sweet treat from freelance writer and blogger, Dianne Ward:

Delicious chocolate fudge icing

Ingredients:
 
Cookies:

•60g softened butter
•1 cup sugar
•1 egg
•Pinch salt
•1 tsp (approx.) natural vanilla essence
•1 cup desiccated coconut
•1 1/2 cup self raising flour
 
Icing
•1 1/2 cups icing sugar
•4 tablespoons good quality cocoa
•2 tablespoons melted butter

 
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line baking tray with baking paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in egg, salt and vanilla. Add coconut and flour and mix well.
3. Roll into a log then cut into rounds and place on lined baking tray.
4. Bake for 20 mins until golden. Ice when cool.
 
Icing
Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl.  Add melted butter and about 2 tsp water and mix to a fudgy consistency. 

Lemon/passionfruit icing - instead of water gradually add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or passionfruit pulp. 
Raspberry - instead of water add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of raspberry puree gradually.

...and the finished result

   
This recipe was kindly shared with us by Dianne Ward. Dianne is a mother of two young children, freelance writer and founder of food blog www.thesassycook.com that champions being fast and fabulous in the kitchen. Check out www.thesassycook.com for more delicious recipes and clever cooking tips.