As a celebrated French chef, Cyril Lignac brings expertise and joy to holiday baking on his hit show Tous en Cuisine, now in its third season with sidekick Jérôme Anthony. For Christmas, he shares this ultra-gourmet shortbread recipe—festive, flavorful, and impossible to resist.
Cyril Lignac's Christmas Shortbread Recipe
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
For 4 people
Ingredients for the shortbread (serves 4):
- 150g flour
- 100g ground almonds
- 50g brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
- Zest of 1 untreated orange
- 1 pinch of fine salt
- ½ packet of baking powder
- 3 tbsp. white almond purée
- 2 tbsp. almond oil
- 5 tbsp. milk
- Flour for the work surface
For the icing:
- 60g icing sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
Utensils:
- 1 baking sheet + 1 silicone mat
- Stainless steel or plastic cookie cutters (fir tree, star, reindeer shapes) or Christmas stamps
- 1 spatula
- 1 plastic piping bag (no tip)
Step-by-step instructions:
- In a bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Mix well. Add almond oil and purée, stirring until it resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add milk to form a smooth dough ball.
- Flour your work surface, roll out the dough, and cut into festive shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
- Mix lemon juice with icing sugar for a smooth glaze. Transfer to piping bag and decorate cooled shortbreads.
