Organic Christmas cookies with candied fruits

Organic Christmas cookies with candied orange and lemon

The organic Christmas cookies with candied fruits from the Biscuiterie de Provence are soft pastries featuring orange and lemon peel, raisins, and almonds. Not a dry biscuit, but a fruit-filled cookie made from French organic wheat for the Advent season.

The organic Christmas cookies with candied fruits are baked by the Biscuiterie de Provence in the Drôme provençale using organic wheat flour, butter, and eggs. The dough contains 13 percent candied fruit, along with raisins, almonds, and pure vanilla extract, while rice flour and corn flour give the pastry its softer, crumblier texture. The bag contains 120 grams.

These cookies are lighter in color than the cinnamon biscuits from the same producer and yield much more softly to the bite; inside, you will find orange peel, lemon peel, and raisins, each with its own sweetness. Fruity, soft, and full of vanilla.

Orange, lemon, and a handful of raisins

The appeal of these cookies lies in the constant variation, as no two bites taste the same because the candied pieces are distributed unevenly throughout the dough, allowing each to shine on its own.

The candied fruits make up 13 percent of the dough, with orange peel and lemon peel in roughly equal parts, candied with sugar and a glucose syrup that includes lemon juice. The raisins provide a darker sweetness underneath, while the almonds form the nutty base upon which the rest rests. Vanilla is added to the dough as a genuine extract rather than a flavoring, and that is exactly what you taste in the end.

With tea, with punch, while reading aloud

These cookies don't require an occasion or a cake fork; instead, they sit in a bowl on the table and vanish all by themselves over the course of the afternoon.

With black tea and milk, the lemon comes through clearly, while with hot punch, the raisin is more prominent, making the pastry feel warmer. The cookies also pair well with a cup of cocoa because their fruit notes hold their own against the chocolate without being overwhelmed. For those who prefer a spicier Christmas, try the organic cinnamon Christmas cookies from the same bakery.

Soft-baked cookies like to be kept airtight and cool, but not cold. In the refrigerator, they would lose their moisture to the environment and become hard. A tin box in the pantry is a better place for them, ideally kept with a piece of apple peel to help retain the pastry's moisture.

Organic baking artistry from Saint-Maurice-sur-Eygues

The Biscuiterie de Provence has been baking in the shadow of Mont Ventoux for generations, and their organic line has long since ceased to be a mere sideline, becoming a pillar of the company in its own right.

It all began in 1833 with Joseph Bédouin and his almond trade in Visan; in 1985, the family bought the recipe for the Croquette de Vinsobres, and ten years later, the Biscuiterie de Provence was born. Today, Frank Bédouin runs the business; the catalog now includes around 150 recipes, and one-fifth of the production is exported. The workshop in the Drôme is open to visitors as a free museum.

You can find more from this producer at Biscuiterie de Provence, and more pastries in our Sweet Pastries collection. Candied fruit requires patience, and someone here has clearly brought plenty of it.

Organic control number PAR FR-BIO-01 – EU/non-EU agriculture