Time to make your Christmas Mince

This is Granny Sybil's recipe for Christmas Mince.  It's absolutely delicious and well worth the effort and time spent making it.

You're going to need spotlessly clean, sterilized, preferably glass bottles.  Get them ready first.

500g currants
500g seedless raisins (large)
500g sultanas
250g mixed peel
500g apples (weighed, peeled and cored)
500g castor sugar
250g butter
1/2 glass brandy

Method:
Wash and clean and dry fruit the day before making.
Mince all fruit together.
Add castor sugar.
Stir well.
Leave overnight.
Add melted butter and the brandy.
Mix well.
Bottle.  Don't forget to seal your tops well.
Make at least 3 weeks before needed.

Homemade Christmas Mince, beautifully labelled and 'capped' makes a fabulous Christmas present.

April Blackbird

Muffin Experiment #2, Chocolate Fudge Muffins

Today I decided to try those completely sinful Chocolate Fudge Muffins that have been haunting my dreams lately.  I couldn't find a recipe in my files, so I did a quick internet search and decided on these suitably evil looking ones from My Mum's Muffins.

I made a few changes to the recipe... I didn't have sour cream, so I substituted creme fraiche and I don't like nuts in my muffins and cakes, so I substituted Nestle dark chocolate drops.

The result:

The verdict:

They rose well, they had a nice crispy exterior and a softish interior.  They would have been super super yummy, but... they were too salty.  I did use salted butter, but I always do, so that shouldn't have been a problem... The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of salt (which isn't much), but I think next time (probably tomorrow) I will try 1/4 tsp of salt.  I have noticed that the salt I purchased recently seems to be more salty (if that's possible) than usual.  Definitely a recipe to keep anyway, but the muffin texture is more like a brownie or cake than a muffin.

I'll let you know how tomorrow's batch turns out.

Arabella Chickie in Palma de Mallorca

Spice Biscuits

Christmas is coming and it's time to bake biscuits.  Lots of them. Lovely spicy biscuits.

This is an old family favourite.  My chickadees loved them (even the chickadee that never got cakes and things...).

7 cups flour
7ml bicarb
Pinch salt
3 cups sugar
1 tsp ginger - ground
1 tsp cloves - ground
1 tsp cinnamon - ground
2 cups butter
3 eggs - large
1 cup smooth apricot jam.

Rub butter into dry ingredients.

Add beaten eggs and jam. Blend.

Roll dough into small balls.  Press balls flat with fork onto a baking tray lined with baking papers. 

Bake 10-15 mins at 180 deg C.

We've been baking these biscuits for at least 20 years now.