Butter Biscuit Wreaths

Preparation 20 Minutes

Cook 20 Minutes

Serves 30

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line with baking trays. Set aside 1/4 cup raisins for decorating. Roughly chop remaining raisins.

  2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy. Sift in flour and mixed spice and add chopped raisins. Mix until combined. Divide dough in half and form into two disks. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

  3. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper to 0.5cm thick. Cut 8cm rounds with cookie cutter. Transfer to lined baking trays and cut 3cm circles from middle of rounds to form rings. Reroll dough as necessary and refrigerate if too soft. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured. Cool on trays.

  4. To decorate, working with one biscuit at a time, drizzle white chocolate over the top and decorate with raisins, almonds and other decorations.

Ingredients

375g SUNBEAM Australian Raisins

430g butter, softened

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar

3 2/3 cups (550g) plain flour

1 tablespoon mixed spice

250g white chocolate melts, melted

SUNBEAM Slivered Almonds and Pistachios edible decorations*

*(we used silver cachous and crushed candy canes)

Recipe Collection

Christmas Fruit Pudding

  1. Combine fruit, brandy, rinds and apple. Cover and set aside overnight or for at least 2 hours.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, beat in golden syrup. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition

  3. Combine breadcrumbs, flour, spices and almonds. Add creamed butter mixture and soaked fruit, mixing well to combine.

  4. Grease a 2 litre capacity pudding basin, line the base with a double layer of baking paper.

  5. Spoon mixture into the basin and smooth top. Double line the top with baking paper rounds.

  6. Take a 60cm long piece of baking paper and 60cm piece of foil, layer and fold in half, make a 3cm pleat in the middle (this allows for any expansion of the pudding). Place sheets over pudding and secure tightly with string. Place a wire rack onto the base of a large saucepan, fill one third with water and bring to boil. Carefully place pudding onto wire rack making sure the water level comes about halfway up pudding basin. Cover and simmer for 6 hours, replenish water when needed.

  7. Remove from water, stand for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve cut into slices with cream and maple syrup.

Decadent Christmas Cake

  1. Pre-heat oven to 150°C (130°C fan-forced). Lightly grease and line a deep 20cm cake pan with three layers of baking paper. Combine mixed fruit, raisins, and sultanas in a large saucepan. Add water and port, mix through. Place over a low heat for 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed and fruit softened. Set aside to cool.

  2. Using electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time until all incorporated. Fold in flours and spices.

  3. Remove from mixing stand and fold in the fruit mixture with a large spoon. Mixing until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Decorate with almonds bake for 2 hours 30 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Brush the top with jam whilst the cake is still warm.

Fruit & Maple Chocolate Cupcakes

To make the cupcakes line a standard muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases. Add Cadbury Baking Chocolate, cocoa powder, instant coffee and Coles Finest Maple Syrup to a heatproof bowl, pour over 100ml boiling water and whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Cool for 5 mins before whisking in sour cream, olive oil, eggs and Coles Make and Bake Vanilla Paste.

In a separate bowl, mix together Sunbeam Sultanas, flour, dark sugar, McKenzie’s Baking Powder and sea salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Divide evenly between cupcake cases and bake for 20 mins until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed in the centre. Cool completely.

To make the buttercream, use an electric beater to whisk butter until smooth and creamy.  With the mixer running, add Coles Sweetened Condensed Milk in a slow and thin stream until completely incorporated, then add Coles Make and Bake Vanilla Paste and whisk for 2 mins on a high speed until fluffy and smooth.

Decorate cupcakes with the buttercream.

Christmas Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 180oC (160oC fan). Generously grease a 20cm round, loose-bottom (or springform) tin. Line the base with baking paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, add biscuits. Blitz to a fine crumb. Add 250g of the melted butter and blitz until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and use a spatula to gentle push half of the mixture up the sides of the tin. Spread remaining mixture evenly over the base (using a drinking glass can help to compact the mixture around the sides and base). Refrigerate.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining butter with sugar and whisk until combined. With the motor running, add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add cream cheese, quark, sour cream and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Add cornflour and mix until incorporated.

Add peel and sultanas and gently fold through the cream mixture, then spoon into the prepared base and smooth the surface.
Bake cheesecake for 10mins then reduce oven temperature to 170°C (150°C fan) and bake for a further 50 mins. Turn off the oven, leaving the door slightly open, allow cheesecake to sit in the oven for a further hour until the edges of the cheesecake feel firm when gently pressed.

Allow the cheesecake to cool completely at room temperature then remove sides of tin and transfer cheesecake to refrigerator to cool overnight.
To make the meringue decoration, place the egg whites and caster sugar in a large bowl and whip into soft peaks. Spoon the meringue on top of the cheese cake and shape with a spatula. Use kitchen blow torch to lightly crisp the outside of the meringue. Serve and enjoy!

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.

Spiced Chicken Pilaf

  1. Toss chicken with spices and a small drizzle of the oil. Heat half the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes each side until golden and just cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, then break into pieces. Set aside.
  2. Add remaining oil to pan and cook onion and garlic for several minutes until tender. Stir in rice with stock and bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, partially covered.
  3.  Add chicken pieces, zucchini and currants to pan, cooking a further 3-4 minutes. Serve sprinkled with almonds and coriander. Accompany with yoghurt and lemon wedges.

Join Our Recipe Club