Home-baked biscuits and marinated drinks that taste like liquid Christmas. Claire Thomson presents five delectable recipes for edible gifts
One sure way to get in the mood for Christmas is making edible presents for friends and family. The cheer comes from the forethought involved, as you shop, then get busy in the kitchen, the smell of festive spices filling the air.
Then the box of ribbons and tissue paper, in jolly red and green designs, is retrieved from under the stairs. With the radio on and a cup of tea on the go, time is well spent wrapping parcels of biscuits and bottling home-infused spirits, securing each with ribbons and handwritten labels – Christmas music is optional.
Home-infused spirits – to serve neat over ice or poured long in a glass with tonic, spritz or soda – are not only terrific to bottle and give away as gifts, but also to serve as an aperitif on Christmas Day or as part of your wider cocktail store for any upcoming parties that you have planned. There is a seasonal trio here, using the very best festive ingredients, all sure to put a twinkle in your step this December.
CRUNCHY ‘BISCOTTI’ BISCUITS
I like to cut my biscuits on the chunky side. These sturdy biscotti can be dunked into a cup of tea or coffee, or better still, into a glass of sweet wine or fizz as they do in Italy.
Makes: Around 16 chunky biscuits
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50–60 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling
INGREDIENTS
180g sugar
2 eggs
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp finely grated fresh nutmeg or ground nutmeg
40g whole skin-on hazelnuts
40g whole skin-on almonds
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Use an electric mixer or whisk to beat the sugar and eggs until thick, pale and voluminous.
3. Fold in the remaining ingredients until completely combined.
4. Lightly dust the work surface with a little extra flour and turn the dough out on it, shaping into a smooth flattened loaf shape, about 10cm wide and 22cm long.
5. Place on the lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until crisp and firm and pale golden in colour.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing; cooling for at least 30 minutes or more is ideal. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 150°C/130°C fan.
7. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log into biscuits about 1½–2cm thick.
8. Place the biscuits back on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 25–30 minutes, until lightly golden brown and crisp throughout.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container. The biscuits will last well for two weeks or more.
GINGERBREAD ROBINS
Make these stained-glass biscuits shaped as robins, with a red breast stamped out and chocolate buttons for eyes. Don’t forget to stamp an extra hole for the ribbon to thread through. I like to bake half this dough, then keep the remainder in the fridge to bake fresh as required.
Makes: Around 30 gingerbread biscuits
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling
* Use a bird-shaped cutter to make this recipe ideally; failing that you can use any festive cutter.
INGREDIENTS
350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g cold butter, diced
150g soft light brown sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 egg
50g boiled sweets, preferably red or orange
1 tbsp chocolate drops for the eyes, or use currants
1 heaped tbsp icing sugar mixed with a drop of water to form a stiff drizzling consistency; alternatively use melted chocolate to stick on the eyes
Ribbon or string to thread
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse once to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add the sugar, pulse again, then add the syrup and egg. Blitz briefly until the mixture comes together and forms a smooth dough. Wrap the dough and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
4. Crush the sweets to a coarse dust using a pestle and mortar. Alternatively, put the sweets in a sealed bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 5mm thickness. Use a bird-shaped cutter to stamp out the dough and place each bird on the baking tray, leaving a gap between each one. You can re-roll the trim.
6. Use a small circle-shaped cutter – Iused an apple corer – to stamp out the chest of the robin. Sprinkle in enough of the crushed sweets to cover the hole. Use an even smaller circle-shaped cutter (a metal straw works well) to stamp out a hole to thread the gingerbread when cooked.
7. Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the gingerbread is lightly golden brown. Be careful – the sweet mixture will be bubbling and extremely hot. Leave to cool on the tray before moving.
8. When cool, add a spot of icing on each biscuit and place a chocolate drop on top to create an eye. Thread each biscuit with ribbon so they can be hung as decorations.
