Orange and cinnamon stars
Ingredients:
-
200g ground almonds
-
140g powdered sugar
-
1 organic orange (approx. 2 tablespoons juice and ½ table spoon zest)
-
1 tbsp cinnamon
-
Optional: 1 pinch of cardamom or a little ground ginger
Preparation time: approx. 30mins
Cooling time: approx. 45 mins
Baking time: approx. 8 minutes
Method
Mix the ground almonds, 70g powdered sugar, cinnamon and, if using, cardamom and ginger in a bowl. Then add the orange juice and zest and mix until a batter is formed. It should hold together when you pinch it with your fingers. If it is still too dry, just add a little more orange juice.
Then shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Roll out the cold dough thinly (0.5 to 0.7cm) between two layers of baking paper, cut out the stars and place on baking paper on a baking sheet.
Bake the cinnamon stars for about eight minutes. The baking time can vary slightly depending on the thickness and size of the stars.
For the glaze…
…mix the rest of the powdered sugar (70g) with a tablespoon of water until it has a creamy consistency. If the glaze is too thick, you can add a little more water – if it is too thin, add a little more sugar. Spread the glaze on the cooled orange and cinnamon stars and let them dry.
Baileys balls
Ingredients:
- 200g of ladyfingers
- 70g butter
- 300g high quality chocolate (white or dark)
- 120g Baileys
- Optional: cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, desiccated coconut, chopped almonds, brittle
Preparation time: approx. 20 minutes
Cooling time: approx. 1 hour
Preparation
Finely chop the chocolate and place in a glass bowl with the butter. Melt both over a hot water bath. In the meantime, you can process the ladyfingers into fine crumbs. You have two options for this: either you grind the ladyfingers with a food processor or put them into a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Then mix the biscuit crumbs with the chocolate and liqueur. Let the mixture cool in the fridge for at least 60 minutes. Remove portions with a small spoon and shape into balls. Finally, roll the balls in cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, desiccated coconut, chopped almonds, brittle or biscuit crumbs. It is essential to store them in the fridge!
Marzipan macaroons
Ingredients:
- 200g marzipan raw mass
- 1 egg (only the white)
- 50g powdered sugar
- 70g flaked almonds
Preparation time: approx. 15 minutes
Baking time: approx. 20 minutes
Preparation
Finely cut or slice the marzipan mixture and place in a mixing bowl with the egg white and powdered sugar. Mix with a hand mixer until a uniform, sticky dough is formed. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
Moisten your hands with water and form small balls (about the size of a walnut). Roll these in the almond flakes and place on baking paper on a baking sheet. Then bake for about 20 minutes, until the macaroons are lightly brown. When they have cooled down completely, you can dust them with a little icing sugar.
As you can see: Even with just a few ingredients, delicious Christmas treats can be made very quickly, with which you can surprise your loved ones during the Christmas season. Eurohike Wanderreisen wishes you lots of fun trying it out and good luck! Psst – another tip for an extraordinary gift for a very special person? How about a hiking tour?
