Passover Charoset Inspired Fig Date and Pistachio Balls

I find exploring other cultures through food an endlessly fascinating experience. And mostly, it can be done at home. Through cookbooks, blogs, social media and having a few ingredients at home. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I received Leah Koenig’s book ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ for Christmas last year (the irony of that statement is still not lost on me I promise!), and it has remained one of the books I have been reading through most since then.

Towards the back of the book, in the chapter ‘Condiments, Spices & Drinks, there are quite a number of recipes for charoset. Charoset is part of the Passover seder, it’s a mixture made of fruits with much symbolic meaning for that particular religious holiday. Like many recipes within the Jewish diaspora, the ingredients change depending on what part of the world the recipe and Jewish community live or have come from. There are six different recipes for charoset in Leah’s book, and she mentions there would be many other variations. 

All of the recipes use fruit, often dried fruit with some fresh apple, some spices and some sweet red wine. Some charoset is chopped, some pureed into a smoother paste and others rolled into balls. This got me thinking - taking a bit of inspiration from each of these recipes, I could make some really nice dried fruit and nut balls. Not like those weird protein (or ‘bliss’) balls, but something really tasty made with great quality dried fruits, and spices like those used in many of these recipes. 

The Kurdish Charoset recipe was rolled into balls, many of the recipes used dates and the Yemenite Charset recipe used dried figs and a great selection of spices (including ground coriander which I never would have thought of using otherwise). I was starting to create a version of my own, taking what I liked from all of these very diverse charoset recipes. I used slivered almonds as the nut inside the balls, as we always seem to have a good supply of them, and the pistachios on the outside just look so good. I substituted vanilla extract for sweet red wine, but if you are making these for Passover, you can still use the wine instead.

Often the best recipes are heavily influenced by the work of others and the foods of other cultures (and what you have in your pantry!). So these are my Passover Charoset Inspired Fig Date and Pistachio balls, that could equally be just Fig Date and Pistachio Balls ready for a nice healthy snack. 

Passover Charoset Inspired Fig Date and Pistachio Balls

Ingredients: 

200g black and white dried figs

110g pitted medjool dates

50g golden sultanas

50g slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

25g blanched or raw pistachios, finely chopped

Method: 

Add all the ingredients, except the pistachios, to the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until all the ingredients are combined and it clumps together. The mixture does not need to be smooth. Some of the almonds will remain in chunks. 

Roll into balls, then roll into the finely chopped pistachios to cover. Place on a tray and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. The balls can then be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Makes 18-20 balls. 

Reference: ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ by Leah Koenig (Phaidon Press Limited, 2019), pp.406-409.

Yeasted Hamantaschen with Quince Lekvar

This year I was determined to make hamantaschen again, but this time with the more traditional yeasted dough. I loved my Pistachio Hamantaschen I made last year, but I really wanted to have a comparison with a more traditional hamantaschen. 

For those who have never heard of hamantaschen before, they are made to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim (see links at the end of this post to find out more). They are kind of like a cross between a biscuit and a pastry with a sweet tasty filling, and the triangular shape has great symbolism for the holiday. Check out my post from last year to find out a little more.

I tried to stay as traditional as I could with this, but me being me, and not being bound by any Purim traditions of my own, I altered a prune filling (or Lekvar) recipe to include dried quince and dried pears. Mostly because quince is my third favourite flavour (coming in close after rose and pistachio which alternate between spots one and two), and I have access to amazing dried quince from Singing Magpie Produce, which I knew would taste amazing cooked into a lekvar. 

I heavily leaned on Leah Koenig’s new book ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ to produce this hamantaschen recipe. Leah’s book is my new ultimate resource on Jewish cooking, spanning all diasporas and nationalities and all types of meals and holidays. If you just want one book to show you the ways of Jewish cooking and baking, this is it. I (somewhat ironically I admit) received this book as a gift for Christmas, and it has maintained its spot as my most looked at cookbook since then. 

