Christmas is drawing ever closer. In our house the tree is already decorated and that means it’s time to get into the spirit with some Christmas snacks. Gingerbread is a hit and feels a bit special for Christmas. Plus while you’re cooking it, it makes the house smell amazing—sweet and spicy at the same time.

Gingerbread is so easy to make and has a really lovely flavour—there’s something warm and homely about it. I’ve been making gingerbread cookies since I was a teenager and still love to serve them around Christmas. Once upon I time I would always decorate the gingerbread with icing, and if you have kids, they get hours of enjoyment it—decorating gingerbread Christmas trees, snowmen, stars and people with coloured icing and showing off their creations.

These days I prefer the plain gingerbread. Instead of all that sweet icing, I add a spicy flavour to mixture with extra cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves…surely the essence of Christmas.

You’ll need:

125g softened unsalted butter
⅓ cup soft brown sugar
¼ cup golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups plain flour
¼ cup self-raising flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate soda

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cream butter, sugar and golden syrup until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a knife until the mixture just combines. Mix with your hands till the dough comes together. Place on a floured surface and knead for 1–2 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Refrigerate for 15 minutes so the dough firms up. Place the flattened dough on the bench and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place the shapes on lined baking trays and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Take the trays out of the oven, allowing the gingerbread to cool completely on the trays before trying to move them.

Icing (optional)

1 egg white
½ tsp lemon juice
1¼ cups icing sugar
Food colouring

Beat the egg white until it’s foamy then gradually add the lemon juice and icing sugar. Beat until thick and creamy. Divide the icing mixture between a number of small bowls (depending on how many colours you want to use) and use your choice of food colourings to tint the mixture. Spoon the mixture into piping bags and decorate the gingerbread. For a more traditional look, you can use plain white icing for your decorative flourishes.

With 25^th of April rapidly approaching, it seemed fitting to bake some ANZAC biscuits.

These delicious biscuits came about during the World War One when Australian women were concerned about the nutrition of their men on the battlefield. They needed to find something with maximum nutritional value that would survive a two-month sea voyage without spoiling. The resulting recipe was originally referred to as “soldier’s biscuits” but after the landing at Gallipoli, they became known as ANZAC biscuits.

The basic ingredients remain unchanged, even now. And it’s so easy to whip up a batch. You don’t even need a mixer, just a large bowl and a wooden spoon. ANZAC biscuits are definitely well-liked in our household.

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
⅔ cup caster sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
125g unsalted or reduced-salt butter
¼ cup golden syrup
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbs boiling water

Combine the flour, sugar, oats and coconut in a large mixing bowl. When thoroughly mixed, make a well in the centre.

In a small saucepan, add the butter and golden syrup and stir on a low heat until the mixture is smooth. Turn the heat off. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the boiling water and to the golden syrup. This mixture will foam up so stir it to combine. Pour the syrup into dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Grab portions of the mixture and roll into balls (around the size of a golf ball). Place these on a greased baking tray, allowing room for the biscuits to spread, and flatten them out. Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown—15 minutes if you like your ANZAC biscuits a little soft in the middle, or 20 minutes for crunchy ones.