Christmas Goodies

bev00, Apr 25, 11:04am
Italian Nougat
2 cups sugar
1 cup liquid glucose
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g butter
60g whole, blanched almonds

Put sugar, liquid glucose, honey, salt and water in a pan, stir over a low heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil, cook until mixture forms a hard ball whenn tested in a small amount of water - 122C on a sweets thermometer ( approx 8 minutes)
Beat egg whites until firm peaks form. Pour 1/4 of hot syrup in a thin stream over the eggs, beating constantly. Continue beating until mixture is thick enough to hold it's shape, approx 3-5 mins. Cook remaining syrup until a small amount od syrup forms brittle threads when dropped in cold water (157C on sweet thermometer) approx 5 minutes. Pour remainder of hot syrup over meringue in a thin stream, beating constantly until mixture is very thick. Add vanilla and roughly chopped butter. Beat until thick again, about 5 minutes.With a wooden spoon, beat in almonds. Turn mixture into greased 28 x 18cm lamington tin, smooth top with spatula. Refrigerate till firm. Loosen edges of nougat all round, turn out in large block. With sharp knife, cut into 4cm x 2.5cm pieces. Wrap each piece individually in cellulose paper or waxed paper. To toast the almonds, place on tray, bake in moderate oven approx 5 mins until golden, cool. You can also fold in 125g of Turkish delight when you are stirring in the almonds which will give the nougat a nice pink colour. Makes about 1kg of nougat.

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cookessentials (1219 1219 positive feedback) 7:50 pm, Tue 23 Apr #6

nauru, Oct 7, 2:14am
Thought others might be interested. I just found this recipe in my search for something different, definitley on my "to make" list this year.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/26221/christmas+florentine+bars?ref=collections,christmas-baking-sweets

mooshiesmum, Oct 7, 4:59am
They look lovely!

griffo4, Oct 8, 6:48am
Thanks for that l need some inspiration

nauru, Oct 8, 7:15am
Here's another nice slice, I thought it would make a change to the usual mince pies. Also the cranberry pear pies sound good too.
Sorry folks, about the links but I haven't had time to jot down the recipes yet but thought I would share anyway.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/863651/starry-mincemeat-slices http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/997634/cranberry-and-pear-pies

bev00, Oct 9, 12:11pm
courtesy of southerngurl >
Grasshopper pie is always on our dessert table nom nom nom

http://www.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/grasshopper-pie/ this is the closest recipe i can find online. cept we use ginger nuts for the base

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southerngurl (1104 1104 positive feedback) 7:01 pm, Sun 15 Dec #6

southerngurl, Oct 12, 10:58pm
aww shucks someones using my idea :) Love Grasshopper pie. its always on our christmas dinner table!

freds69, Sep 15, 1:02am
What biscuits do you use for base southerngurl? Thanks