View fullsize

Folding Hamantaschen

View fullsize

The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koenig

I was delighted to find a yeasted hamantaschen dough in Leah’s book, as I had already decided I wanted to try this type of dough for my next hamantaschen attempt! And out of the many cookbooks I own, it is the only one to contain such a recipe. Leah also provides many hamantaschen filling options, and I was particularly intrigued by the fruit lekvar traditional to Central and Eastern Europe. Lekvar is a thick jammy paste made using dried fruits and juice. I adapted Leah’s Prune Lekvar recipe to create my Quince Lekvar, but you could stick to prunes if you can’t find any dried quince. If you can get your hands on fresh quince, a quince butter would also make a great substitute for the lekvar (see my Cosy Winter Bakes eBook for a Quince Butter recipe). 

A yeasted hamantaschen definitely takes a bit more time and effort than a more shortbread pastry hamantaschen (see my recipe last year for a good one), but it is worth the effort. I found my first dough attempt didn’t work, I think because I am baking in a more humid climate and my dough just became unbelievably sticky and wet and barely rose at all. I have slightly altered the quantities of flour in the recipe, and continue to generously add more flour as I knead the dough. This is quite an intuitive recipe (which is why I suggest kneading by hand rather than using a stand mixer), and depending on your climate, you may not need nearly as much flour as I did. For reference the original recipe says to start with 350g, and up to 70g more if needed. On my second attempt I added that total amount (420g), then I added more when I was kneading and my dough worked out much better. 

Quince Lekvar (or thick jam)

Quince Lekvar

Ingredients:

200g dried quince

100g dried pears (or dried apple)

120ml cloudy apple juice 

175ml water

4 tbsp panela sugar

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method: 

Place the quince, pears, apple juice, water and panela sugar in a small saucepan. Over low-medium heat bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan with its lid. Cook the fruit, stirring every now and then, for about 25-35 minutes or until the fruit has softened and most of the liquid has been absorbed. 

Take the pan off the heat, and puree the fruit with a stick blender. Stir in the honey, cinnamon, cardamon and vanilla then allow to cool completely before storing covered or in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Makes approx. 580g.

Yeasted Hamantaschen

Ingredients: 

7g dried yeast

150g + 1 tsp caster sugar 

120ml warm water

420g plain flour, plus extra

pinch of salt

60ml canola oil, plus extra

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract 

360g (approx.) Quince Lekvar

Method: 

In a large bowl stir together the yeast, warm water and the 1tsp caster sugar. Leave for 5-10 minutes until it has become frothy.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the remaining 150g caster sugar, flour and salt.

Add two of the eggs, oil and vanilla extract to the activated yeast and whisk to combine.

Add the flour, and mix. 

Generously dust your work surface with more flour, and tip the dough out. Dust the dough with flour, and begin to knead. This dough can be quite sticky, so continue to knead and add flour until the dough becomes more manageable and elastic. Knead for about 10 minutes, the dough will still be a little sticky, but once it becomes smoother and more elastic it will be ready to prove. 

Lightly oil a large bowl with a little more of the canola oil, and place the dough in. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm spot for 1.5-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. This dough won’t rise as dramatically as a traditional bread dough, but if the size has at least doubled during the proofing time, then it will be ready for the next step. 

Once the dough as proofed, line two to three trays with baking paper, and preheat oven to 180 degrees/170 degrees Celsius fan. 

Lightly dust your work surface with more flour, and roll out half the dough (leave the other half covered in the bowl). Using a 7-8cm round cutter, cut out rounds of the dough and place in the prepared trays. Keep the scraps of dough and place to the side for now. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out with the cutter. Re-roll all the scraps, and cut out as before. The dough will become harder to work with now as it is becoming overworked. Discard any remaining scraps now, especially if you have cut out close to 30 rounds, and your trays are filled. 

Place a teaspoon of the quince lekvar in the centre of each round. Shape the rounds of dough into the characteristic triangle shape by pinching one side into a corner, then folding the other side up to form two more corners. Ensure the corners are well sealed and stuck together. If you need some more tips on how to fold hamantashen take a look at this graphic made by The Nosher.

