Our Ultimate Christmas Cookbook for 2023

Sweet Treats

We all love a little treat around Christmas, so how about making your own to share with your friends this year? From cookies to cake pops, we’ve got a selection for you to feast your eyes, and hands, upon this festive season.

Christmas Cookies

Why not serve up these perfect Christmas cookies for your guests this Christmas? These vanilla cookies are a beautiful little nibble to serve up on the coffee table, or even to pack into seasonal boxes and give away as gifts, so they make the ultimate tasty treat.

Ingredients:

• 140g icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 250g butter
• 375g plain flour

To decorate:

• 200g icing sugar
• Edible food colouring
• Edible gold and silver balls

Method

Step 1:

Tip the icing sugar, vanilla extract, egg yolk, and butter into a mixing bowl, then stir together with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and mix until a dough. Shape the dough into two flat discs and wrap them in paper or clingfilm. Chill for 20-30 mins.

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and line two baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.

Step 2:

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of two £1 coins. Cut out Christmassy shapes (use a cutter if you like) and place them on the baking sheets. Cut a small hole in the top of each cookie using the tip of a skewer. Bake for 10-12 mins until lightly golden.

Step 3:

When baked, let the cookies cool. Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with a few drops of cold water to make a thick, but still runny icing. Colour with edible food colouring and spread it over the cooled biscuits, decorate with edible balls and enjoy!

Reindeer Cake Pops

Fancy a little guilty pleasure in a tiny portion. Decorate them as reindeer to have your festive party popping with these delicious delights.

Ingredients:

• 150g chocolate cake (can be pre-bought)
• 25g soft butter
• 50g icing sugar
• 25g plain chocolate
• 100g milk chocolate
• Small pretzels, broken like antlers
• small jelly sweets, red smarties etc.
• 2 tablespoons black block icing
• Cake pop sticks

Method:

Step 1

Crumble the cake into fine crumbs using your hands or in a food processor. Put into a bowl and in another bowl, beat together the butter and icing sugar until creamy.

Step 2

Melt the plain chocolate in the microwave or a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Add the melted chocolate to the butter mixture and combine well. Add this to the cake crumbs and mix thoroughly using your hands, until it sticks together. Divide the mixture into eight and shape each one into a smooth ball. Insert a cake pop stick, place on a tray lined with baking parchment and chill for at least 2 hours.

Step 3

Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Take a cake pop and dip in the chocolate. Shake gently until the excess has drained off.

Step 4

Make two holes in the top of the head and insert a pretzel 'antler' in each one. Press a sweetie nose onto the front and hold for a few seconds until attached. Repeat with all the other cake pops. Leave to set for about 20 mins and then use black icing, and pipe on eyes and mouth.

Then enjoy your tasty treat.

The Main Attraction

The thing we’ve all been waiting for – the mains. Whether you want to cook a full-on spread or just make something to nibble on, we’ve got the perfect plates for you to serve up this Christmas.

The Most Perfect Turkey

With the best trimmings in town, this perfect roast turkey recipe will have you drooling for more. Pair with stuffing for the perfect plate of goodness.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole turkey
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 small apple, peeled
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 1 small potato, peeled
• 6 tablespoons of honey
• 4 grams butter
• 1 cup chicken stock (Optional)

Method:

Step 1:

Pat turkey dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub lemon halves lightly over the skin of the turkey—season skin and cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemon halves, apple, onion, and potato into the cavity. Place the turkey into a close-fitting roasting pan.

Step 2:

Stir together honey and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter has melted, and the mixture is evenly blended. Spoon over turkey, coating the entire outer surface. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, reapplying the honey mixture several times.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Step 3:

Bake turkey in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, basting two or three times with pan drippings. Reduce oven temperature to 175 degrees and cook for 30 minutes more, basting frequently. Add chicken stock to keep pan juices from drying out, if needed.

Step 4:

Cover turkey with aluminium foil and continue roasting until the meat is no longer pink near the bone and the juices run clear, roughly 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes of roasting and bake it with pan juices one last time.

Step 5:

Remove the turkey from the oven, cover it with a doubled sheet of aluminium foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 15 minutes before slicing.

The Most Perfect Roasties

How many roasties do you want on your dinner this year? The whole bowl for us, please. Here’s how to make the best roast potatoes to give you that sense of comfort in your carbs this Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 1kg Maris Piper potatoes
• 100g goose fat or 100ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of flour
• Sea salt for seasoning

Method:

Step 1

Put a roasting dish in the oven (one big enough to take the potatoes in a single layer) and heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Step 2

Peel 1kg potatoes and cut each into 4 even-sized pieces if they are medium size, 2-3 if smaller (5cm pieces).

Step 3

Drop the potatoes into a large pan and pour in enough water to barely cover them.

Step 4

Add salt, then wait for the water to boil. As soon as the water reaches a full rolling boil, lower the heat, put your timer on and simmer the potatoes uncovered, reasonably vigorously, for 2 mins.

Step 5

Meanwhile, put 100g duck or goose fat or 100 ml olive oil into the hot roasting tin and heat it in the oven for a few minutes, so it’s really hot.

Step 6

Drain the potatoes in a colander, then shake the sieve back and forth a few times to fluff up the outsides.

Step 7

Sprinkle with 2 tsp flour and give another shake or two so they are evenly and thinly coated.

Step 8

Carefully put the potatoes into the hot fat – they will sizzle as they go in – then turn and roll them around so they are coated all over.

Step 9

Spread them in a single layer making sure they have plenty of room.

Step 10

Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes, then take them out of the oven and turn them over.

Step 11

Roast for another 15 minutes and turn them over again. Put them back in the oven for another 10-20 mins, or however long it takes to get them golden and crisp. The colouring will be uneven, which is what you want.

Step 12

Scatter with the sea salt flakes and serve straight away.

Delicious Drinks

After a crazy day of Christmas shopping, why not head home and knock yourself up one of these super tasty Christmas drinks? Let’s toast to the festive season.

Bursting with Bubbles

Who doesn’t love a Buck’s Fizz?! It’s the most perfect time of year to pour the bubbles and get a sweet taste of the festive party season.

Ingredients:

100ml orange juice, freshly squeezed.

200ml chilled champagne

Method

Step 1

First, pour 50ml of the orange juice into each glass.

Step 2

Very slowly top up each glass with 100ml champagne.

And toast, here’s to Christmas!

Need something to warm up after a little spree around the markets? Well, how about this chocolate-orange hot chocolate? It’s our favourite thing to make on a winter evening and hit of Terry’s Chocolate Orange without all the calories.

Ingredients:

Need something to warm up after a little spree around the markets? Well, how about this chocolate-orange hot chocolate? It’s our favourite thing to make on a winter evening and hit of Terry’s Chocolate Orange without all the calories.

Ingredients:

• 150ml milk
• 50ml double cream
• Orange Peel
• 50g dark chocolate chips
• 25ml orange liqueur (optional)

Method:

Step 1

Heat the milk, cream, and orange zest together in a saucepan until simmering then remove from the heat and pour through a sieve into a jug to remove the orange zest. Pour the infused milk mixture back into the pan and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

Step 2

Put the pan back on the heat to warm through then add the orange liqueur. Pour into a mug and serve.

So why not get creative in the kitchen this festive season and make some of these lovely recipes to entertain your friends? We love them, from the perfect roasties to our sensational chocolate-orange hot chocolate, and we’ll be sure to make them all this Christmas party season.

Tag us in your festive fun on our socials so we can see your delicious festive recipes.