Home made Christmas Sweets

catznine

My family love to make home made sweets at Christmas time and one of their favourites is mini Christmas Puddings:-

Glace cherries
Brandy (optional)
Marzipan
Chocolate (I prefer dark)
White fondant icing or some white royal icing
Red and green icing or gel icing tubes


Wash the glace cherries under a tap to get rid of the stickiness and if you want to use brandy start 3 weeks early and soak the cherries in a small bowl of brandy covered in cling film for a week or 2 (3 weeks even better) drain off the brandy and use as a liquer (cherry brandy sort of:D )

Take walnut size pieces of marzipan roll into a ball and then flatten out and roll around the cherries until covered. Pop into a fridge until chilled.

Melt chocolate and dip the marzipan covered cherries into the chocolate and pop onto a tray to set. I use a cocktail stick to do this.

When chocolate has set use small pieces of white fondant or use some royal icing to decorate the top. Using the icing/gel tubes pipe some holly on top.

Put into little sweetie cases.

Any one else got some favourite home made sweetie recipes?


Catz x

greenpixey

I'd love to try this out. Don't know if anyone would drink whats left of the brandy or the liquer (cherry brandy sort of ) Does it have to be brandy or can you use whiskey?? Only asking since we normaly buy whiskey for christmas (for Irish coffee:))

Edit: Just found a recepie for Christmas eggnog as well that contains brandy. Good excuse to buy a bottle:)

catznine

I have never tried but I can't see why it wouldn't work with another spirit!

edited to say that you could pop the cherry brandy into some mulled wine.

growingafamily

check out delia smith online http://www.deliaonline.com/search/?qx=truffles here is the truffle recipe I use - it tastes fab - also some whiskey ones there too !!!
I might adapt that recipe to make some Christmas pud ones (non-alcoholic though) and 1/2 dip them in white chocolate ?!?
thanks for the idea !!
(sorry hope this link is ok?)

angelite_2

This is a recipe for candy canes.

1 sachet dried egg white (or the equivalent of 2 egg whites)
few drops of peppermint essence
550g (1lb 2oz) icing sugar
little amount of food colouring

* Put dried egg white into bowl, mix in water with a fork (check packet for amount
* Add the peppermint essence, then gradually sift in the icing sugar, mixing to make a smooth paste. As the mixture gets stiffer, squeeze together with your hands
* Add some food colouring to the mixture and knead together, stopping when the colours are only half-mixed together and look swirly.
* Shape and roll pieces of icing into thin ropes on surface dusted with icing sugar until they are about 1 cm (half inch ) thick. Cut to 12 cm (5 inch) lengths. Curl the tops to look like walking canes
*Dry over night on trays lined with non stick baking paper
*You can then put the canes in some nice boxes with waxed or greaseproof paper. Use withing one week.
* You could even use biscuit cutters to cut shapes out of mixture.

Got this from kids cooking book, there are also recipes for choc tree decorations, mini iced ginger bread and stained glas window biscuits which look rather cool if you want them. x

catznine

Marzipan Fruits

Another family favourite but very messy!;)

1 large block of marzipan
various foodcoloring pastes/colours
food flavourings (strawberry, orange, lemon, banana) optional
cloves
sweet cases
icing sugar/corn flour
fine paint brush or cocktail stick


Sprinkle some sifted icing sugar onto a clean worktop and break off pieces of marzipan and colour some red (strawberrys, apples) some green (apples, grapes) some orange (yep thats for the oranges!:D ) marzipan already yellow (bananas, lemons) purple (blackberries, grapes) you get the idea!

No set rules just use your imagination (if you love playing with playdough then you will love this) it helps to sprinkle some of the icing sugar or use some cornflour to stop marzipan from sticking too much.

Strawberries - mould some of the red (could use flavouring as well if desired) into strawberry shape, using a clove, dab all over to give a pippy look and pop the clove into the top for the stalk.

Oranges - again mould orange coloured marzipan (flavoured if desired) into the right shape, use clove to give the peel like effect, pop a clove into top.

Lemons -yellow marzipan mould to required shape, use clove to give peel like effect.

Bananas - using yellow marzipan roll to a banana shape then using some brown food colouring and a fine paint brush or with care cocktail stick dipped in the food colouring draw some lines down the banana.

Apples - roll together some green and some red marzipan into a ball and pop a clove into the top.

Blackberries - use purple marzipan and roll very small pieces into balls and then press all together into a blackberry shape usiing a clove for the stalk.

Grapes - similar process to the blackberries using either green or purple marzipan. Press together using either green marzipan atthe top for the vine or a clove.


Leave the sweets on a tray that has been sprinkled with cornflour of icing sugar - cover with another tray and leave to set for a few days. Pop into sweet cases.

AfM_3

You guys are all so adventurous. Well done.

I'll stick to making the roast.

wolfie59_2

I've just made the glace cherry recipe and the christmas pud one to experiment as presents and have tried them out on four people - we all love both recipes. Thank you! So easy to make and so absolutely delicious.

I didn't use the alcohol on the cherry one and it was still really yummy. I bought a small home-made christmas pud on a village fete stall and it made superb filling wrapped in marzipan and covered in white chocolate. What a great idea!

What great presents!

stilernin

I used to have a recipe for making peppermint creams from a block of Philly cheese beaten to a cream with icing sugar, peppermint essence and green food colouring. As simple as that.......... but I have lost the quantities

The paste was rolled out, dusting the pin and board with icing sugar, and then cut into 'pennies' with a small cutter. After leaving them on a rack for a while, the surface would dry a little and they could then be dipped in chocolate. They looked really pretty half green and half chocolate.

They could be kept in the fridge for a few days before eating. They could also be frozen if you made them in advance. I would freeze them without the chocolate though.
This was from the Freezer Digest in the 80s (who remembers that?), so if anyone has kept some recipes they might be able to find the quantities? Though you could just experiment by adding icing sugar to the Philly untl if felt dry enough. It always seemed a huge amount but it blended in eventually.

kezza29

Long time lurker here first post

I have a similar recipe to the philly one but it uses condensed milk here is the quantities, same method as philly


A few drops of Peppermint essence
Approx 450g Icing sugar
4 tablespoons of condensed milk
green food colouring

(as you mix this will become quite solid) i roll it out and use mini cutters to cut the creams out

you can coat or half coat these in chocolate and some i leave white with no food colouring, hth

killielila

simon did this on something for the weekend last week http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/peppermint_creams_00124
not sure if link will work
Peppermint creams


Try Simon Rimmer’s easy, homemade version of this retro classic. They make delicious Christmas presents.

Ingredients

• 1 free-range egg white
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 1 tsp peppermint flavouring
• 425g/15 oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 175g/6¼oz dark chocolate

Preparation method

1. Whisk the egg white in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the lemon juice, peppermint and icing sugar to a stiff paste.
2. Tip the peppermint mixture onto a work surface dusted liberally with icing sugar and roll out thinly.
3. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to cut out circles and place them onto a baking tray. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture has set.
4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.)
5. Dip each peppermint cream into the melted chocolate and set aside on a baking tray. Chill the peppermint creams until set.