Biscuits and sweet treats to make together
Making biscuits with your kids is a lovely way to spend time together. Give the results as gifts or eat them yourselves on Christmas Day!
Children shouldn’t cook with sugar as it gets extremely hot, but there are plenty of other tasks they can enjoy, and you can all have fun wrapping them in pretty paper and ribbons for gifts.
FAIRLY EASY: Biscuit decorations
Make a dough with plain flour, baking powder, ground spice, cinnamon and butter, sugar and honey. Chill the dough then cut Christmassy patterns, including a small hole near the top of each shape. Bake for 20 minutes then cool and decorate with white icing and pretty toppings. Thread with ribbon to hang up.
RECIPE IN FULL
SUPEREASY: Chewy chocolate drops
These are like rocky road treats but without nuts so everyone can have them. Melt milk chocolate then stir in mini marshmallows and sultanas. Spoon small dollops onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Leave for an hour, to harden.
RECIPE IN FULL
EASY: Gingerbread biscuits
Mix butter, brown sugar, treacle and water, then add plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and a little salt. Mix into a dough and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Roll it out and cut Christmas tree or simple snowmen shapes. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool then decorate in festive red, white and green icing.
RECIPE IN FULL
SUPEREASY: Peppermint creams
Sift icing sugar into a bowl, add water and a few drops of peppermint essence or peppermint oil. Stir to make a firm ‘dough’. Roll out to about half a centimetre thickness and cut pretty shapes. Leave your sweets to set in a warm place overnight.
RECIPE IN FULL
FAIRLY EASY: Fudge
Dissolve sugar in water, boil with butter and condensed milk then whip in some vanilla essence. Pour the fudge mix into a baking tray. As it begins to set get your children to mark out bite-sized squares so you can break it up when it’s fully set.
RECIPE IN FULL
Savvy tip
If you are not offering the treats on the same day they are made, keep them in an airtight container.
Pass it on – Christmas drinks
Enjoy your treats with some of the lovely hot drinks from our Warming winter hot drinks recipes.