Make your own edible Christmas ornaments

Make your own edible Christmas ornaments




Stained Glass Window Cookies 

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (softened), 
  • 1 cup sugar 
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence 
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cups of plain flour
  • 2/3 cup coarse sparkling sugar 
  • ½ cup crushed hard candies (lifesavers work great!). Separate the boiled lollies by colour and crush them in plastic bags using a rolling pin. 

Method 

  1. Place the butter and sugar into a mix bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes).
  2. Add the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
  3. Add the vanilla essence and pinch of salt, then slowly mix in the flour until thoroughly combined. 
  4. Remove the dough from the bowl. Place the dough on a large piece of cling film and shape it into a disc. 
  5. Wrap cling film around the dough and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day before you plan to bake your cookies.
  6. Preheat the oven to180 degrees Celcius.
  7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  8. Divide the dough in half and re-wrap the remaining half and place it back in the fridge. 
  9. Roll out the dough mixture into ½ inch thick rectangle. 
  10. Using a 4 inch star shaped biscuit cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can. 
  11. Place the stars 1 inch apart on the baking tray and use a 2 inch star cookie cutter to cut out the inner windows. 
  12. Re-roll the dough and repeat the process until you’ve filled your first baking tray.
  13. Gently press sparkling sugar into the tops of the cookies (optional).
  14. Place the baking tray of star shaped biscuits into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. 
  15. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and fill each cookie with 2/3 of the way full of crushed candy, using a toothpick to spread the candy into the small crevices of the biscuit shapes. 
  16. Cut a small hole at the top of each star biscuit to thread a Christmas ribbon through later once baked to hang on your Christmas tree. 
  17. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown and the candy has melted. Cool completely.



Gingerbread Wreath 

Ingredients 

Gingerbread:
180g soft butter
130g dark brown sugar
60g beaten egg
130g molasses or black treacle 
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
Pinch of salt 

Icing:
150g Royal icing sugar
Approximately 1 ½ tablespoons water

Method 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan forced oven)
  2. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. 
  3. Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together using an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the egg and treacle/molasses. Beat until combined. 
  5. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until the mixture forms a dough texture. 
  6. Knead the mixture into a firm dough. 
  7. Wrap the mixture in cling film and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes until firm.
  8. Divide the dough in half.
  9. Roll out one half of the dough mixture to a 10” / 25cm circle about 1 – 1 ½ cm thick.
  10. Cut out an inner circle measuring 11cm diameter. 
  11. Cut out a small circle near the edge to make a hole to tie a ribbon.
  12. Place the gingerbread wreath onto one of the baking trays and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until firm and lightly golden. Leave to cool.
  13. Roll out the remaining dough using Christmas biscuit cutters to stamp out Christmas Trees, Stars, Angels Place onto a baking sheet.
  14. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then leave to cool.
  15. To make the icing. Mix the icing sugar and enough water together to make a smooth paste. 
  16. Spoon into a small icing bag fitted with a small nozzle.
  17. Pipe decorations onto the gingerbread shapes. Stick shapes onto the ring using the icing. 
  18. Tie a ribbon into a bow in the smaller hole so that you can tie the wreath up.



Angel Cookies 

Ingredients 

Cookies:
225g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon mixed spice
1 egg yolk (lightly beaten)
50g unsalted butter
100g dark brown soft sugar
100g golden syrup
1 tablespoon milk

Icing:
150g icing sugar
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons water

Decoration:
Edible Glitter
Edible mini pearls
Sugar Snowflakes 
Yoghurt covered pretzels

Method 

  1. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, ginger and mixed spice. 
  2. Heat the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a small pan , stirring frequently until dissolved, then allow to cool for five minutes.
  3. Stir the syrup mixture , egg yolk and milk into the dry ingredients and form into a ball of dough.
  4. Cover with plastic film and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (fan forced). 
  6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until about 5 mm / ¼ in thick.  Cut into angel shapes.  
  7. Bake the biscuits for about 12 minutes or until golden . Allow them to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. To prepare the icing . Mix the icing sugar and enough water together to make a smooth paste.
  9. Spoon the icing onto the body of the angels.
  10. Stick on the yoghurt coated pretzels to make the wings.
  11. Sprinkle with the edible glitter and decorate with edible pearls and  sugar snowflakes