The homemade Christmas mission

Back before Christmas last year I had a mission to make many of the gifts I was going to give. I put in a fair effort but didn’t manage to make as much as I had hoped. One that was a success, although not without its challenges, were the hampers I put together for some family members and the girls at Ava’s occasional care.

A big hurdle with this project was that I was trying to make things I had never made before and as it got closer and closer to Christmas I was getting stressed. Each hamper had different items in them but in the end they all had two common denominators; some Lemon Shortbread Stars and Homemade Lemon Cordial —  I love lemon flavours.

The shortbread stars are something I have made every Christmas for work colleagues over the last 10 years or so. The Lemon cordial was a recipe given to me by a friend from mothers group about two years ago now and I have made it many times since. Being so familiar with these recipes makes it easy to whip them up without hassle, avoids the disappointment I had with other ones that didn’t work how I had hoped and gives me confidence they are going to be enjoyed by the recipient as they have always been received well.

This year I plan to start early on my homemade mission, hence why I am talking about it now. I have a lot of ideas but I don’t know which ones are going to fly and which ones are going to flop, so it could be interesting.

I am keen to know if you have any ideas of great gifts that are homemade? Do you think having something homemade adds value or is just cheap?

Lemon Cordial

The shopping list

2kg Caster Sugar
1 litre of Water
2 tablespoons Citric acid
2 tablespoons Tartaric acid
zest of 2 Lemons
Juice of 6 Lemons

…and what to do with it

Put 2 kg of caster sugar and 1 litre of water in a large saucepan, stir over heat to dissolve sugar, add 2 tablespoons of citric acid, 2 tablespoons of tartric acid, then bring to a good simmer.

Remove from heat, sit aside to cool.

When cool or just warmish, add in the grated zest of 2 lemons (preferably organic / unwaxed), plus the strained juice of 6 lemons.  Stir well, then pour into sterilised bottles (sterilise by washing well with hot soapy water, then sit in the oven at 120 degrees for about 20 minutes).

This makes around 2.5 large bottles.  The cordial keeps really well – for up to a year, just keep it out of direct sunlight.

Gently shake the bottle each time before pouring.  It is great with sparkling mineral water, soda water, or gin / vodka and soda.  Also nice with a few crushed lime leaves in each glass.

Lemon Shortbread Stars

The shopping list

125 grams unsalted butter, cubed and softened
125 grams (½ cup) caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
155 grams (1 ¼ cups) plain flour
110 grams (¾ cups) cornflour
icing sugar, to dust

…and what to do with it

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas2-3) and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Beat the butter and sugaruntil creamy.

Mix in the egg yolks, lemon zest, flour and cornflour until they form a ball of soft dough.

Roll out lightly between two pieces of baking paper to 1cm thick. Cut out stars (or what ever shape you choose) from the dough using your shape cutter.

Place on your tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Cool on a wire rack and dust with the icing sugar.

When I made these lemon stars as gifts I packaged them in cello bags so I didn’t dust them with icing sugar, it just doesn’t look as nice once it is mushed all over the place.