The christmas cooking has begun!

With school finished for the year, we had some time on the weekend to start our Christmas cooking.
Yesterday afternoon I tried a new recipe, Portuguese Christmas Cake and two batches of chocolate chip cookies. I know that the chocolate chip cookies are not very christmassy, but this years cooking list was a joint effort.

Starting a little later than usual, our baking list is just as long as previous years.

christmas cookie list

snickerdoodles (because they make these in the Barbie movie: "A Christmas Carol")
swiss chocolate christmas cookies
lebkuchen
jasmine’s sparkly stars (the recipe for these is in my daughters princess book)
gingerbread people
scottish shortbread
dutch shortbread
vanilla christmas trees
chocolate chip cookies
monkey face cookies (the recipe for this is from the "Anne of Green Gables Treasury")
honey cookies 

christmas cooking list

stollen
fruit mince tarts
rum balls
cherry ripe slice
christmas cake

I haven't even thought about the other christmas cooking that I need to do. There is food to take along to a Christmas Eve barbecue, Christmas Day breakfast and lunch, a Boxing Day barbecue, a New Years Eve barbecue and a New Years Day Picnic.

Today we will be out all day for a children's birthday party, tomorrow I will take a quiet moment and sit with some recipe books for inspiration. Because really... it is just 9 more sleeps!

What are you cooking this Christmas? Do you have any favourite Christmas recipes?

No more cookies

Note to self: do not make any promises to anyone for anything a week before Christmas.

I haven't had a chance to do to much biscuit baking since last week. I did make another batch of speculaas and some honey cookies yesterday. I share the honey cookie recipe with you today. I think that that will be the last of my biscuit baking for this year, with just three more sleeps, there is still so much other cooking to do.

Here is my 'christmas cooking to do' list:

stollen

fruit mince pies

more rum balls

cherry ripe slice

sri lankan love cake

chicken liver pate

potted pork with apple and raisin marmalade

tiramisu

classic english trifle

white chocolate and sour cherry cheesecake

onion and currant marmalade

red onion marmalade

spiced macadamia nuts

chocolate truffles

The Sri Lankan Love Cake is in the oven now, but I still need to shop for some my other cooking. Oh and have I mentioned that Christmas is at my house..... This means I also need to clean!

Here is the honey cookie recipe that I cooked yesterday. I first made these many years ago to take along to a end of year picnic with friends. I really like these cookies, however the jury in this house of taste testers is still out. I'm posting it anyway, like I said, I really like them. However, I think that the quest for the perfect honey cookie is not over. My husbands suggestion was that they need more spice. Last night, quite by accident, I came across a 'spiced' honey cookie recipe while looking for something else.

There is always next year.



The dough for these cookies was really crumbly, but by picking up a teaspoon size of the mixture and tossing it between both hands a few times, the dough became a workable dough that I could roll into a ball.



Ukrainian Honey Cookies

makes 20 - 25 biscuits

• 125 grams unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 120 grams sugar
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• 1 egg yolk
• 325 grams plain flour

• raw sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Prepare baking trays. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, honey, sugar, bicarbonate soda and egg yolk. Mix well. Gradually sift in the flour to the mixture, stirring to combine. The dough should be firm enough to be rolled into a soft ball. Roll into teaspoon size balls and dip into the raw sugar, place the dough balls 1 inch apart on the baking trays. Bake for 10-15 minutes until just golden. Leave on the tray to cool for a few minutes before removing to a rack to cool.