The holidays bring many opportunities for families to make different varieties of food and take part in traditions. Making eggnog and fruitcake at Christmas. Decorating houses is also a long-standing tradition during Christmas. Some families go for broke with garish displays that cover their entire property. Others keep it a little more low-key and stick to decorating the inside of the house, especially the Christmas tree. If you feel like getting innovative this Christmas, you can combine the food and the decorations with some edible homemade ornaments. This is a fun activity that the whole family can be involved in. Here are some edible ornaments which will be fun to make with your family and friends.
Stained glass biscuit
Bring back sweet memories of the magic of the festive season past with these fancy jewel-colored cookie ornaments. You can make them in a variety of seasonal shapes and sizes, and hang them on a tree, in the window, or on an ornament stand.
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
Assorted colors of Jolly Rancher hard candies
1 tablespoon meringue powder
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon water
2-2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
Method:
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Divide into three portions; cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. ornament-shaped cookie cutters. Cut out centers with a 1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place larger cutouts 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Poke a small hole in the top of each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough; reroll small cutouts if desired.
Place the same color of hard candies in small resealable plastic bags; crush candies. Sprinkle in center of each. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes or until candies are set before carefully removing to wire racks.
In a small mixing bowl, beat meringue powder and water until soft peaks form. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Decorate cookies with icing. Yield: about 7 dozen.
Popcorn and cranberry tinsel
An another way to decorate your tree and make it look more innovative and ornamental, then popcorn and cranberry tinsel are the best option to decorate your tree. These threaded popcorn and cranberry strings are so easy to make you just have to decide how long to make them.
Ingredients
Popcorn
Dried cranberries
You will also need:
Thread
A large needle
Method
Measure out a long piece of string and then thread the string into the needle.
Thread a piece of popcorn pushing the needle through the centre of the popcorn until it pokes out the other side. Use the same technique for the cranberries too.
Continue to thread the popcorn and cranberries one at the time onto the thread. Once you've filled the whole piece of string with popcorn and cranberries it’s time to decorate your tree.
Ginger Cookies
Decorative ginger cookies are so much fun to make. You can make different shapes of holiday cookie cutters for variety. To make it look more attractive you can add a festive ribbon to gingerbread boys to hang on your Christmas tree or display it in other creative ways.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Plastic drinking straw
Frosting of choice, optional
Thin ribbon
Method:
In a large bowl, beat first five ingredients until blended. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and spices; beat into molasses mixture. Divide dough into four portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 375°. On a well-floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Using a plastic straw, make two holes at the neckline, about 1/2 in. apart.
Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. If necessary, reopen holes with straw. Remove cookies to wire racks; cool completely.
If desired, decorate cookies with frosting; let dry completely. Decorate or string cookies with ribbon. Yield: about 4 dozen.
Hanging cones
This idea is so easy - and there are so many different versions you can make. Thick, quality cones can be carefully pierced and threaded with ribbon to turn them into edible hanging baskets. We could choose our own fillings like small chocolate pieces, marshmallows and chocolate coins.
Ingredients
6 thick, quality ice cream cones
50g milk chocolate
Sprinkles, icing sugar or desiccated coconut
Mini marshmallows, sweets, chocolate coins or filling of your choice
You will also need
Thick ribbon or string
Long wooden or metal skewer
Method:
Melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between. Allow to cool.
Pierce the cones with a skewer to make the holes for the ribbon. Choose the location on one side about 1/2 inch down to ensure stability and pierce straight through the cone to the opposite side.
Dunk the tip of the cones in the melted chocolate then immediately roll in the sprinkles, icing sugar or coconut to give the cones a festive rim.
Place of a piece of greaseproof paper and put in the fridge to chill.
Thread the ribbon through each hole on the cone and do a small knot to secure.
Fill the cone with your chosen filling and hang from the tree.
Candy cane sleighs
There's nothing quite as festive as a candy cane - and there's lots of clever things you can do with them. Popping a rice krispie square on top of them is an easy way to turn them into a fun sleigh.
Ingredients
1x Rice Krispie Square bar
4x candy cane sticks
Icing sugar with a few drops of water
Ribbon
Method
Start by mixing the icing sugar and water together to form a thick paste.
Cut the rice krispie square bar into 2 pieces to make 2 sledges.
Take 2 candy canes (out of their plastic wrappers) and drizzle a little icing sugar mix on each. Stick the rice krispie square onto the sticks and press down firmly.
Repeat with sledge no.2. Leave to set until the icing hardens.
Tie with a ribbon and pop onto your tree.
