Christmas Cookies
Preparation 20 Minutes
Cook 12 Minutes
Serves 12
Method
Preheat oven to 170°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
Roasted Beetroot Salad
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Wrap each beetroot in foil, place on a tray and bake for approx. 45min-1hour until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from each. Slice into ½ cm thick rounds.
- Meanwhile, place hazelnuts onto an oven tray and bake for 4 minutes, add pepitas and thyme and cook a further 4-5 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
- Whisk together the oil, vinegar and sugar, season well.
- Arrange salad greens, sliced beetroot and cheese onto serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and pepita mixture and drizzle with dressing. Season well.
Easter Blondies
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and butter or line with parchment paper a 20cm x 20cm baking tin.
Melt the butter and white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of water and take off to cool once combined and fully melted.
In another bowl, mix the muscovado sugar, caster sugar and eggs together until thick and glossy. Approximately 2 minutes.
Once the butter and white chocolate mixture is cooled, mix in 1/3 to the sugar and eggs, and then fold in the rest.
Add in your flour, baking powder, vanilla, almonds and macadamias and mix until just combined.
Pour batter into your lines baking tin and for 35-45 minutes. The centre should still have a little wobble and a tooth pick should come out a little fudgy.
Straight from the oven, press your speckled eggs into the top of your blondie and let cool on a wire rack.
Apricot Balls
- Place apricots, sultanas and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Place cooled fruit in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add oats and coconut. Remove to a bowl and roll teaspoonsful into balls and then roll in sesame seeds to coat. Refrigerate until required.
Notes:
Balls can also be rolled in coconut, chopped pepitas or chopped nuts.
Walnut Cheese Log
Cheese to room temp.
In a bowl, mix cheese & alcohol in a processor with salt and pepper until smooth.
Mix chilli with herbs and nuts, then sprinkle on a 30cm piece of plastic wrap, leaving a 2cm border.
Spoon cheese along one end of herbs. Lift wrap and roll cheese away from you into a log, pressing gently to coat well in herbs, shape the mixture into a log, then wrap and refrigerate for about an hour, until the mixture is firm.
Serve with crackers
Spinach & Ricotta Tart
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Steam or microwave spinach leaves until just wilted. Squeeze any excess liquid when cool enough to handle and then finely chop.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Hot Cross Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line cookie trays with baking paper.
- Beat butter, vanilla, sugars and egg in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in sifted flour and bicarb soda, in two batches. Stir in fruit, nuts & chocolate.
- Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls; place 5cm apart on trays.
- Bake cookies 15 minutes or until golden; cool on trays.
- Once cookies are cooled, pipe cross with melted white chocolate.
Notes: Each cookie weighed 50g before cooking to make 24. Keep a few extra currants and choc chips to add to cookies when removed from oven to decorate top.
