BLOGMAS: DAY 7 - Handmade Christmas Favourites

I don't tend to make things at all if I'm honest, less face it it's probably less effort to buy something for yourself or for others! My Mum usually makes a Christmas cake and has made mince pies but my favourite has to be her sausage rolls which are so nice warmed through with cheese and some herbs!

Anyway, last year my boyfriend and I made a gingerbread house, some glow jars and chocolate mice so I think we did pretty well considering neither of us tend to make things! I really loved the glow jars because I'd seen them on tumblr and what not and really wanted to do them! I'm probably going to do them again this year too haha!

Abi :)

Two Ways to Make a Gingerbread House!

It's the run up to Christmas which can mean: Christmas shopping, writing cards, finding an advent calendar and doing some festive baking! I have only ever made two gingerbread houses but I made them differently each time, here they are:

The first way is a bit of a cheats/beginners way (it was my first ever one) where you buy a kit which has all the bits made for you - although this was more of a gingerbread cake than a biscuit - and you glue the pieces together with royal icing which is either provided or you can easily make it HERE's a recipe for it. And for anyone interested, HERE's a link to the kit I got as an early Christmas present one year.

The second way is doing everything BY HAND. I did this last year and I'll warn you in advance IT DID TRY MY PATIENCE so just keep at it and you will get there in the end. For this you will need: gingerbread house cutters HERE's some and a recipe for gingerbread like THIS one. The main ingredients for the gingerbread are: 250g unsalted butter, 200g dark muscovado sugar, 7tbsp golden syrup, 600g plain flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 4tsp ground ginger.Once you've melted the butter, sugar and syrup together mix the other ingredients in to make the dough, then roll out and use the cutters to cut your required shapes and bake for about 12 minutes on a preheated oven at about 200C. Once cool, make some royal icing (icing sugar and egg whites) to glue the pieces together to make the house and also to add any decorations on like chocolate buttons, fruit pastilles or smarties.

Hope you enjoyed this festive post!

Abi :)