Christmas Sorted | Page 4

Gifts and Sweet s This is the ta stiest part of preparing for Christmas, and it’ s the way to let your f amily in on a little festive spirit that doe sn’t involve a Visa card. Most of these recipes are e asy enough to do with the kids, and they’ll definitely enjoy licking bowls and spoons to assist with the cleaning up. Presentation is everything. Be c re ative with packaging – sure, you c ould buy some premade boxes or bags, but think “outside the box” (great pun, no?) You can always make your own bea utiful gift boxes with card cut in clever ways, but also consider jars, baskets, glasses, gift boxes, old tins lined with Christmas paper, home ma de hessian bags, tea-towels folded like a knapsa ck, or even just some cellophane, brown pa pe r and some Christmas fabrics.   Rocky Road This recipe changes annually, depending on what I happen to find at the store on the day I am making it, but there is always a basic formula – chocolate with nuts, coconut, jellies and marshmallows. Ing re die nts: • 50 0g ch oc ola te (I lik e ha lf m ilk , ha lf d ark ) • 50 g b utt er • 1 cu p c h oppe d m a rshm a llo w s • 1 cu p r ed ra spber ry jel lie s (ju bes) • 1/2 c up ha zel nu ts • 1/2 c up de ssi ca te d c oc on ut   Instructions: • Melt chocolate in microwave or bain-marie, and then stir in butter until smooth. • Add all other ingredients except coconut, and combine well • Pour into a tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle coconut on top, and flatten with another sheet of baking paper on top, then refrigerate until hard Notes: ? I cut into inch-sized blocks using a large knife, heated in boiling water. ? Some prefer long sticks, others like wedges of pie. ? You can change around all the ingredients in range and quantity, except for the chocolate and butter. ? Some examples of other ingredients could be Rice Crispies, freeze-dried raspberries, peppermint crisp bars, broken biscuits or Turkish delight.