Loosely place some cling over the trays and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Crack the remaining egg into a glass and beat with a fork. Brush the tops of the hamantaschen with the egg, then place in the oven for about 18 minutes to cook. Rotate the trays in the oven about half way through to ensure the hamantaschen cook more evenly. The hamantaschen will be ready when they have puffed up a little and are golden. 

These are best eaten the day they are made, but will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

Makes about 30 hamantaschen.

Reference: ‘The Jewish Cookbook’ by Leah Koenig (Phaidon Press Limited, 2019), pp.342 & 410. For more info on yeasted hamantaschen check out this post on the blog Poppy & Prune and this recipe on kosher.com. 

Christmas Gift Guide for Foodies 2019

After putting one of these gift guides together last year, I thought I would make it a yearly thing where I seek out all the great food related gifts for the food lovers in your life (or for yourself!). 

This year I have also included some homemade (mostly edible) gift ideas too. I love gifting people food at this time of the year. It’s thoughtful and also can be a more cost effective gift option if you have many people to buy for.

Merry Christmas!

NB: If buying online from these great small businesses, please note their Christmas delivery cut off dates so you aren’t disappointed. 

BOOKS

1. Just Desserts by Charlotte Ree, $21.35 - This newly released title is super fun and colourful and contains the perfect baking recipes for those who are new to the game. 

2. Bake Australia Great by Katherine Sabbath, $29.95 - This book looks like it is full of fun and amazingly creative recipes. Possibly the replacement for the 1980s Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake book we all looked at as kid - but even more fun!

3. Taverna by Georgina Hayden, $40.75 - This is one of my favourite releases of 2019. Georgina takes the reader through her Greek Cypriot family history through food. The recipes are delicious and it’s a book you will come back to again and again. 

4. Farmer Cookbook, $29.95 - I recommended this book last year when it was still on a fundraising platform, but now the book is available from most bookstores. It is filled with great recipes from such a variety of people, and is still raising money for farmers in need. 

5. Blushing Confetti x Nectar and Stone Dessert Journal, $39.95 - For those who love pretty things and the written word. The cloth bound notebook is a super sweet addition to any bakers collection, which over time can be filled with all your own recipes. 

6. Fortnum & Mason: Christmas and Other Winter Feasts, $63.75 - This one has been on my list for quite a while. I love Fortnum and Mason, and there is something about an English Christmas that just seems so appealing. 

FOOD GIFTS

1. Grounded Pleasures Christmas Gift Box, $69 - These boxes are the sweetest gift. There are four to choose from, all with a handmade mug from a local Ballarat ceramicist. I bought the Dreaming of a White Christmas one as a gift to myself, and I am absolutely loving it.

2. Sprinkle Spices Sweet Gift Hamper, $99 - This would make a great present for that person (or family) in your life with a sweet tooth. Filled with three of the best sweet spices from Sprinkle, plus a few other goodies (including a couple of things from Grounded Pleasures), this hamper is sure to please. 

3. Flour and Stone Gingerbread Trees Gift Box, $35 - For those that love baked goods but hate being in the kitchen! These gingerbread are the best you can buy in Sydney, and are always perfectly decorated. 

4. Gewurzhaus Christmas Advent Tea, $18 - I love a good festive tea, and particularly those like this one, that are great made warm or cold. This tea has a warming Christmas flavour, and is a very festive red colour once brewed.

5. Hey Tiger Oh Crumbs! Chocolate Bar, $15 - This chocolate bar is the bomb. Caramelised white chocolate (my all time fave), with gingerbread crumbs. As Hey Tiger say, is it even the holidays without gingerbread? No, is definitely the answer to that one for me. 

6. Frank Green Reusable Cup (Regular Size), $34.95 - This the gift that keeps on giving. I have been using mine for about a year now and I love it as much as I did when I first bought it. Dishwasher safe, and spill proof, these reusable cups are worth the small investment. They are also bright and fun, and I find having a colourful cup means the barista always remembers my order!

