3. Snowflakes:

I cannot think of a simpler recipe for wonderful tasting biscuits and the best part? They look so “christmasy” that kids are bound to love them!

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1 cup pure icing sugar
• 125g butter, cubed, chilled
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

• Place flour and 3/4 cup sugar in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Add butter. Process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and vanilla. Process until dough comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth. Press into a 20cm (diameter) disc. Wrap in greaseproof paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 flat baking trays with baking paper. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using snowflake biscuit cutters, cut shapes out of dough. Place on trays. Press leftover dough together and repeat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
• Bake biscuits for 10 minutes, swapping trays after 5 minutes, or until light golden. Allow to cool on trays completely. Dust with remaining sugar just before serving.

* 3 Easiest Home-Made Desserts

4. Cranberry Christmas cake:

This fruitilicious cake promises to be an absolute delight! It’s probably going to be a little hard to make if you are a beginner. But get an experienced friend to help you out and your set to go!

Ingredients:

• 85g mixed peel
• 70g glace cherries, chopped
• 2 tbsp glace apricots, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp glace figs, coarsely chopped
• 150g dried currants
• 240g sultanas
• 185g butter, chopped
• 165g firmly packed brown sugar
• 120mL Grand Marnier
• 120mL orange juice
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 3 eggs at room temperature,lightly beaten
• 75g frozen cranberries, halved
• 185g plain flour
• 35g self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g blanched almonds

Method:

• Pre-heat oven 140C. Line base and sides of a deep 20cm round cake tin with three thicknesses of baking paper, extending paper 5cm above side.
• Combine fruit, butter, brown sugar, 80mL of Grand Marnier and orange juice in a medium saucepan and stir over low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and cool.
• Transfer fruit mixture to a large bowl and add golden syrup and eggs. Stir to combine. Add cranberries and stir. Sift flours and bicarbonate of soda and add to fruit mixture. Stir well.
• Spoon mixture into cake tin, level top with a wet spatula and decorate with almonds. Bake in lower half of oven for about 2 hours or until cake is cooked. Cover cake loosely with foil during baking if it starts to brown too much.
• Remove from oven, brush top with remaining Grand Marnier, wrap tightly in foil, still in pan, and let it cool before serving. I love my slice with a generous helping of whipped cream!

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