Last Minute Christmas Treats

I have just finished making the last handmade Christmas gifts and am sitting down with a well-earned cup of tea before embarking on preparations for the feast that will be Christmas dinner. What a whirlwind – so much for this year's preparations being ‘stress-free’!

Oh well, if I didn’t enjoy it, I guess I wouldn’t do it…

Why have I left it so late? Well, the last gifts are perishable so need to be made as close to the time of giving as possible. [At this point I would ask my Christmas Day guests to stop reading and only resume on Boxing Day if you want your presents to be a surprise!]

I have two edible treats to share with you today; one sweet, one savoury, and both are gluten and dairy-free with the potential to also be vegan, so there should be something for everyone.

This first recipe is for chocolate truffles which are remarkably healthy (if a truffle can be healthy?!) It was hastily scribbled down from a library book some years ago and has been a firm favourite ever since. I think the book was called ‘Zest for Life’ and it offered loads of interesting, healthy, generally gluten and dairy-free recipes. If you tell people what they contain before they try them, they have a tendency to look a bit wary so I recommend they try them first and then let them guess the ingredients. The quantities here make 20-25 truffles.

Prune and Chocolate Truffles (Pruffles)

150g pitted, ready to eat prunes

100g dark chocolate (70% minimum)

50g hazelnut or almond butter

2 tbsp honey (or use agave nectar for vegans)

1 tsp vanilla essence (or paste)

Your choice of cocoa powder, finely chopped nuts or grated coconut to coat

Melt the chocolate with the nut butter – you can do this in a glass bowl set over a bowl or saucepan of boiling water or in a microwave.  Mix together to form a velvety cream and set aside to cool slightly.

Drop the prunes one by one into a food processor with the blade spinning and blend to a smooth paste. Add the honey or agave nectar, vanilla essence or paste and pulse again until smooth.  If it is too sticky or clumps together into a large ball, add a few drops of water to soften it up.

Add the prune mixture to the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.  Cover and chill for 2-4 hours.

Once it has chilled and set, take out teaspoons of mixture and form into small balls with your hands.  Toss in the cocoa powder, or whatever you have chosen to coat the truffles in.  Pop back in the fridge for another hour before serving.  They will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Pruffles

The next recipe is from the December 2014 Sainsbury’s Magazine and is a new one for me. It’s from the Hairy Bikers and is for spiced nuts. Let’s hope they’re as tasty as the description (the nuts, not the Hairy Bikers!)

Spiced Macadamia Nuts

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

½ tsp caster sugar

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp hot chilli powder

½ tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

150g macadamia nuts

1 tbsp clear honey (or use agave nectar for vegans)

Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4, and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Whisk the sunflower oil, lime juice and caster sugar until pale then add the garam masala, chilli powder, sea salt and a grinding or two of black pepper. Drop in the nuts, stir in the honey (or agave nectar) and toss together until the nuts are evenly coated.

Scatter them onto the baking tray in an even layer and roast for 5 minutes, then turn over the nuts and roast for another 8-10 minutes. Keep a beady eye on them for the last few minutes so that they don’t burn.

The nuts should end up with a golden, shiny, non-sticky coating.

Cool for a few minutes so that the coating can harden and then serve hot or store in an airtight container and enjoy cold.

Spiced Macadamia Nuts

Now that the nuts and truffles have been added to the other foodie items and placed under the tree, there's nothing for it but to start peeling potatoes ready for tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!