This Christmas enjoy chai spiced pecans, creamy eggnog lattes, rich chocolate truffles and more. As a special treat we have put together a few of our favourite festive recipes just for you. The best part is they are all super easy. Let's get festive!
Christmas tree cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 270g of butter
- 120g of caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon or rose extract
- 120g of self-raising flour
- 300g of icing sugar
- A dash of whole milk
- Food colouring (green)
Method:
- Add the butter and sugar into one big bowl and mix.
- Add in the eggs and the rest of the wet ingredients. Once done, start to fold in the self-raising flour and use a spoon to test the consistency of the mixture. It should be gooey and gloopy.
- Pour the mixture into paper cupcakes and put in the oven at 180°c for 12-17 minutes. Once golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- For the buttercream icing, you’ll need 150g of butter, 300g of icing sugar, a dash of whole milk and the green food colouring.
- Beat the butter in a bowl and begin to slowly add the icing sugar, 1/3 at a time – keep beating until totally smooth and bright green! Finally, grab a piping bag and a star nozzle and let your imagination go wild (no Christmas tree is ever perfect).
- To decorate: use edible glitter, coloured edible balls, hundreds and thousands or just keep it nice and simple. Delicious!
Chai spiced pecans
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon chai spice blend
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 pound of pecan halves
Method:
- Preheat oven to 120°c. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together the honey, chai spice blend and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg white and vanilla until frothy. Add in the pecans and stir to coat.
- Stir in the honey mixture and stir until the pecans are coated in all that sweet goodness.
- Spread the pecans onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 60 minutes, stirring the nuts every 15-20 minutes.
- Cool the nuts completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.
- WARNING - these are incredibly moreish.
Rich Chocolate Orange Truffles
Ingredients:
- 100g dark chocolate (recommend 70% cocoa content)
- 30g coconut oil
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 30ml orange juice
- 1/2 tsp orange zest (ideally organic)
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Method:
- Chop or break the bar of chocolate into small pieces.
- Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, add the chocolate to the bowl and stir until melted.
- Take the bowl off the heat, and stir in the coconut oil until combined.
- Add the orange juice, orange zest, icing sugar and cocoa powder and stir until completely smooth.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge until it has become solid enough to shape with your hands. It's usually ready in 15-25 minutes, but it's best to check on it regularly.
- With a small spoon, scoop out portions of the dough and then roll them into balls between the palms of your hands. If your hands are warm, covering your palms in cocoa powder before rolling will reduce melting. If the mix is very sticky, you may want to chill it for a little longer.
- Sprinkle cocoa powder on a plate, and then roll the balls in the cocoa until they are evenly coated.
- Store in an airtight container and serve at room temperature. So good!
Cozy eggnog latte
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup almond milk or oat milk
-
3/4 cup eggnog
- 1 cup coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Whipped cream to top
Method:
- In a blender, add all of the ingredients, except for the whipped cream.
- Blend vigorously until all of the spices and ingredients are combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan on the stove, over medium heat.
- Once the mixture is nice and hot, divide it into two mugs.
- Garnish with whipped cream or coconut whipped cream and extra cinnamon. This is the ultimate Christmas drink to get you in that festive mood.
We hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do. From all of us at Mara Coffee we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!