Christmas can be a time for family, celebrations and familiar traditions. Baking a batch of grandma-style Christmas biscuits is one way to bring those elements together, with the comforting smell of butter and vanilla filling the kitchen.
Preparing these Christmas biscuits together can be part of the fun. Children can help with suitable tasks such as choosing cutters and decorating cooled biscuits; an adult should handle the oven, hot trays and electric mixer. Make time for the activity without worrying about every biscuit looking identical.
Ingredients for Grandma-Style Christmas Biscuits
For the biscuit dough, you will need the following ingredients. Use the weights provided for the flour and sugar, rather than converting the original Brazilian cup measures:
- 500g plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
- 250g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150g butter, softened to a spreadable consistency; this version uses butter rather than margarine
For a different flavour, replace the vanilla with finely grated lemon zest or a small amount of ground cloves or cinnamon, to taste.
Ingredients for the Christmas Biscuit Icing
For the icing, gather the ingredients below. As the icing will not be cooked, use pasteurised egg white suitable for uncooked recipes, following the product instructions. Check the egg and wheat allergens before serving:
- 1 pasteurised egg white, or the equivalent amount of pasteurised liquid egg white specified on the pack
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 180g icing sugar, sifted, with a little extra available if needed for the piping consistency
- Food colouring in your chosen colours
How to Make the Christmas Biscuit Dough
Work through the steps at a comfortable pace. Have your Christmas biscuit cutters ready before you roll out the dough.
- Sift the plain flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add the sugar and stir the dry ingredients together.
- Add the softened butter.
- With clean hands, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the eggs one at a time, cracking each into a separate small bowl first so you can check it and remove any pieces of shell.
- Mix until the dough comes together and is manageable without sticking heavily to your hands. Add a little more flour only if needed, rather than making the dough dry.
- Mix in the vanilla extract, or your chosen lemon zest or spice, until evenly distributed.
- Lightly flour a clean, smooth work surface or a suitable pastry board.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to an even thickness, so the biscuits bake as consistently as possible.
- Cut out your chosen shapes using Christmas biscuit cutters.
- Place the cut biscuits on a lightly buttered and floured baking tray, leaving a little space between them.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C conventional, or approximately 160°C fan. An adult should handle the hot oven and trays.
- Start checking after about 15 minutes and bake until lightly golden and cooked through. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the biscuits and your oven.
- Remove the tray carefully and leave the biscuits to cool completely before icing.
How to Make the Christmas Biscuit Icing
You will need a clean mixing bowl, an electric mixer and piping bags. Use pasteurised egg white as specified above, and keep the mixture and utensils clean throughout:
- Whisk the pasteurised egg white in the mixing bowl until it forms a firm foam, following any relevant instructions on the pack.
- Add the lemon juice and continue whisking until combined.
- Gradually add the sifted icing sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth.
- Check the consistency for decorating. If it is too runny to pipe, beat in a little more sifted icing sugar at a time. The exact adjustment may depend on the egg white product used.
- Divide the icing between small bowls and add food colouring a few drops at a time to create your chosen colours.
- Transfer each colour to a separate piping bag.
- Decorate the fully cooled biscuits, then allow the icing to set before stacking them. Follow the pasteurised egg white manufacturer’s storage guidance for the icing and finished biscuits.
Enjoying Your Homemade Christmas Biscuits
Christmas biscuits can be adapted with different flavours, shapes and decorations. This butter-and-vanilla version offers a starting point for a festive baking session, rather than a promise that every family recipe will be the same.
Sharing a baking activity can become a tradition your family enjoys. You can also explore the background in our article about Christmas biscuit traditions.
If you enjoy this recipe, share it with friends or tell us how your biscuits turned out. You can also follow our social channels for more Christmas ideas and traditions.
Discover More Christmas Recipes
Brazilian Rabanadas with Condensed Milk
Bacon and Calabresa Farofa for Christmas
Brazilian Sardine Traybake with Blender Batter
Related Reading
The Origins of Christmas Biscuit Traditions
Biscoito or Bolacha? Understanding the Brazilian Biscuit Debate
Choosing Christmas Biscuit Cutters
What Christmas Means to Different People
