Christmas Archives - Page 2 of 2 - One Girl and her Thermie

Christmas Gifting – Amaretti

Ingredients

oil, for greasing
2 egg whites, from large eggs
2 tsp honey
1 pinch fine sea salt
180 g ground almonds (see tip)
150 g caster sugar
100 g dried mixed fruit (e.g. apricots, cherries, prunes), quartered
100 g mixed whole nuts (e.g. pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts)
icing sugar, for dipping

Preparation

Preheat oven to 190°C and lightly grease a baking tray.
Insert butterfly whisk. Place egg whites, honey and salt in mixing bowl then, without measuring cup, whisk 2 min/speed 3.5. Remove butterfly whisk.
Add ground almonds, sugar, dried fruit and nuts then stir 20 sec/reverse/speed 2.
Using wet hands, shape tablespoons of mixture into small, rough balls and dip half of each ball in icing sugar. Place on prepared tray, icing sugar side up, and bake for 10-12 minutes (190°C) until just golden.
Leave on tray to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve or package up to give as gifts.

Hints & Tips

The literal translation of these Italian biscuits is ‘the little bitter ones’ as they were traditionally flavoured with bitter almonds. Plain almonds work just as well, and you can grind your own with Thermomix®. Prepare a batch and give as gifts, or serve alongside coffee or dessert wine to add some Italian flair to your Christmas meal.
To grind your own almonds, place 180 g blanched almonds in mixing bowl before starting the recipe and grind 10 sec/speed 10. Transfer to a bowl then clean and dry mixing bowl thoroughly before beginning the recipe.
In step 3, add 50 g dark or white chocolate chips

Nutrition per 1 piece

Calories 442.3 kJ / 105.7 kcal
Protein 2.8 g
Carbohydrates 11.8 g
Fat 6 g
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Fibre 1.6 g
Sodium 22 mg

Get this recipe on Cookidoo https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r85060

Christmas Gifting – Florentines

Ingredients

50 g pistachio nuts, unsalted, shelled
30 g walnut halves
75 g unsalted butter, diced
75 g Demerara sugar
15 g double cream
1 pinch salt
30 g dried cherries, halved, quartered if large
60 g mixed candied peel
50 g dried cranberries
60 g flaked almonds
150 g dark chocolate, small pieces or callets

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180°C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Place pistachios and walnuts in mixing bowl then chop 3 sec/speed 7. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Place butter, sugar, cream and salt in mixing bowl then melt 3 min/Varoma/speed 1.
Add cherries, candied peel, cranberries, almonds and reserved chopped nuts then mix 10 sec/reverse/speed 3.
Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture (approx. 20 g each) into a ball using hands, place on prepared trays and flatten out as much as possible, leaving 5 cm between each to spread. Bake for 8-10 minutes (180°C) until golden then leave on tray to cool completely. Meanwhile, clean and thoroughly dry mixing bowl.
Place chocolate in mixing bowl, grate 5 sec/speed 8 then melt 4 min/50°C/speed 2.
Spread chocolate evenly over one side of each florentine and leave to set completely (see tip). Store in an airtight container until needed.

Hints & Tips

Florentines often have a wavy pattern on the chocolate. If desired, once chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape (30-60 minutes), use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate.

Nutrition per 1 piece

Calories 531 kJ / 127 kcal
Protein 1.7 g
Carbohydrates 12 g
Fat 9 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Fibre 1.5 g
Sodium 12 mg

Get recipes on Cookidoo here, https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r754184

Christmas Gifting – Mince pies

Ingredients

340 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75 g unsalted butter, cold, diced
75 g lard, cold, diced
1 pinch fine sea salt
60 g water, ice cold

400 g mincemeat, gluten free (see tip)
milk, for brushing
icing sugar, for dusting

Preparation

Shortcrust Pastry

Place flour, butter, lard and salt in mixing bowl then mix Turbo/1 sec/4 times.
Add water and mix 20-30 sec/speed 4 until just clinging together. Tip out and bring together into a ball then wrap in reusable wrap or cling film and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Assembly and Baking

After this time, preheat oven to 190°C.
On a lightly-floured surface, roll out rested pastry to 3 mm thick. Cut out 24 circles using a pastry cutter (Ø 7 cm) and use to line 2 x 12 hole bun tins. Re-roll any trimmings then cut out 24 pastry lids using star-shaped, tree-shaped or round fluted (Ø 6.5 cm) cutters.
Place 1 tsp mincemeat in each pastry base then cover with a lid, sealing with a brush of milk if using round lids. Brush tops of lids with milk then bake for 18-20 minutes (190°C) until cooked and golden.
Leave in tin to cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

Hints & Tips

Homemade mince pies are a joy to make when you have a Thermomix®. Prepare the mincemeat weeks before you need it, then whip up a batch of crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry in seconds. All that’s left is the fun part; making the pies!
Make your own Mincemeat following the recipe on Cookidoo®.
Can be made ahead and frozen. Defrost fully before serving.
Serve with homemade Brandy Butter, homemade Brandy Sauce or pouring cream. Find recipes on Cookidoo®.

Nutrition per 1 piece

Calories 636 kJ / 152 kcal
Protein 2 g
Carbohydrates 21 g
Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Sodium 19 mg

Get this recipe on Cookidoo, https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r363499

Gingerbread

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Breakfast & Brunch, Snacks

Run, run, fast as you can,
You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!

~ The Gingerbread Man, a fairy tale

Gingerbread is a popular Christmas treat all over the world, in many different forms. Gingerbread first appeared in central Europe in the Middle Ages, made from sugars and spices that had been brought back from the Middle East by soldiers returning from the Crusades. In England, gingerbread only meant “preserved ginger,” referring to the preservative effect of ginger on breads, cakes, and other pastries. It wasn’t until the 15th century that gingerbread referred specifically to the sweet cake made with treacle and ginger. And it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the treat became associated primarily with Christmas.

This very well-behaved dough can put up with quite a bit of punishment and is therefore ideal for children to play around with.

Kids will love making, decorating and eating these gingerbread men biscuits – but let’s face it, more the eating! They can either be given as gifts or used to decorate the tree as I have done this year. Make things more fun with a variety of cutters.

You can buy proper cutters for making ‘men’ but in fact, you (or your children) can pick any shaped cutter you like.

Credit: I can’t take credit for converting this recipe. Why re-invent the wheel. This recipe copied from the website Thermobliss, aptly named the Best Thermomix Gingerbread recipe. I agree, it is.

Panettone

2 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Eggs

Another Christmas recipe. Christmas is a time when my Thermomix goes into overdrive. There’s so much cooking, baking, and eating during the holidays, having a Thermomix which saves time is a real-time saver in my household. It’s one of the reasons I have 2 Thermomixes not just one, but that’s another story.

This fruited bread is an Italian Christmas specialty. Making it yourself is very easy with your Thermomix and will cost you a fraction of the price of a bought panettone, and it will taste fresh and delicious. Lovely as a gift. Leftovers make a wonderful bread and butter pudding.