✦ There’s nothing like the approaching festive season to inspire me to get into the kitchen and do some baking. Here are some yummy Christmas treats for you to delight your family and friends with.
Recipes below
Santa Claus Cookie Recipe
Love the beard!
Ingredients
· 125-gram unsalted butter
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar
· 1 2/3 cup (250g) plain (all-purpose) flour
· 12 (2g) dried currants
· 12 (5g) tic tacs
· 1/2 cup (40g) shredded coconut
· red food colouring
· black writing gel
Royal icing
· 1 1/2 cup (240g) pure icing (confectioners') sugar approximately
· 1 egg white
· 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
Step 1. Have butter and egg at room temperature.
Step 2. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Line two oven trays with baking paper.
Step 3. Beat butter, egg and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until combined, stir in sifted flour, in two batches. Enclose dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate 30 minutes.
Step 4. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm (¼-inch) thick, refrigerate 15 minutes.
Step 5. Using picture as a guide, cut out six Santa shapes from dough, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Place shapes about 2.5cm (1-inch) apart on trays. Press currants onto cookies for eyes. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on trays.
Step 6. To make royal icing. Beat egg white in small bowl with electric mixer until just broken up. Gradually beat in sifted sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice. Keep surface of icing covered and airtight with plastic wrap and a damp cloth.
Step 7. Half-fill a piping bag fitted with a small plain tube with royal icing. Using picture as a guide, pipe icing in an unbroken line to outline the white parts of the hat and pompom, stand until icing has dried. Secure tic tacs to faces with a little royal icing to make eyebrows.
Step 8. Spread a thin layer of the icing over one cookie to make a beard, press some of the coconut onto the icing before it dries. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Step 9. Stir enough of the remaining lemon juice into icing to make it the consistency of pouring cream. Carefully spoon or pipe the icing onto the hat for white fur and pompom, stand several hours or until icing is dry.
Step 10. Colour remaining icing red, pipe or spoon onto hats, stand until dry.
Step 11. Use writing gel to make noses on the cookies.
Christmas Pudding Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
· 60-gram butter, at room temperature
· 1 egg, at room temperature
· 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 cup (150g) plain flour
· 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
· 24 large (150g) white and pink marshmallows
· 300 gram dark chocolate
· 150 gram white chocolate melts
· 12 red glacé cherries
· 6 green glacé cherries
Method
Step 1. Beat butter, egg, sugar and extract in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in sifted flour and cocoa. Knead until dough forms. Enclose dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease and line two oven trays with baking paper.
Step 3. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using a 4.5cm round cutter, cut 24 rounds from dough, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Place the rounds about 2.5cm apart on trays. Bake for 10 minutes.
Step 4. Remove cookies from oven; immediately press 1 marshmallow on top of each hot cookie. Return to oven for 1 minute. Cool on trays.
Step 5. Melt the dark chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water (don't let the water touch the base of the bowl). Place cookies on a wire rack over a baking paper-lined tray. Spoon the chocolate over biscuits to completely cover the marshmallows. Stand cookies at room temperature until chocolate sets.
Step 6. Melt white chocolate melts as in step 5. Cut the red cherries in half. Cut each green cherry into 8 wedges. Working with one cookie at a time, spoon a small amount of white chocolate on top of each cookie; position one red cherry half and two green cherry wedges on each cookie. Stand at room temperature until set.
Traditional Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients
· 250 gram butter, softened
· 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
· 1 tablespoon water
· 2 cup (300g) plain flour
· 1/2 cup (100g) rice flour
· 2 tablespoon white sugar
Method
Step 1. Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Grease two oven trays.
Step 2. Beat butter and caster sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. In two batches, stir in water and sifted flours. Turn onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth.
Step 3. Divide dough in two portions. Shape each portion, on separate trays, into 20cm rounds. Mark each round into 12 wedges; prick with fork. Pinch edges of rounds with fingers and sprinkle with white sugar.
Step 4. Bake shortbread about 40 minutes. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut into wedges along marked lines. Cool on trays.
Jam Wreath Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
· 250 gram butter, softened
· 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
· 1/3 cup (75g) caster (superfine) sugar
· 2 cup (300g) plain (all-purpose) flour
· 1/2 cup (100g) rice flour
· 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar, extra
· 1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam
Method
Step 1. Beat butter, rind and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in
sifted flours, in two batches. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Step 2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.
Step 3. Roll three-quarters of the dough between sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick; cut 20 x 6.5cm rounds from dough. Place rounds 4cm apart on oven trays.
Step 4. Roll remaining dough between sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a 4cm holly cutter, cut out leaves from dough.
Step 5. Brush edge of each round of dough lightly with water; arrange leaves, overlapping slightly, around edge. Sprinkle leaves lightly with extra sugar. Spoon jam into the centre of each wreath.
Step 6. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool on trays.
Gingerbread Folk Recipe
Ingredients
· 125-gram butter, at room temperature
· 1/2 cup (110g) firmly packed light brown sugar
· 1/2 cup (180g) treacle
· 1 egg yolk
· 2 1/2 cup (375g) plain flour
· 1 tablespoon ground ginger
· 1 teaspoon mixed spice
· 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Royal icing
· 1 egg white
· 1 1/2 cup (240g) pure icing sugar
· 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Method
Step 1. Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in the treacle and egg yolk.
Step 2. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in the sifted dry ingredients. Turn the dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half. Enclose in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 3. Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced). Grease and line two oven trays with baking paper.
Step 4. Roll each dough half between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using a 13cm gingerbread man cutter, cut out 12 gingerbread folk, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Place shapes, about 2.5cm apart, on trays. Bake for about 10 minutes. Stand on trays for 10 minutes, before transferring to wire racks to cool.
Step 5. To make royal icing, beat egg white in a small bowl with an electric mixer until just broken up. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until firm peaks form; stir in the juice. Keep icing covered with plastic wrap on the surface to prevent drying out.
Step 6. Spoon icing into a small piping bag fitted with a small plain tube (or a small plastic bag with one corner snipped off). Using the picture as a guide, decorate the gingerbread folk with piped royal icing.
Reindeer Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
· 90 grams butter
· 1 egg
· ½ cup (110g) firmly packed light brown sugar
· ¹⁄³ cup (25g) desiccated coconut
· ¹⁄³ cup (35g) wheat germ
· ²⁄³ cup (100g) wholemeal plain flour
· ¹⁄³ cup (50g) white self-raising flour
· ½ teaspoon mixed spice
· 20 pretzels (40g)
· ¼ cup (45g) dark choc Bits
· 10 giant choc orange balls (70g)
Method
Step 1. Have butter and egg at room temperature.
Step 2. Beat butter, egg and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until combined. Stir in coconut, wheat germ and sifted flours and spice. Enclose dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Step 3. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm (¼-inch) thick. Place on tray; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Step 4. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and line oven trays with baking paper.
Step 5. Using a 9cm (3¼-inch) round cutter, cut 10 rounds from dough, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Place rounds about 7.5cm (3-inches) apart on trays. Slide an ice-block stick under each cookie; press down firmly. Position two pretzels on each cookie for antlers; press down firmly. Decorate cookies with choc bits for eyes and mouths. Bake about 12 minutes.
Step 6. Immediately press choc orange balls onto hot cookies for noses. Cool on trays.
Source: Women's Weekly Food
Have a Merry Christmas!
Fröhliche Weihnachten!
Joyeux Noël
圣诞节快乐
Love from the Brilliant Team
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