Christmas baking

'Tis the season to be jolly. 'Tis the time of giving. These are a few ideas to put in your Christmas gift boxes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
adapted from Fine Cooking Winter 2005
makes 75 to 85 7cm to 7.5cm cookies

Ingredients
1 cup of whole hazelnut, toasted
1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
100g of semisweet chocolate, broken up or coarsely chopped
2/3 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 

Method

1. In a food processor, process the hazelnuts and espresso powder until they're ground to the consistency of a nut butter, 2 - 3 minutes 
2. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or on the stove. Set aside to cool until warm. 
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and hazelnut mixture with a hand-held mixer on medium speed until very well blended and fluffy (around 1 1/2 - 2 minutes) 
4. Add the egg, vanilla and salt. Beat until completely blended and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes.  
5. On low speed, mix in half of the flour and then the melted chocolate just until evenly incorporated. 
6. Mix or stir in by hand the remaining flour until evenly incorporated. 
7. Set aside for 10 minutes until the dough firms up slightly. 
8. Cut the dough into thirds.
9.  Set each third between sheets of parchment and roll out each portion to 3mm thick. 
10. Stack the rolled pieces on a tray and refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes or several hours in the fridge (20 minutes in the freezer). 
11. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 180C. 
12. Butter baking tray. 
13. Working with one dough at a time, cut out the cookies according to desired shape.
14.  Transfer to the tray and bake for 7 to 10 minutes until they feel dry and almost firm when pressed in the center.
15.  Let cook on the tray for 3-4 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool completely. 
16. To serve, you can either dust with icing sugar or glaze with chocolate. To make chocolate glaze, freeze the cookies for 20 minutes beforehand. Then melt 8oz of bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 tbsp of flavourless oil. Working with just the number of cookies that can fit into your baking tray, dip each cookie and leave to cool in the fridge until set.

Almond Biscotti
adapted from Baking: from my home to yours

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
113g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

3/4 cup sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

Method

1. Center a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the cornmeal and whisk again to blend. 
3. With a hand-held/stand up mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. 
4. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy. 
5. Beat in the almond extract 
6. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. 
7. You'll have a soft stick-to-your fingers dough that will ball up around the beaters. Toss in the almond and mix just to blend. 
8. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet and work the dough into a log about 30cm x 4cm. 
9. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch. 
10. Transfer baking tray to a rack and cool for 30 minutes. 
11. Bring oven back to 180C. 
12. Transfer logs to a cutting board and cut the logs into 2cm thick slices. 
13. Return the slices to the baking tray and, this time standing them up, bake them in the oven for another 15 minutes or until they are golden and firm. 
14. Transfer to racks and cool to room temperature.

Gingerbread Men
adapted from Donna Hay Magazine issue 48
 

Ingredients
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
2 1/2 cup (375h) plain flour, sifted
2 tsp ground ginger, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
125g butter, cold and chopped
2/3 cup (230g) golden syrup

Method 

1. Place the sugar, flour, ginger and baking soda in a bowl and mix to combine. This is the gingerbread mix.
2. Place the gingerbread mix, butter and golden syrup in the bowl of a food processor and process until a smooth dough forms.(Alternatively, beat the butter and syrup until combine and on low speed mix in the dry ingredients until a smooth dough forms) 
3. Divide the dough into two pieces and between sheets of baking paper, roll to a thickness of 3mm. 
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
5. 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment. 
6. Using the gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut shapes from the dough and place on the baking tray. 
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden. 
8. Allow to cool on trays 
9. I used edible white gel to draw buttons. Otherwise, combine and stir 80g of sifted icing sugar and 2 tsp of hot water until smooth to make your own icing. Place in a piping bag with a small nozzle to pipe the buttons.