Christmas Recipes

Cranberry Nut Biscotti (makes about 70 biscotti)

Ingredients:
350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
coarsely grated zest of 1 orange
85g dried cranberries
50g blanched almonds
50g pistachios (shelled).
If you like raisins you can through in a handful, but they taste fine without!

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan). Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and mixed spice in a
mixing bowl. Mix well together.

2. Add the orange zest and the beaten eggs and stir until the mixture starts to come together to form
clumps.

3. Bring the dough together with your hands. It will look too dry at first but keep kneading it and
include all the floury bits until it all comes together.


4. Add the cranberries, almonds and pistachios, and mix into the dough until they are well combined.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and break into four pieces. Roll each piece out into a
sausage shape about 30cm long.



5. Line two baking sheets with baking paper and place two rolls onto each sheet, placed well apart.
Bake in the oven for about 25 30 minutes (I gave mine 25 mins) until the dough has risen and
spread a bit and is firm to the touch. The rolls should still look quite pale.



6. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for just a few minutes. Turn the oven down to 140C/120C
fan. Slice the rolls on the diagonal into about 1cm thick pieces. Lay flat on the baking tray and return
to the oven. After about 10-15 minutes, turn them and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes.
I had my fan oven at about 140C, so I gave the biscotti about 7 minutes on each side. Keep watch on
the clock for this part. They will turn into tasty rocks if you leave them too long! Cool on a wire rack.



These keep really well - a few weeks in an airtight container. We packaged them up in cellophane bags
last Christmas (10 to a bag), but only at the last minute to keep them fresh. The pistachios do add to
the cost, so you could substitute raisins or more almonds if you like.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce - per 340g bag of cranberries, add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water, or half water
and half red wine, or half water and half orange juice, plus a little splash of brandy if you like, and the
grated rind of an orange if you like. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes til all the berries
have popped and the sauce is quite thick and glossy - beware, it will go through an ugly, foamy phase
but this will pass so persevere
Keeps for about 12 months if properly sealed, great with Christmas dinner, epic with baked brie and
crusty bread
microwave fudge

250g salted butter
500g golden caster sugar
1 tin condensed milk
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
3 or 4 tbsp baileys

1. Place butter in large microwaveable dish, heat on high power for 1 min.
2. Add sugar and condensed milk and stir until sugar starts dissolving.
3. Return to microwave and heat for 14-15 mins on high. Remove and stir well every 3 mins(very
hot!!)
4. Remove from microwave, add remaining ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon until it loses
the shine, will turn a pale golden brown.
5. Pour into a prepared tin(I use a brownie tin greased with butter and lined with tinfoil) Leave to cool,
then chill in fridge. Cut into squares and store in airtight container



Honeycomb
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons golden syrup or 4 tablespoons dark corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon baking soda

Directions

Stir sugar and syrup together in a cold pan.
Put over medium-high heat; from this point, do NOT stir, but only swirl the pan.
Cook until golden and thick, and bubbles are beginning to mount. (or 155 degrees celcius if you
have a candy thermometer)
Turn off heat and add baking soda.
Whisk vigorously.
Pour onto a silicone liner (Silpat), or pan covered in greaseproof paper, and let stand 15 minutes.
Smash into large pieces.





Luscious Lavender Lip Balm Recipe

4 Tbsp jojoba, almond, or olive oil
1 Tbsp grated beeswax or beeswax pearls
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp vitamin E oil (or 3 punctured, squeezed out liquid vitamin E capsules)
7 drops lavender essential oil (or other essential oil)
1 tsp colored, natural lipstick (optional, if you want it to have a hint of color)


Warm the oils, beeswax and honey in a small, stainless steel pot or bowl. Be sure to warm it on VERY
low heat. (You can use a double boiler, if youd like.)
Stir until the beeswax is completely melted.
Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the essential oil, vitamin E, cocoa powder, and colored lipstick.
Place the bottom of the bowl into a shallow pan of ice water and continue whisking quickly as you add
the honey.
Once the honey is incorporated, quickly transfer the balm into your lip balm container (tube or tin) and
allow to set for 3 hours.

I got the lip balm containers on ebay for very cheap.


Pistachio and Cranberry Chocolate Bark.

Basically melt some good quality chocolate (Lidl do a fab semi dark one called Madagascar - about
1.50 for 250g), and mix in crushed pistachio nuts and dried/semi dried cranberries. Spread thinly on
greaseproof paper and sprinkle some more crushed nuts and cranberries on top. If you like you can
melt some white chocolate and mix in to make a marble effect.
Allow to set and crack into pieces.


