The FastDay Forum

I was looking for something to give to my nanny (yes I still have my nanny from when I was a little girl), my neighbours and the staff from where my mum lives, to thank them for all they do to help me and here was the best idea I found, making sweets and others edible gifts.

So, here's the list I am thinking about

Tea
chocolate bark
fudge
chocolate trifles
christmas biscuits

What do you think ?

[Tracieknits]

Those are all great ideas.

These spiced nuts are always a huge hit with people. I usually just buy regular mixed nuts that are already salted and roasted. So I never add the salt in this recipe, just the spices, egg white and sugar. I have made them with 1/2 of the amount of sugar and they're still great. http://www.marthastewart.com/349611/spiced-nuts


Ingredients

1 large egg white
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 3/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups pecan halves, or assorted nuts, such as cashews, walnuts, or almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg white until soft and foamy. Combine all remaining ingredients except pecans; whisk into egg white. Stir in pecans until well coated; spread mixture in single layer onto an ungreased baking pan.

Bake pecans for 15 minutes, then remove from oven. Using a metal spatula, toss, stir, and separate nuts. Reduce oven to 250 degrees and return nuts to bake until medium brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven; toss, and stir again. Place baking pan on wire rack to cool (they will crisp as they cool). Break up any that stick together.


These are usually the most popular cookies I make:
http://www.marthastewart.com/281209/cho ... le-cookies


Ingredients

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop bittersweet chocolate into small bits, and melt over medium heat in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and light-brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

On a clean countertop, roll each portion of dough into a log approximately 16 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, using confectioners’ sugar to prevent sticking. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and transfer to a baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut each log into 1-inch pieces, and toss in confectioners’ sugar, a few at a time. Using your hands, roll the pieces into a ball shape. If any of the cocoa-colored dough is visible, roll dough in confectioners’ sugar again to coat completely. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar splits, 12 to15 minutes.

Transfer from oven to a wire rack to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

The spiced nuts looks just wonderful, @Tracieknits, thanks for the recipe. I had no idea that there was some egg whites in them. I wonder if I could do an almonds pistachio mix....

I am making some traditional swiss christmas cookies my Godmother used to make when I was a child. They are "Milanais" and "Bruns de Bâle".

Milanais

Ingredients for approximately 80 cookies (depending on the size of a single cookie)

250 g (9 ounces) butter or margarine
225 g (8 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 lemon
500 g (18 ounces) flour
1 yellow of an egg
Preparation:

Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth.
Add sugar, salt and 3 eggs, stir until ingredients are evenly distributed.
Grind the skin of the lemon and add to the mixture of the previous step.
Add flour, knead to a soft dough.
Cover the dough and let rest for about 2 hours in a cool place.
Cut dough in parts and roll out on a flat, with flour covered surface, approximately 5 mm (0.2 inches) thick. Put out different shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
Let cool for about 15 minutes.
Before baking, sweep with the yellow of an egg.
Bake for about 10 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 200 °C (400 °F).
Let cool completely before serving.

https://www.bettybossi.ch/fr/Rezept/ShowRezept/BB_BKXX060801_0368A-40-fr

Bruns de Bâle

Ingredients for approximately 50 cookies (depending on the size of a single cookie):

150 g (5 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
250 g (9 ounces) grind almonds
¼ tea spoon cinnamon
1 pinch of clove powder
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of flour
2 fresh white of egg (about 70 g (2.5 ounces))
100 g (3.5 ounces) bitter chocolate
2 tea spoons of kirsch
Preparation:

Mix sugar, salt, almonds, cinnamon, clove powder, cocoa powder and flour in a bowl.
Add white of egg and stir until ingredients are evenly distributed.
Cut chocolate in real small pieces, pour hot water over the chocolate, let rest for about 5 minutes, then pour off all water except about half a tablespoon, stir until even. Now immediately proceed with the next step.
Add melted chocolate from the previous step and the kirsch, knead to a soft dough.
Roll out dough on a flat surface (it may be slightly covered with sugar), approximately 10 mm (0.4 inches) thick. Put out different shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
Let them rest for about 5 to 6 hours or over night in a dry place.
Bake for about 4 to 6 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 250 °C (480 °F).
Let cool completely before serving.

@https://www.bettybossi.ch/fr/Rezept/ShowRezept/BB_BBZJ061015_0020A-40-fr

I made some cute top hat last night - a marshmallow half dipped in dark chocolate with a smartie or with some crushed candy canes on top - and some marzipan bites and they were a hit. I must admit, I love to do that kind of sweet, they are so good and so less expensive than the box of chocolate that costs around 10€ ! I plan to make some bretzels diped in white chocolate and some honeycomb today

To change from all that chocolate, I also made a granola with that recipe as a base

http://www.netmums.com/family-food/fami ... as-granola

I added some chopped dried figs and dates, they are so chrismassy