It’s the most wonderful time of the year and also the baking-est time of the year! From cakes to cookies, pies to crumbles, winter baking is always my favourite. I thought I’d put together a list of five lovely Christmassy desserts I’ve made over the years and if you’re looking for ideas, I hope these help!
The Last-Minute Christmas Cake
This dense, fruity, boozy cake is perfect for a sudden mission to bake Christmas cake but then realising you haven’t been soaking the fruits for weeks and weeks as is traditional. This one, made just a few days before Christmas by cooking the fruits in beer and whiskey or dark rum, concentrates the flavour and the result is still a rich, cake packed with dried fruit and candied peel. I love this one!
Ginger Molasses Cookies
Soft and chewy, these spiced cookies are flavoured with molasses and brown sugar and are seriously good. Great for holiday gifting, Christmas morning eating, or really, any time. The cookie dough is rolled in granulated sugar for extra crunch and sparkle, because ’tis the season!
Fruit Mince Pies
Christmas cake in mini pie-form! An easy buttery shortcrust pastry is filled with boozy, spiced fruit and candied peel and each bite is a complete flavour bomb. They disappear before you know it!
Walnut Snowball Cookies
These buttery cookies are softer on the inside, crisp on the outside and are rolled in icing sugar for the snowball look. You can also make them with hazelnuts, almonds or pecans! They’re a real crowd-pleaser and I promise the sugar coating doesn’t make them cloyingly sweet.
Orange Cranberry Scones
Fresh orange zest and dried cranberries in a buttery dough can absolutely never go wrong. These scones are flaky and crumbly but also tender all at once. Perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee on Christmas morning!
