Reindeer Biscuits

I had a few packets of left over arrowroot biscuits from the Christmas Carols festival biscuit decorating stall I ran so thought I'd do my own decorating and make some reindeer biscuits for morning tea. These are also great to give away as Christmas gifts- just place a couple in a clear cellophane bag and tie up with some ribbon

Makes 16

Ingredients

1x 250g pkt Arrowroot biscuits (to make face)
1 cup milk chocolate melts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (1 tablespoon per 1 cup of chocolate)
8 mini white marshmallows (to make eyes)
Black icing pen (to make pupils)
16 red jaffas or red Cadbury mini drops (to make nose)
8 mini pretzels (to make antlers)

Method

1. Cut mini marshmallows in half. Add a small drop of black food writing gel to the uncut side.
2. Using a serrated knife, cut mini pretzels in half 
3. Line a tray with non stick baking paper
4. Place chocolate and vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium for 30 seconds, stirring after each time until smooth. (The vegetable oil helps to make the chocolate glossy and runny).
5. Dip one side of the biscuit into the melted chocolate, allow excess to drip off. Place onto tray. 
6. Gently place 2 mini marshmallows, cut sides down onto biscuit (to make eyes)
7. Gently place a red jaffa on the bottom of the biscuit (to make nose)
8. Gently push 2 mini pretzels into the chocolate biscuit (to make antlers).
9. Repeat with remaining biscuits
10. Once all the biscuits are decorated, place the baking tray in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.
11. Store decorated biscuits in an airtight container. Lay them flat with layers of baking paper in between each level

Notes & tips

Chocolate cools and hardens quickly after it melts, so it is best to have all your decorating items ready for assembly

Make sure chocolate is added to a dry bowl. Even one stray drop of water can cause melting chocolate to seize, or harden, ruining its texture and consistency. Seized chocolate won't melt smoothly, no matter how long you stir it.

You could create 8 reindeer with brown noses and 1 with a red nose just like in the story- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Christmas Biscotti

Last Christmas, a friend of mine gave me some home baked biscotti as a Chrissie pressie. Hubby and I loved eating them so much that we devoured it in a matter of minutes. I was really inspired to create my own version but never got around to it until today. This was also my first time at baking biscotti :)

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas Magazine, December 2008 issue, page 43

Makes 30 pieces

Ingredients

½ cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 ⅓ cups plain flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder, sifted
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup dried Greek fig, chopped
¼ cup glace cherries, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1½ teaspoon orange zest

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lightly grease.
2. Place sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add flour, baking powder, Greek fig, glacé cherries, orange rind and dried cranberries. Stir to combine. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Shape into a 30cm log. Place on prepared tray and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on tray for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 140°C/120°C fan-forced. Using a serrated knife, slice log diagonally into 5mm-thick slices, discarding ends.
4. Place slices, in a single layer, on 2 baking paper-lined baking trays. Bake for 20 minutes, turning over halfway or until dry and crisp. Stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes & Tips

Place biscotti into clear cellophane gift bags tied with ribbon to give away as gifts

Christmas Pudding Truffles

I brought these Christmas pudding truffles along with my mini Christmas puddings to a recent women's evangelistc event at my church. These truffles are just so adorable and unbelievably quick and easy to make. Simple yet effective :)

I didn't have any spearmint leaf lollies, so I improvised and used fresh mint leaves instead which I found gave the truffles a nice minty taste and freshness. Unfortunately though, because I put together these truffles the night before, the mint leaves wilted so I would suggest that if you plan to use fresh mint leaves, serve on the same day for a nicer presentation. You could probably make these truffles a couple of hours in advance and just leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Makes 24

Ingredients

200g white chocolate melts

2 pkts Arnott's Royals dark chocolate biscuits

24 Jaffas

Spearmint leaves, cut into smaller leaves

Method

1. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
2. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over each biscuit and allow to drip down the side to resemble custard flowing over the pudding.  
3. Place a Jaffa on top and a small spearmint leaf each side of the Jaffa and secure in the melted chocolate.

