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Wynnie Chan

Gingerbread biscuits
Christmas wouldn't be complete without baking a batch of gingerbread biscuits - the aroma of the blend of spices will fill your house with festive cheer.
 Makes 16-18
 1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
 2 tablespoons golden syrup
 2 tablespoons black treacle
 1 tablespoon water
 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1 teaspoon ground ginger
 large pinch ground cloves
 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
 pinch salt
 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
 1 cup plain flour
 Method
 1 Put the sugar, syrup, treacle, water, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a large saucepan, and bring to  a boil while stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, then stir in the baking soda, salt and butter. Gradually add the flour and mix until you get a soft dough - you might need a bit more flour.
 2 Wrap  dough in cling film and  put in the fridge for an hour.
 3 Meanwhile, line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
 4 Remove the dough from the fridge.  Place it on a floured surface and roll  out to about  3mm thick. Cut out  biscuits using large gingerbread men and women cutters and transfer to the baking tray with a metal spatula. Put the tray in the fridge for at least 15 minutes so the biscuits firm up.
 5  Preheat the oven to 180C.
 6 Remove the tray from the fridge and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the biscuits are crisp but not too dark. Leave on the  tray to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Decorate as desired.
Sugar cookies
 To celebrate the festive season, shape these as Christmas trees or stars then  decorate them with green or white icing. Dust  with icing sugar to look  like snow. 
 Makes around 12 medium cookies
 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 1/2 beaten egg
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 pinch of salt
 1 cup plain flour
 Method
 1 Beat the butter and sugar together  by hand or with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Add the flour and mix  to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.
 2 Meanwhile, line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180C.
 3  Remove the dough  from the fridge. Place  on a floured surface and roll  out to about 3mm thick. Cut out shapes using biscuit cutters and transfer to baking tray with a  metal spatula. Leave a little space between them  because they will spread  out. Place the tray in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
 4  Remove the tray from the fridge and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly browned.
 5 Cool on a wire rack and decorate as desired.
Hot chocolate mix
 Stuck for a Christmas gift? Package this mix into cellophane bags, tie with a pretty bow and give them away as pressies to friends and family. They'll love  the effort you put into this homemade gift.
 2 cups dry milk powder
 3/4 cup caster sugar
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
 1/2 cup chocolate chips
 1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
 Method
 1 Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until they are evenly blended. 
 2 Store the mix in a tightly covered glass container at room temperature. For one serving, spoon 3 to 4 heaped tbsp  into a cup, add boiling water or hot milk, stir well, top with a handful of mini marshmallows. Enjoy!



Sugar and spice