Christmas || Recipes

Helloooo Shimmers,
It's officially the christmas countdown...10 days till Christmas!!
With that in mind here are some of my favorite christmas recipes.

Christmas Biscuits
Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
• 275g/10oz plain flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• To decorate
• 400g/14oz icing sugar
• 3-4 tbsp water
• 2-3 drops food colourings
• Edible glitter

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale, light and fluffy.
   
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, a little at a time, until well combined.
3. Stir in the flour until the mixture comes together as a dough.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1cm/½in.
5. Using biscuit cutters or a glass, cut biscuits out of the dough and carefully place onto the baking tray. To make into Christmas tree decorations, carefully make a hole in the top of the biscuit using a straw.
6. Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
7. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the food colouring.
8. Carefully spread the icing onto the biscuits using a knife and sprinkle over the glitter. Set aside until the icing hardens.

   You Can also attach ribbon to the biscuits (see the picture at the start) and they make tree decorations. Mince Pies Ready in 1 hour 20 mins IngredientsServes: 12

• 350g (12 oz) high-quality mincemeat
• 225g (8 oz) plain flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 125g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, diced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• milk, to glaze

 Preparation methodPrep: 1 hour | Cook: 20 mins 1.Lightly butter a 12-case patty tin. Tip the mincemeat into a bowl and stir so that the liquid is evenly distributed. 2.Place the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and process briefly until resembling breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg through the feeder tube (or rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand and stir in the egg). 3.Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in cling film and chill for an hour. Thinly roll out the pastry onto a floured surface. Cut out 12 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the cases in the patty tin. Press gently into each case, then fill evenly with the mincemeat.4.Cut out another 12 slightly smaller circles and use to cover the mincemeat. Press the edges together with the end of a fork to seal. Make a small slit in the top of each, then brush lightly with milk. Chill for about 30 minutes.5.While chilling, preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas Mark 6. Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm. Enjoy!  Ready in 30 mins IngredientsServes: 30

• 100g butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 125ml treacle
• 1 egg yolk
• 250g sifted plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation methodPrep: 20 mins | Cook: 10 mins 1.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in treacle and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg; blend into the treacle mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour. 2.Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ½cm thickness. Cut into desired shapes with biscuit cutters. Place biscuits 5cm apart on ungreased baking trays. 3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from baking trays to cool on wire racks. Ice or decorate when cool. These are three of my favorite recipes for christmas <3Laura xx