There is nothing quite like the aroma of warm winter spices baking in the oven to make a chilly afternoon feel cozy. With the arrival of Matariki in the heart of winter, I wanted to create a baking project inspired by the winter night sky—but with a warm, comforting twist.
These Spiced Matariki Star Cookies feature a beautiful, translucent caramel centre made from melted Werther's Original candies. When you hold them up, the amber centres look like warm stars catching the golden winter light. The combination of deep spices and rich caramel makes them the ultimate mid-winter treat.
Whether you are gathering with family around the fire or just looking for a fun kitchen project to warm up a rainy weekend, these cookies are a joy to make and eat.
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🥣 Tips for Altering the Cookie Recipe
No Spice: Kids may not enjoy the spice, but you can accommodate them by splitting the batch in half, and when you get to the "Add Dry Ingredients" step, only add flour to their half. Or add flour and 2 tsp of cocoa.
Thicker: If desired, yes you can make them thicker. Just add an extra minute or two for baking.
Other flavours: You can add lime or lemon zest and a dsp of juice to the plain recipe to create a citrus flavoured cookie. Add the juice just before you add the dry ingredients.
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Spiced Matariki Star Cookies Recipe
Prep and Cook Times
- Prep time: 20 mins
- Bake time: 10-15 mins
- Oven Temp: 180°C (350°F)
- Yield: Makes about 33 thin cookies, or 24 thicker
Ingredients
- 125g butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups plain flour
- 1 packet Werthers Originals
Step-by-Step Baking Method
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Cream butter and sugar. Soften butter in microwave for 10 seconds. Add butter and sugar to bowl of mixer or food processor, and process until creamy.
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Add vanilla and egg and mix until combined.
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Switch to hand mixing. Gradually add dry ingredients (spices and flour), mixing them in with a spoon. As you get to 1 1/2 cups mixed in, you should see the ingredients come together in a clump. Take it slowly now, adding flour until the mix feels soft but not sticky.
- Put the ball of dough into a plastic bag or container. Chill for 15-30 mins in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
- Unwrap half the packet of Werthers Originals and place them in-between 2 sheets of baking paper on a chopping board. Cover with a towel. Smash the candy into pieces with a hammer.
- Roll out chilled dough on a lightly floured board, to about 5mm thickness. Using the Star cookie cutter, cut out the stars. Use a small star cutter or a 1-2cm round cutter (a bottle cap would work) to cut out the centre.
- Place stars on oven tray lined with baking paper.
- Fill the holes with shards of candy. Fill only to the top of the hole.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies should be just starting to brown around the edges. If you have made them thicker, you will need to bake for longer.
- Cool, then enjoy!
