Edible Christmas decorations

By Amy Willcock

Make your Christmas tree look good enough to eat

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Having the children around the house for the Christmas holidays can be wonderful, but it can also be quite a challenge keeping them occupied. One way to get them out from under your feet is to set them to work making homemade decorations for the Christmas tree. They’ll have fun, and hopefully help you out at the same time.

Chocolate chip cookies: make up a batch of chocolate chip cookies (see recipe below). You could double the recipe if you want to give some as gifts. When you remove them from the oven and while they are still soft, make a small hole at the top of each biscuit. Place the hole just past the half way mark to ensure the cookie doesn’t break under its own weight. When cool, thread a pretty satin ribbon through and hang the biscuit on the tree.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 25 - 30 cookies

450g unsalted butter, softened
700g soft unrefined brown sugar
225g granulated sugar, unrefined
4 large eggs
1 vanilla pod
900g plain flour
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
450g plain chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and scrape in the seeds from the vanilla pod. Put the flour, salt and baking powder into a sieve and sift into the butter mix. Fold to thoroughly combine then add the chocolate chips. On a greased baking tray, drop 2 tbsp batter 5cm apart. Bake for 8 minutes at 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Cook in batches and cool on wire racks.