These Christmas recipes are making us feel extra festive!

Strawberry robin lollipops by Waitrose

Ingredients:

• 12 strawberries not hulled
• 150g pack Cooks’ Homebaking White Chocolate, broken into chunks
• 32g Cadbury Flake, cut into thin sticks
• 12 Cooks’ Homebaking Honeycomb Niblets
• 24 Cooks’ Homebaking Dark Chocolate Curls
• Dr Oetker Gel Food Colour Jet Black 12 wooden skewers or lollipop sticks

Method: 

1. Thread each of the strawberries onto a skewer or lollipop stick, and push the other end of the skewer into a styrofoam block to use as a holder. Alternatively, cut a thin slice from the base of a baking potato or fill a jam jar with sugar, to use as a holder.
2. Melt the 2 types of chocolate separately in 2 small bowls over a pan of simmering water. Dip each of the strawberries into the white chocolate, leaving an inverted ‘V’ shape uncovered for the robin’s red breast. Allow to set.
3. Then dip the strawberries into the milk chocolate, leaving an inverted red ‘V’ shape with a border of white around it. After dipping, return each skewer to the stand to set. Before the milk chocolate hardens completely, fix a small stick of the Flake on the back of the strawberry for a tail, a piece of honeycomb above the robin’s breast for its beak and a dark chocolate curl on each side for its wings. Allow to set. Finally add the eyes using 2 dots of black food colouring gel.

Visit Waitrose for more Christmas recipes.

Sweet Santa's Hats by Waitrose

Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 50g butter, softened
• 50g dark brown soft sugar
• 1 medium Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Egg
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• 24 evenly sized, large strawberries
• 150ml whipping cream, lightly whipped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC, gas mark 3 and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the flour, a pinch of salt, baking powder, spices, butter and sugar into a food processor. Blitz briefly. Whisk the egg and honey together in a separate bowl, then with the motor running on the food processor, slowly trickle in the egg mixture to make a firm dough – you might not need it all.
2. On a work surface dusted with flour, roll out the dough to about 5mm thick, then use a 4cm cutter to stamp out 24 rounds. Any leftover dough can be frozen.
3. Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until slightly darker in colour. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Slice the top from each strawberry to leave a flat base. Using a piping bag with a small 0.5cm round nozzle, pipe a dot of cream into the centre of each cooled biscuit and top with a strawberry. Pipe around the base of each strawberry and finish with a small dot of cream on the pointed top to make a bobble for Santa’s hat. Serve immediately.

Visit Waitrose for more Christmas recipes.

Red-nosed reindeers

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp Lyle's Golden Syrup
• 50g butter
• 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 250g digestive biscuits, crushed finely
• 2 tbsp Tate & Lyle Demerara Sugar
• 300g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Ingredients for decoration:

• 24 (approx.) small red sweets
• 50g Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar
• 50g white fondant icing
• Cellophane, for wrapping
• Thin ribbon or raffia, for tying
• Brown pipe cleaners, for the antlers

Method:

1. Put the Lyle's Golden Syrup, butter and dark chocolate into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring often, until melted and smooth.
2. Add the biscuit crumbs and demerara sugar, stirring them in thoroughly. Let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes, then form into about 24 balls, placing them on a tray as you make them. Chill in the fridge until firm.
3. Melt the milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Dip each ball into the chocolate, using two forks to help. Place them back on the tray as you do them. Place a red sweet on each chocolate ball to form the 'red nose'. Chill until firm.
4. To finish decorating the reindeer's faces, mix the icing sugar with a little cold water to make a thick glace icing. Make tiny white 'eyes' with the fondant icing, fixing them in place with a little glace icing. Pierce a fine skewer or cocktail stick in the centre of each 'eye', to look like the 'pupils'.
5. Wrap each chocolate ball in cellophane or put them into small sweet bags, and tie with ribbon or raffia for hanging them to the Christmas tree. Wind the pipe cleaners around the top, twisting them to resemble 'antlers'.

This recipe is made using Lyle's Golden Syrup, for more delicious recipes visit lylesgoldensyrup.com.

Cheesy Santas

Ingredients:

• Crackers of your choice (preferable round!)
• Pack of salami
• Stick of celery
• Handful of black peppercorns
• One tube of Primula Original Cheese

Method: Cut each slice of salami into six triangles (Santa’s hat)Slice the celery stick into small pieces (Santa’s moustache)Decorate each cracker as shown in the photo, using the peppercorns as eyes and Primula Cheese as the beard and hat trim.

