Trending Christmas Bakes To Try This Winter 🎁🎄

🍪Christmas Cookies:

Crisp edges and a soft middle, sprinkled with festive colours. These classic Christmas cookies are hard to resist, filling your kitchen with the smell of vanilla and sugar, here is how to make the perfect plate of holiday magic.

Ingredients:

• 100g caster sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 30g cornflour
• 300g plain flour

Instructions:

• Beat the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla.
• Whisk in the cornflour and plain flour until the mixture comes together into a dough.
• Put the dough between two pieces of baking parchment, and roll out to a 6mm thickness using a rolling pin.
• Chill for 30 mins.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Peel the top layer of parchment off the dough and stamp any shape of your choice.
• Re-roll any offcuts and continue stamping out rounds until all the dough is used.
• Transfer the cookies to a second large baking sheet lined with baking parchment, spacing them.
• Bake for 7-10 mins.
• Leave to cool on the sheet for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Using basic icing create festive designs on the cookies.

🌲Pinecones:

Step into winter woodland with these chocolatey pinecones, they are an amazing edible decoration for any Christmas table. Tasty and crunchy dusted with sugar snow, read below on how to whip up your first batch.

Ingredients:

• 360g Chocolate Flake Cereal
• 83g Peanut Butter
• 40g cup Nutella or Chocolate Spread
• 4 TBSP Salted Butter Softened
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 230g Powdered Sugar

Instructions: 

• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine peanut butter, Nutella, butter and vanilla together until smooth.
• Slowly add I powdered sugar a little at a time, making sure it’s well mixed in after each time. 
• Once all of the powered sugar has been added, you should end up with a thick dough consistency. 
• Divide chocolate peanut butter dough into 8 equal parts.
• Mold a cone shape with the pointy end at the top. 
• Place on the parchment lined baking tray and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
• Starting at the bottom and working your way up in a spiral, press in one cereal flake at a time and a slight angle pointing upwards.
• Dust each pinecone with extra powdered sugar to make the appearance of snow!

🍂Cinnamon buns:

Nothing beats the smell of warm cinnamon at Christmas. Soft and fluffy, these spirals are the ultimate comfort bake but make sure to finish them with a glossy icing drizzle and here is how.

Ingredients:

• 100g unsalted butter
• 200ml milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 250g plain flour
• 250g strong white flour
• 1½ tsp fast-action yeast
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• olive oil, for greasing

For the filling and topping:

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 free-range egg, beaten

Instructions:

• Heat the butter, milk, and salt until the butter melts, then let the mixture cool to lukewarm.
• Mix the flours, yeast, cardamom, and sugar in a large bowl.
• Add the eggs and lukewarm milk mixture and stir to form a sticky dough.
• Oil your work surface and knead the dough for 5–8 minutes until smooth and elastic (don’t add flour).
• Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
• Mix softened butter with half the sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon for the filling. Mix the rest of the sugar and cinnamon separately for topping.
• Roll the dough into a rectangle and spread the filling evenly over it.
• Roll it up from the long side and cut into 12 slices.
• Place the slices in cupcake cases or a muffin tin and let rise again for 30–45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Brush buns with beaten egg, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake for 12 minutes until golden.

❄️Gingerbread:

Spiced and sweet, gingerbread is a timeless Christmas essential to make every year. Whether you are crafting houses or cutting out festive shapes it’s a must to get you in the festive mood. Here is how to make the true taste of the holiday. 

Ingredients:

• 100g salted butter
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 225g plain flour
• 50g icing sugar

Instructions:

• Melt the butter, syrup, and sugar in a pan, then let it cool slightly.
• Mix bicarb, ginger, cinnamon, and flour in a bowl. Add the melted mixture and stir, then use your hands to form a dough. Add a little milk if needed.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of baking parchment to ½ cm thick, move to a tray, and chill for 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Cut shapes from the chilled dough using cookie cutters.
• Place shapes on a lined tray and bake for 10–12 minutes. Let cool completely on the tray.
• Mix icing sugar with a little water to make thick icing, then pipe onto the cooled biscuits to decorate.

☃️Fudge:

A creamy treat for yourself or a thoughtful gift for someone else, Christmas fudge is easy to make and hard to resist. It’s luxuriously smooth and endlessly customisable, whether you want to swirl in caramel or add some baileys, here’s how to make your desired stash.

Ingredients:

• 125g  salted butter, plus extra for the tin
• 397g can  condensed milk
• 460g  light muscovado sugar
• 150ml  whole milk
• 2 tsp  vanilla bean paste

Instructions:

• Butter and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
• Put the butter, condensed milk, sugar and milk in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves.
• Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Bubble for 10 mins, stirring all the time until the mixture reaches 115C on a sugar or probe thermometer.
• Remove from the heat and leave to cool to 110C. Add the vanilla, then beat in a stand mixer or with an electric hand whisk until it cools to 60C. This will help break up any large sugar crystals.
• The fudge should be thick and matte-looking.
• Spoon the fudge into the prepared tin and press down with a spoon to smooth the surface. Leave to set, then cut into squares. 

Written by Sophie Lawrence and Izzy Haughton

Featured image from Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash