Christmas Cookies

Preparation 20 Minutes

Cook 12 Minutes

Serves 12

Method

Preheat oven to 170Β°C

Beat butter, essence and sugars in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, beat in egg. Stir in flours, chocolate bits, nuts, dried fruits & milk.

Drop heaped tablespoons of mixture onto lightly greased oven trays, about 3cm apart.

Bake in moderate oven about 12 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Stand on trays 5 minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

Ingredients

90 gram butter

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup self-raising flour

3/4 cup plain flour

3/4 cup white chocolate bits

1/4 cup cranberries

1/4 cup SUNBEAM Sultanas

1/4 cup chopped SUNBEAM Walnuts

1 tablespoon milk

Recipe Collection

Spiced Oat Slice

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180Β°C (160Β°C fan-forced). Line an 18 x 28cm slice tray. Place honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until butter is melted.
  2. Place oats, dates, sultanas, apricots, seeds and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Pour in the melted honey mixture and mix well. Press into prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into bars.

Notes:
Lightly wipe your knife blade with a little oil when cutting dates. It will ensure the dates don’t stick to the knife and making cutting easier.

Chocolate Caramel Tart

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. In a large bowl add Sunbeam Almond Meal, sugar the butter and egg and combine until a breadcrumb texture. Spoon into a greased 23cm (base measurement) fluted loose base tart tin. Press mixture to line the base and sides of the tin. Making sure you have made even base and sides, the palm of your hand for the base. Freeze for 15 minutes. Place the tart shell on a baking tray and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool.Β 

Combine the Nestle Sweetened Condensed Milk, golden syrup and half the extra butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 minutes or until golden in colour and caramel thickens. Remove from heat and immediately pour into the pastry case. Use a small palette knife to smooth the surface.Β 

Place the chocolate, cream and remaining extra butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water and stir with a metal spoon for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is glossy. Pour over the caramel and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Set aside for 30 minutes to set.Β Β 

Toast almond in moderate oven for 10mins then roughly blitz to make nut sprinkles to decorate, add gold leaf & fresh berries. Cut into wedges to serve.Β 

Note: Packets of edible gold leaf are available from the baking aisle. Use tweezers to arrange pieces ofΒ 

Christmas Casata

Soften 2 litres vanilla ice creamΒ by leaving out of the freezer for 15 minutes while you chop, glacΓ© cherries & Allens Raspberries.

Toast the slithered almonds in a dry pan till slightly brown, set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl add softened ice cream, start by stirring in the frozen raspberries to give ice cream raspberry ripples and colour. Then add all the remaining ingredients and stir till combined.

Choose a mould or tin to set the ice cream in and freeze for a minimum 4 hours to set.

Serve frozen.

Roasted Cauliflower Steak with Cashew Cream

Preheat oven to 425Β°F. Set aside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prepare cauliflower by trimming away any green leaves. With the cauliflower sitting on it’s stem, use a knife to slice it in half. Cut one thick slice from either side – so that you have two β€œsteaks”, each about 1 ½” (4 cm) thick. Set cauliflower steaks aside.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil, and once hot, add cauliflower steaks. Let them sear, undisturbed, for 3-3 Β½ minutes on each side (cooking for approximately 6-7 minutes total). Remove once they’ve developed a golden crust on either side. While the cauliflower cooking you can assemble the harissa glaze. In a small bowl combine 2 teaspoons water, maple syrup, paprika, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika. Mix well. Once the cauliflower is seared, transfer steaks to lined baking sheet. Brush harissa glaze on both sides, coating all the nooks and crannies. Transfer to oven for 5-7 minutes or until tender.

While the cauliflower steaks are in the oven, prepare the warm chickpea salad.Β  Add the spinach and chickpeas to a large bowl.

Squeeze lemon and drizzle avocado oil over the greens and beans. Add Himalayan sea salt and black pepper. Toss well to combine.

Assemble your dish with chickpea salad, seared cauliflower steak and drizzle with cashew cream.

Spinach & Ricotta Tart

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180Β°C (160Β°C fan-forced). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  2. Steam or microwave spinach leaves until just wilted. Squeeze any excess liquid when cool enough to handle and then finely chop.
  3. Heat oil in a large frying pan over low heat, add spring onions and garlic, cooking for several minutes until just tender. Add spinach and cook a further minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, lightly whisk the egg white with a splash of water, set aside.
  4. Combine spinach mixture in a large mixing bowl with the ricotta, egg yolk, parmesan, pinenuts, mint and lemon rind. Mix until well combined and season well.
  5. Lay one pastry sheet onto oven tray and spoon spinach mixture over the top, leaving a 2cm border around each edge. Lightly brush the edges with some of the egg white mixture.
  6. Using the tip of a knife, lightly score the other sheet of pastry without cutting all the way through. Place on top of spinach mixture and seal the edges with a fork. Brush top sheet with some more of the egg white mixture and sprinkle with the seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Frozen Christmas Pudding

Combine sugar with 250ml water in a small saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then increase heat to high and boil for 1 minute.Remove from heat, add sultanas and cranberries and allow to sit for 10 mins. Drain and set aside to cool.

Use muslin to line the inside of a 1.75L capacity pudding basin.

Meanwhile, spoon icecream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment. Allow to soften slightly before beating until smooth.Add cooled fruit mixture, vanilla, cinnamon, pistachios and brandy and beat until just incorporated. Spoon into the prepared basin, smooth the surface, cover with the lid (or plastic wrap) and freeze overnight or until firm.

Turn out onto a serving plate, top with fresh berries and shower with icing sugar to serve.

You will need a 1.75L pudding basin and muslin for this recipe

You will need to begin this recipe the night before

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