XMAS HEAVENWWW.FOODHEAVENMAG.COM NOVEMBER baking heaven 13
Stained-glass
cookies
MAKES ABOUT 60
300g (10½oz) plain fl our, plus extra
for dusting
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
200g (7oz) butter, at room
temperature
120g (4¼oz) unrefi ned cane sugar
1 free-range egg
1½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp grated lemon zest
about 180g (6oz) hard-boiled
sweets in various colours
1 Combine the flour with the baking
powder and salt in a mixing bowl and
set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in
a separate bowl until creamy, about
3 minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla
extract and lemon zest. Fold in the flour
mixture in two batches to make a
smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and
rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2 Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark
2½. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Sort the sweets by colour and pulse to a
fine powder in a small food processor.
Transfer to bowls, separated by colour.
3 Dust your worktop lightly with flour, roll
the dough out thinly, about 3mm (^1 / 8 in),
and use a cookie cutter to cut out
shapes, such as Christmas trees, stars
or baubles.Candy cane bread
MAKES ONE LOAF
300g (10½oz) plain fl our
30g (1oz) unrefi ned caster sugar
½ tbsp dried yeast
½ tsp salt
50g (1¾oz) butter, melted
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
170ml (5½fl oz) lukewarm milk
For the cranberry fi lling
150g (5½oz) cranberries
30g (1oz) unrefi ned caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
15g (½oz) cornfl our
For the cream cheese fi lling
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
100g (3½oz) cream cheese, at room
temperature
2 tbsp unrefi ned caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping
about 2 tbsp milk
about 100g (3½oz) icing sugar
Also
fl our for dusting
1 free-range egg yolk, for glazing
1 Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and
salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the butter
and egg into the milk and stir the mixture
into the dry ingredients. Knead for about
5 minutes to make a soft dough.
2 Cover and leave to rise at room
temperature for 2 hours.
3 For the filling, combine the
cranberries, sugar and lemon juice in a
saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer
over a medium heat for 4 minutes. Sift
the cornflour into the cranberry mixture,
whisk to combine and simmer for
another 1 minute. Remove from the heat
and set aside to cool.
4 For the cream cheese filling,
whisk the egg with the remaining
ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate
until ready to use.
5 Dust your worktop with flour and roll
the dough out to a rectangle about
55x20cm (22x8in). Transfer the dough
to a sheet of baking paper, leaving about
a quarter of the long side to overhang
(this par t will be bent to make the cane
shape later). Use a sharp knife to cut
10cm (4in) slits along the long side of
the dough at 2cm (¾in) intervals. Do this
from both sides, leaving a 10cm (4in)
wide strip intact at the centre.
6 Spread this centre strip first with the
cream cheese filling and then with the
cranberry filling. Set aside a small
amount of cranberry filling for decorating
the bread. Fold the cut strips diagonally
across the filling, alternating between
the left and the right sides, to make a
plaited pattern. Bend the plait into a caneshape and slide it onto a baking tray,
together with the baking paper. Brush
the bread with the egg yolk and leave to
rise for 30 minutes.
7 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark- Bake the candy cane bread for
35-40 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave to
cool completely.
8 Whisk the milk into the icing sugar
until smooth, then drizzle over the bread
in diagonal lines. Do the same with the
reserved cranberry filling to create a red-
and-white candy cane pattern.
4 Transfer the cookies onto the trays.
Cut out small shapes from inside the
cookies and fill these with a little of the
powdered sweets. If you are planning to
use the cookies as decorations, also
make a small hole for the ribbon. Bake
until golden brown, about 10 minutes,
then leave to cool on the trays.