New Year catch up!
Well, we are now well into the New Year and despite my best efforts, the blog was lower on my list than the festivities and the Big clean up that followed.
I want to share some Christmas/New Year bakes that, in my opinion shouldn't just be consumed at Christmas!
Firstly, using my gingerbread recipe, I was able to make hundreds (and I mean hundreds!) of little Christmas trees - just the size that Marks and Spencer give you with your coffee. I was on the hunt for a mini gingerbread man cutter, but made do with my little tree. However, thanks to T, they became the perfect Christmas nibbles with the tea or coffee rounds.
T suggested a silver sugar ball as a star at the top of each tree. I went one better because I had some sugar stars at the back of the cupboard!
Store them in jars to keep them fresh and crispy 😊
Then there were the mince pies...
Every year I want to make mince pies but they appear in the shopping and I don't need more. This year however I was determined, shop bought ones in the house or not (I really wanted to see if mine could be better! 😉).
I found a good recipe in this year's Waitrose leaflet and used the pastry recipe. I didn't do frangipan topping, but maybe this year...
Mince pie pastry:
125g plain flour
50g ground almonds
75g lightly salted butter, chilled and cubed
25g sifted icing sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 large egg yolk
Place the flour and almonds in a bowl with the butter, icing sugar and zest, and then gently work together to resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the egg yolk and begin to bring together into a dough.
Tip onto a clean work surface and knead until soft and smooth.
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.
If, like me, you make your pastry well in advance, allow it to sit at room temperature for a short period before rolling. If you leave it refrigerated for longer than the hour it can be a little too firm to roll straight away.
Roll out to 2-3mm thickness, thenot use a 9cm cutter to cut 12 discs.
Butter a muffin tin (nice and deep!) and press the discs gently into the holes.
Now they are ready to fill 😊
My Filling:
I used a quality shop bought mincemeat (in fact it had been 'lost' in the cupboard for a few months!). I mixed into it a handful of dried cranberries.
My topping:
Well, two toppings...
Firstly, I used the leftover pastry and my new mini Christmas tree cutter to make tree toppers.
Secondly, I mixed 2 tbsp ground almonds with 1 tbsp caster sugar and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon to taste, and then scattered the mixture over my pies. Make more if needed, depending on how thick you want your sprinkle...
To bake place in the oven at 180°C and cook for 15 mins before checking the toppings, which should be golden. If not, cook for a further 5-10 mins.
Lift carefully from the tins, after cooling for 10 mins first.
Dust with icing sugar before serving, either warm or cold. 😋 Yum!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 🎉
I want to share some Christmas/New Year bakes that, in my opinion shouldn't just be consumed at Christmas!
Firstly, using my gingerbread recipe, I was able to make hundreds (and I mean hundreds!) of little Christmas trees - just the size that Marks and Spencer give you with your coffee. I was on the hunt for a mini gingerbread man cutter, but made do with my little tree. However, thanks to T, they became the perfect Christmas nibbles with the tea or coffee rounds.
T suggested a silver sugar ball as a star at the top of each tree. I went one better because I had some sugar stars at the back of the cupboard!
 |
| Ready for baking. |
 |
| Fresh from the oven. |
 |
| You can made loads! |
Store them in jars to keep them fresh and crispy 😊
Then there were the mince pies...
Every year I want to make mince pies but they appear in the shopping and I don't need more. This year however I was determined, shop bought ones in the house or not (I really wanted to see if mine could be better! 😉).
I found a good recipe in this year's Waitrose leaflet and used the pastry recipe. I didn't do frangipan topping, but maybe this year...
Mince pie pastry:
125g plain flour
50g ground almonds
75g lightly salted butter, chilled and cubed
25g sifted icing sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 large egg yolk
Place the flour and almonds in a bowl with the butter, icing sugar and zest, and then gently work together to resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the egg yolk and begin to bring together into a dough.
Tip onto a clean work surface and knead until soft and smooth.
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.
If, like me, you make your pastry well in advance, allow it to sit at room temperature for a short period before rolling. If you leave it refrigerated for longer than the hour it can be a little too firm to roll straight away.
Roll out to 2-3mm thickness, thenot use a 9cm cutter to cut 12 discs.
Butter a muffin tin (nice and deep!) and press the discs gently into the holes.
Now they are ready to fill 😊
My Filling:
I used a quality shop bought mincemeat (in fact it had been 'lost' in the cupboard for a few months!). I mixed into it a handful of dried cranberries.
My topping:
Well, two toppings...
Firstly, I used the leftover pastry and my new mini Christmas tree cutter to make tree toppers.
Secondly, I mixed 2 tbsp ground almonds with 1 tbsp caster sugar and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon to taste, and then scattered the mixture over my pies. Make more if needed, depending on how thick you want your sprinkle...
To bake place in the oven at 180°C and cook for 15 mins before checking the toppings, which should be golden. If not, cook for a further 5-10 mins.
Lift carefully from the tins, after cooling for 10 mins first.
Dust with icing sugar before serving, either warm or cold. 😋 Yum!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 🎉
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