festive glass

I had to search awhile for this recipe, until i discovered it between two pages stuck together with something sticky. Always a good sign, i feel.

I wanted shiny and aromatic treats for the tree, so i bought a bag of boiled sweets and made stained glass window bells, double cut stars, and fat snowmen and plump trees.

The black pepper will deter these from being nibbled on the tree, but we tried them while warm and slightly soft and they were delicious. 3 weeks later I wouldn't be so keen to take a bite although they are still looking good as hanging decorations.

Adapted from Nigella's Christmas Tree Decorations, Feast

300g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
a good grind of pepper
100g soft dark sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten with 4 tablespoons runny honey

Put all the dry ingredients and the butter in a processor and blend. With the motor running gently, add the eggs and honey until the mixture comes together into a dough - you may not need all the liquid.

Divide into two, wrap one slab in cling film and pop in the fridge for now.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC.

Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to about a 5mm thickness and use any number of christmas cutters. Collect up the trimmings and reroll until your baking tray is full. A silicon baking sheet is useful here, or use greaseproof paper to line your tray. When your shapes are in place, use a knife or a smaller cutter to cut out a window and fill with a sweet - the cooking process completes the magic.

If you want to hang your treasures with ribbon, use a piping nozzle to make an appropriate hole.

Bake for 20 minutes, savoury the hot honey and spice aromas. Leave to cool slightly - the windows will set quickly enough.