Christmas Recipes to Make Together

What you need

• 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 125g butter, cut into cubes
• 175g soft brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp golden syrup

What you do

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line two baking trays.
2. Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
3. Beat the egg with the golden syrup, pour it in, and bring everything together into a dough. It will look hopeless for about a minute, then suddenly work.
4. Roll out to the thickness of a pound coin on a floured surface and cut out stars.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until slightly darker at the edges. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes before moving them, or they will bend.

What you need

• 500ml whole milk
• 100g dark or milk chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 4 large marshmallows
• A few chocolate chips and a strand of orange peel, to decorate

What you do

1. Warm the milk in a pan over a low heat. Do not let it boil.
2. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar, then add the chopped chocolate a handful at a time, whisking until smooth and glossy.
3. Pour into two mugs.
4. Thread two marshmallows onto a cocktail stick for each mug to make a snowman, and press in chocolate chips for eyes and buttons and a sliver of orange peel for the nose.
5. Float the snowmen on top and drink before they melt, which will not be long.

What you need

• 200g milk chocolate
• 75g cornflakes or shredded wheat
• 24 chocolate mini eggs or malted milk balls
• 12 paper cake cases

What you do

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each.
2. Tip in the cornflakes and fold gently until every piece is coated. Try not to crush them.
3. Spoon into the paper cases and press a dip into the middle of each with the back of a teaspoon.
4. Sit two sweets in each dip and chill for an hour until firm.

What you need

• 300g milk chocolate
• 100g butter
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 150g digestive biscuits, broken into rough pieces
• 100g mini marshmallows
• 100g dried cranberries, glace cherries, or whatever is left in the tin
• Icing sugar, to dust

What you do

1. Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Take off the heat and let it cool for five minutes, or the marshmallows will dissolve.
3. Stir in the biscuits, marshmallows and dried fruit until everything is coated.
4. Press into the tin, chill for two hours, then cut into squares and dust with icing sugar so it looks like snow.

What you need

• 200g dark chocolate
• 200g white chocolate
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 4 candy canes, crushed

What you do

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Melt the dark chocolate, stir in the peppermint extract, and spread it over the tray in a thin, even layer. Chill for 20 minutes until set.
3. Melt the white chocolate, let it cool for a couple of minutes so it does not melt the layer underneath, then spread it on top.
4. Scatter the crushed candy canes over while the white chocolate is still soft, pressing them in lightly.
5. Chill until hard, then snap into shards.

What you need

• 225g butter, softened
• 60g icing sugar, plus 100g extra for rolling
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 100g pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
• A pinch of salt

What you do

1. Heat the oven to 175C (155C fan) and line two trays.
2. Beat the butter with 60g icing sugar until pale, then beat in the vanilla.
3. Fold in the flour, nuts and salt until it comes together into a soft dough.
4. Roll into walnut-sized balls and bake for 15 minutes. They should stay pale.
5. Roll the warm cookies in icing sugar, let them cool completely, then roll them again. The second coat is what makes them look like snowballs.