Christmas is for most spent gathered around the dinner table, sharing stories, playing games and making fun of that one family member that seems to be the target every other Christmas! Food is often at the centrepiece of a social gathering and Christmas is certainly no different. So, in the spirit of Christmas we thought we would share, from our family to yours, our favourite Christmas recipes from all over the world. Enjoy!

Arretjescake (The Netherlands)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

200g White soft sugar or Dark brown sugar

50g cacao powder

200g unsalted butter

200g Marie Biscuits

50g Dark chocolate (to sprinkle)

 Preparation:

1. Put the eggs with the sugar in a bowl and mix lightlywith a hand mixer for 3 min. Add the cocoa, spoon by spoon. Meanwhile, melt thebutter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the butter to the cocoa mixture whilestirring. Keep stirring until the mixture is even.

 2. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag or a clean tea towel.Crumble them by rolling them over with a rolling pin. The crumbs should notbecome too fine, approx. 1½ -2 cm. Mix the crumbs into the cocoa mixture. Placea piece of baking paper in the cake tin and spoon the mixture into it. Smoothand sprinkle with the dark chocolate. Leave to set in the fridge for about 2,5hours, covered with fresh foil.

 Tip:

The use of raw eggs is not recommended for vulnerable groups, such as children up to the age of five, the elderly with reduced resistance, the sick and pregnant women. This recipe is not suitable for these groups.

 Storage tip:

You can keep the cake covered in the fridge for a maximum of2 days.

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Healthier Ginger Bread Cookies (Australia)

Ingredients

Cookies

·      3 cups (310 grams) whole wheat Self-raising flour, plus more for work surface

·      2 teaspoons ground ginger

·      2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·      ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

·      ½ teaspoon ground cloves

·      ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper

·      ½ teaspoon baking soda

·      ¼ teaspoon baking powder

·      ½ cup melted coconut oil

·      ½ cup unsulphured molasses (use regular molasses for lighter, somewhat spicy cookies or blackstrap molasses for very spicy, intensely flavored cookies—or a mixture of both)

·      ½ cup packed coconut sugar

·      1 large egg

·      Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Lemon icing (optional)

·      ½ cup powdered sugar (here’s how to make your own)

·      ¼ teaspoon lemon zest (optional, for intense lemon flavor)

·      2 ¼ teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

1.      In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, pepper, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk until blended.

2.     In a small mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and molasses and whisk until combined. Add the coconut sugar and whisk until blended. (If the sugar is gloppy and won’t incorporate into the mixture, warm the mixture for about 20 seconds in the microwave or over low heat on the stove, just until you can whisk it all together.) Add the egg and whisk until the mixture is thoroughly blended.

3.     Pour the liquid mixture into the dry and mix just until combined. (If it seems like you don’t have enough liquid, just keep mixing!) Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a round disc about 1inch thick and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place both discs in the refrigerator and chill until cold—about 1 hour, or up to overnight.

4.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour your working surface and roll out one of your discs out until it’s ¼ inch thick. If the dough is very hard or crumbly, just roll it as best you can and then let it rest for a few minutes to warm up. Repeat until you’ve successfully rolled the dough to ¼ inch thickness.

5.     Use cookie cutters to cut out cookie shapes and place each cookie on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about ½ inch of space around each one (this dough just barely expands during baking). Combine your dough scraps into a ball and roll them out again, repeating until you have used up all of your dough. Repeat with remaining disc. (If you’d like to decorate the cookies with granulated sugar like turbinado or extra coconut sugar, sprinkle it onto the cookies now.)

6.     Place baking sheets in the oven, one on the middle rack and one on the upper. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes; for softer cookies, pull them out around 8 minutes and for more crisp cookies, bake for up to 11minutes. The cookies will further crisp as they cool. Place the baking sheets on cooling racks to cool.

7.     To make the icing, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, optional lemon zest and the lemon juice. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Transfer the icing into a small Ziploc bag, squeeze out any excess air and seal the bag. Cut off a tiny piece of one of the lower corners and squeeze icing through the hole to decorate the cookies as desired. The frosting will harden eventually, but it won’t ever be as indestructible as royal icing.

8.     If you’d like to sift powdered sugar over the cookies, do it now. Wait until the icing has firmed up (about 1 hour) before carefully stacking the cookies in a storage container. Cookies will keep for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Potato Salad with Sour Cream, Chives and Panchetta (The UK)

Ingredients

• 1 kg new potatoes , scrubbed
• 100 g higher-welfare smoked pancetta or bacon
• 1 handful stale breadcrumbs
• 125 ml soured cream
• 125 ml fat-free natural yoghurt
• 1 bunch fresh chives , snipped

Method

1.    Boil the potatoes gently in salted water until tender, then drain well. Leave them to cool slightly.

2.     Fry the pancetta or bacon until crisp, break up, then set aside. Fry the breadcrumbs in the pancetta or bacon fat until crisp.

3.     Slice the potatoes in half and dress with the soured cream, yoghurt, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fold in the pancetta and most of the bread crumbs and scatter the top with the chives and remaining breadcrumbs before serving.

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