My Ginger Viennese Whirl Cookies with Matcha Mascarpone Cream and Passionfruit Curd were inspired by my recent binge watching sessions of my favorite cooking show, The Great British Bake Off. If you haven’t seen this, go do it! It is the kind of show that every cooking competition show should only hope to aspire to. No personal drama at all in this show, only drama in the kitchen. The challenges are difficult but not retardedly, impossibly so. The contestants are home bakers, but so crazy talented. The hosts are pun crazy but still funny. The judges, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, play good cop bad cop but in a reasonable manner. And I learned so much about baking! These people actually make phyllo dough! Anyway, in one of the episodes, the contestants are asked to make Viennese Whirls. What an awesome name for a cookie right?  It makes mention of the shape but also the romantic music history of Vienna. Romance in a cookie? I’m sold!

I made my second video! I have been doing stop motion videos for a while now but this is the very first recipe that I created a stop motion for the full recipe. This took over 1000 photos! I am crazy. Enjoy!

Though I am constantly hinting, I am a super picky and a difficult person to give gifts to. Literally, all year long I hint and yet most of my family has completely given up. Ah well, I guess I just need to spell it out with a pinterest board. I LOVE giving gifts. Giving gifts is my absolute favorite part of the holidays. There is nothing more fun than seeing someone’s look of happy shock when you get them that perfect something that they mentioned in passing months and months ago. To me, that is what the holidays are all about – demonstrating to the people that you love that no matter the size of the gesture, you are always thinking of them.

Every year, I also make an edible gift to really make the holiday extra special. Some years it’s jams or one year I did bourbon vanilla extract. Whatever I decide to do, it always makes me so warm inside to see my efforts making people happy. Last year, I did a post with a satsuma, carrot and coriander shrub. These were perfect little additions to the all important holiday drinks. This year, I hope you will consider these beautiful and delicious cookies for gifting.

When the ladies at The Modern Proper decided to put on a #calmandbrightcookienight virtual cookie trade party, I knew that I had to do an edible gift post with these showstoppers. I decided to do a ginger flavor for the butter cookies. I’m not usually a fan of ginger cookies. I often find that people are very heavy handed with the use of powdered ginger. My version has a more subtle ginger flavor built around candied ginger bits and the wonderful syrup that results from cooking the ginger. The initial bite into this cookie doesn’t scream ginger, but then once it hits the back of your throat you will get a gentle little kick.

For the filling, I ran through many ideas before arriving at the matcha and passion fruit combination. I was going back and forth between a traditional jam filling  and the passion fruit, mostly because I wasn’t sure how the bright yellow and green might translate in photos. I’m happy to report that the flavor is amazing and they don’t look half bad either. The passion fruit adds a rich sharpness that is perfectly cut through by the verdant and creamy matcha mascarpone cream. Did I mention that I love cooking with tea?

So I must admit that these cookies take a little effort. I am not the greatest with piping bags. I tend to get the filling everywhere and I always feel super awkward gripping it. The fillings alone are quite simple, requiring about 20 minutes of your time. The food processor does most of the work for the ginger cookies too. What I’m saying is, if I can do these cookies, so can you! And these are gifts after all so they really should take a tiny bit of effort. Also, I purchased some gorgeous vintage cookie tins from etsy. They were cheap but they really make these super special. No need to wrestle with any wrapping paper too! Happy Holidays!

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G I N G E R  V I E N N E S E  W H I R L  C O O K I E S  W/ M A T C H A
M A S C A R P O N E  C R E A M  +  P A S S I O N  F R U I T  C U R D
makes 26 cookies // cookies were adapted from this recipe

for the candied ginger
2-3 oz fresh young ginger, peeled + cut into 1/2 inch chunks
equal weight raw sugar

for the ginger cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons ginger syrup
3 tablespoons candied ginger, diced
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup potato starch
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the passion fruit curd
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup passion fruit pulp
1/3 cup granulated sugar

for the matcha mascarpone cream
1/3 cup heavy cream, well chilled
1 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon matcha, culinary grade

^^^^^^

candy the ginger
Cover the ginger about an inch above with water in a small stock pot. Over a medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Turn down, partially cover, and gently simmer until knife tender, about 15-20 minutes. The cook time will depend on how young the ginger is to begin with. Once tender, the water should have reduced by half. Add equal weight in sugar and bring back to a boil. Immediately turn down to a gentle simmer and cook until the liquid has thickened to the consistency of runny honey. Make sure to swirl your pan every once in a while. Sugar burns easily. Place in a jar and cover with the ginger syrup.

