Cook up three Christmas treats

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Cook up three Christmas treats Get the kids involved in the kitchen this season with these irresistibly festive recipes. Christmas cookies (makes 35)  125g butter, softened 50g icing sugar 1 medium egg 1tsp vanilla extract 225g plain flour 225g icing sugar 2½tbsp warm water Shaped cookie cutters and sugar sprinkles to decorate Method Put the butter in a large bowl beating it until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and beat again. Break the egg into a bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat well. Add the mixture to the large bowl a little at a time, beating as you go. Add the flour and stir the mixture until it starts to form dough. Use your hands to mix. Wrap the dough in plastic food wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Unwrap the dough and put it on to a clean surface. Roll it out and use the cutters to cut out lots of shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes on two greased baking trays until golden. Leave on the trays for five minutes, then put on a wire rack to cool. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix it with warm water. Spread onto each cookie with a blunt knife. Scatter sugar sprinkles on top. (Recipe from the Christmas Baking Book For Children published by Usborne First Cookbooks, usborne.co.uk) Meringue snowflakes (makes about 12) 150g caster sugar 75g egg whites (about 2 medium egg whites) Edible silver glitter/silver balls Piping bag, fitted with a star-shaped nozzle 2 solid baking trays, lined with baking parchment Method Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Tip the sugar into a small roasting tin and put in the preheated oven for about five minutes until hot to the touch – be careful not to burn your fingers! Turn the oven down to 110C/Gas ¼. Place the egg whites in a large, clean mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the egg whites (with an electric whisk, if necessary) until they’re frothy. Tip the hot sugar on to the egg whites in one go and continue to whisk on high speed for about five minutes until the meringue mixture is very stiff, white and cold. Spoon the meringue mixture into the prepared piping bag. Pipe little blobs of meringue on to the prepared baking trays in the shape of snowflakes. Scatter silver glitter or silver balls over the top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until crisp and dry. Turn off the oven, leave the door closed and let the snowflakes cool down completely inside. (Recipe from Christmas Cooking With Kids by Annie Rigg, published in hardback by Ryland Peters Small) Christmas tree cakes (makes 15) 100g self-raising flour 100g soft margarine 100g caster sugar 2 eggs Assorted sweets 50g butter or margarine, softened 100g icing sugar, sifted Green food dye Squeeze of lemon juice or a few drops of vanilla essence Method Heat your oven to 190C/Gas 5. Break the eggs into a cup. Sift the flour into a big bowl. Add the caster sugar, eggs and margarine and stir everything together until you get a smooth, creamy mixture. Half-fill each case with the cake mixture and bake for about 20 minutes, then leave on a wire rack to cool. For the butter icing, put the butter in a bowl and stir with a fork until creamy. Add some icing sugar to the bowl and stir. Mix in the rest of the icing sugar a little at a time. Stir in the green food dye a drop at a time until green. Add the lemon juice or vanilla essence. Spread the butter icing on top of each cake and press the sweets into the icing to make different patterns on the cakes. Arrange the cakes in a Christmas tree shape, place a star-shaped biscuit at the top and put a chocolate bar at the bottom for a trunk. (Recipe from ‘30 Christmas Things To Cook And Eat’ published by Usborne) Read the original story at: Cook up three Christmas treats