Sweet maple crystals a la Loulou

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 300 g flour
• 130 g butter, soft
• 40 g powdered sugar
• 30 ml maple syrup
• 20 ml condensed milk, unsweetened
• ½ tsp, leveled baking powder
• 1 tsp cocoa powder (drinking chocolate), dark
• 1 pinch of salt
• Sugar granules
• some water, for gluing

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

A sweet but slightly bitter note from the maple syrup

Mix the powdered sugar, maple syrup, hot chocolate, salt, baking powder and condensed milk in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Now add the butter or margarine and beat until light and fluffy. This is quickest with a food processor or hand mixer. It takes about 5 minutes. Now add the flour, in 100g increments, and knead everything into a smooth dough. The dough is ready when nothing sticks to the sides of the bowl. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan-assisted) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Now roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1cm thick, using the cling film as a guide if necessary, and cut out shapes using a snowflake or snowflake cutter. Sprinkle some sugar on the tips and in the middle. To do this, brush over the dough briefly with a damp brush and immediately sprinkle the sugar on top. It’s best to work with the dough one cookie at a time. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes. Then let them cool. Store the baked goods in an airtight container.