While these biscuits don’t look or sound very Christmassy (other than by adding colouring to them or icing with Christmas colours like I have), they feel like a Christmas treat to me!
I think it is because the passionfruit flavour is a hint of summer and the texture is like shortbread (which I associate with Christmas).
These are fairly easy to make so are suitable for young children to help with – and I bet Santa would enjoy a few of these on Christmas Eve!
Passionfruit Christmas biscuits
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbs castor sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 Tbs passionfruit pulp (1 – 2 passionfruit)
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 Tbs cornflour
{Makes about 40 biscuits}
Mix the butter (softened butter makes this easier!) with the sugars and vanilla essence.
Mix in the passionfruit pulp then add in the flours.
The mix is browner than most biscuits because of the brown sugar.
It forms a stiff mix, not quite like a pastry dough – and it looks a bit sticky.
Put a little plain flour on your hands then roll small bits of the mixture into balls (the flour is enough to stop them sticking to you).
Turn a sticky blob into a ball…
Put the balls on a greased tray or tray lined with baking paper (I’ve tried both and neither seems superior to the other).
Greased tray or baking paper – the choice is yours!
Push down on each ball lightly with the back of a spoon to make them flatter. Note these biscuits don’t spread very much so you don’t need a lot of space between biscuits.
Bake at 160°C for 13 – 15 minutes.
Cool on the tray before serving, icing or storing.
Passionfruit Christmas biscuits – they look simple but taste divine!
Some additional notes…
Why use the different flours? Well, corn flour and coconut flour are gluten free so these biscuits are lower gluten than most biscuits. The coconut flour also adds protein and fibre so these biscuits are lower carbohydrate than you’d expect. It also gives a slight hint of coconut to add to the summery effect.
Why brown sugar? It is less processed so healthier than white sugar of any type.
I melted some white chocolate and added colouring to cover some of my biscuits. I love the crunch of the set chocolate but I found it did overwhelm the passionfruit flavour a bit – they still were yummy and melted on the tongue though!
What my children and friends thought of the biscuits…
I am thinking of making batches of these with my kids this year for them to give to kinder/school teachers as Christmas gifts.
What will you do with the biscuits you make?
And I’m curious, if you are from the northern hemisphere, would these feel Christmassy or would you prefer them in summer?
I was intrigued when I saw this recipe. It definitely isn’t what I expect for a Christmas cookie (I am in the US). I love the idea of the flavor though and it sounds yummy. I was thinking they would be great with a little vanilla frosting on the top and some sprinkled toasted coconut and dried pineapple.
I think vanilla icing may work – and the coconut could look like snow for those of you who are used to cold Christmases!. I wonder if the pineapple would enhance or overwhelm them? I’ll have to give it a go!
These look so yummy… I’m honestly tired of seeing photos of on blogs that are look fancy but not easily made. Not that those things aren’t great, but this treat is wonderful, Santa’s letter Elf. Wonderful. I want to eat some now!
hi Kleea, I hope you make some and find them as yummy as you are anticipating!
Ah, passion fruit cookies. Hello again my old nemesis. I’ve only ever tried to cook this kind of thing once and it hadn’t worked out so well. I’m not sure I can get any passion fruit locally around here but if I can then I’ll add this to the list of recipes to try with friends.
As for when I’d prefer them? It depends. I think I’d like to have them in the winter since that’s normally when I get them; though that’s still pretty rare considering my current locale right now.
This was a fairly easy recipe so I hope it works for you, sorrowscal.
If you can’t get fresh passionfruit, the tinned version works well, too.
These sound absolutely wonderful. I have never had the chance to try these a couple of my relatives makes them and I only heard about how good they were now I have the recipe. This Christmas year we’ll have them at my house, I have a few kids and I believe they’ll love them!
I hope you think they were worth the wait in getting a recipe, Daniel!
Passion fruit for christmas? That sounds strange, but somehow I like it. Here in Denmark where I live, the only fruits we really eat for Christmas are cherries and clementines. But I do love the “quirkiness” of eating tropical fruits in the winter, and they look sort of delicious, so I might just try them!
