Christmas baking

[ilovelamp82]

What are your tried and tested Christmas making recipes? I'd love to do some festive baking and get some yummy smells round the house on the run up to Christmas.

www.pillsbury.com/recipes/mini-cinnamon-crescents/73d133fa-18c8-4e8c-993c-67f1880547ae

Open up the croissant dough from the can, then sprinkle over sugar and cinnamon powder. Roll up. Cut out slices then lay them flat next to each other. Bake. Drizzle icing on top :)

img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/290/5010084702290/IDShot_540x540.jpg I buy this in Tesco :)

Amazing! They sound yum. And very child baking friendly. Thanks

There was a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe on the Martha Stewart site - you need to use the Cups measurement (and I had to Google All Purpose Flour/Baking Soda/Stick of Buttter) but they were the nicest ever.

Far far better than Milllies Cookies, dead easy too.

Ooh and I always make a chocolate wreath cake.
Line a spring sided caketin with clingfilm, find a glass or empty jar to sit in the middle. Cover that in clingfilm.
Put your glass in the centre, fill the base with Smarties or M&Ms.
Fill the ring with chocolate crispy cake mixture (I'm doing rice crispies and plain chocolate this year)

When it's set, take the glass out, put on a plate, take off the clingfilm, Ta Da

I made these cinnamon and apple muffins which had a very christmassy smell the other day, they were delicious. Will be making more soon.

addapinch.com/cooking/cinnamon-apple-muffins-recipe/?utm_source=feedly#.Ulza6GTfYik

Oh, that also uses cups. I have bought a cup measurer because so many recipes I find are American!

I can't find the exact recipe I used, but we made Candy Cane cookies last year as DD's "treat for her class" (They're allowed bring in a birthday treat to everyone, and her birthday is Boxing Day so it's always seasonal!). One recipe is here, but there are loads on the net. The idea of the spiral twist of 2 coloured doughs is lovely - we didn't bother with mint flavouring as DD doesn't like mint.

I also do a plain orange and lemon cookie, that slices off a log of dough, or change it up using cocoa powder and lots of chocolate chips instead of lemon and orange zest. Basic sugar cookie dough. And the dough can be frozen so very handy do to a batch in early December but only bake a few - and then be able to slice and bake on Christmas Eve for FC if we don't really have time or energy to bake from scratch for him. It's in the Usbourne cookery for kids book, I need to find it at home for recipe.

Love the wreath idea, maybe even I could manage that!

70 that wreath sounds amazing!

Thanks. Some great ideas here

That wreath cake is ace! I'm definitely going to have a crack at that with DD.
I usually just stick to mince pies. I made mincemeat from the Hairy Bikers cook book once, that was amazing! So boozy, though. Not one for the kids.

The orange pastry from the hairy Bikers mince pies is delicious too

We do the candy cane cookies every year (have done since I was a child), and always make chocolate chip cookies, but substitute red and green M&Ms instead of chocolate chips, which of course leaves other colour M&Ms for nibbling .

I like the mini cinnamon roll recipe, so I think we will do that this year as it will be fun for the dcs. And I like the wreath cake idea too! I'm going to gain weight this Christmas, aren't I?

My mum makes a chocolate bundt cake with creme de menthe in it that is lovely. I'm planning on getting the recipe from her this year and make it.

Love the wreath cake idea, am totally going to do that!

I make mincemeat, using Delia's recipe, where you put it in a very low oven for a few hours. It makes the house smell wonderful, and children enjoy stirring it.

I use alcohol for mince pies and the kids eat them. It all burns off doesn't it?

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stainedglasswindowbi_87505

We always make stained glass window biscuits for the tree. They look beautiful with the lights shining through them and really easy for the kids to help with. They enjoy smashing the sweets - after they've eaten a few!

In October half term we make Deliax's christmas cake and pudding. And then fed the cake all the way up to Christmas. The children make a wish as they stir the mix.

We also buy a ginger bread house and decorate that. Not technically baking but the kids love it. We also make gingerbread Christmas shapes using the BBC Good Food recipe. Works everytime. We hang some of these on the tree as well.