Edible and quaffable Christmas gifts

Sweet Stuff
 

Mint Sugar Shortbread with Pistachios

• 2 cups plain flour
• ⅓ cup pure icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 250 g chopped butter
• 1 tablespoon Mint Sugar* plus more for decorating
• Chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to moderately slow, 160°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

Sift flour, icing sugar and rice flour into a large bowl. Rub in butter using fingertips, until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Press mixture together to form a dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently. Roll or press out each piece until about 1cm thick. Place onto trays.

Prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle with sugar and pistachios. Bake 20 minutes, until golden.

Cool in trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
 

*Mint Sugar

Put a good handful of mint leaves into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until very fine. Add caster sugar to the bowl and blitz again until the mint and sugar are well blended.

Spread the mix out on a baking tray and leave in the sun for at least 24 hours. The sugar will have clumped and gone hard, so break it up and re-blitz it in the food processor. Put into jars. The sugar will keep for months in a dark place.

Mango & Mint Meringues

Make a meringue mixture using your favourite recipe but use mint sugar instead of caster sugar. Bake the meringues and cool. To serve smash the tops of the meringues slightly and fill with whipped cream. Add slices of canned mango to the top of each meringue and then decorate with finely sliced fresh mint.

 

Almost Sugar-free Chocolate Bark

• ¼ cup cacao butter
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ¾ cup cacao powder
• ½ cup organic maple syrup or raw agave
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons goji berries
• 1 tablespoon dried orange peel or glace cherries
• 2 tablespoons cacao nibs
• ⅓ cup pistachios, lightly crushed

Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil together in a bowl until the liquid is lukewarm.

Add the cacao powder, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt to the oils and mix until they form a smooth, fluid chocolate sauce.

Fold in the goji berries, orange peel and pistachios, reserving a handful to sprinkle on top.

Line a container or rectangular tin with baking paper and pour in the mixture until it's 1.5cm deep. Sprinkle remaining fruit, nibs and nuts on top to retain gorgeous bright colours. Place in the fridge or freezer to set for 20 minutes until hard.

Remove from container and break it up with your hands into rough pieces for traditional, rustic-looking bark or cut into triangles, if you prefer. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tipsy Cherries

Having a jar of these on hand makes summer desserts and entertaining easy. Spoon them over ice cream or on pavlova. Add them to a trifle or a fool. Top a decadent cake or meringues, or add them to a tart. Once opened, they will last for a year in the fridge.

• 1 Kg cherries stalks on, washed and dried
• 1 vanilla pod split lengthwise
• 1 cassia quill
• 350g sugar
• 700mls vodka, kirsch, whiskey, rum or brandy

Pack the cherries loosely into a large sterilized jar and add and vanilla pod and cinnamon. Next, add enough sugar to fill a third of the jar and then fill to the top with alcohol of your choice. The cherries must be completely covered. Insert a clean knife down the side of the job to release any air bubbles. Cover with an airtight lid. Store in a cool place for at least a week before using, (the longer the better), to allow the flavours to develop. Turn upside down every so often to ensure the sugar dissolves.
 

Nani Nani Jars 

Named after my “Nani” who used to make these (and also the Japanese for “this and that” or “such and such”). Use a preserving jar or Mason jar and layer in ingredients that can be easily used by the recipient to make quick treats over the Christmas period. No measuring is required. And they look pretty. 
 

Panforte

A beautiful Italian “strong” cake to serve with coffee or wine. Put the following ingredients in the jar in layers. 

• 100g whole blanched almonds 
• 100g whole hazelnuts 
• 90g (⅓ cup) coarsely chopped dessert figs 
• 55g (⅓ cup) coarsely chopped dried apricots 
• 50g (⅓ cup) mixed peel or glace cherries 
• 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour 
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice 
• 75g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, finely chopped 
• 125ml (½ cup) honey 
• 55g (¼ cup) caster sugar 
• Icing sugar, to dust 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 20cm (base measurement) springform pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base with non-stick baking paper. Place the dry ingredients from the jar into a bowl and stir until well combined.  

Place honey and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.  

Pour the mixture into the fruit mixture and, working quickly, stir until well combined. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until just firm. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 

To serve, dust with icing sugar and cut into wedges.
 

Christmas Biscuits

• 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
• 1/3 firmly packed cup (80g) brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup (90g) quick oats
• 1 cup (150g) dried cranberries
• 1 cup (180g) white chocolate chips

Carefully layer all the dry ingredients in order of ingredient list in a 1L (4-cup) sterilised jar.

