Christmas Morning Muffins

I made these orange and cranberry muffins on Christmas morning - it's the fourth year in a row I've cooked them on Christmas Day, so I suppose it's becoming a sort of tradition! They are a Nigella recipe, from 'Feast', I think.

Of all the muffins I make, these are my favourite - they contain butter and are have a crunchy topping, so they are a little more luxurious than the others - but they also seem to have a better texture on the inside.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Squeeze orange juice into a measuring jug, then add milk until it reaches 150 ml.

Add melted butter and egg, then beat to combine.

Add wet to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Lightly fold in cranberries and fill muffin cases.

Top with cinnamon and sugar mixture then cook for 15 - 20 mins at 200 C. Nice spread with butter.


Ingredients:
200 g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb
75 g demarara sugar
grating of nutmeg
juice of 1 small orange (about 100 ml)
50 ml milk (approx)
60 g unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
75 g - 150 g dried cranberries (I use a handful)
Topping: 2 tsp demarara mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Coconut Ice

I made this coconut ice for the cake stall at my younger sons' school. I've never made it before because I know it is very rich and a full recipe is way too much for our family! But cutting it up and sharing it sounds like a better idea.


Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl (or use 'icing mixture' and don't bother sifting, which is what I did), add desiccated coconut and stir the two together.

Add the condensed milk and egg white and stir together with a spoon, and then your hands, until it forms a soft dough.

The finished dough

Divide into two halves and knead in a couple of drops of food colouring to one half.

Press one half into a lined baking tin (20 x 20 cm or rectangular tin of similar size), then press the other half over the top.

I used my hands to spread out the dough, and then evened it out with the back of a metal spoon.

I wasn't sure the two layers would stick together so I brushed a little water over the first layer just in case.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours until firm.

Cut into pieces with a sharp knife. It apparently will keep for a week in the refrigerator, although mine was all sold the next day, and our 'sample pot' only lasted a few minutes before being gobbled up.

Ingredients:
840 g (5 1/4 cups) icing sugar, sifted
200 g (2 1/2 cups) desiccated coconut
395 g can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg white, beaten lightly
pink food colouring (I used red)

Recipe from AWW

Pistachio Biscotti

I've always been impressed by people who can make their own almond bread or biscotti, and thought it would be really difficult to do. It's actually very easy, it just takes a little while because you cook them twice.

I followed a Bill Granger recipe, and supposedly they will last for a month in an airtight container - but I don't know how anyone ever manages to keep them that long. Oli helped me with the flour sieving and stirring.

First you beat eggs and caster sugar together for 3 mins with an electric hand-mixer, and sieve in flour. Mix in until almost combined, then stir in almonds and pistachios. Form into a dough with your hands, divide into two and on lightly floured board, make each half into a 15 to 20 cm loaf. Transfer to a baking sheet and flatten to 2 cm thick. Bake 20 cm until firm (see above) and cool completely.

When cool, cut into 7 mm-thick slices and bake at 120 C for 20 min, turning over once. Cool completely on wire rack.

Very easy to make, and the bit I thought would go wrong (cutting the loaves into slices) was no problem.

Ingredients:
150 g caster sugar
2 eggs
350 g plain flour
50 g shelled pistachios
50 g whole almonds

Two of the biscotti looked like little shocked faces - a bit like the biscuit version of the painting "The Scream"!

Mincemeat Slices

This recipe is in in Delia Smith's Christmas, and is great if you want to make mince pies but can't quite bring yourself to make pastry.

You melt butter in a big pan, turn off heat, then stir in brown sugar. Mix in wholemeal flour and porridge oats, then firmly press half the mixture into a buttered pan. I used a square Pyrex dish and buttered and lined it with a strip of baking paper to make lifting the slice out easier. Smooth over a layer of fruit mince, then press over the other half of the oat/butter mixture. Cook in a 200 C oven for 20 mins or until the top is lightly browned. Cut into 12 pieces but don't remove them from the dish until they are cool.

Ingredients:
150 g butter
75 g soft brown sugar
225 g wholewheat flour
110 g porridge oats
225 g mincemeat