Hi DatGiz 🙂 Passionfruit isn’t something we specifically have at Christmas other than on top of pavlovas, but it is a lovely summer fruit (and Christmas is in summer for us.) I hope you enjoy the biscuits when you make them.
Passion fruit biscuit now there’s a great snack. I’m from the Caribbean so I’m accustom to tropical fruit. Great idea. Will surely try it.
Hi Ellie and thanks for dropping by 🙂 I hope you enjoy these biscuits – I bet you have some beautiful passionfruit growing near by!
Very interesting this passionfruit biscuits. I will have to try it sometime, but maybe wait til summer here.
ehmm I am Hungarian and i think the Hungarian crepes are the best!! 😉
Have you ever try fill crepes with poppy seeds mixed with iced sugar or with cinnamon? Also with ricotta cheese mixed with eggs vanilina and sugar…we have dozens of versions:)
You can also add poppy seeds in the dough and fill with black cherry – delicious and fancy!
Hi Tom, I think I could enjoy those Hungarian pancakes! I’ll look up some recipes and give them a try…
Sounds delicious! I’d love to make these for Christmas but these sound really good any other time of the year as well! My mouth waters at just the name of the cookies, they seem pretty easy to make! Luckily I live in Hawaii so getting passionfruit shouldn’t be very hard 😀
Yes, Hawaii would have warmer Christmases like us!
Yum yum, these sound lovely, thanks for uploading this recipe.
Simon
You’re welcome Simon – I hope you make some and enjoy them 🙂
Interesting recipe! I will definitely have to give these a try. Our family is always looking for new and unique things to try. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I hope you and your family enjoy them, Brady – we did, and I had fun coming up with the recipe, too.
I have mixed feelings about this. One part of me thinks those cookies look delicious (and let’s face it, they are really beautiful) and the other part of me thinks it of looks like something disgusting to do. I am speaking of the part where you play with the strange mixture in your hands…And gosh I hate touching butter. I know that doesn’t make any sense, and I always have to do it for cooking, but still, it repulses me. I must no be the only one, right?
Anyways, what really hit me with this, is the colors… It makes the cookies so beautiful. I might try and make such bright cookies, wheter I do these particular cookies or other cookies. Overall, great idea! Thank you 🙂
Hi Florence, and thanks for being honest 🙂 Everyone has different tolerances and definitions of ‘yucky’ things but I’m sure you’re not the only one who doesn’t like touching buttery things! Would wearing disposable gloves make it bearable, I wonder?
I’m glad you liked the look of the finished biscuits though 🙂
These sound delicious! The passion fruit makes them feel more summery, but they’d be perfect anytime of the year! I think I’ll make some and dip them in milk chocolate and sprinkle toasted coconut over them.
Are you adding snow to these summery biscuits, Martisa? 🙂 A good way to have the best of both worlds!
I’m not exactly a master chef. But this Christmas I’ll try my hand out with the Mrs’s and we’ll use this recipe without a doubt. I can’t wait to dive into these snacks whenever Santa comes by on the twenty fifth! 🙂
You don’t need to be a master chef to make these biscuits, Cutter 🙂 I hope you and Santa enjoy them 🙂
I am from the northern hemisphere, and these biscuits still look great! I would eat them regardless of the season! They can also be decorated with kids as a fun activity.
They are tasty at any time 🙂 Maybe you can eat them during winter to think of summer and our hot Christmases down under 🙂
Making and decorating these with my kids is one option for Santa’s snack this year…
I would never think about Passion Fruit as a flavor for Christmas. But, these look so colorful and tasty. I think they would be fun to serve on Christmas to change things up a little.
A bit of a change can add to the Christmas magic, Juno 🙂
I like the biscuits recipe:) I will try it out soon:)
I’m glad you like it, Celine, and I hope you enjoy them when you make them.
I made these last night so my daughter could take them to her prep class party.
They were easy to make and very tasty to eat – thanks Santa’s Letter elf 🙂
You’re welcome Jenny and I’m glad you enjoyed them 🙂