Attach a label to the jar telling the recipient the recipe:

You will need: 125g melted unsalted butter, 1 lightly beaten egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract. To bake the biscuits, preheat the oven to 180°C. Combine all the jar ingredients and extra ingredients in a large bowl. Place 12 spoonfuls onto a baking paper-lined baking tray, flatten slightly, then bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.

Savoury
 

Pickled Cherries

These look amazing served with terrines, pates and cold meats on platters. But they are also a nice accompaniment to roast turkey or duck and venison. Perfect with the ham for Christmas lunch as well. You can use the cherry-flavoured vinegar as part of your salad dressing as an added bonus. Once opened store in the fridge. Because the cherries themselves are neither pitted, nor boiled or even heated in this process, they maintain some of the lovely texture we love so dearly in fresh cherries.

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1 cassia stick
• 2 cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 star anise
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 Kg cherries, washed and dried

Place everything except the cherries in a large pot, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Pack the cherries into sterilised jars and cover them with the cold pickling syrup. Seal and place in a cupboard for two weeks for the flavours to develop.

Miso Black-Sesame Caramel Corn

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
• ½ cup plain popcorn kernels
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, in chunks
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons white or red miso
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Heat oven to 180°C. Line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper; set aside. Lightly coat paper and the very largest bowl you own with nonstick spray.

Place 2 tablespoons oil and 2 to 3 kernels in a large pot. Turn heat to medium-high and cover with a lid. When you hear these first kernels pop, add the remaining kernels and replace the lid. Shimmy the pot around to keep the kernels moving as they pop. When several seconds pass between pops, remove from heat. Transfer to a coated bowl. You should have about 8 cups of popcorn.

Wipe out the pot you used for the popcorn. Add sugar and water to it, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, only stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil, swirling the pan around until caramel is a deep amber colour (about 8 to 9 minutes) Remove from heat and stir in butter (mixture will hiss and bubble furiously). Return to stove, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, removing from the stove sooner if it appears smoky. Remove from heat and whisk (a whisk will best break it up) in the salt, baking soda and miso.

Quickly pour it over the prepared popcorn and toss to coat. Use two silicone spatulas to mix it up because it's a messy project. Whatever you do, do not pick up any caramel-coated popcorn that falls out unless you like burned fingertips. (Wait until it cools.) Coat popcorn as best as you can, but don't fret if there are gaps.

Spread popcorn on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle sesame seeds over. Bake in oven, tossing occasionally (which will also help coat any scantily-clad popped kernels) until the mixture is dry, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet, then break it up into a large bowl.
 

Quaffable

Three different bottles of deliciousness you can make a week or so before Christmas and give as gifts.
 

Cola de Mono

This Chilean drink means "tail of the monkey". At Christmas, every family makes their own Cola de Mono, varying the quantities of tequila, coffee and spices to suit their taste. Think of it as a Baileys with a kick and not so sweet.

• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cassia sticks
• ¼ cup instant coffee powder
• 2 cups tequila
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring the milk, sugar and cinnamon to a gentle boil. Dissolve the coffee in the hot milk. Let it cool in the fridge. When it is well chilled add the tequila and vanilla. Pour it into capped bottles and keep it in the fridge. Serve cold.
 

Vin D'Orange

My grandmother had French blood, so Cointreau was always in the house, but Vin D'Orange, an aperitif from Provence, is much easier to make and is a wonderful summer aperitif. It's also a nice Christmas gift.

• 2 (750-ml) bottles of dry white wine
• ½ cup sugar
• 160ml brandy
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 oranges

Bring all ingredients except oranges to a gentle simmer, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Remove zest from oranges in a continuous spiral using a vegetable peeler and cut off any white pith with a paring knife. Divide the zest between the pretty bottles. Add the juice from the oranges to the wine mix. Fill the bottles with orange wine and cool, uncapped, for 1 hour. Cap the bottles, then

chill for at least 4 hours. Or even better, leave it for a week or so for the orange zest to infuse. Serve cold, over ice, topped with soda or even better champagne.
 

Christmas-flavoured Vodka

• 700ml bottle of vodka
• 2 tbsp juniper berries
• a strip of orange peel
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick

Open the bottle of vodka and add the juniper berries, orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. (If you prefer a stronger flavour, bruise the juniper berries using a pestle and mortar first.) Put the lid back on the bottle and leave it in a cool, dark place for 12-24 hrs, but no more, or the flavours may become imbalanced.

Strain the infused vodka into a jug through a fine sieve (or a coffee filter works well), then pour it back into a clean bottle. Will keep for several months in a cool dark place. Mix with tonic or in a martini.