Edible Christmas Decorations and Chocolate Cookies From Nigella

From Denny: Nigella Lawson is such a joyful spirit and I always enjoy watching her. Her recipes are easy too. These cookies are so easy she says that they can't be ruined when children are involved in the merry making. Now there's nothing better than that endorsement! You don't have to stress about perfection and the kids don't have to stress about getting criticized for making a mistake. This cookie dough is very forgiving - as we all should be this holiday season. :)



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Video: Nigella's Tasty Christmas Treats







Edible Christmas Tree Decoration



From: Nigella Lawson



Makes: approx. 35-40



Nigella: I couldn’t have Christmas without these, or at least, not happily. Rituals are essential to give us meaning, a sense of ceremony, and making these peppery gingerbready edible decorations is how I have always marked with my children that Christmas had begun.



INGREDIENTS



For the cookies



• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• Pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1-2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) soft butter

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 2 large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup runny honey



For the icing and trimming



• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 2 tablespoons meringue powder

• Edible gold or silver sprinkles

• Florists’ ribbon for hanging



DIRECTIONS



Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and pepper in a food processor and, with the motor on, add the butter and sugar, then, slowly, the beaten eggs and honey, through the feed tube, though don’t use all of this liquid if the pastry has come together before it’s used up.



Form two fat discs and put one, covered in plastic wrap or in a resealable bag, in the refrigerator while you get started on the other.



Preheat the oven to 350 F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Then dust a work surface with flour, roll out the disc, also floured, to about ¼ inch, and cut out your Christmas decoration with cutters of your choice, which could include fir-tree shapes, angels, stars, snowflakes, and so on.



Re-roll and cut out some more, setting aside the dough scraps from this first disc, well covered, while you get on with rolling out the second. When you’ve got both sets of leftover clumps of dough, roll out and cut out again, and keep doing so till all the dough’s used up.



Now take a small piping nozzle and use the pointy end to cut out a hole just below the top of each cookie (through which ribbon can later be threaded).



Arrange the pastry shapes on the lined cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes: it’s hard to see when they’re baked, but you can feel; if the underside is no longer doughy, they’re ready. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.



Mix together the confectioners’ sugar with the meringue powder and 3 tablespoons water, beating it until it’s thick enough to be able to cover the cookies with a just-dripping blanket of white. Carefully ice the cold decorations, using a teaspoon (the tip for dripping, the back for smoothing), and scatter sparkles or sprinkles as you like. When the icing is set, thread ribbon through the holes and hang on you tree.







Christmas Chocolate Cookies



From: Nigella Lawson



Makes: approx. 24



Nigella: I love these dark, fat patties of chocolate shortbread exuberantly topped with festive sprinkles. There’s something so cheering about the sight of them, but they have more in their favor than looks: They are a doddle to make, and meltingly gorgeous to eat.



INGREDIENTS



• 2 1/4 sticks (18 tablespoons) soft butter

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder



For the festive topping



• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 1/4 cup boiling water, from a kettle

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Christmas sprinkles



DIRECTIONS



Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.



Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl and, when you have a light, soft whipped mixture, beat in the 1/3 cup cocoa powder (sifting if it is lumpy) and, when that’s mixed in, beat in the flour with the baking soda and baking powder. Or just put everything in the processor and blitz, if you prefer.



This mixture is very soft and sticky and I find it easiest to form the cookies wearing my disposable vinyl gloves, so pinch off pieces about 1 tablespoon in size, roll them into balls, then slightly flatten into fat discs as you place them, well spaced, on your cookies sheet; you should get about 12 on at a time.



Bake each batch for 15 minutes; even though the cookies won’t feel as if they’ve had enough time, they will continue to cook as they cool. They will look slightly cracked on top, and it’s this cosy, homespun look I love.



Remove the cookies sheet to a cold surface and let it sit for 15 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack, with a sheet of newspaper under it (to catch drips while topping them).



To make the topping, put the cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar, water and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and whisk over a low heat until everything’s smoothly combined. Take off the heat for 10 minutes.



When the cookies are cool, drizzle each one with a tablespoonful of chocolate glaze — to glue the sprinkles on in a minute — using the back of the spoon to help spread the mixture, though an uneven dribbly look is part of their charm. After you’ve iced 6 cookies, scatter with some of the Christmas sprinkles, and continue thus until all the cookies are topped. If you ice them all before sprinkling, you will find the cocoa “glue” has dried and the sprinkles won’t stick on.