Grounded Pleasures Dreaming of a White Christmas Gift Box

HOMEMADE GIFTS

Homemade Jam and Muesli

If you have time, edible homemade gifts are super special and heartfelt. They can also be a more cost effective option which is great. Glass jars with a little ribbon and label or sticker are all you need to dress them up. Here are some ideas for what you could fill your jars with:

1. Jam - see recipes for Strawberry Jam, Mixed Berry Jam and Peach & Passionfruit Jam.

2. Muesli - see recipe for Honey Muesli here.

3. Biscuits - shortbread, gingerbread, chewy macaroons, spiced Christmas Biscuits.

4. Rocky Road - see Pink Rocky Road Recipe here and recipe for a Rocky Road Wreath I developed for Grounded Pleasures here.

5. Marshmallows - see recipe for Blackberry Marshmallows here, Bergamot Marshmallows here, plus more marshmallow recipes in my Cosy Winter Bakes eBook.

6. Nougat - see recipe for Rose and Pistachio Nougat in my Baking with Rose eBook.

Christmas Gingerbread Trifle with Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly

I had this idea for a Gingerbread Trifle at least a year ago, around Christmas. I didn’t have time to make it, but I was determined to try it the following year. 

So this year was the year to make trifle, and while I almost didn’t make it (it’s lovely, but yes a bit of effort is required), I am so glad I did. I am loving the distinct layers and being able to use some of the currants I had frozen from last Christmas (plus we’ve owned this gorgeous glass trifle dish for years and never used it, so I’m glad I’ve finally put it to good use!).

I’ve actually never made a trifle until now, to be honest I don’t really like traditional ones. I absolutely hate that the cake used is soaked in some kind of alcohol, to me that just ruins the whole thing.

So I have made this trifle alcohol free, and the gingerbread cake used really doesn’t need to be soaked in anything. You can of course add some alcohol if you wish.

I have used red currants for the jelly, and decoration. I love them and the tart flavour they add. They come into season just before Christmas here in Australia, and I always buy a couple of punnets and freeze some too. I have used my freezer stash of currants for this trifle, but raspberries could also be used for the jelly and decoration. I think pomegranate juice could also be used instead of cranberry in the jelly as well, and then decorated with pomegranate arils. 

It is best to start this recipe the day before. I made the jelly and cakes the day before, then just whipped the creams and assembled before serving the next day.

Try to use a glass trifle dish with straight sides like the one pictured. If not, use one that is also 4L capacity, and keep in mind that you may have to trim your cakes more to get them to fit. 

A note on the jelly: Making jelly with red currants using the below method will create a slightly cloudy jelly. This is what happens when currants are pushed through a sieve to create a puree, rather than leaving them to gradually drip through muslin overnight on their own. I couldn’t think of anything worse than this recipe taking a whole day more just to wait for 55g of red currants to slowly strain overnight, so I opted for a slightly cloudy jelly instead. And in all honesty, once the trifle is all assembled, I can barely notice the difference. 

Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly 

Ingredients:

800ml water

350g caster sugar

16g gelatine sheets (I used titanium strength)

120ml cranberry juice

55g + 60g red currants (fresh or frozen)

Method: 

You will need a 4L capacity (22-23cm in diameter) trifle dish for this recipe.

In a large saucepan add the water and sugar. Place on the stove over high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 

Place 55g of the red currants in a food processor and blitz until a puree forms. Strain the puree into the cranberry juice, discarding the seeds etc. 

After 10 minutes, remove the sugar syrup from the heat and set aside to cool a little. 

Place the gelatine sheets in a shallow bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 3 minutes, then remove from the water, squeezing out any excess water. 

Add to the sugar syrup, and whisk until the gelatine has dissolved. Then add the cranberry juice and red currant puree and whisk until combined. If the jelly has formed lots of foam from all that whisking, try to scoop as much of it off as possible. I find if it isn’t removed the jelly will set with most of this foam remaining on top. 

Pour about 750ml of the jelly into your trifle mould, and the remainder into a small plastic wrap lined container. 

