Christmas Special - Recipes

Christmas gingerbread biscuits

Gingerbread biscuits are a classic Christmas treat in the English-speaking world. As the aroma of spices drifts through the house it’s guaranteed to put everyone in a seasonal mood!
These biscuits can be made in all sorts of fun shapes using themed cookie cutters (such as the classic gingerbread man) and decorated with icing. You can hang them on your Christmas tree, or put them in a pretty box and give them to somebody special as a gift.

What you need:

• 350 g of plain white flour
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 160 g of sugar
• a pinch of table salt
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 150 g of butter
• 150 g of honey
• a pinch of nutmeg
• cookie cutters
• white and coloured icing

 

How to make it:

Sift the flour into a large bowl or the bowl from your food processor. Add the spices, the bicarbonate of soda and the butter, which should be cut into little cubes. Add the honey and mix everything together into a crumbly dough. Mix in the eggs and knead the dough briefly to make a single, compact lump. Wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Once the dough has rested, roll it out flat into a sheet about 4 mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes and put them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Bake at 180° for 10-12 minutes. They should be nice and golden when you take them out.
Leave them to cool then decorate them however you like with the icing.


Chocolate salami in a jar

Chocolate salami is another delicious and much-loved Christmas treat. This is a great idea for a low-cost handmade present that is perfect for making with children. Why not get them to decorate the jar and the label with the instructions?

What you need:

• 200 g of biscuits (a dry, crumbly type not a chewy, cookie style)
• 100 g of icing sugar
• 50 g of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 50 g of dark chocolate
• 50 g of almonds
• a one-litre glass jar

The following ingredients are needed to finish the recipe:

• 1 egg
• 100 g of melted butter

 

How to make it:

Roughly chop the almonds and put them in a bowl. In a separate bowl, crush the biscuits up into fine crumbs. Blend the chocolate into a powder in the food processor and mix in the cocoa powder. Take the glass jar and fill it with the ingredients one layer at a time (biscuits, chocolate, almonds, icing sugar). Close the jar and decorate it with coloured cloth, ribbons, a little ball and anything else you can think of. Let your imagination run wild.
Remember to attach a label or notecard with the recipe, including the two ingredients that need to be added (1 egg and 100 g of melted butter) and the instructions, which are as follows.

How to make your chocolate salami:

Melt the butter in a microwave or in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Let it cool a little then pour it into a bowl, add the egg and mix together. With the eggs and butter well amalgamated, add all the dry ingredients from the jar and mix it all together.
Shape the mixture into a salami shape about 5-6 cm in diameter. Dust it with icing sugar and wrap it in foil. Leave the salami in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour, then unwrap it from the foil, cut it into slices about 1 cm thick and arrange these on a plate.