Christmas Cookies

Crunchy Apple Slaw

1. Place pinenuts and sesame seeds in a small frying pan and cook for 5 minutes until golden and toasted. Set aside.
2. Combine the cabbage, apples, spring onions, raisins and mint in a large mixing bowl and toss well.
3. Whisk together the oil and vinegar. Season to taste. Pour over apple mixture and toss well. Spoon onto serving platter and sprinkle with toasted seeds and nuts and some additional mint leaves.

Mini Fruit Mince Tarts

To make the fruit mince filling, add all ingredients to a large bowl, mix well, cover and allow to soak for at least 1 hour.  

To make the pastry, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, butter and sugar into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk the egg and chilled water together in a small bowl, then slowly add to the food processor while it’s running until the mixture comes together into a dough. Remove from the food processor and shape into a disc. Wrap in cling wrap and place into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.  

Preheat oven to 160℃. 

Remove from the pastry from the fridge and roll out to a thin 0.3mm dough. Cut into 7cm circles using a cookie cutter or other round object, then place into lightly greased mini muffin tins (30ml capacity). Scoop the fruit mince between the pastry cases. Cut stars from the remaining pastry and place on top of each fruit pie. Brush with milk. 

Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove and place onto wire racks to cool.  

Aussie Ice-cream Pudding

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

1. Brush a 2 litre pudding basin with vegetable oil, then line with plastic wrap, trying to keep wrap smooth without wrinkles. Place in the freezer to chill.
2. In a bowl combine sultanas, raisins, cranberries, apricots, macadamias and orange liqueur. Leave to soak for 30 minutes.
3. Place softened ice cream in a large bowl stir in soaked fruit. Fold in whipped cream and pour mixture into prepared pudding basin. Place in the freezer and freeze for 4 hours or overnight.
4. To prepare orange cake, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in almond meal, orange juice and rind. Pour into a greased and paper lined 20cm cake tin and bake for 1 hour. Allow too cool in the tin, before turning out onto a board.
5. To finish pudding, ease ice-cream pudding from basin and place on top of cake. Trim the cake edges if required and serve cut into thick slices.

Shortbread Layered Fruit Mince Butter Cake

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.

Grease 3 round 20cm (8-inch) cake pans; line base and sides with baking paper.

Beat butter, extract and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in sifted flours and milk, in two batches. Spread mixture into pan; smooth surface.

Bake cake about 1/2 hour. Stand in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool. Grab your prepared Sunbeam Fruit Mince and spread a generous layer over each cake then cover with a layer of cream. Stack the 3 cakes and then cover whole cake with cream icing.

Arrange summer fruits on top & dust with sifted icing sugar, arrange the gingerbread cookies as desired to decorate before serving.

Macadamia Biscuits

Preheat oven to 170⁰C. Line baking tray with grease proof paper.

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla essence and egg, beating until well combined.
2. Stir in flour, macadamia nuts and choc chips.
3. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on tray 5cm apart. Bake for 12mins or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Roast Pork with Pistachio Stuffing

Pat the pork belly dry with a paper towel, then score the rind at 1cm intervals.  

To make the Pistachio Stuffing, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the shallot, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until softened. Then add the remaining ingredients. And cook, stirring, until pistachios are lightly golden. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Then stir in the lemon zest and parsley leaves.  

Butterfly the pork belly, leaving one edge intact. Spoon the Pistachio Cranberry Stuffing inside the pork and then roll up. Secure the pork with kitchen twine. Place pork into the fridge overnight (or for 12 hours) to allow the skin to dry up and the pork meat to take on the stuffing flavour.   

Preheat the oven to 180℃ fan force.  

Place pork onto a wire rack and into a roasting tin. Rub the oil over the pork belly skin and sprinkle over salt. Place into the middle of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn heat down to 160℃ and continue to cook for 2 hours to slowly cook the pork meat. Then, to finish, turn the oven up to the highest grill setting and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes until skin has turned to crackling – you may need to use tongs to rotate the pork a few times to brown all sides evenly. 

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes, before carving.