Scatter in 60g red currants over the jelly in the trifle dish, then place both jellies into the fridge to set overnight. 

Makes about 1180ml jelly in total. 

Gingerbread Cake 

Ingredients: 

375g unsalted butter, softened

300g brown sugar 

3 eggs

465g molasses 

345ml water

615g plain flour 

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp bicarb soda

1.5 tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground all spice 

1 tsp ground cardamom 

canola oil spray, for greasing

Method: 

Grease and line two 22-23cm round cake tins (use round cake tins that are closest in diameter to your trifle dish). Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices and baking powder. Sift in the bicarb soda and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy using the paddle attachment. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then beat in the water and molasses on a low speed (to avoid the water sloshing out of the mixing bowl!). 

Add the flour mixture and beat on a low speed until the flour begins to combine, then increase the speed a little and mix until combined (you can also do this by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula if you wish). 

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared tins, and bake for about 1 hour. The cakes probably won’t fit on the same oven shelf, so swap them over about half way through the cooking time to ensure they both cook evenly. The cakes will be ready when a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for at least 20 minutes in their tins, before turning onto a cooling rack. 

Once the cakes are cooled, they can either be used immediately in the trifle if ready, or wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. 

Christmas Gingerbread Trifle 

Ingredients: 

Red Currant & Cranberry Jelly, as above

Gingerbread Cake, as above

550ml pouring cream

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

red and white currants, to decorate (fresh or frozen)

Method: 

N.B. If you are making this on a fairly warm day, you may want to place the trifle back in the fridge in between some of the below steps to ensure all the layers keep their shape and remain cold. 

Just before serving, take one of the gingerbread cakes, and even out the top if necessary. Trim the sides to fit into the trifle dish if necessary. Place the layer of cake on top of the jelly layer. 

Whip 300ml of the cream with the maple syrup, and using a piping bag pipe a nice edge of the cream on the outer rim over the cake layer. Fill in the remaining layer with the cream, and smooth it out if necessary to ensure it is fairly even. 

Take the second gingerbread cake and even out the top if necessary. Trim the sides of the cake to to fit into the trifle dish if necessary. This cake layer should sit right up to the top edge of the trifle dish. Place the cake on top of the layer of maple cream.

Whip the remaining 250ml of cream with the vanilla, then using a piping bag (just cut a small opening at the bottom of the bag, you don’t need to use a piping tip if you don’t have one), decorate the top of the trifle. 

Remove the remaining jelly from its container, and cut into squares. Don’t worry if some of it breaks, I didn’t find I wanted to use all the jelly to decorate the top of the trifle anyway. Decorate the top of the trifle with some of the cut up jelly (any excess jelly can be placed back into the container and stored in the fridge, or added to each serve of trifle separately on each plate), and finish with some extra red and white currants. 

Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Serves about 12.

Vintage embossed spoons from The Coastal Marketplace

Unfortunately Trifle doesn’t look so great once served!

Spiced Christmas Biscuits (Refined Sugar Free)

These biscuits are vastly similar to the previous recipe I have posted, except that I have used unrefined sugars to create a softer chewier Christmas biscuit than a gingerbread. 

I had the idea for these biscuits, as I have been experimenting a lot with date syrup this year, and wondered if it would make a good substitute for the golden syrup I usually use in my gingerbread biscuits. Sticking with the unrefined sugar theme, I swapped the brown sugar for panela sugar which I love adding to lots of my baking. 

The biscuit comes out slightly more chewy than my usual gingerbread biscuits, and has a slightly deeper flavour thanks to the date syrup. I also used a few teaspoons of a Christmas spice mix called St Nicholas Spekulaas from the spice shop Gewurzhaus. I found this shop whilst I was in Melbourne, only to discover later that I had probably walked past the Sydney store in the Strand Arcade many times! 

A substitute for this kind of festive spice mix would just be to add the same spices from my gingerbread biscuit recipe which are 1 tsp each of ground cloves, all spice, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.

I am really loving my panela and date Christmas biscuits, and similar to their gingerbread cousin, the dough freezes well so you can make the dough in advance and bake later (just defrost in the fridge overnight). 

