Briony's social media party food hacks

Briony's social media party food hacks

PUFF PASTRY CHRISTMAS TREE

Ingredients:

  • 2 rolls of puff pastry

  • Chocolate spread

  • 1 egg, whisked

  • Sprinkles and icing sugar to decorate

Method:

  1. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).

  2. Lay the first roll of puff pastry flat on the tray. Cover the pastry with a generous layer of chocolate spread. Lay the second sheet of puff pastry over the top.

  3. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into a rough Christmas tree outline (this should be a basic shape with no branch details – the branches will be added in the next step).

  4. Cutting horizontally from the edge of the tree, make evenly-spaced incisions inwards (about 3cm apart), without cutting all the way to the centre. Leave a strip of pastry roughly 3cm wide in the middle for the 'trunk' of the tree.

  5. Twist each strip gently to make the branches appear three-dimensional. Try not to overtwist – aim for 1-2 turns.

  6. Cover the tree with whisked egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes. When cooled, decorate with sprinkles and finish by dusting with icing sugar.

CHOCOLATE PINECONES

Ingredients:

  • 4 chocolate muffins (undecorated)

  • 200g chocolate spread

  • 100g cornflakes

  • 1 large bar of chocolate, melted

  • Icing sugar and sprinkles to decorate

Method:

  1. Roughly break the chocolate muffins into a bowl and mix with the chocolate spread until the mixture becomes a mouldable dough.

  2. Mould the dough into small, even conical shapes to create the pinecone base. Ensure the shape is stable enough to stand by itself.

  3. To create the spines of the pinecone, carefully stick cornflakes into the base with the curved side pointing upwards, layering them and angling each flake more vertically towards the top.

  4. Using a spoon, coat each pinecone with a thin layer of melted chocolate by pouring over the pinecone while turning it slowly. Allow to set in the fridge.

  5. Add sprinkles and dust with icing sugar to decorate.

BAUBLE SHAKER BISCUITS:

Ingredients:

For the biscuit dough:

  • 100g caster sugar

  • 100g unsalted butter

  • 2 eggs

  • 1tsp vanilla extract

  • 30g cornflour

  • 300g plain flour

For the decoration and assembly:

  • 30g isomalt sugar granules (this is a sugar substitute and can be bought from baking supply shops)

  • Christmas sprinkles

  • 100g icing sugar

  • ½ tbsp water

  • Writing icing to decorate

Method:

  1. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).

  2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs individually, then add the vanilla extract. Sift in the cornflour and plain flour and mix until a dough is formed.

  3. Roll the dough to a 6mm thickness and leave to chill for 30 minutes.

  4. Cut the dough into regular, evenly-sized circles to create the bauble outline.

  5. Leave a third of these circles intact. For the other two thirds, cut evenly sized 'windows' in the centre. These pieces will be assembled after the biscuits are baked.

  6. Bake the biscuits for 7-10 minutes and leave to cool.

  7. Warm the isomalt gently in a pan on a medium heat, stirring regularly with a spoon. The liquid is ready when the isomalt has fully melted and there is no white residue.

  8. Of the biscuits with windows, fill half with liquid isomalt, allowing to cool and solidify.

  9. Each biscuit will now have three components - a back piece, a front piece with an isomalt window, and a hollow ring to put in between. Stick these pieces together with icing (icing sugar and water), adding the festive sprinkles in the middle. Allow to set.

  10. Decorate with writing icing of your choice.

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