With the holidays just around the corner, what better way to spend an evening with your kids than to bake festive goods?  Whether or not you are celebrating Christmas, the following four treats are easy to make with children of all ages and are incredibly delicious. 

Reindeer Cupcakes

For the cupcake dough you need:

100g dark chocolate
1 cup water
125g butter, softened
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
½ cup plain flour
36 pretzels
18 white chocolate buttons
18 red M&Ms
36 green M&Ms
Chocolate piping gel

For the chocolate buttercream you’ll need:

125g butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar mixture
⅓ cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 320° and line eighteen ⅓ cup muffin pans with paper cases.
Start by combining the chocolate and water over low heat. Continue stirring for 5 minutes, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let cool. 

Next, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the eggs and beat well. Then, add the combined flours, cocoa powder, and chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Divide evenly among the lined pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for around 20 minutes and let cool.

To make the buttercream, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until very pale. Then add the icing sugar, cocoa, and milk and beat well. 

Spread the icing evenly over each cupcake. Arrange two pretzels on the sides of each cupcake to create antlers.
Place a white chocolate button in the middle of the cupcake to create the snout. Place a red M&M in the center of the white chocolate button to create a nose and use the piping gel to add a smile. Arrange the green M&Ms above the white chocolate button as eyes and top with the chocolate piping gel for pupils. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Taste Australia. 

Photo by Shortgirl Shortbread on Unsplash

Gluten-free Vegan Sugar Cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose gluten-free baking flour
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan butter at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract
¼ cup almond milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking trays with parchment. 

In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, and then add the vegan butter in chunks. Mix until you have a dry crumbly dough. Add the almond milk and beat until the dough comes together. 

Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and use the paper to form the dough into a disc. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. 

Dust a work surface with powdered sugar and then roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about ⅛ inch of thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the shapes you want and transfer them to the prepared baking trays. 

Make sure to leave a little room between the cookies as the dough will spread slightly. Either add sprinkles to the cookies just before baking or let them cool once done to top with icing. 

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes and let cool for about 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Courtesy of HeatherChristo. 

Photo by Joyful on Unsplash

Gingerbread Cookies

3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup unsulphered molasses 

For the icing you need:

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk

Method:

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses, and beat until combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter and beat until combined. 

Divide the dough into half and form it into two disks. Wrap them in parchment paper and refrigerate them for 2 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the disks until it is ¼ inch thick all around. Cut out cookies with different shapes (gingerbread people, stars, Christmas tree, etc.) and use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. 

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes and remove to a cooling rack. While the first batch is in the oven, take the second desk out of the refrigerator and prepare the second batch for the oven. Decorate the cookies after they have cooled. 

For the icing, place all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Place the mixture into a ziplock bag and cut a tiny hole at one end to squeeze and draw with the icing. 

Once the cookies are decorated, let dry before eating. Enjoy!

Courtesy of weelicious. 

Photo by Massimo Rinaldi on Unsplash

Baked Apple Crumble

3-4 apples (about 4 cups peeled, cored, sliced)
¼ cup water
¾ all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter (softened)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside. 

Peel and core the apples and cut them into thin wedges. Place the apple slices into the prepared baking pan, top them with half of the cinnamon, and add the water. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, the rest of the cinnamon, and salt. Mix well to blend. Add in the softened butter until the mixture is blended and resembles coarse crumbs. 

Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the apples. 

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the apples appear tender. 

Serve the apple crumble with vanilla ice-cream or a drizzle of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Courtesy of TheSpruceEats.

We at SHIM wish you Happy Holidays!

Make sure to check out our podcast and our article on 2020 in review!

Written by Samira Rauner, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/.