Christmas baking ritual connects with family

The Christmas baking urge kicked in on the 30th of November. Maybe it was the prospect of an afternoon out with girlfriends, the calendar flipping over to December, or the feeling of the year's responsibilities soon coming to a temporary close. There's nothing like the feeling of literally closing doors and switching off digitally for days, or maybe weeks! So I embarked on early morning baking with enthusiasm, trying a new-to-me recipe for Danish Honey Cakes.

The recipe comes from Country Style magazine's Heirloom Recipe collection. You might have the cookbook. I have many of the recipes torn from magazines and stored in a folder. Why is this a Christmas recipe? It's all about the traditional Christmas spices, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, combined with honey, brown sugar, flour and eggs. The scent begins to waft in the kitchen as you mix the spices with the melted butter and honey, but really intensifies as the biscuits (or cakes) cook in the oven. I used our own honey and eggs, which is always satisfying.

The process of mixing, rolling and baking Christmas biscuits is a ritual. Even though I am making them alone, I am not alone. Baking with me are my grandmother, mother, and children. Using the traditional drum whisk and stoneware mixing bowl I am back standing on a kitchen chair cooking with my mum. Blending the dough I remember a time when I would see her masterfully whisking the contents of a bowl, and wonder, 'How does she do that?' Now that coordination and speed comes with ease. I shape the biscuits on the marble table that we used as a kitchen table for decades, and it evokes memories of cooking, sharing meals and stories with our small people.

So while it is a busy time of year and I don't really need to bake, it connects me to past Christmases and family members who cooked Christmas recipes across the generations. It's a simple, but thoughtful gesture to take home baked biscuits to a gathering, or package them in a cardboard sampler box, tin or glass jar for friends and family. When our 16-year-old emerges for a late Sunday breakfast, I tell him, 'I am cooking Christmas biscuits.' He asks, 'Which ones?' It is not a recipe we've made before, but I hope the flavours bring back, if not a distinct memory, just the feeling of family love and nurturing.

Here are some links to past blog posts featuring biscuits that work well for summer gatherings and gifts:

Parmesan Cheese Biscuits

Sweet Spice Biscuits

Pfeffernusse

Honey Jumbles

Gingerbread

Ginger, Cardamom and Dark Chocolate Biscuits

Danish Honey Cakes, from Country Syle magazine's Heirloom Recipes

What you need: 3/4 cup honey, 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar, 3 1/2 cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel, 2 eggs, lightly beaten. Icing: 3 cups icing sugar mixture, sifted, 2 teaspoons softened butter, 3 tablespoons boiling water.

What you do: Preheat the oven to 200C. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Place honey and brown sugar in a saucepan, and stir over a medium-low heat until smooth and the sugar granules have dissolved. Cool for 10 minutes. 

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and fennel into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and pour in the combined honey, sugar and beaten egg. Mix with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk until a soft dough forms.

Knead until smooth, either in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface. Using lightly floured hands, roll the dough into walnut sized balls. I use a tablespoon measure to scoop roughly consistently sized dough balls. Place on prepared trays, allowing room for spreading during cooking. Bake for 12 minutes, swapping the tray shelf positions at 6 minutes, for even golden colouring. Cool on trays.

To make icing, mix icing sugar, butter and water in a bowl until smooth. Top each honey cake with a teaspoon full of icing. Set aside for 30 minutes to set. 

 

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