DAY EIGHT
It’s day eight of Brig’s 2020 Food Advent Calendar. Today I’m going to show you how to make edible trees decorations.
These quick and easy decorations prove that food and a tree doesn’t have to look cheap. They are also perfect for making on a time crunch. Feel free to buy different kinds of decorations or sweets and really get creative with it. Let your imagination run away with these edible Christmas decorations.
Rice Krispy baubles
Ingredients needed:
- 100g of white chocolate
- 2 Rice Krispy Squares
- 1 bag Jelly Tots (or sweets of your choice)
You will need:
- Ribbon (to hang to the tree)
Method
Step 1: Melt chocolate in a Bain Marie (a fancy way of saying a glass bowl over some hot water), but if you’re in a hurry, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave in bursts, stirring in between so it doesn’t burn.
Step 2: Cut the Krispie Squares in half then shape into balls, these should be firm so they can hold shape on the tree.
Step 3: Coat one ball at a time in the cooled melted chocolate then place on a tray with greaseproof paper underneath so they don’t stick. Gently place the sweets of choice (for me it’s Jelly tots) onto the white chocolate, pressing down to ensure they stick but don’t put any sweets on the bottom.
Step 4: Once all the balls are all coated, place in the fridge to set for an hour, maybe more if you want to be sure.
Step 5: When the balls are set, you can then take them out the fridge and turn over, so the sweet-free base is face up.
Step 6: Cut a length of ribbon. I just used some for my present this year and put both ends on the base and cover with a thick layer of the melted chocolate to stick to the ball. Leave to set in the fridge Then hey presto, sweetie baubles hang on the tree.
Cheesy festive wreaths
These buttery and cheesy pastry wreath decorations are perfect to put on a tree this year. They’re straightforward to make using only cheese, ready-to-roll puff pastry and a little bit of egg to glaze. You can even add festive spices or different types of cheese to really take to the next level.
- 1x pack of ready-to-roll puff pastry
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 100g Cheddar cheese or Parmesan
Step 1: Preheat the oven 180°C/160 fan/Gas mark 4. Dust the surface with a bit of flour, breaking off 2 golf ball size pieces. Now take one ball and push some of the cheese in, folding over the dough and needing every now and then, rolling them into a thin sausage shape.
Step 2: Make sure both of the pastry rolls are the same length.
Step 3: Place one of the rolls on top of the other at one end and press down, like a braiding motion but with only two strands. Secure the pastry together with a bit of mixed egg-wash.
Step 4: Wrap the two sausage shapes around each other. I found another pair of hands to be useful here to hold down the dough.
Step 5: Bring the bottom of the “sausage” shape around to meet the top and press down together, securing with egg mixture.
Step 6: Make sure to egg wash all over the pastry – as not to burn them – and give them a nice golden colour. Pop the wreaths onto a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins until golden brown.
Step 7: Take out of the oven and leave to cool before popping them onto your tree. If you want you can also make shapes from the pastry and decoration with glitter or icon to make a sweet version by swapping cheese for cinnamon.
Rudolph shortbread
This Scottish shortbread recipe is delicious and straightforward, this recipe is perfect and is the Christmas must-have with only four ingredients, this couldn’t be easier.
- 350g plain flour
- 125g caster sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 250g butter
You will also need:
- Sugar, for dusting
- 2 round sandwich tins, buttered and base-lined
Step 1: Set the oven to 160°C/140 fan/Gas mark 3. Put the sugar, flour and salt into a bowl. Then cube the butter and add to the bowl. Make the mix into a firm ball.
Step 2: Divide the mix into two and put a portion in each tin, pressing it evenly into the base and use a fork to prick over the surface.
Step 3: Put the tins in the oven and bake for about 30/40 mins.
Step 4: Remove the shortbread from the tins and cut into triangles, then transfer them to a rack to cool. Once cool, ice with red and white circles with putting a piece of chocolate pretzel, so the corners of the shortbread to simulate antlers —dust with caster sugar before serving.
Bonus treat!!!
For these hot chocolate baubles, I found these cute fillable stars in Hobbycraft and filled them with hot chocolate powder, mini marshmallows and mini meringue bits. So they’re ready to be put into a mug of hot milk on Christmas morning.
Feature image credit: HobbyCraft
