I don’t know why, but I always get the urge to bake things at this time of year. It’s a little crazy considering it has just started to get hot here, and we are crazy busy, so standing in front of a hot stove isn’t exactly relaxing, but still…. there is something about Christmas that urges me to cook!
Here are some things I’d like to bake this year, though in truth I’ll be lucky to make even one or two things from this list. Still… it’s nice to dream big and make fanciful plans at this time of year too!
Gingerbread Madness!
Gingerbread and Christmas go hand in hand, but you don’t have to make gingerbread men, or even cookies…
Black Berry Gingerbread from Mt Hope Chronicles – And of course our berries are just beginning to ripen!
Gingerbread Cheese Cake Bites from Created by Diane – Gingerbread on the outside, cheesecake in the middle… oh my yum!
Fun and Easy for Kids to Make and Eat.
I have kids who love to cook, so I always try to save recipes and ideas that are quick and easy so that they can really get involved…
Rock Candy Lollipops from Science Bob – Edible science, how cool!
Fairy Fudge – This is our version of Rice Krispy treats and I think if you used plain white marshmallows, christmas sprinkles and cut them into star shapes (inspired by A Pretty Cool Life’s Valentine Rice Krispy Treats) they’d be perfect for Christmas!
Cookies! – Our favourite ‘Hundreds of Biscuits’ recipe is easy enough for small people to help with and makes enough cookies to give as gifts to everyone! Try choc-chip and crushed candy cane!
Bake a Gift!
We love to give home made, home baked gifts.
Rhubarb Fizz – Last year we made bottles of this sweet pink fizzy drink to give to friends and family and it was a hit!
Raspberry Swirl Marshmallows from Mowielicious – So pretty and so delicious, but I don’t know how you’d wrap it!
Raspberry and Nectarine Freezer Jam from Simple Bites – With the summer fruit now in season this is the perfect time to make this east jam as a gift. Get the kids to colour in one of our printable Christmas labels and your gift is good to go!
Smores Pops from Tip Junky – I am just trying to work out what biscuits I could use for these as we don’t have graham crackers here and I’ve found plain sweet biscuits just too sweet. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Something Special for the Big Day.
It’s always nice to make something special to share on Christmas day, but I try not to go too over board and keep it to something reasonably simple that I am not likely to muck up!
Meringue Cupcakes with Raspberry Curd from Whisk Kid – Having recently mastered pavlova I reckon I could manage these.
Festive Fruit Salad from Babble – The blog says for Fourth of July, but with all the stars and red and white it looks like Christmas to me and perfect for a hot Aussie Christmas day.
Chocolate Raspberry Forest Cake from Chocolate and Carrots – This cake looks divine, but what I really like are the chocolate trees! With great instructions and photos these would make any cake look like Christmas!
Are you baking some special holiday treats?
Do you have a favourite recipe or link to share?
Some great tasting ideas here Kate. I’ll be back to click all the links.
I think I am going to have to try that Rhubarb Fizz and maybe the freezer jam!
Thanks for sharing Kate.
Yum, lots of delicious ideas.
My favourite part of Christmas day is lots and lots of watermelon :)
I’ll have a go at the gingerbread. It’s such a gingerbread kind of day. I’m also going to attempt a Russian Pashka. Traditionally an Easter cake, but I think really appropriate for Aussie Christmas. It’s a squashed curd cake with pistachio and other pretty things. I spent the day collecting and sugaring flowers to decorate it with and will attempt the squashing next week.
I sugared pansies, violets, cornflowers, begonias (did you know you could eat them? I didn’t- they taste kind of sour but nice in the sugar),sour sop, scented geranium (although I tried another geranium and it made my tummy hurt…so not all geraniums are good), calendula, chamomile, rose, clover(not so tasty), pea, and lots of peppermint leaves (very very yummy!) I only wish I’d thought of it in time to catch some citrus and cherry blossoms as well. Oh well…next year.
Sugaring flowers is easy but time consuming…you need flowers (clean and freshly picked, from a reliable source) egg white with a drop (literally) or two of vodka or water in one bowl, some super fine sugar in another bowl and a little paintbrush to paint the egg over the flowers, I applied the sugar with another paintbrush but you can dip or sprinkle depending on the sturdiness of the flower, you need to paint and sugar both sides. You will also need a tray with baking paper on to dry them. They take a long time to dry, 24-36 hours depending on the weather. You can leave them in an oven on a low temperature but (having just completely cooked the begonias to wilting point) I would recommend just putting them in after you’ve baked something else and turned the oven off, they need slow drying to retain colour.
It’s fun and if you’ve got crafty kids with some patience I think they’d enjoy this activity.
ps if you are going to try it…please make sure that the flowers are actually edible…no azaleas or rhododendrons and definately no frangipanis! :(
Hi Kate,
Great List!
Digestive biscuits can be a great replacement for graham crackers.
Have a great Christmas!
Oh thanks! Will have a look for some digestive biscuits this week!