Christmas bakes

Christmas tree cookies

– 200 g butter
– 125 g white caster sugar
– 2 eggs
– 400 g flour
– 15 g vanilla sugar
– pinch of salt

Christmas tree cookies make a Christmas dinner complete. Whether we eat them as a snack or dessert, everyone loves this recipe at our house. You can create the shape by stamping the biscuits out with a cookie cutter. These are easy to find online. Mix all the ingredients together with a dough hook. Then use your hands to shape the dough into a sort of flat ball. Wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 °C. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 5 mm. Stamp the cookies out. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. Delicious!

Apple strudel

– roll of fresh puff pastry
– 1 tbsp apricot jam
– 60 g sultanas
– 2 apples
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1 medium egg
– icing sugar

There are a couple of desserts I really associate with the winter and apple strudel is one of them. It‘s easy to make at home too! Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Cut the apple into 1 cm cubes. Put them in a bowl and add the sultanas, cinnamon and apricot jam, then stir together. Cut the puff pastry into a 20 x 20 cm square and lay this on a piece of baking parchment. Spoon half of the filling on top. Fold the other half of the puff pastry over the top and press the edges together firmly. Use a sharp knife to slice the puff pastry every centimetre or so, creating a pattern of stripes. Beat the egg and use it to brush the top and sides, to make the strudel nice and glossy. Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes. When you take it out, dust it with a generous layer of icing sugar.

Cinnamon rolls

– 1 tin of croissant dough
– 50 g soft butter
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 50-60 g golden caster sugar

Icing:

– 100 g icing sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2 tbsp milk

I don’t think there’s anything more delicious than warm cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. And they’re really easy to make. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Roll the croissant dough out, pinch the seams together and press down firmly. Mix the cinnamon with the butter and spread this over the dough. Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top and roll the dough back up. Cut the dough into six rolls and arrange these on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Combine the icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk to make the icing. Take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and pour the icing over the top. Eat straight away, they’re nicest straight out of the oven!

Chocolate Christmas tree

– 540 g fresh puff pastry
– 4 tbsp Nutella
– 20 g hazelnuts
– 1 medium egg
– 10 freeze-dried strawberries
– 2 sprigs of fresh mint

Not just a delicious treat to eat, but a feast for the eyes too! This chocolate Christmas tree is a favourite of ours. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Place two sheets of puff pastry on top of each other and cut out the biggest Christmas tree you can. It works best if you start from the bottom. Then place 1 of the 2 shapes on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Stir the Nutella until smooth and then spread it all over the Christmas tree, leaving about 1 cm free around the edges. Chop the hazelnuts and sprinkle these over the top of the Nutella. Place the second pastry Christmas tree on top and press the sides down. Use a cookie cutter to make a star from the pastry offcuts. I always add this to the top as a decoration. Make some horizontal cuts to create branches about 1.5 cm wide and add a twist to each one. Separate the egg, beat the egg yolk and brush it onto the Christmas tree. Bake for around 20 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle the freeze-dried strawberries and mint leaves over the top. Time to celebrate!

Gâteau de Noël

– 200 g butter
– 150 g sugar
– 4 eggs
– 200 g self-raising flour
– 125 g almond paste
– 30 g pecans
– 20 g orange pieces (or the zest of half an orange)
– 40 g soaked raisins
– 15 g candied peel
– handful of flaked almonds
– zest of 1 lemon
– 1 tsp mixed spice
– pinch of salt

I just love this cake made with almond paste. It’s quite a lot of work, but the result is worth it. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Beat the butter and sugar with the mixer until light and creamy. Mix the eggs through this one by one. The first time I was worried that the mixture was going to curdle, but it turned out okay. Fold in the self-raising flour, salt and mixed spice. Then stir in the raisins, chopped pecans, orange pieces and candied peel. The lemon zest goes in last. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and pour in half of the batter. Knead the almond paste for a little while, make it into a long roll and place this in the centre of the cake. Pour the rest of the batter on top. Decorate with the flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar. So tasty!

Joulutorttu

– 500 g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes.
– 500 g ricotta
– 500 g flour
– 300 g plums or prunes
– 4 tbsp sugar
– water

Can you guess which language this name comes from? This is a traditional Christmas bake from Finland. It’s a fun recipe to try wherever you live though. Sieve the flour in a bowl and mix it with the butter to form a crumble. Then add the ricotta and continue to mix. Knead until smooth and shape into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Wash the plums, cut them in half and remove the stones. If you’re using prunes, you will need to soak them for 2 hours. Place the prunes in a pan with the sugar and add enough water to just cover them. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir until the plums are very soft. Remove the mixture from the heat and puree. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Divide the chilled dough into 3 sections. Roll it out to a thickness of half a centimetre. Cut the dough into squares about 8 cm by 8 cm. Cut a diagonal line into the middle from each corner. Place a tablespoon of jam in the centre. Pick up a corner of the dough and fold it into the middle. Repeat with each corner, first brushing them with egg yolk and then pressing firmly in the centre, so they stay in place. Arrange the pastries on the baking sheet and brush them all over with egg yolk for a nice shine. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Hyvää ruokahalua, as the Finnish say. In other words, enjoy!