christmas biscuits. (Favourite Homemade Christmas Recipes)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Favourite Homemade Christmas Recipes
Date:	14/11/02 (463 review reads)
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Christmas biscuits



Its been a bit of a tradition in my family that Sleepydormouse makes her grandparents gingerbread Christmas men or shapes and Shortbread Christmas trees or stars I started to make these with her when she was very young. Now she has grown up and left home I still make them but, on my own. I make similar biscuits with the children at school. I will give you the recipes I use so you can have fun making these.

Christmas shortbread first.

Ingredients
175g/6oz plain flour
75g/3 oz butter
40g/1 ½ oz caster sugar
1 egg white
30 ml/ 2 tbs orange juice
8 oz coloured fruit sweets
method sift flour into mixing bowl
Cut butter into pieces and rub into flour until resemble fine breadcrumbs
Stir in sugar, egg white and enough orange juice to form soft dough
Knead mix on a floured surface then roll out thinly.
Use cutter to cut out shapes as you can. (Use a Christmas tree cutter, a star, or a plain circle makes a wonderful bauble (If you have no cutters draw a star or Christmas tree on a clean piece of card and cut it out place on the dough and cut around it using a sharp knife) you can buy many, many different Christmas cutters)


Place the shapes on a greased baking sheet or baking sheets lined with non-stick baking paper.

Using a tiny cutter or the end of a small bottle top, or cut out tiny shapes1/2 inch 1 cm in diameter no more cut out some holes in the uncooked biscuit. Place a coloured sweet (or piece of one) in each hole (the sort of sweet I mean are those coloured translucent boiled sweet types which are individually wrapped you buy them in fairly big bags) you may need to cut them up depending on size and size of hole
Make a small hole in the top of the biscuit do not put a sweet in this one. This hole is to thread ribbon through to hang on a tree

Bake in an oven for 15-20 mins till golden brown the sweets will melt and fill the hole
s.

Cool the biscuits on a cooling rack make sure the hole at the top has not closed in baking if it has while warm remake this hole by putting something sharp through it.
When cold thread some ribbon through this hole, and you will have some wonderful Christmas biscuits to hang on your tree the light will shine through the melted sweets and look like baubles.

Gingerbread Santa?s /snowmen/ reindeer/ stars/ boys/girls dressed in scarves. /Angels anything.

These are really my favourite I LOVE GINGERBREAD.

Recipe
Ingredients
75g/3oz soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon black treacle
1-tablespoon water
95g/3 ½ oz butter/margarine
1 level teaspoon cinnamon
1 level teaspoon ginger
Finely grated rind 1/2 orange
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
225g/ 8 oz plain flour

Method
Put sugar syrup treacle, spices water, and rind in a large saucepan and bring to the boil stirring all the time (careful with young children maybe this bit done by adults) Remove pan from heat and stir in fat and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the flour gradually until smooth and firm add a little mote flour if you need it leave the dough covered for 30 minutes to cool it will firm up.
Now you can roll the dough out to 3mm/1/8 inch thick and cut out whatever shapes you fancy men, and trees are good so are all the other shapes I mentioned earlier. Place shares on a greased baking tray and cook for 10 ?15 minutes at 180c /gas 4 the biscuits are cooked When the biscuits feel firm when you press them lightly with your fingertips.
Leave the biscuits to cool a little before removing from baking sheets or they will break. Then transfer to a cooling rack.
When cool you can have fun decorating them.
You can buy writing icing in different colours in small tubes these are great v easy for kids

You can make a gingerbread man into Santa with currants for eyes and buttons a w
hite icing beard a black belt and red lines to depict his red coat, or put an icing hat and scarf on for a winter clad child. White ice for a snowman with cherries or currants for eyes/ buttons. The decorations are endless just your and your Childs imagination.

These are great for presents for granny or granddad. Super for Christmas tea
Oh go on Jill let Connor make some.
Thanks for reading (latest update Igot a phone call from Sleepydormouse she think s she has gone into labour ohhh its exciting)

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