To achieve a really precise result try using a piping bag for the Primula Cheese.

Morrisons' Rudolph Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 eggs
• 150g stork, at room temperature
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ small oranges, zest only
• 45g dried cranberries, chopped
• 300g chocolate flavour frosting
• 4 Curly Wurly chocolate bars
• 12 glacé cherries
• 24 raisins

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line a deep muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
2. Place the milk, eggs, Stork, caster sugar, flour, baking powder and zest in a mixing bowl. Beat using an electric hand whisk. Stir in the dried cranberries and spoon into the cases.
3. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen and lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack.

To decorate, spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes. Slice each Curly Wurly in half widthways, then cut into lengths to make antlers. Push the antlers into the cupcakes, place a cherry on each cake to make a nose and put 2 raisins on each cake to make the eyes.

Welsh Lamb Christmas Crackers

Ingredients: 

• 225g (8oz) lean minced Welsh Lamb
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 30ml (2tbsp) bulgar wheat
• 5ml (1tsp) cumin
• 30ml (2tbsp) fresh mint, chopped
• Seasoning
• 12 sheets of filo pastry
• 25g (1oz) butter, melted

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 4, 180˚C, 350˚F.
2. Take a saucepan and dry fry the mince and onion until it has lightly browned. Once the meat has browned, add the bulgar wheat and cumin and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Next stir in the mint and seasoning, and then allow to cool.
4. Now cut the filo pastry into rectangles, approximately 16 x 13 cm (size of crackers can vary – mini size for canapé or larger for buffet).Take two rectangular sheets, place them together on a board and brush edges with butter.
5. Heap a teaspoon of the filling into the middle of the pastry rectangle and spread evenly leaving space around the outside to seal the cracker. Roll into a sausage shape and pinch the pastry just after the filling to make the frilly ends of the cracker. Repeat using the remaining ingredients.
6. Once you have finished rolling the crackers, place them on a baking tray, brush with melted butter and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes until golden. Serve hot or cold, as a starter or a snack.

Savoury Christmas Puddings 

Ingredients:

• 500g lamb mince 
• 70g dried breadcrumbs 
• 1 Tube of Primula Original Cheese
• 1 handful of chopped parsley 
• Parsley for garnish 
• ½ red onion 
• 3 tablespoons of water 
• 1 garlic clove 
• ½ tsp salt Zest of half a lemon 
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• Cocktail sticks

Method:

1. Braise the onion in the olive oil until golden then add the garlic and cook for one minute. Remove from the heat and add the chopped parsley and lemon zest then allow to cool.
2. Add the lamb mince and 35g of breadcrumbs and season. Add a beaten egg and water, season, and mix well. Roll into small meatballs.
3. Sprinkle a baking tray with your remaining breadcrumbs so your meatballs don’t stick together.
4. Place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a minute before squeezing over the Primula Cheese topping and placing a piece of parsley on top.

Christmas Tree Chips

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 4 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes
• 100ml Sarson's Distillers Malt Vinegar
• 100g sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 5 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, grated
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Sarson's Malt Vinegar, to dress

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the garlic in the olive oil for 1 min, then add the tomatoes and bring to the boil.
2. Pour in the vinegar and sprinkle in the sugar and add the cinnamon stick, if using, then bring to a simmer just below boiling point. Hold the heat at this point, stirring occasionally, for 25 mins. Allow to cool and store in clean, sterilised bottles. It will keep, stored in the fridge for 1 week.
3. Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 mins, then drain and cool.
4. In a large bowl, mash the cooked potatoes, then mix in the onion, egg and plain flour.
5. In a large frying pan, heat the rapeseed oil until sizzling. Add the potato mixture and flatten out into a large, thick potato cake. Cook for 3-4 mins on each side, until golden.
6. Turn out onto a board and cut out the Christmas tree chips with a tree-shaped cutter.
7. Serve, dressed with Sarson's malt vinegar and the tomato sauce.

