hannah

I won’t bore you with recipes because there are enough of those out there. And, honestly, if you’re not very good at baking just use a packet mix. Substitute butter for oil and milk for water and add a splash of vanilla extract. No one will know the difference.

On Christmas Eve I made some Strawberry Santas and Christmas Trees. The 37 degree (Celsius) weather did not allow the Santa faces to look cute as I had intended them to be.

These were so yummy, and gave people the option of having a lot of icing, or just a little. I sat them on Oreo Thins so they were easier to pick up. But be warned: they don’t last long. We had a few left by Boxing day and they’d gone soggy.

I also made some Stained Glass Cookies. I used a Betty Crocker packet mix of Gingerbread Cookies that I couldn’t resist when I saw it at the supermarket. I don’t ever feel bad about using packet mix because baking is about the treats tasting good. And anyway, I leveled the mix up a notch.

I used two different sizes of cookie-cutter, and some generic boiled sweets. I also kept the inside shapes as mini-cookies for anyone on a diet. (And one Gingerbread Man because I could not resist!)

The intensity of the spiced gingerbread flavour was really offset by the super-sweetness of the glass “windows”.

They became a favourite at my family lunch, and something I would definitely do again because they’re much easier than they look!

In the end, my mum loved them so much she kept sneaking the minis as I was trying to take photos!

On Boxing Day I made Spiced Nutella Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I used some Christmassy cupcake patties and sprinkles I’d picked up from the shops earlier in the month.

I found a recipe online that was basically self-raising flour and nutella, so I added some butter and milk to make it creamier. I always think self-raising flour tastes kind of chalky, so I also added some mixed spice, allspice and cinnamon to mask the chalkiness and make them taste a touch more Christmassy.

I’ve never made buttercream before and the recipe I used was equal parts butter and icing sugar, but it tasted just like butter. So I risked it and added heaps more icing sugar, and way too much vanilla extract (I read the recipe wrong) but in the end it tasted amazing!

The cupcakes were kind of heavy and stodgy, but the buttercream helped with that and if you got a good half-half bite it was perfect.

Something I’d seen on Pinterest and thought “I can do that!” were these Christmas Tree Brownie Bites.

I used another Betty Crocker packet mix, which I ususally do with brownies. No other recipe I’ve tried tastes better so why change?

The pictures I’d seen had the brownies cut into big triangles, but again I accommodated people who only wanted a small dessert and cut them into tiny little triangles. They were harder to pipe than I expected, but I’m not a professional so maybe it was my skill level... I hid the messy icing with some silver sprinkles and no one complained!

The smaller size ended up being way cuter, and better for nibbling after a big Christmas lunch.

I put them on a big platter with some candy canes for extra Christmas flair. Then I laid out the stained-glass cookies and some basic choc-chip ones I’d made for my mum (they’re her favourite).

It made for an easy grazing platter for dessert instead of stuffing ourselves with another large sit-down meal.

I made a vlog of my Christmas Eve baking, with a lot more silliness and joking here.

I made way too much food for my small family that I will have leftovers until 2018!