Cookie Houses

MAKES 1 TRAY

For the dough: The ingredients are the same as those in the nougat cookies

For the decoration: 4 egg whites, 1 pinch salt, ½ cup + 2 tbsp (125 g) sugar, ½ cup + 1/3 cup (100 g) powdered sugar, 1 tbsp + 1 2/3 tsp (15 g) starch, 10½ oz (300 g) marshmallows, 3½ oz (100 g) good-quality dark chocolate glaze

Additional: flour for the countertop, 1 2/3 in. x 2 1/3 in. (4 cm x 6 cm) rectangular cookie cutter with a scalloped edge, parchment paper, plastic wrap

The day before you bake these cookies, prepare the dough from the nougat terrace recipe, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C), unless you have a convection oven, in which case preheat to 320°F (160°C), or a gas oven, in which case preheat to level 3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the dough into multiple pieces, roll those pieces out thinly on a floured countertop, and cut out rectangles. The number of rectangles you cut should be divisible by 3. Place the rectangles on the baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven (second shelf from the bottom) for 6-8 minutes. Remove and let cool.

For decorating, beat the egg whites and salt in a bowl until frothy, using a hand mixer with a whisk attachment. Sprinkle in sugar and continue mixing until the crystals have dissolved. Mix the powdered sugar and starch, sift it into the egg white mixture, and carefully fold in. Make a piping bag out of parchment paper, fill it with the egg white mass, and cut a hole at the tip. Squeeze some of the mixture onto the center of a cookie and stick a marshmallow to it. Cover the top of the marshmallows with the egg white mixture. Then use the egg white mixture to glue two cookies together on the long sides to form a roof and stick it to the marshmallow. Hold the pieces in place until the roof stays together on its own. With the rest of the ingredients, repeat the same procedure until there are no cookies left. Place the cookie houses on a lined baking sheet and let dry at room temperature overnight. Cover the remaining egg white mixture and place it in the refrigerator.

The next day, melt the chocolate glaze according to the package directions. Make two icing bags out of parchment paper, filling one with glaze and the other with the remaining egg white mixture. Cut a hole at the tip of each one. Cover the roofs of the cookie houses with zigzag lines of glaze and create decorative snow and icicles from the egg white mixture (see photo). Finally, cut the marshmallows into quarters and stick them onto the houses as chimneys, using the egg white mixture as glue.

 

It is a quote. Christmas Cookies Dozens of Classic Yuletide Treats for the Whole Family 2015