Crispy and crunchy potatoes are a must for any roast. Search triple tested recipes from the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team.
This gluten free mincemeat flapjack yummy gluten free Christmas recipe for mince meat flapjack - perfect for using up leftovers from mince pies!
A must-have for the family every Christmas.
Ultimate Mince Pies with a Twist. Are you looking for something a little different this year ? How about these Ultimate mince pies?
Switch up your Sunday roast with Nadiya's trio of cheeses; melted and golden feta, burrata and halloumi are combined with roasted vegetables and pomegranate seeds for a vibrant centrepiece dish.
Has all the flavours of Christmas without being too heavy and can be made at the last minute too
For many Czechs, Štědrý den (December 24th) is the most enjoyable day of the Christmas holidays. Today we wanted to share our Bohemian Christmas foods & Czech traditions.
The Best Christmas Cake
Bisochitos (New Mexico's Official State Cookie) This is a very special recipe that I'm sharing with you today! This is one of my favorite recipes in the whole wide world! Ever heard of biscochitos? These delightful little cookies are the official state cookie of New Mexico. There are several variations of this recipe, but the flavors are the same... cinnamon sugar and anise. Some people use shortening instead of lard. Some people use anise oil instead of the real thing. Some people use brandy or rum instead of white wine. And then there's the measurements of the ingredients. I'll be honest with you. When I was growing up, I just didn't get why people liked biscochitos. They were boring. I only liked them when my grandma put frosting on them. And depending on who made them, sometimes they weren't sweet. So I spent the first 20 years of my life not really eating biscochitos. And I loved that they seem to be a holiday treat or a special occasion treat, which now seems like a crime! (Though I have to admit that I usually only make them for Christmas because they can be time consuming. But I really should make them more often!) As the story usually goes with me, one day I found myself craving biscochitos. Homemade biscochitos. My mom took a recipe we found and asked my grandma how she made hers. With my grandma's adjustments and hints, I made my first batch of biscochitos. Now every year, I make biscochitos to give away during the holidays. And it seems like every year I never make enough, even though one batch makes about 8 dozen cookies. My biscochitos are the sweeter kind, but not overly so. There are some that make them that aren't sweet at all or mildly sweet. I also make mine a little more thin-- a little less than 1/4 inch thin (some people make them like 1/2 or more in thickness). I find that when they're thinner as well as creaming the lard (have to use lard!), the cookies melt in your mouth a little bit more. And I also dip them in the cinammon sugar mixture before AND after they bake. I hope that you'll give biscochitos a try. They're different, but they're homey for me. New Mexican comfort food, definitely! If you like this recipe, please try my Biscochito Tiramisu recipe!! These cookies and the tiramisu recipe were featured in Albuquerque the Magazine in the September 2012 issue! Secrets to my family's biscochitos: Before: Whole anise seeds After: ground anise seeds 1. Grind the anise seeds to release the oils. Lard! 2. Use lard! I know it sounds gross, but you gotta use it. Creamed lard 3. Cream the lard until very fluffy. Kinda like frosting consistency. About 5 minutes. St. Clair's Riesling 4. Use good inexpensive white wine. I like to use a sweeter wine & to support New Mexico wines! My grandma says to use the cheapest thing or stuff you wouldn't drink, but why would you want to have that on hand? (Though hers were good and she used to use my grandpa's AWFUL homemade wine!) Official state cookie of New Mexico One of my favorite cookies! Check out the detail of all that goodness! Biscochitos A T&H family recipe Ingredients: 6 c. flour 1/4 tsp. salt 3 tsp. baking powder 1 1/2 c. sugar 3 tsp. anise seed (freshly ground or smashed to release the oils) 2 eggs 2 c. lard (a small 16 oz. carton) 1/4 c. white wine (I like to use a semi-sweet wine, like a Riesling) Topping: 3/4 c. sugar 2 Tbs. cinnamon Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream lard with sugar and freshly ground anise seeds until fluffy. (This is a very important step because you want a lot of air incorporated into the lard because it helps make the cookies lighter.) Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour mixture and white wine until well blended. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. (Cover with plastic wrap so the dough doesn't dry out.) (Also, this is NOT a type of cookie dough you want to eat raw. So don't even try it!) Turn out portions of dough out on a floured surface and roll out to desired thickness (I usually like it about 1/4 of an inch thick). Cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Mix the 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp of cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip tops of the cut out cookies in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn a golden color. Remove from oven and immediately dip the tops of the cookies again in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place cookies on cooling sheet and allow to cool completely. (Don’t try to taste them right out of the oven… they’re only good after they’ve cooled completely.) Makes about 8 dozen cookies, depending on the size.
This is a great recipe for a delicious cookie to serve at the end of any meal. The dates have such a wonderful flavor.—Ms. Lee B. Roberts, Racine, Wisconsin
These rolled cookies not only are delicious but are fun to look at too! With old-time flavors, these date and nut pinwheel cookies are the perfect refrigerator cookie for the holidays!
These coffee-flavored cookies are so delicious they make my own kitchen seen like a gourmet bakery!
This sumptuous panforte recipe is packed with fruits and nuts, and is sure to add a little Italian glamour to your Christmas baking repertoire this year.
You can serve Christmas Mincemeat Twigs warm or cold for dessert with brandy butter (simply beat some softened butter with twice its quantity of icing sugar and beat in some brandy to taste) or whipped cream, or as a little treat with coffee or a cuppa throughout the festive season.
It can be hard to adopt other countries’ Christmas traditions and cherish them like our own, but when it comes to this Dutch log of almond paste, encased in puff pastry, I have no problem whatsoever! Rather than make long logs (or, indeed wreathes or letters, as they do in the Netherlands) I cut them into short lengths before baking, which rather gives them a look of sweet sausage rolls. They should, in this form, a Dutch friend tells me, more properly be called banketstaafstukjes, though I’ve settled on Banket Bars instead. They make a great alternative to mince pies for those who shudder at the very idea of dried fruit, and a most desirable addition for the rest of us. They are reassuringly easy to rustle up. No need to make your own puff pastry, but you do need to make your own almond paste. However, it’s not hard to make almond paste: in a processor it’s the work of lazy minutes. (And by the way, almond paste and marzipan are not quite the same thing.) The only thing you need to remember is to make it a day (or up to 3 days) before you go a-baking, but since the puff pastry is best thawed for a day in the fridge, too, you can have both in the fridge ready and waiting for you at the same time. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
