With Santa and his elves having toiled and heaved through chimneys all night long, it's time to say 'thank you' to all in that festive spirit. Kanika Sharma gets Pooja Dhingra, owner and chef of city patisserie, Le15 to create recipes that you can hang on your X'mas trees, and eat them too!
Butter Cookies — Hearts, Trees and Stars
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Ingredients
(For 30 cookies)
. 200g butter
. 125g castor sugar
. 1tsp vanilla essence
. 250g flour
Method
. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, castor sugar and vanilla essence till soft and fluffy.
. Fold in the flour with a spatula.
. Take a piece of cling film and wrap the dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
. Preheat the oven to 165ºC and line your baking tray with butter/parchment paper.
. Roll the dough out and use cookie cutters to get the shape you desire, make sure to make a tiny hole at the top of the cookie to put the ribbon through.
. Bake for 15 minutes or till the edges start browning.
. Once cool, take a thin ribbon and pass it through the hole. Now gently hang it on your tree.
For Decoration:
. Use your favourite jam or roll out some marzipan to cover the cookies.
Pooja Dhingra, chef and owner of Le15 Patisserie poses with the edible Christmas tree decorations. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi.
Marzipan Gift Boxes
Ingredients
. 100g cashew nut powder
. 150g icing sugar
. 1 and a half egg white
. 1-2 drops almond essence
Method
. Sift together the cashew nut powder and icing sugar into a large bowl so that there are no lumps.
. Add in the egg whites and mix / beat together till a dough is formed.
. Lastly, add in the almond essence and knead well.
. Add in your desired colour and shape them into different Christmas baubles, gifts, candy cane and use to decorate your tree.
Candy Cane and Wreath Meringues
Ingredients
. 120g egg whites
. 160g castor sugar
. A pinch of salt
Method
. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites.
. Once they start to froth, gradually add the castor sugar and salt.
. Keep whisking till stiff peaks are formed.
. Use a piping bag with a star nozzle size 6 or 8 and pipe the meringues on to a lined baking tray in the shape of a wreath.
. Bake at 135ºC for 30 minutes and then leave it on the tray to cool.
. Pass a ribbon or string through the meringue wreaths and hang them on the tree.
For Decoration:
. Take strawberry jam or red food colour (diluted into water) and stripe the canes after they have cooled.
Note: The decorations will last for three to four days
To learn more, log on to www.le15.co.in
Pick Your Goodies, Lazies!
If all preparations are still hinging on the last minute, or maybe if you are too apprehensive getting your hands flour-dusted, pick these adorable snowmen and snowflakes cookies that can double up as tree hangings.
At: Tart Bakery, 33rd Road, Pali Village, Khar(W); other stores are at Napean Sea Road and Nariman Point.
Call: 65285017 / 65284457
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