Mince Pies with Cinnamon and Orange Pastry

I hadn't made mince pies since I was a little girl, but thought these were lovely with the extra flavour in the pastry.
YOU WILL NEED (for about 16)
225g plain flour
4 tablespoons icing sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
150g butter, softened
2 tablespoons orange zest
4 tablespoons ice water
200g mincemeat
1 egg, beaten
icing sugar for dusting
METHOD
1.
Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6.
2.
Sift together the flour, icing sugar and cinnamon. Mix in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the orange zest. Sprinkle with ice water, and gather the dough into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 5cm thick. Cut out approximately 16 (7cm) diameter circles, and 16 (5cm) circles, rerolling dough as needed.
3.
Line cake trays using the larger pastry circles. Fill each pastry shell with about one tablespoon of mincemeat. Top with smaller pastry circles, pinching the pastry together to seal the edges. Brush the top of each pie with egg.
4.
Bake pies in preheated oven until tops are golden brown, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool slightly on wire racks. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Spiced Cider

This is a great winter warming recipe. It can be cooked up for bonfire night, Christmas, or similar occassions.









YOU WILL NEED
1 ¼ litre apple cider, non-alcoholic
2 sticks of cinnamon
6 green cardamom pods, crushed
1 pinch allspice (pimento)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 dash fresh lemon juice
METHOD
1.
Heat ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2.
Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes to allow the spices to infuse their flavour.
3.
Strain and serve warm.
4.
Cider can be kept warm over low heat.

Eggnog

INGREDIENTS TO SERVE SIX
½ litre milk
3 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 egg yolks
150g caster sugar
300ml light rum
½ litre single cream
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
METHOD
1.
Mix together the milk, cloves, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and cinnamon in a saucepan. Heat at the lowest setting for 5 minutes, then slowly bring to the boil.
2.
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture bit by bit into the eggs. Pour the mixture into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Remove the cloves, then allow to cool for about an hour.
3.
Stir in the rum, cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.
Also, I will be adding a recipe for eggnog cream to be poured over our orange ginger-bread.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

In this recipe I've seperated the main ingredients from the spices, as the spice ingredients can be added to a bought jar of cranberry sauce. Cheating?? Noooooooo, Christmas can be stressful, and although a homemade cranberry sauce is delicious, I wont tell!! The cranberry sauce can be prepared up to a week in advance though, as long as you keep it refrigerated (it will last longer if you are very careful to use sterilised jars and preserving discs).
YOU WILL NEED
main ingredients
340g fresh cranberries
200g sugar
235 ml water
2 1/4 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
and the spices
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
METHOD
Bring all the main ingredients to boil in heavy saucepan, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until most of cranberries burst, stirring occasionally, this will take about 10 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium bowl and add the spices. Allow to cool then cover and refrigerate till required.

Spiced Lemon Pickles

Preserved lemons can be sliced, chopped or minced to be used in dishes. They are used alot in Moroccan dishes such as tagines and also go well with chicken, seafood, olives and rice.
YOU WILL NEED
9 large lemons
450g sugar
1/8 tsp salt
60 ml water
240 ml cider vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp whole allspice
1 small piece of fresh ginger (1 inch)
4 or 5 whole cloves
6 sterilised jars
METHOD
1.
Wash the lemons well then dry. Cut them into quarters crossways.
2.
Mix the sugar, salt, water and vinegar together in a saucepan. Tie the spices in muslin or a cheesecloth and add to the liquid mixture and boil for 5 minutes.
3.
Place the lemon quarters into the boiling syrup and boil once more for 1 minute. Discard the spice bag. Pack the lemons into the jars, then cover with the hot liquid and seal immediately.

Make Pumpkin Scones

I originally put this on the halloween page, but as I'll be taking that page down, thought I'd put some of the pumpkin recipes up here, as they are still in season. This is a really nice, simple recipe.
INGREDIENTS
50g/ 2oz pumpkin puree (make in the same way as other recipes)
1 egg
2 egg yolks
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
50g/2oz self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50ml condensed milk
METHOD–
The oven needs to be set at gas 6/200 C/400 F. – Grease a baking sheet and heat in the oven, whilst doing this blend all the ingredients together in a food processor. – Place spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheet and gently push flat. – Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, till they rise and turn golden.

Order Cinnamon & Cassia

Cinnamon is a fragrant and versatile spice, that can be utilised in a variety of sweet (and some savoury) dishes, like bread pudding, rice pudding, porridge, hot chocolate, biscuits and cakes. It also compliments most fruits, so it is great with fruit cakes such as banana bread (with bits of milk choc...mmmm) or carrot cake. It is the main ingredient in our pudding spice. Try cinnamon toast, just slightly butter warm lightly toasted bread, sprinkle cinnamon & sugar to taste, and toast for approximately 20 seconds more. My eldest son makes warm milk with a couple of pinches of cinnamon and honey to sweeten, he drinks it by itself, but it would also be lovely over corn flakes, or other cereal.


Cinnamon Quills, refill, 25g. £1.25

Cinnamon Powder, refill, 35g. 65p

Cinnamon Powder, spice tin, 35g. £1.45

Cassia is similar to cinnamon but with a more penetrating, pungent flavour. Due to this it compliments stronger flavours as it will not so easily be overpowered and savoury dishes as it has a more bitter flavour. You can mix the two spices 50/50 for the best of both worlds. Some cassia is packaged as Chinese Cinnamon, which is misleading, as cinnamon is generally more expensive, and ignores that cassia has its own characteristics and is not just cinnamon's cheaper substitute.


Cassia Powder, refill, 35g. 60p

Cassia Powder, spice tin, 35g. £1.40

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