Christmas Brownie Trees

Ingredients:

• 300g sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, cubed
• 200g dark chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 150g minced meat
• 130g flour
• 55g cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1 clementine or orange

For the chocolate sauce:

• 100ml double cream 
• 80g dark chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 3 tbsp golden syrup 
• festive sprinkles to decorate

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a deep a pan with baking paper letting the paper hang over the edges. Chop the chocolate into small chunks. Place the chocolate and butter into a small pot and allow them to slowly melt over very low heat. Take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Put the eggs and sugar in large bowl and whisk together until frothy. Add a little of the melted chocolate into the eggs and gently whisk together. Gradually add all the chocolate, vanilla extract and clementine zest and mix thoroughly.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa into the chocolate and fold together with a spatula.
4. Fold in the mincemeat and transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. The brownies are ready when mostly firm on top with a slight 'give'. Test after 40 minutes – a skewer inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs attached but if batter is still too wet bake for a further 5-10 mins.
5. Pull the brownies out of the tin using the baking paper and allow to cool on a wire rack. Cut into triangle shapes. Make the sauce: Finely chop the chocolate using a large knife and pressing down with the heel of your hand.
6. Heat the cream and golden syrup until bubbles appear at the edge of the saucepan. Take off the heat.
7. Stir in the chopped chocolate until melted and smooth.
8. Drizzle over the brownies and then scatter with festive sprinkles.

Christmas Cranberry Crackers

Ingredients:

• 1x270g pack of filo pastry 
• 50g butter, melted

Ingredients for the filling:

• 60g dried cranberries 
• Juice and finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 100g cream cheese
• 50g ground almonds1 egg yolk
• 25g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Method:

1. Begin soaking your cranberries in the fresh orange juice for 30 minutes. This will plump them up nicely.
2. Strain the cranberries and place in a large bowl, discarding and remaining juice. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and give the mixture a good stir. Chill for a minimum of 30 minutes before using.
3. When you are ready to assemble the crackers, preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°/gas mark 4. Cut the stack of filo into 11 cm x 18cm rectangles. Brush one filo rectangle with melted butter top with a second piece of filo.
4. Dollop a good teaspoon of filling into the centre of the rectangle and brush around the filling with a little more melted butter. Then wrap it up as if you were wrapping a sweet (not too tightly, as the filling will expand while cooking and burst the seams), squeezing the pastry together about 3cm in from each edge. Continue until all the filling and pastry is used up.
5. Arrange on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, brush with a little more butter and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the filo is crispy and golden. Finish with a light dusting of icing sugar.

Recipe from The Higgidy Cookbook by Camilla Stephens (Quercus £16.00).

Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies by Edd Kimber, ambassador for KitchenAid

Ingredients:

• 200g unsalted butter 
• 200g soft light brown sugar 
• 5 tbsp golden syrup 
• 500g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp ground ginger 
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Ingredients for decoration:

• 1 large egg whites
• 225g icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Desiccated coconut, for decoration

Method:

1. To make the cookies place the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a medium-sized saucepan and cook over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.
2. Place the remaining cookie ingredients into the bowl of the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, fitted with the beater attachment. Mix the dry goods together for a couple of minutes just to mix evenly.
3. Remove the butter mixture from heat and pour into the mixer and mix on slow speed until a dough is formed.
4. Tip the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and place a second sheet on top. Roll out until the dough is about 4-5mm thick.
5. Peel off the top layer of parchment paper and use either cookies cutters or hand drawn templates to cut out stars, the biggest should be about 7 1/2 inches and the smallest about 1 Inch.
6. Place onto parchment lined baking trays and bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden brown. The smallest will take about 12 minutes and the largest up to 20-25 minutes, remove them as they bake using a spatula.
7. Place the baked cookies onto a wire rack to cool fully.
8. To make the icing, place the egg white into the bowl of the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until frothy.
9. Add the icing sugar a little at a time, until all has been added. Whisk on medium/high speed until the icing holds soft peaks. Add lemon juice a few drops at a time, mixing until the icing is a little looser, but just holds its shape.
10. Place the icing into a piping bag fitted with a thin piping tip and use to outline each of the cookies, using the remaining icing to fill the inside of the cookies.
11. Once each cookie is finished sprinkle with coconut. Set the cookies aside for a few hours until the icing has set.
12. To assemble the Christmas tree layer up the cookies, largest to smallest. If you want the tree to stay stuck together use the remaining royal icing as edible glue. The cookies will keep for up to a week.