Is this doable for an amateur baker? Christmas biscuits (pic included)

[Cackley]

I wouldn’t say I’m a complete newbie when it comes to baking. I probably make choc chip cookies/brownies once a month. Can’t do much more as diabetes runs in my family!

Anyway I was thinking it would be nice to do a tin full of Christmas biscuits. I would make them for myself and also my sister’s family for nieces to enjoy. I think I’m fairly competent.

These biscuits all use the same biscuit recipe so it’s really just a question of decorating (I think).

Do you think this is doable for an amateur-ish baker. I don’t want to over extend myself

I’ve been burned by Pinterest in the past

I make biscuits every year at Christmas time. It takes hours but I enjoy doing it and people seem to appreciate it. I don't give them as a gift though. There is a tin sitting around at home which gets offered to visitors and a tin gets taken to work. In my personal option, shop bought taste better but on the other hand I know my biscuits have low sugar and all natural ingredients. Just choose a recipe you know will work and don't underestimate the time involved. I normally set aside a whole day for baking biscuit but I work with a few different kinds of dough which slows things down.

In my personal experience, being a baker is one thing, but being artistic is another… and sometimes you need to be both!

I would say I’m a pretty good baker. In the sense that I bake yummy blondies, bronuts, cookies etc. And they really do taste delicious. But getting them to look good is a whole new kettle of fish! I mean my raspberry and white choc blondies don’t necessarily need to look great, but I’ve tried dipping home made cookies in melted white choc and icing holly/berries on them, so they look like Christmas puddings. And they just look like shit 🤣 but taste amazing!

On the flip side, I have a close friend who bakes as a side hustle and does all the local markets and things. Her speciality is blondies and brownies and she does all fancy flavours and fancy designs- they look amazing. But I’ve had quite a few over the years and it’s definitely style over substance. They taste quite dry and flavourless. And it’s not just me- other people have said this (I know, I know, we sound so bitchy). I genuinely believe mine taste better but look like crap.

So basically- who knows if you’ll be able to make them look as fab as the ones in the pic, and taste delicious..:but definitely give it a go! I’m sure they’ll be great!

Totally agree about style over substance.

A pet hate of mine are those OTT cakes with all kinds of things sculpted in fondant icing where the actual cake is really synthetic and almost irrelevant.

Give me a wonky homemade biscuit with quality ingredients any day!

I think it's a nice idea, but just bear in mind that a lot of "food" in adverts or phographs isn't actually food. I went out with a guy who sculpted in polystyrene and other materials, and a lot of his contracts were with the food industry. So creating exact replicas using actual food ingredients is going to be nigh on impossible.

But baking Christmas treats is a lovely idea and something we have done when DS was younger. The more chocolate-based ones were made early on and frozen.

If you are very precise with thicknesses and weights, then you can get a more uniform appearance, but we tended to go for the rustic look.

Or buy white writing icing that’s really easy!!

@Letthemeatgateau

Something along the lines of these. I'm not a great cook or baker but I find these were good for me. For some reason I just can't get the hang of piping bags.

Piping bottles

Lakeland do a cutter set which is like Christmas jammy dodgers with different shapes on the lids - stars, snowflakes, houses etc.

use a basic recipe and for the sandwich use different spreads - bonmaman do a toffee apple spread which is delicious. Nutella, biscoff, lemon curd etc. you can decorate further with icing if you want but this method is really simple and reliable.

Thank you for that - I've never seen them before! I learnt to pipe with a bag at school (many years ago) so it's like using a pen for me, but I can see that if you're not used to a bag, the bottles might be a bit less fiddly.

Do you have a digital kitchen scale that measures in grams? I've found weighing rather than measuring makes a big difference in my baking. I bought a cheap Amazon basics and have never looked back.

Id do it..... Even if they don't turn out as planned they are made with time and love. A lot better than just picking up an item and buying it, not really much thought or effort there
The people eating them will not be bothered about what they look like it's that they taste nice

I think I have that recipe saved @Cackley but yet to make it. I will say if you have a gingerbread man cutter, if you turn it upside down it's now a reindeer!

One other biscuit you could make are florentines. As long as you don't get distracted as I did one year and over baked them they turn out fine, plus they look really festive.

Are you good with finicky things that require attention and precision? I have inattentive adhd so it’s 50:50 whether I’ll forget I have something in the oven, or hyperfocus to perfection.

Do a test run now and see how you get on. Ime it’s not always easy to find the right size box for the size and shape of cutters you have available. When you measure, allow a little extra for the spread.

Double a standard mixture, so you can play around to see what combination fits together well.

If you’re dipping, use tempered dark chocolate. If the taste of milk chocolate is preferred use it in the middle of a sandwich because of the blooming issue described by another poster. Also it tends to reset a bit soft, so the texture is better as a filling. I don’t think it’s actually possible to temper modern milk chocolate (someone can correct me if I’m wrong) and it’s difficult to get it right with high quality chocolate too.

Split the work up, so you’re not pulling an all nighter. You can get boxes, and packaging ready in advance, make and freeze or refrigerate your dough, break up chocolate into pieces etc. They have a short shelf life so think carefully whether you have several hours to devote to this at an already extra busy time of year.

Because they need eating up, make small batches. You’re not competing with commercial tins full of additives. I’d be thrilled to get a box of wonky biscuits - homemade are so delicious! Shall I send you my address?

I think as long as you keep it simple then it’s definitely do able

And tbh I’d be well chuffed with a box of homebaked goodies for christmas even if they looked a bit ‘rustic’

Biscotti are very easy and they keep really well too. I recommend this recipe from BBC Good Food.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fruity-biscotti