Seasonal Recipes

Ginger, cinnamon, nuts and fruits

(Courtesy of BBC Good Food https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/)

Ingredients:

To decorate:

Method:

STEP 1 - Melt the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan, then bubble for 1-2 mins. Leave to cool for about 10 mins.
STEP 2 - Tip the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl. Add the warm syrup mixture and the egg, stir everything together, then gently knead in the bowl until smooth and streak-free. The dough will firm up once cooled. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.
STEP 3 - Remove the dough from the fridge, leave at room temperature until softened. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
STEP 4 - Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin, then cut out gingerbread people with a cutter. Re-roll the excess dough and keep cutting until it’s all used up.
STEP 5 - Lift the biscuits onto the trays and bake for 10-12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through cooking. Leave to cool on the trays for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Use the icing to decorate the biscuits as you wish, and stick on chocolate or sweets for buttons. Leave to dry for 1-2 hrs. Will keep for up to three days in an airtight container

(Courtesy of BBC Good Food https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/)

Ingredients:

100g butter , cut into cubes, plus extra for the tin
250g Christmas biscuits , such as shortbread or chocolate biscuits
75g shelled nuts (use up a bag of whole nuts, or bits and bobs from the baking cupboard)
100g mixed dried fruit (such as raisins, cherries or glacé ginger)
75g Christmas sweets (candy canes, marshmallows or jelly sweets)
400g milk or plain chocolate (or a mixture of both), chopped
140g golden syrup (weigh this straight into the pan you will use for melting)
2 tbsp sprinkles , or more sweets, to decorate

Method:

STEP 1 - Butter and line a 20cm square tin, or use a 20cm square silicone mould. Break the biscuits into pieces – they need to be no smaller than a pea, but not too chunky or your rocky road won’t hold together.
STEP 2 - Halve any larger nuts either by snapping them or carefully cutting with a knife, then combine them with the biscuits. Halve any large pieces of dried fruit and chop or snap sweets into smaller pieces, then add these to the bowl.
STEP 3 - Melt 300g of the chocolate, the butter and the golden syrup carefully in a pan set over a low heat, stirring occasionally, then pour this over the biscuit and nut mixture and mix together so the chocolate covers everything.
STEP 4 - Tip the mixture into the tin, then level the top – it doesn’t need to be completely smooth. Melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave in short blasts, or in a heatproof bowl over a small pan of simmering water, then drizzle this over the top and sprinkle with the decorations. Chill for at least 3 hrs or overnight before cutting into squares. Will keep in the fridge for three to four days.