Notes & Tips

Refrigerate the biscuits prior to decorating especially if you are assembling them on a hot day. This will prevent the 'decorations' from slipping off and your chocolate biscuits from melting.

When topping puddings with 'custard', work in batches of 5 at a time so the 'custard' doesn't set before adding the Jaffas.

Try adding some vegetable oil to the white chocolate while melting, as it makes the chocolate runnier, making it easier to make the effect of custard running down the pudding. It also makes the chocolate shiny when set, so it looks nicer. I added approx. 1 tsp oil for every 100g of chocolate.

Mini Christmas Puddings

We had a women's evangelistic event at my church today- there was a short evangelistic talk about the prodigal son followed by an afternoon of decorating baubles. To keep with the Christmas mood and festivity, I brought along these mini Christmas puddings as well as some Christmas pudding truffles. They proved to be a real hit with the women at church :)

Makes approx. 35 truffles

Ingredients

800g pkt light fruit cake, coarsely chopped
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp brandy
200g white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Red and Green glace cherries, thinly sliced, to decorate

Method

1. Process the fruitcake in a food processor until fine crumbs form
2. Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Add the melted chocolate and brandy to the cake crumbs and process until well combined.
3. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Roll 1 tbsp of cake mixture into a ball. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining cake mixture. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
4. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
5. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over each truffle. Top with the cherries.

Notes & Tips

When topping puddings with 'custard', work in batches of 5 at a time so the 'custard' doesn't set before adding the cherries

Try adding some vegetable oil to the white chocolate while melting, as it makes the chocolate runnier, making it easier to make the effect of custard running down the pudding. It also makes the chocolate shiny when set, so it looks nicer. I added approx. 1 tsp oil for every 100g of chocolate.

Gingerbread Xmas Trees

These gingerbread Christmas trees are both fun and easy to make, and, what's more, the kids will love them!
Hang them as part of decorations on your Xmas tree or give them away to friends and family as gifts :)

You can use any shaped cookie cutter you like to make these gingerbread cookies.

Makes 20

Ingredients

125g butter, at room temperature
½ cup (firmly packed) brown sugar
½ cup golden syrup
1 egg, separated
2¼ cups plain flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Plain flour, to dust
1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
20 drops red liquid food colouring (adjust as required)
10 drops green liquid food colouring (adjust as required)
Smarties, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large baking trays.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Sift over the flour, ginger, mixed spice and soda then use a large spoon to fold and combine. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
3. Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat together the icing sugar and egg white until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 2 bowls (3:1 ratio). Add green colouring to the bowl with more icing and stir until combined. Add red colouring to remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
4. After 30 minutes, bring dough to room temperature, then divide in two. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a Xmas tree cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart to allow for spreading. Repeat with any excess dough.
5. Bake in oven for 7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool. If you're making these as part of Christmas decorations, use a skewer to quickly make 5mm holes at the top of the warm biscuits to thread ribbon.
6. When biscuits have cooled completely, place prepared icings in small plastic/snap-lock bags or disposable piping bags, pushing icing into a corner, then cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread trees to decorate. Finish with Smarties. Thread ribbon in holes if using as Xmas decoration.
7. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Decorating Tips

Allow biscuits to cool completely prior to decorating.

When you fill the bag with icing, use a spatula and be sure to fill it only halfway. It may help to fold the bag over a few times before filling it. Next, twist the end of the bag, removing any air bubbles and forcing the icing toward the tip. For most techniques, you’ll be holding the bag at a 45 or 90 degree angle. Your dominant hand exerts the pressure while your other hand simply guides the bag’s path on the biscuit.

If you accidentally over-bake your gingerbread cookies, place them in a sealed container layered with some fresh bread for a few hours to overnight (depends how hard your gingerbread are). The cookies will draw moisture from the bread making it nice and soft again. This trick also works if you have hard sugar.