No-bake Christmas pine cone cookies

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Prepare the mixture

   10 min

   Grind the cookies into fine crumbs and mix with the walnuts and cocoa powder. Add the softened butter and sweetened condensed milk and work into a smooth mixture that does not stick to your hands.

2. Shape the pine cones

   15 min

   Take walnut-sized pieces of the mixture and, with damp hands, shape them into elongated pine cones about 5 cm long, wider at one end and pointed at the other.

3. Decorate with sliced almonds

   35 min

   Insert the sliced almonds into the mixture at an angle, working in rows from the wider end toward the tip so they overlap like the scales of a real pine cone. Use broken almond slices for the smaller scales near the tip.

4. Chill until firm

   1 hr

   Arrange the pine cones on a plate and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up.

5. Serve

   Before serving, use a fine-mesh sieve to dust the pine cones with a little powdered sugar so they look covered in snow.

Tip: Insert the sliced almonds while the mixture is still soft, as they could break once it has firmed up. Store the pine cones in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Nepečené vianočné šišky zo sušienok a mandľových lupienkov