Two Easy Christmas Recipes

by Lauren Robson-Skeete

These festive treats make the perfect gift as stocking fillers, or even as Christmas decorations to hang on your tree!

Chocolate Cranberry Brownies

Ingredients:

• 150g dark chocolate
• 200g butter
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 150g self-raising flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 50g dried cranberries
• 60g cranberry sauce

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a baking tray or line with baking parchment.
2. Melt together the dark chocolate and butter over a pan or in the microwave.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and cocoa powder and then stir in the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
4. Stir in the eggs and add the dried cranberries, then swirl in the cranberry sauce.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Hanging Gingerbread Tree Decoration

Ingredients:

• 175g dark muscovado sugar
• 85g golden sugar
• 100g butter
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 350g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg

For the icing:

• 100g white chocolate
• Edible silver balls

Method:

1. Heat the sugar, golden syrup and butter until melted. In a separate bowl, combine the spices and flour and bicarbonate of soda.
2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the melted sugar mix as well as the eggs.
3. Cover the mixture and allow to cool, and then place in the fridge for roughly an hour and then heat the oven to 190 degrees.
4. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and using Christmas cutters, cut into various shapes remembering to create a hole in the top large enough to loop some string through.
5. Transfer to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.
6. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a pan and drizzle or pipe onto the biscuits and then sprinkle with the silver balls.