Refined Sugar Free Christmas Cookies using Grounded Pleasures Panela Sugar & Gewurzhaus St Nicholas Spekulaas Spice Mix

Spiced Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

120g panela sugar (I used Grounded Pleasures)

170ml date syrup/molasses

1 egg yolk

390g plain flour

5 tsp Spekulaas spice mix (I used St Nicholas Spekulaas from Gewurzhaus)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In medium bowl whisk together the flour and spice mix. Sift in the bicarb soda, whisk to combine then set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and panela sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the date syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.

Add the flour and spice mixture and combine on very low speed for a few seconds. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish the remaining mixing using a large wooden spoon or spatula. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. If making double quantities separate the dough into two discs. 

Once the dough has rested, you can freeze the dough to use at a later date. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using. 

Dust your work surface with more flour, then roll the dough out to around 2 mm thickness and cut biscuits out using festive biscuit cutters. Place each biscuit on to the prepared trays. Make sure you leave space in between each biscuit as they will expand as they bake. Re-roll excess dough and cut out more biscuits until it is all used up.

Bake for around 10-12 mins, rotating the trays in the oven to ensure everything cooks evenly. When the biscuits are done the edges will begin turn golden. Allow to cool on wire racks or on their trays.

Makes about 70 small biscuits or 36 medium as pictured in this post (yield will depend in the size and shape of your biscuit cutters). 

Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits

This has recipe has been a festive favourite of mine for a few years now. I originally found it on Phoodie, and have loved it ever since. In my family, shortbread has always been the biscuit of choice for Christmas, so I never really had a go to Gingerbread recipe. I do recall making some from a DK Kid’s Cookbook, but I was never much into the taste of ginger so I generally preferred shortbread. The process of resting the dough in the fridge also put me off I think, as when it comes to biscuits, I have always been after quick and instantly gratifying recipes. None of this resting the dough, and waiting around. 

Now I’m older, I understand the importance of refrigerating biscuit dough and allowing it to rest. I’m sure I’m slightly more patient now too! It also makes more sense to give your biscuit dough a chance to firm up a bit, if you like me, are making these during a warm Southern Hemisphere Christmas. 

I sometimes ice these with a royal icing, like this one, or one from a packet mix. One time I made batches and batches of these over Christmas for a cafe I worked at, and iced and decorated them all. If I can give you any advice, if you are making lots of these, don’t worry about the icing. They taste great on their own, and it often ends up being rather a stressful exercise, during what can already be a busy and stressful time of year. I haven’t iced mine in years, and I don’t miss it at all!

I find I can make a few batches of these during December, as they are enjoyed by all and make great gifts. They are also really useful for decorating other festive desserts like this pavlova I made a few years ago. 

My Christmas Biscuit Cutter Collection

Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, softened

120g light brown sugar

170ml golden syrup

1 egg yolk

390g plain flour

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cardamom 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line three large baking trays with baking paper.

In medium bowl whisk together the flour and spices. Sift in the bicarb soda, whisk to combine then set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined.

Add the flour and spice mixture and combine on very low speed for a few seconds. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish the remaining mixing using a large wooden spoon or spatula. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. If making double quantities separate the dough into two discs. 

Once the dough has rested, you can freeze the dough to use at a later date. Defrost in the fridge overnight before using. If making double, I usually pop one lot of dough in the freezer now, and continue baking the other.

Dust your work surface with more flour, then roll the dough out to around 2 mm thickness and cut biscuits out using festive biscuit cutters. Place each biscuit on to the prepared trays. Make sure you leave space in between each biscuit as they will expand as they bake. Re-roll excess dough and cut out more biscuits until it is all used up.

Bake for around 10-12 mins, rotating the trays in the oven to ensure everything cooks evenly. When the biscuits are done the edges will begin to turn golden. Allow to cool on wire racks or on the their trays.

Makes about 70 small biscuits or 36 medium (yield will depend in the size and shape of your biscuit cutters).