European Christmas treats

KOURAMBIEDES

They’re like biscuits with powdered sugar.

It’s one of the most popular Christmas treat in Greece

Ingredients

• 300 gr. butter

• 110 gr. powdered sugar

• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 600 gr. all-purpose flour

• 120 gr almonds (chopped and roasted)

• powered sugar for dusting

Beat the butter with the sugar for 20 minutes.

Add the flour, the baking powder and the vanilla and beat 10 minutes more.

Add the almonds and mix. Make little balls. Bake for 20 or 30 minutes at 170C.

When they get cold, dust powdered sugar.

Ginger biscuit from Sweeden

Ingredients

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 tablespoon baking soda

2/3 cup butter

1 egg

3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions

Place butter in a large, heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat brown sugar, molasses and spices just to boiling point. Add baking soda and stir in. Pour this mixture over the butter and stir until it melts.

Beat egg and mix in; add flour, a cup at a time, and blend thoroughly. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 1-2 minutes. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).

Roll out to approximately 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board and cut into desired shapes. Place on greased baking sheets and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.

Remove from sheets and cool on racks; may be decorated with piped icing or whatever else you like!

Česnica –

it is a traditional round berad from Serbia

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs

• 1 package of yeast

• 1/2 l milk

• 1 kg flour

• salt

• gold or silver coin

• bean

• hawthorn twig

• dogwood twig

Preparation

1. Mix yeast with a little warm milk. Add a beaten egg. Add salt and stir gradually adding flour and top up the remaining warm milk to obtain a smooth.

2. After the dough is mixed thoroughly, cover it with a clean cloth and leave it to rise. As soon as you notice that it is beginning to rise, put it on the kneading board and gently knead. Česnica dough shald not rise completely.

3. From Česnica into a loaf and put a coin, bean, hawthorn twing and dogwood twing inside.

4. Put Česnica in a greased baking pan.

Christmas pudding from United Kingdom

Ingredients:

1 cup raisins

1 cup sultanas

1 cup  flour

1 cup finely grated butter

 (about 115g/4oz)

1 cup fresh brown breadcrumbs (from around 4 thick slices of bread)

1 cup light muscovado sugar

1 cup mixed nuts, chopped plus extra to decorate

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground mixed spice

1 cup milk

1 large egg

butter

, for greasing

For the butterscotch sauce

85g butter

100g light muscovado sugar

200ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. For the pudding, empty the first six cups and the nuts, if using, into a mixing bowl with the spices, then stir in the milk and egg. Once well combined, tip into a buttered 1.5 litre pudding bowl.

2. Cover with a double layer of buttered foil, making a pleat in the centre to allow the pudding to rise. Tie the foil securely with string, then place in a steamer or large pan containing enough gently simmering water to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Steam, covered with a lid, for 21⁄2 hours. Check the water level during cooking, topping up if necessary. If you are preparing this pudding ahead, remove the foil, let it cool slightly, then wrap in cling film and then fresh foil. If you are serving it immediately, unwrap and invert onto a deep plate.

3. For the sauce, put everything in a pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring. Allow to bubble away for 2-3 minutes, still stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce is pale caramel in colour and slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Pour the sauce over the pudding and decorate with the whole mixed nuts.

Potica from Slovenia

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup milk, lukewarm

1 cup butter, softened

6 egg yolks

1 1/3 cups milk

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup honey

1 1/2 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Add all ingredients to lis

Preparation:

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 3 tablespoons of the flour in warm milk. Mix well, and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter with the remaining sugar. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yeast mixture, remaining milk, 4 cups of flour and the salt; mix well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease one or two cookie sheets. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll Out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread each piece with melted butter, honey, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. Roll each piece up like a jelly roll and pinch the ends. Place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheets. Let rise until double in volume. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Poppy seeds milk from Lithuania

Ingredients:

1 cup poppy seeds

some boiling water

3-4 tablespoons sugar (or honey)

some cold boiled water

Preparation:

The poppy seeds are soaked in some hot water for a day.

The nex day the poppy seeds are strained.

Then the poppy seeds are crushed in a food processor (or with a pestle in a mortar), until a white liquid comes out. The poppy milk concentrate is diluted with some cold boiled water and is added sugar or honey.

Poppy seed filling

• 330g poppy seeds

• 112g light brown sugar

• 65g raisins or sultanas

• 33g walnuts, chopped

• 2 Tbsp honey

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 Tbsp butter, softened

• 1/3 cup candied orange zest

• 4 egg whites

Dough

• 30g fresh yeast or 14g instant yeast

• 320g plain flour + extra for sprinkling

• 4 Tbsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 Tbsp strong alcohol like vodka or rum

• 3/4 tsp vanilla paste

• 4 egg yolks

• 120ml milk, lukewarm

• 100g butter, melted and cooled down

Poppy seed filling

Place poppy seeds in a medium bowl and pour boiling water over it (you just want it to be covered). Leave it to cool.

Remove the access of water and ground it in a meat grinder twice.

Add sugar, raisins, walnuts, honey, almond extract, cinnamon, butter, candied orange zest and stir until well combined.

In a separate bowl whip egg whites until stiff, add it into poppy seed mixture and gently fold it in.

Dough

If you are using fresh yeast – mix yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar (it will turn into liquid). Add 2 tablespoons of flour and all milk, stir and leave aside for 20-30 minutes until you see bubbles on the surface. Follow the steps below, adding the yeast mixture in place of the milk.

If you are using dry yeast – in a big bowl mix together yeast, flour and sugar.

Add alcohol, vanilla paste, egg yolks and milk and knead until well combined (around 5-10 minutes).

Pour slowly butter and knead until incorporated.

Cover the dough with a tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for an hour or longer until it doubles in size.

Assembling

Divide the dough in two.

Roll each part of the dough on a floured surface. You want to have rectangular dough around 3mm thick.

Spread the filling on each of the rectangles, leaving around 2-cm edge.

Starting at the long edge, roll the dough like a jelly roll.

Turn ends under so filling will not leak out.

Place the rolls on a parchment-lined pan.

Bake in a preheated oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan for 30-40 minutes. (The dough get golden very quickly, so cover it with a parchment paper so it wouldn’t burn).

Leave it to cool.

You may decorate it with icing and candied orange zest.