*** Thanks for visiting! All these Christmas clip art and animations are FREE for use on your blog or site, enjoy!



*** For more recipes check out Comfort Food From Louisiana!

Video: Nigella Lawsons Chocolate Holiday Hits Savory and Sweet

From Denny: Nigella Lawson, the cooking beauty from Britain who is also hilarious, has a new holiday season cookbook called "Nigella Christmas." I always enjoy her and you will too! Take a look and recipes are below:

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Chocolate Chip Chili

From: Nigella Lawson

Serves: 12

INGREDIENTS

• 10 (or 5 linked pairs) chorizo sausages (not the salami sort), approx 1 1/4 lbs.
• 3 1/4 lb boneless beef shank, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 3 onions (about 1 lb), peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 fresh long red chile, seeded
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• seeds from 3 cardamom pods
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup tomato ketchup
• 4 x 15oz cans red kidney beans, drained
• 3 x 14oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup water (swished out in one of the diced tomato cans)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Finely chop, or process the onion, garlic and chile.

3. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan (with a lid) or cast-iron or enameled Dutch oven and fry the onion, garlic and chile until soft, on low for about 10 minutes, then add the cardamom seeds, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and red pepper flakes.

4. Stir the oniony spiced mixture together and then add the chorizo, sliced into 1/4-inch coins, letting them ooze their paprika-orange oil.

5. Drop in the cubes of beed, turning them int he pan with the chorizo and onion mix, to brown the meat.

6. Stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, drained kidney beans and diced tomatoes. Add the water and bring the chili to a boil.

7. Once bubbling, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the chili and give it a good stir. Put on the lid and transfer to the oven.

7. Cook at this low heat for 3 hours. Once cooked it is best left overnight to improve the flavor.



I love the accurate names she gives her recipes... :)

Girdlebuster Pie

From: Nigella Lawson

INGREDIENTS

For the base

• 1 x 14oz box graham crackers
• 3/4 stick (6 TSB) soft butter
• 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped or chips

For the ice cream filling

• 1 quart coffee ice cream

For the topping

• 1 cup golden syrup, such as Lyle
• 1/2 cup packed soft light brown sugar
• 3/4 stick (6 TSB) butter
• pinch of table salt (optional)
• 2 TSB bourbon
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Process the graham crackers with the butter and chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump.

2. Press into a 9-inch pie plate or flan dish. Form a lip of cracker crumbs a little higher than the plate or dish if you can. This process takes patience as you need ideally to form a smooth even layer. Sorry.

3. Freeze this crumb-lined layer for about an hour so it gets really hard. In the meantime, let your ice cream soften, just enough to be scooped. in the refrigerator

4. Spread the ice cream into the hard-crumb-lined dish to form a layer. Then cover in plastic wrap and replace in the freezer.

5. Put the syrup, sugar, salt (if using) and butter into a saucepan and let it melt over a low to medium heat, before turning it up and boiling for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan.

6. Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce, then leave to cool. And once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back in the freezer. Once frozen, cover with plastic wrap again.

7. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer, take the whole pie out of its dish and cut into slices. Should you have any pie left over, slip it quickly back into the dish and return, covered with plastic wrap, to the freezer.

*** Thanks for visiting and have fun cooking!

Recipe: Nigella Lawson Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

Nigella Lawson Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake Recipe #303266
From the chocolate cake chapter in her book 'Feast'. This is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever made. I sometimes add the juice and zest of half a lemon to the batter.
by Flowerfairy
3¼ hours | 2½ hours prep

SERVES 12 , 1 cake

2 small thin-skinned oranges, approx. 375g total weight (or 1 large)

6 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200 g ground almonds

250 g caster sugar

50 g cocoa

orange peel, for decoration

Put the whole orange or oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours or until soft.

Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any big pips.

Then pulp everything - pith, peel and all - in a food processor.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C Butter and line a 20cm springform tin.

Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the orange in the food processor. Run the motor until you have a cohesive cake mixture, but slightly knobbly with the flecks of puréed orange.

Pour and scrape into the cake tin and bake for an hour, by which time a cake tester should come out pretty well clean. Check after 45minutes because you may have to cover with foil to prevent the cake burning before it is cooked through, or indeed it may need a little less than an hour; it all depends on your oven.

Leave the cake to get cool in the tin, on a cooling rack. When the cake is cold you can take it out of the tin. Decorate with strips of orange peel or coarsely grated zest if you so wish, but it is darkly beautiful in its plain, unadorned state.

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