Idiot proof christmas baking ideas

[PeanutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

I have decided to undertake attempt some festive baking with my DGodD next week. She is 9 and I have the baking skill of a 4 year old.
So please give me your ideas, techniques and recipes. Thanks in advance!

[PeanutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

buuuuump

[ANTagony]

rice krispie cakes shaped as xmas trees, drizzle with icing, decorate with silver balls

[Helenagrace]

Google magic marshmallow fudge (sorry stupid phone won't do links or possibly stupid owner can't work out how to do links on phone). If you can melt things you can make fudge!

Rocky road is easy.

Many of the Usborne children's recipes are easy to follow and produce good results.

[yellowflowers]

Peppermint creams

[workshy]

gingerbread is surprisingly easy, she will love it (9 year olds are fairly capable) and you can go mad decorating them and if you burn them they make excellent tree decorations

gingerbread recipie

2 oz butter (can use marge but butter tastes better)
8 oz plain flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 oz golden syrup
2 oz light brown sugar
1 beaten egg (you might not need a whole one)

oven 160c/gas mark 3

sieve flour, ginger, mixed spice & bicarb into a big bowl
put butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar has melted -don't let it boil
when it's melted pour onto the dry ingredients and add about half the egg -mix together until it forms a dough -if it's dry add some more egg until it pulls into a soft dough

leave to cool for 5 minutes then roll out (it will get firmer as it cools)
roll out to about 3-5 mm thick, cut out and put onto greased baking sheet

cook for 15-20 mins or until golden brown then take out of the oven and leave on the baking tray to cool

when nearly cool transfer onto wire rack to cool fully then decorate

have fun x

[Catsmamma]

reindeer droppings ... marachino cherries drained, cover in marzipan and dip into melted choc, set them to dry on a bit of baking parchment.

peppermint/coffee creams, Beat together one egg white, teaspoon or two of peppermint/ coffee essence and sieve in icing sugar until you have a playdoh texture. Cover a board with more icing sugar and roll or press misture out, cut small rounds or shape and let them dry out on a bit of baking parchment for 24 hours and then drizzle or dip in melted choc.

truffles : equal quantities of double cream and good choc and some sort of flavouring to suit. melt them together and allow to cool in the fridge, it should be like stiff butter whne it is ready.... scoop out spoonsful and shape, or roll in vermicelli (can you even buy that these days??) or cocoa or icing sugar.

[andaPontyinaPearTreeeeee]

I really want to make stained glass biscuits, where you cut a hole in the uncooked biscuits and put a boiled sweet in. Apparently they melt in the oven.

I'm also racking my brains because several years ago DH and I made truffles, we used some ancient cookbook of my parents' and no hope of finding it... I reeeeeally want to make some! Any ideas?

[andaPontyinaPearTreeeeee]

Ooh xpost cats! What do you mean by flavouring? We did put Malibu in some but not really appropriate now we have DCs :o

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

I made these last week stained glass biscuits.

We left out the ginger because we don't like it. Also didn't bother crushing the sweets, just sat a whole one over each hole. Last time I used crushed sweets the windows were too thin and stuck to the tray. I used an icing nozzle to make the hole in each biscuit. The windows worked really well.

Also, I made half quantities and it still made 32 small biscuits.

They were yummy, but didn't stay crispy for long.

[BerthaTheBogBurglar]

Rice crispie cakes in cupcake cases. Then put a jelly baby in each one. Add a little blanket made of royal icing (buy ready made, just roll and cut). And lo! Baby Jesus cakes .

Crispie cakes -
Melt 100g milk or dark chocolate in small bursts in the microwave or in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
Add 60g butter (cut into small pieces), stir in till melted
Add 3 tablespoons golden syrup, stir
Add 90g Rice Krispies, stir
Spoon into 12 cases
Leave to cool
Add babies ...

[ilovedjasondonovan]

We've just decorated some biscuits to be snowmen.

Get some rich teas or something round.
Get ready roll icing. Use cutter to cut a circle just smaller than biscuit.
Stick circle onto bisucuit using runny icing (you've just made a snowball).
Decorate with sweeties for eyes, icing for mouth. Cut out and colour more icing for a hat etc.
my 5 and 3yr olds loved doing this after school today.

[SnowmanDaveIsVeryFestive]

at Baby Jesus cakes! we will definitely have a go at those here Bertha

[PeanutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

Wow thankyou!! Some excellent ideas! With the gingerbread if I use self raising flour can I miss out the bicarbonate?
Shall get a pen n paper to write these down tomorrow

[Catsmamma]

loving the idea of Baby Jesus Cakes!

and i was thinking alcohol for flavouring! You could do orange zest, or oil if you can get hold of it, maybe some of that stem ginger if you like it.

My lot were raised on real rum truffles and once famously dissed MIL's birds trifle as it was not a patch on the REAL heavy on the sherry trifle that my mum had made. They did concede the 100s and 1000s were nicer though.

[BerthaTheBogBurglar]

Baby Jesus cakes weren't my idea - was someone on MN - but they are very popular!

[HoHoOpotomus]

Nigellas Clementine cake - my 4 yo can practically make it

[workshy]

PeanutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire
you can do it with SR flour but I find they tend to be slightly harder