On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine Greek Apple Cookies, eight Cinnamon Stars, seven Basler Christmas Cookies, six Pumpkin and Pineapple Cookes, five Chestnut Rings, four Poppyseed Cookies, three Peppermint Macaroons, two Orange Date Cookies and a freshly baked Ginger Snap
For the ninth day of Christmas cookies, I was rather undecided about what to make. On a whim I pulled my big Greek cookbook off the shelf and stumbled on these cookies - Apple-filled cookies. I half-read through the recipe and without really knowing what to expect, I started on them. They were rather labour intensive in the stuffing phase, but tasty in the end.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
3 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 c butter, chilled and diced
4-5 tbsp yogurt
Powdered sugar to dust
For the filling:
4 apples, peeled and finely grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon + some for dusting
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1) Place flour in a mixing bowl and add cubes of diced butter. Rub the butter through the flour with fingertips until you get a crumby mixture.
2) Spoon in the yoghurt and mix to evenly spread the yoghurt through the crumbs and press together into a loose dough. Chill for at least 30 minutes
3) Heat Apple, lemon, sugar and spices in a pan, stirring, until all the liquid has cooked off. Allow to cool.
4) Roll the dough into 30'ish small balls. Press a deep hole into the middle of each, spoon in a little filling and then press the dough over to seal the balls. Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes at 180°C.
5) Place on a cooling rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Surprisingly (although I guess looking at the ingredients I shouldn't have been surprised), these came out like little apple pie balls. They were tasty but I would tweak the recipe a little next time, making the dough moister, or even changing it for a different type of dough. Nuts could go well in it too. If you like apple pie though, you'll like these. They look fancy are have no serving difficulties, so they could be good for a party!
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