If there is one time of the year that you are allowed to have sugar its Christmas. I like to make things that you should only eat in moderation, at this time of the year. This week I have been making homemade sweets and preserves to give away as gifts. I have been using the Handmade Gifts from the Kitchen by Alison Walker this year. The book has all the things I like to make in the same place. I have had mostly successes but one failure which is bugging the hell out of me….
My Successes
Hokey Pokey – this is chocolate dipped honeycomb. It’s lovely and crunchy finished with some dark chocolate so it’s not too sweet.
Peanut Brittle – in my opinion there aren’t enough peanuts in the recipe so I added a few more. It has the desired salty and sweet flavour, but you can’t eat too much before you have to make a trip to the dentist!
Peanut Butter Fudge – Mark’s new fave! If I want to give this away I have to be quick! Lovely creamy peanut taste. Very moreish. Will definitely have to make some more of this before Christmas.
Coffee and Cardamon Fudge – lovely combination, uses a tin of condensed milk. Has a different texture to the peanut butter fudge and more of a grown up taste.
Fruits of the Forest Conserve – I used frozen redcurrant and blackberries from the freezer which needed using up. Lovely colour in a the jar. Taste good too. I would add a dollop to gravy.
Tiffin – a nutty, biscuit chocolate ‘cake’. Crikey it’s rich. You won’t be able to eat much. It’s easy to make and looks lovely wrapped individually in cellophane.
Smoky Nuts – we needed something savoury to try! I used a mixture of what I had in the cupboard -brazils and peanuts and cashews. I won’t use the peanuts again but have bought some macadamias to try next week.
Redcurrant Gin – this is still ‘cooking’. It’s going to be a lovely colour and a present for the person who is cooking my Christmas dinner! I am planning to decant it into a lovely bottle next week.
The Failure
Honey and Almond Nougat
I am doing something wrong but have followed the recipe to the latter. I had to buy a new sugar thermometer so I know that I am cooking it at the right temperature. However, the consistency, colour and taste are wrong. I have had to throw away two lots now and that’s what bugs me. What a waste! I won’t be doing it again.
So next week I have a few more things to try and will let you know how I do.
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