Christmas recipes

With Christmas just around the corner can I take the opportunity to wish everyone lots of festive fun, much good food on their plates and happiness to all, and a very healthy New Year.

It’s a favourite and feared time of year, we all have such great expectation in the cooking department and then run out of time, so here’s a few recipes that you can make early and store, like freezer mincemeat. 

The recipes below have a mincemeat and marshmallow/chocolate theme, stock cupboard items for me and can be made as seasonal gifts to impress your party hostess or your Mum!  

Christmas is best done with a little planning, so make the mud pie a couple days ahead, and don’t forget that part of the fun of Christmas is giving, the other is receiving, so if someone offers to help, bake, or do the sprouts, let them!

                                                 Freezer Mincemeat

Homemade mincemeat is easy to make and delicious.  Make it early ready for some special mince pies!

1½lb/ 700g         cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1 lb/ 450g          seedless raisins

8oz/ 225g          currants

6oz/ 175g           sultanas

2oz/ 50g            mixed peel

8oz/ 225g          shredded suet

10oz/275g         soft brown sugar

1                        lemon, grated rind and juice of,  and the grated rind of 1 orange

½tsp                   mixed spice, cinnamon, and grated nutmeg

4 tblsp               brandy

Cook chopped apples gently without water, stirring all the time until soft. Cool.

Mix all the dried fruits together and then add the rest of the ingredients and stir in apple.  Mix well.

Put into rigid containers in the fridge for 3 – 4 days to mature, and then freeze.

Use within 3 months.  Gift wrap the lids with xmas material and festive ribbon.

                                              Mincemeat Wheels

The children can help with these; roll them, slice them, flatten them. No not the children, silly!

Oven 200C, gas mark 6, Aga – Top shelf in top oven!

1  pack of ready puff pastry, I always keep some in the freezer

1  jar of mincemeat

Scatter a little golden caster sugar over worktop and unroll puff pastry on top.  Then roll out, keeping pastry in a rectangular shape.  Spread mincemeat evenly leaving a border along longest edge. 

Roll tightly into sausage shape gently press the pastry into the mincemeat.  Brush the edge with milk and seal, bring in ends and seal.  Chill for 30 minutes. 

Cut into slices about 3 cm deep, place on a baking tray and flatten down with hand, scatter sliced almonds on top and bake for 20 –30 minutes.  Delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Another mincemeat recipe?  How about hot grapefruit starter or pud?  Half the grapefruits and cut around and into segments with a sharp knife, smoother with dollop of mincemeat, grate some orange or lemon rind on top and cook in oven or under low grill until warm through and melted, cool a little before serving.

Can serve cold too. Yummy!

                                        Christmas Rocky Crunchy bars

I was given these as a present last Christmas by a friend who came to supper, a  Nigella recipe.

Use a foil tray or line a baking tray approx 236mm x 296mm. Makes about 24.

9oz/ 250g             dark chocolate
5oz/ 150g             milk chocolate
6oz/ 175g             soft butter
4 tblsp                 golden syrup
7oz/ 200g            amaretti biscuits
5oz/ 150g             brazil nuts, shelled
5oz/ 150g            cherries
4oz/110g              mini marshmallows
 
Chop both chocolates into a heavy-based saucepan with syrup and butter, and melt over a gentle heat.
Put biscuits into a freezer bag, and bash them with a rolling pin and then you’ll have varying sized bits!
Do the same with the brazil nuts.
Take pan off the heat, add crushed biscuits, nuts, cherries and marshmallows and carefully combine the ingredients coating them with the chocolate mixture. OoooAhhh, loverlee!
Spatula into tray and smooth roughly, put in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Cut into squares and dust with sifted icing sugar, and edible glitter, optional.

                                              Marshmallow Mud Pie

My absolute favourite pud!  It’s so easy, can be frozen or made 2 days ahead for ease of entertaining, and cuts into 10 servings or more.  Found and remade recently from a very old Woman & Home pull-out. 

Use a 8-9” spring clipped tin and grease sides and line base.

10oz/ 275g          chocolate digestives biscuits, crushed into fine crumbs
3oz/ 75g             melted butter.

Filling

9oz/ 250g           marshmallows
4 tblsp                 milk
12oz/ 350g          plain chocolate         

2 tsp                    instant coffee

¾ pt/15 fl oz        double cream

Make biscuit base, use to line base and sides of tin, put in fridge while you make the filling.

Melt marshmallows and melt in pan over a low heat, remove and cool.

Melt chocolate in bowl of saucepan of water. Dissolve coffee in 2 tblsp of boiling water

Whip cream to soft peaks.

Fold chocolate, coffee and cream into the marshmallow mixture and pour into biscuit base.

Chill for 2 –3 hours, carefully remove from tin and decorate with chocolate pringles or leaves.

Chocolate leaves; Apply melted chocolate with a paintbrush to the underside of dry rose or mint leaves and place on non-stick paper.  When set peel away the leaf carefully.

Chocolate curls; Over a marble slab or board spread a layer of white chocolate, score across with a fork, then spread a layer of plain chocolate over the white. Leave to go cold and make the curls using a blade of a large sharp knife or a hand cheese slicer.