9. Any surplus dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and baked when needed.
FIG AND ORANGE ROLLS WITH CHRISTMAS SPICES
These are a world away from the shop-bought version. A heady mix of spices and orange complement the figs beautifully.
Makes: Around 12 fig rolls
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting and chilling
Cooking time: 15 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE FILLING
250g figs
1 tbsp light brown sugar
50g crystallised ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
Pinch of cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
Zest of an orange
FOR THE DOUGH
50g unsalted butter, softened
40g light muscovado sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of fine salt
½ tsp baking powder
METHOD
1. First make the filling. Put the figs into a pan in a snuggly fitting single layer. Add the sugar and enough water to barely cover the fruit. Bring to the boil, then put a lid on, reduce the heat and simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until the figs are soft and the liquid all but evaporated. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Put the cooled figs and remaining filling ingredients in a blender or food processor and process to a smooth paste. Chilli in the fridge while you make the dough.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and briefly mix to form a dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
5. Roll the dough out to a 35cm x 20cm rectangle and cut along the horizontal to form two rectangles. Divide the fig paste between the two, spreading it out on the dough evenly. Roll the dough up from the long side, as you would a sausage roll, making sure the paste is completely enclosed in dough. Run a wet fingertip along the edge of the dough to help seal the dough shut. Cut each roll into around six biscuits, approximately 4cm wide, then stamp the top with a fork.
6. Bake for 13–15 minutes until crisp and lightly golden at the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and cool the rolls on a wire rack before serving.
MARZIPAN VODKA
Sweet almond marzipan delicately flavours this delicious drink. Add a splash to some prosecco or serve long over ice with tonic and a slice of clementine.
Makes: One litre
Marinating time: Two weeks or more
INGREDIENTS
1 lt vodka
2 strips of unwaxed lemon peel
100g marzipan, diced
METHOD
1. Add the vodka, lemon zest and marzipan to a large Kilner jar or suitable container.
2. Leave for at least two weeks, shaking every now and then, before straining through a fine muslin cloth back into the original vodka bottle. As time goes on, the marzipan will break down, turning the vodka milky looking. This is fine; straining the mixture will produce a clear vodka with a faint pale-yellow colour.
CHERRY GIN
After steeping the fruit in the gin, the trick is to create a syrup by macerating the fruit for several days. You can then sweeten this deeply flavoured syrup further if you like before adding it into the gin – delicious. You can also use sloes for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1lt gin
200g cherries (I used frozen, defrosted)
2 strips unwaxed lemon peel
Sugar for the leftover fruit, about 75g
METHOD
1. Add the gin, cherries and lemon zest to a large Kilner jar or suitable container. Leave for at least two weeks, more is fine, shaking every now and then.
2. Strain the liquid back into the original gin bottle. Reserve the strained fruit and put it into a jar. Add the sugar and give it a good shake. Leave this to macerate for at least three days, up to a week, shaking it daily.
3. The syrup that forms from the fruit is intensely flavoured; add this syrup to the gin in the bottle, sweetening to your liking.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING SPICED RUM
Not only do you get a rum flavoured with the very essence of Christmas, you also get five plump rum-soaked figs which you can then dip in melted chocolate to serve alongside a short glass of rum for a proper boozy treat. If you like a longer drink, serve this over ice, topped with ginger beer.
INGREDIENTS
1 lt dark rum
5 dried figs
2 whole cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
½ nutmeg
8 allspice berries
Dark chocolate, melted (if you want to have a go at chocolate-dipping the figs)
METHOD
1. Add the rum to a large, clean Kilner jar or suitable container, along with the figs and spices. Leave for at least two weeks.
2. Strain back into the original rum bottle, keeping the figs and discarding the spices.
3. Melt some chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of boiling water. Dip the rum-soaked figs in the chocolate and place on a plate to set.
Claire Thomson is a chef, food writer and author of seven cookbooks.
Her latest book is Tomato (Quadrille, £22). Find her on Instagram @5oclockapron