Mulled Wine
2 bottles of medium to full bodied red wine
1.5 liters of water
1 orange stuck with cloves
2 oranges sliced
2 lemons sliced
6 tblsp sugar or honey
2 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
2 tsp grated ginger, of ground ginger is fine
2 tblsp of any fruit liqueur ( if you have it, no bother if you don't)

put everything in pan heat to simmering point stirring till sugar is dissolved, keep it at simmering point
for 20mins ( do not boil or the alcohol will evaporate, ) leave to cool and reheat slowly, again
without boiling



Cracker Biscuits (no sugar)

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place the flour, baking
powder, butter and tsp of the flaky salt in a food processor, then whizz for a minute until the
butter is completely mixed with the flour. Add 4 tbsp water and pulse until the dough comes
together. If it still feels dry, add 1 tsp more water and process until you have a soft but not sticky
dough.
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle approximately 50 x 25cm and as
thin as possible. Brush a little water over the surface of the dough, scatter 1 tsp salt flakes over
and press in lightly. Prick the dough all over with a fork, then cut into 18 squares. Place on the
prepared trays dont worry if they stretch a bit. Bake for 10-15 mins until the biscuits feel dry
and sandy but are still pale they may still feel soft but will harden up when cooling. Transfer to a
wire rack and leave until completely cool. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Oatcake Biscuits
50g butter
100g medium oatmeal
100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp Baking powder
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Melt the butter in a small pan, then allow to cool
slightly. Tip all the dry ingredients into a bowl, with tsp salt, then pour in the butter. Add
5-6 tbsp boiling water and combine to make a firm dough.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then roll out until about 0.5cm thick. Cut
into small squares, then bake for 12-15 mins until golden. Leave to cool for a few mins,
then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.




christmas meringue snowflakes! Ingredients
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon flavored extract, such as lemon, peppermint, orange, or almond
2 tablespoons colored sugar or edible glitter

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 200. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg
whites and cream of tartar until frothy, about 3 minutes. Set the mixer speed to high and beat
another 3 minutes or so until the eggs whites are fluffy.
2. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until the egg whites
are stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Then beat in the extract.
3. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a pencil to draw snowflake patterns on
the paper. The meringues will not spread, so they can be drawn fairly close together. Turn the
papers printed-side down and stick them to the baking sheets by dabbing a little meringue in
each corner.
4. Spoon the meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip and pipe it, erring
on the thick side so the snowflakes will be less fragile, onto the paper-lined sheets following the
patterns. Sprinkle the meringues with colored sugar or edible glitter.
5. Bake the snowflakes until dry but not browned, about 1 hour. Carefully slide the parchment
paper from the baking sheets to wire racks and let the meringues cool completely.
6. Using scissors, cut the paper between the meringues to separate them. Then gently peel away
the paper from each one, keeping one hand under the snowflake to support the edges. The
meringues will stay crisp for up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container at room
temperature (do not refrigerate them). Makes about 20.


Cookie Jar
For the cookie jar you need

175g unsifted flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
90g soft brown sugar
90g caster sugar
175g chocolare chips

Layer all the dry ingredients in order in the jar then write the following instructions on some paper and
attach to it:
-Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
-Combine half a tsp of vanilla, one egg and 110g of butter and mix until creamy
-Gradually beat in the jarred cookie mix
-Form into a log, cut into slices and lay on a baking tray spaced apart
-Bake for 9 to 11 minutes
-Enjoy!









Apple Sauce

Ingredients
6 pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Cut Into 8 Slices
1 cup Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
Juice Of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, More Or Less To Taste
Optional Ingredients: Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Allspice, Butter
Preparation Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large pot, chop and add apples to other ingredients as you peel them and cook over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.
Carefully puree in a food processor or blender (don't fill too full; split into two portions if needed) until smooth.
Large portions will fill 5 apple sauce jars

Beetroot Chutney

Ingredients:

5 medium beetroot
5oz Sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 Large Onions
2 Large Cooking Applies
1/2 pt vinegar

Method:

Wash & boil beetroot for an hour. When cold peel (the skin should just come off without any probs
once they're cooked), dice the beetroot really small. Then put the chopped onion, apple, vinegar, salt &
sugar in a saucepan. Cook for half an hour.

Large batch, will fill 5 apple sauce jars



Strawberry jam
900g fruit (blackberries, plums, raspberries or strawberries), prepared weight
900g golden granulated sugar Jam sugar next year!!!
knob of butter

Method
1. Put the fruit into a preserving pan or large heavy-based saucepan. for strawberries, add 3 tbsp of
lemon juice (no water); Bring to the boil.
2. Lower the heat. for strawberries, simmer for 5 minutes. The fruit should be soft.
3. Tip in the sugar, stir over a very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Raise the
heat, bring to a full rolling boil, then rapidly boil strawberries for 20-25 minutes - dont stir
though until the setting point of 210C is reached.
This took way longer than 20-25 minutes last year, 60 mins approx.
4. Remove from the heat, skim off any excess scum, then stir a knob of butter across the surface (this
helps to dissolve any remaining scum). Leave for about 15 mins so the fruit can settle. Pour into
sterilised jars, label and seal.
Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
2 eggs plus one egg yolk
3 lemons
175g caster sugar
100g butter (the recipe states unsalted, but we just used regular)

Method:
Zest and juice the lemons into a saucepan along with the butter and sugar. Beat the eggs and egg yolk
together and add to the saucepan. Over a low-medium heat (don't wander off!), stir the mixture
continuously until the butter melts. Keep stirring as the mixture starts to heat up and thicken. The curd
is ready when the back of a metal spoon dipped in the mixture stays coated.
Pour the hot curd into warm sterilised jars and cover immediately either with a sterilised lid or with a
waxed disk and a cellophane cover.
But I think that epic post is enough for now

Creamed the butter and suger, beat in eggs one at a time, then added the lemon juice.
Put it in a pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisked it till it thickened. its gorgeous and
looks beautiful!