make the ginger cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start with soft butter. You should be able to make a sturdy thumb print in the butter. Add the butter and powdered sugar to a large food processor, run the machine for 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides every few turns. The butter mixture is ready for the next ingredients once they move freely with the turns of the blade creating a ribbon like look (see photo above). Add the mascarpone cheese, run the machine just until the cheese is all mixed in. Add the ginger syrup and candied ginger, turn the machine on for a second more to mix in. Next add in the all-purpose flour, potato starch, ground ginger, salt, and vanilla extract. Pulse the machine a couple times to get everything to begin mixing. Then run the machine continuously for about 30 seconds more until everything is smooth and fully mixed.

Prep a sheet tray with parchment paper. Dab a bit of cooking oil to the back of the parchment paper. This will prevent it from sliding when the cookies are being piped. Transfer the cookie mixture into a piping bag fitted with a start shaped head. Make sure to fill the bag about half way. Knead and push the mixture to the tip of the piping bag. Pipe 1 1/2 inch cookies onto the sheet tray, making sure to leave space between each cookie. Bake for 14-18 minutes, until lightly golden. Make sure to keep an eye on them. They can brown quite quickly towards the end of the cooking time. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

make the passion fruit curd
while the cookies are baking, add the egg yolks, butter, passion fruit pulp and sugar to a small sauce pan. Place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Remove completely from the heat and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes more. The mixture will continue to thicken as you do this. You are looking for a jam-like consistency. Set aside in the fridge to chill.

make the matcha mascarpone cream
Add the chilled heavy cream and mascarpone cheese to a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously and slowly add in the sugar, until stiff peaks are achieved. Fold in the matcha powder. Set aside.

build the viennese whirls
Place a generous amount of the matcha cream onto a cookie, about 2 teaspoons. Clean up the edges with your fingers. On top of the cream, place a teaspoon of the passion fruit curd. Gently, sandwich it all in with another cookie.
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Make sure to take a look at the full list of bloggers at the end of this post trading cookies at the Virtual Cookie Party. I am eyeing Betty’s Cardamom Persimmon Cookies with Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Ganache , Claudia’s Coconut Raspberry Wagon Wheels, Sarah’s Peppermint Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies and Alexandra’s Classic Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies!

If you like this recipe, feel free to pin it to Pinterest. Follow me on Instagram for regular updates!

Virtual Cookie Exchange Party!
#calmandbrightcookienight

Betty S Liu. Cardamom Persimmon Cookies with Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Ganache 
The Brick Kitchen. Coconut Raspberry Wagon Wheels
Alexandra Cooks. Classic Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies
Wood and Spoon. Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Floating Kitchen. Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
Brewing Happienss. Mint Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies 
The Vintage Mixer. Ginger Creams with Browned butter Icing
Wu Haus. Raw Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Sandwiches
The Almond Eater. Homemade Almond Biscotti 
Chocolate + Marrow. Brown Butter Gingerbread Madeleines 
Hungry Girl Por Vida. Lemon Pistachio Linzer Cookies
Honestly YUM. Ricciarelli (Italian Almond Cookies)
Husbands That Cook. Chocolate Sugar Cookies 
The Judy Lab. Sea Salt Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Gather and Dine. Chocolate Almond Spelt Cookies
Harvest and Honey. Milk & Cookies 
Bakerita. Chocolate Rugelach (gluten free + refined sugar free) 
The Fauxmartha. Snowball cookies
The Kitchen Paper. Soft Toffee Cookies
Life Is But A Dish. Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cookies
Oh Honey Bakes. Pomegranate Pistachio and Almond Biscotti 
Snixy Kitchen. Peppermint Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Tending the Table. Almond Macaroons with Satsuma Marmalade
Milly’s Kitchen. Grapefruit Fennel Shortbread Cookies
PDX Food Love. Chocolate Bourbon Swirl Meringues
Lasting Ingredient. Lemon Lime Shortbread
Heart Beet Kitchen. Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Carly Diaz. Dark Chocolate Pistachio Shortbread Cookie
Cloudy Kitchen. Early Grey Shortbread
Lena’s Kitchen Blog. Shortbread Cookies Three Ways
The Modern Proper. Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel
Hello My Dumpling. Ginger Viennese Whirl Cookies w/Matcha Mascarpone Cream + Passion Fruit Curd

Happy baking!