Miss Hudson's Christmas Recipes

We asked our fantastic catering team for a delicious Christmassy recipe and they delivered! Everyone must try Miss Hudson's gingerbread biscuit recipe, her festive rocky road or for those who prefer savoury foods you can try out her turkey, apricot and sage sausage rolls. All recipes can be found below:

GINGERBREAD BISCUIT RECIPE

Ingredients

• 200g margarine
• 6 tbsp golden syrup
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 450g plain flour
• 100g icing sugar

Method – preheat the oven to 175 Degrees Celsius

Step 1
Heat the butter, syrup and sugar together in a small pan until melted, stirring occasionally.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Step 2
Mix the bicarb, ginger, cinnamon and flour in a large bowl.  Pour in the buttery syrup mixture and stir to combine, then use your hands to bring together to form a dough.  The dough will be soft at this point, but it’ll firm up in the fridge.  Refrigerate for ½ an hour.

Step 3
Roll out the dough to the thickness of a pound coin.  Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter.  

Step 5
Place the shapes, spread apart, on a lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 mins.
Leave to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Step 6
Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with 1-2 tbsp water – you want to create a consistency that’s thick and pipeable, and not too thin or it will run.
Decorate the cooled biscuits with the icing using a piping bag.

FESTIVE ROCKY ROAD

Ingredients

• 400g chocolate
• 175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 200g chocolate digestives
• 150g apricots
• 150g red glace cherries
• 4tbsp sweet mince meat
• 125g white chocolate drops
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Step 1
Place the chocolate pieces into a heavy-based pan.  Add the butter and golden syrup and cook over a low heat to melt and combine.

Step 2
Place the chocolate digestives into a bag and bash with a rolling pin to make crumbs of various sizes.

Step 3
Take the pan of melted chocolate mixture off the heat and add the crushed biscuits, apricots and halved glace cherries.

Step 4
Add the sweet mincemeat.  Fold the mixture carefully to coat all of the solid ingredients with the syrupy chocolate mixture.

Step 5
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined baking tray and smooth the surface as much as possible (although it will look bumpy).

Step 6
Sprinkle over the chocolate drops and lightly press in so they stick to the surface.

Step 7
Refrigerate for two hours, or until firm enough to cut. Dust with icing sugar, then sprinkle with edible glitter if you wish.

Step 8
Remove the block of rocky road from the tray and cut into 24 rectangle pieces.

TURKEY, APRICOT AND SAGE SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 sprig fresh sage, leaves picked
• 1kg turkey mince
• 200g dried chopped apricots
• 500g ready-made puff pastry
• 1 free-range egg
• A little milk
• Seeds for topping

Method - Preheat the oven to 180ºC

Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook gently until soft and golden brown. 

Step 2
Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then spread out on a plate to cool.

Step 3
Put the turkey mince in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix.  Add the chopped apricots, a pinch of salt and pepper, then scrunch well with your clean hands and mix together.

Step 4
On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the centre of each rectangle.

Step 5
Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture, then fold one side of the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside.  Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal the join.  Sprinkle with the seeds

Step 6
Cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through.