Happy Holidays - 1

Happy Holidays

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{ Recipes }

Nusshüfeli (Page 7), Mailänderli (Page 8),

Brunsli (Page 11), Kokosmakronen (Page 12),

Lebkuchen (Page 15), Slow Cooked Baked

Beans (Page 18)

{ craft project }

Misty Morning Tea Cosy Pattern (Page 25)

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Nusshüfeli {hAZelNUT MAcAROoNs}A beautiful, easy and quick recipe

Ingredients250 g sugar3 eggsZest of 1 lemonPinch of salt300 g ground hazelnuts100 g flourWhole hazelnuts

MethodPreheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Beat together sugar, eggs, lemon zest and salt in a bowl until pale and creamy.

Gradually fold in the ground hazelnut and flour.

Spoon 2 teaspoonful of mixture on a lined baking tray and top with a hazelnut.

Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from baking tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

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MAiläNdeRli {swiss short breAd}The most typical Swiss Christmas cookie

Ingredients250 g butter, softened250 g sugar3 eggsPinch of saltZest of 1 lemon500 g plain flour1 egg yolk, for brushing

MethodPlace the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the sugar, eggs, salt and lemon zest and beat until pale and creamy.

Gradually add the flour and mix until well combined.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap with cling wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Lightly dust the work bench with flour and roll the dough with a rolling pin to about 3–5mm thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.

Place cookies on a lined baking tray and brush with the egg yolk. Bake for 10 min, or until lightly golden. Remove from the tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

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brUNsli {chocolaTe alMONd cOokie}A delightful mix of chocolate and almonds

Ingredients250 g sugar250 g ground almonds1/2 tsp cinnamon2 tbsp plain flour2 egg whitesPinch of salt100 g dark chocolate, chopped

MethodPlace the sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon and flour in a bowl and mix well.

Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the sugar-almond mixture with a spatula until just combined. Don't overwork.

Melt chocolate in a warm water bath and fold gently through the sugar-almond mixture. Form the dough into a ball, cover and let cool at room temparature for about 1 hour.

Dust the work bench with sugar and roll the cookie dough with a rolling pin to about 5mm thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on a lined baking tray.

Let the cookies dry at room temperature for a few hours (best over night). Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees Celsius and bake cookies for 5 min. Remove from baking tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

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KOKOsmakRONeN {cOcONut MAcAROoNs}Light and fluffy with a chocolate base

Ingredients3 eggwhites, at room temperature330 g caster sugar1/2 tsp vanilla extract170 g desiccated coconutZest of 1 lemon150 g dark chocolate, melted

MethodPreheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place the eggwhites in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until soft peaks form. Add the sugar in batches, beating continually, until the mixture becomes stiff and glossy. Add vanilla extract and fold through with a spatula. Add the lemon zest and coconut, in batches, and gently fold through with a spatula until evenly distributed, being careful not to overwork the mixture.

Spoon 2 teaspoonful of batter on a baking tray lined with greased baking paper. Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes, or until the macaroons are lightly browned.

Gently remove from the baking paper immediately and cool on wire racks. Once cooled dip macaroons in melted chooclate and let set on a wire rack.

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lebkUcheN {spiced cAKe}German Christmas delight with a twist

Ingredients70 g dark chocolate melts200 g butter, softened 200 g icing sugar, sifted2 eggs 70 g ground hazelnuts1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp each cinnamon and ground ginger½ tsp mixed spice250 g plain flour

For the icing180 g icing sugar, sifted6–8 tbsp orange juice or water125 g glacé or candied ginger

MethodPreheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

For the dough, melt chocolate in a water bath, set aside. Beat butter and icing sugar until pale and creamy. Add all other ingredients and mix until combined. Spread dough into a greased swiss roll tin (30x 24cm), smooth top. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Mix together icing sugar and orange juice. Spread icing evenly over cooled cake, sprinkle with ginger. Let set before cutting into squares.

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You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.{ Julia Child }

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Lebkuchen

slow cOoked bAKed beaNsfrom Juliana Bartulin

Ingredients3 x 400 g tinned cannelini beans1 onion, peeled and chopped2 cloves garlic, crushed500 ml good quality tomato passata60 ml maple syrup2 tbsp brown sugar3 tbsp Dijon mustard¼ tsp smoked paprikasalt and pepper to taste

MethodAdd beans, onion and garlic into the slow cooker. In a bowl combine 250 ml water, passata, maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard and smoked paprika, pour over the beans and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours. Season with salt and pepper, some grown-ups like Tabasco too!

Sometimes we also cook a meat-eaters version with a chunk of speck in it, that will add a beautiful smokey flavour.

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MisTy MORNiNg tea cOsy pAtTerN by Juliana Bartulin

Use your favourite simple tea cosy knitting pattern and a luxurious fluffy mohair yarn (I used Debbie Bliss) in silvery grey to create a well fitting tea cosy.

I used a simple 4 row repeat on an even number of stitches:

1st Row: (wrong side) Purl 2nd Row: *K2 tog, rep from * to end3rd Row: K1, * yfwd, knit up loop between stitches, yfwd, K1,

rep from * to end of row, yfwd, pick up loop from edge and knit it.

4th Row: K1, * drop yfwd, K1, rep from * to end

Repeat the pattern until your cosy is the required length for your teapot, then switch to stocking stitch and decrease evenly over about 12 rows for the top part of the cosy. Break off the yarn, run the end through the half dozen or so stitches you have left on your knitting needle, draw up and fasten securely.

Make two identical pieces.

When complete, stitch together side seams leaving appropriate openings for spout and handle.

If you live in a very cold climate you might like to line your cosy with a piece of woollen blanketing, or a section of felted jumper…mmmmmm….toasty and your tea will stay warm from breakfast to morning tea time!

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Now using the template provided, cut out the fl uff y cloud shape twice with a 5mm seam allowance. Use a nice grey fl annel, fi ne blanketing, or as in my case a piece of woven woollen scarf (the scarf was damaged in one section and now lives again as a tea cosy topper!)

Stitch together with right sides facing leaving a small gap for turning and stuffi ng.

Turn right side out, stuff with wool and stitch up the opening. Use a nice strong doubled over thread to stitch the cloud to the top of the tea cosy.

Decorate with tiny needle-felted raindrops hanging from silver thread. To make, simply take some grey wool rovings, form a tight cylinder about 2.5cm long and begin to needle felt all over. If you needle more in the top section you will fi nd the cylinder will naturally take on a tear drop shape. Easy- peasy!

Please enjoy your tea on a misty Winter’s morning, and remember, every cloud has a silver lining!

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