Cheese biscuits and chutney

I am a shadow of my former self. Never did I ever think I'd become the type of person to say "perhaps it would make a nice change to bake some savoury treats for Christmas." *

Apparently, this is me now. Earlier this week I caught myself saying "that border planting is still looking lovely and green for December" and yesterday I was genuinely thrilled to receive a car boot liner from Santa. I'm fully embracing my middle-aged era.

Back to the baking, I made savoury biscuits to accompany caramelised red onion chutney (also homemade) to give as Christmas presents to family this year. I tried two different Mary Berry recipes from her "Baking Bible" book: rich, cheesy biscuits and Dorchester biscuits. Both were delicious but the former was more aesthetically pleasing than the latter.

I must admit I'm too lazy to type out the recipes, largely because I am currently pinned down by a happy, sleeping cat and finding the book would require moving the cat. Mary's "Baking Bible" is easily my most used baking book so instead I'll encourage you to either buy a copy or dust it off your book shelf.

I tried two chutney recipes too: this one from Tesco and the other from Curly's Cooking (I think... I looked up so many recipes I can't fully remember.) Personally I preferred the second one. The garlic felt too dominant in the first one although still a perfectly edible chutney. Annoyingly I couldn't find the red onion chutney recipe I've used previously in my recipe files and the blog has closed down. Ah well.

*I haven't completely lost the plot as I still made my annual batch of tablet (fudge) and perverted gingerbread Santas and dinosaurs. 

Keeping it real with my complete lack of styling in my ugly kitchen.

Merry Christmas/ happy end of December to everyone!

Pickled beetroot and beetroot and apple chutney

This likely isn't the most interesting post for the cake lovers but it'll be handy for me to refer to if I make these again, which I think I will do. Also, we all eat savoury things occasionally, right?

My Dad grew a lot of beetroot last year which got divided between myself and my eldest brother. He pickled his portion and I pickled some but also made a big batch of beetroot and apple chutney.

Admittedly I wish I had made more pickle and less chutney as the pickle was way less labour-intensive to make. For some reason I decided to make a double portion of the chutney and it involved SO. MUCH. CHOPPING.

The resulting chutney is very tasty, but it would need to be for all that chopping! It's great on top of a homemade beef burger, lovely with quiche or a punchy little accompaniment to a cheese and cooked meat snack.

The recipe came from an old book with recipes from people around the local county. I believe this is the first thing I've made from it despite my mum having owned it for many years. I'm pretty sure it's older than me! As usual I'll put the recipe at the bottom of the post.

I had never made pickled beetroot before and was astonished by how simple it is to make. Literally just cooked beetroot, vinegar and sugar. I followed this recipe for my pickling quantities and made two batches which produced 4 decent sized jars. I definitely see more pickling in my future. I love pickled beetroot in general and this recipe did not disappoint.

I had originally planned to make my pickle and chutney before Christmas but as usual ran out of time, so this was a new year surprise for the family last month. A nice change (or break) from all the sweets and chocolates too.

Beetroot and apple chutney

2 lb cooked beetroot

2 lb peeled and cored apples (I think I used 3 or 4 Bramley cooking apples)

1 lb onions

1 lb raisins

1/2 lb sultanas 

1/2 lb sugar (I used granulated)

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 Pt vinegar (I used distilled white)

Salt (I used flakes)

Cook your beetroot, peel off the skins, then dice into a large bowl and set aside.

Finely chop the apples and onions and cook on a low heat in the vinegar.

Add the fruit, spices, sugar and salt. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Mix in the beetroot after the mix has cooled slightly. 

Spoon into prepared jars and cover tightly.

5 festive bakes

Not long till Christmas now! I've been busy making Christmas presents for the past month but it really feels like Christmas now that I've started my festive baking. I debated splitting all my festive bakes into separate posts, but decided to make one massive Christmas post instead. Hope you enjoy it!

First up are the funky gingerbread biscuits I baked yesterday to give to my cousins. They're quite crunchy, definitely more of a biscuit than a gingerbread, so they're good for dunking in your tea or coffee.

My mum helped with the decorating. We definitely have more of a childlike than professional quality. But who wouldn't want a stripey or splodgy dinosaur biscuit?! I don't know why I don't make biscuits more often as I love all my cutters, the dinosaurs in particular.

You know it's officially Christmas when you make mincemeat pies. I know many will be disappointed that I used bought mincemeat but I had jars left over from last year and I don't like to waste food. I made my own sweet shortcrust pastry though. It has ground almonds in it which gives the pastry a lovely crumbly texture.

It's also officially Christmas in my household when my Mum makes tablet (fudge/candy). I think we made 5 batches(!) to package up prettily as gifts. Don't even ask how much sugar is involved. It is not healthy!

I have also baked a couple of ginger bundt cakes to give to some aunties and uncles. They look impressive without taking up much of your time and they're perfect for sharing. I think my aunties and uncles will like that it's Granny's sticky ginger cake recipe too.

And lastly, a rarity on my sweet toothed blog, a savoury creation! I found this recipe for caramelised red onion chutney through the Cake Hunter (she's got a fantastic Christmas Countdown Gifts series at the moment which is worth checking out).

Chopping so many onions was a tearful task and certainly left a strong aroma in the house, but it was definitely worth it. This recipe made 3 and a half Bonne Maman jars worth of chutney. I'm glad there's a half jar so I can keep one for myself to eat with cheese. If I'm not eating cake, I'm definitely eating cheese.

How are your festive plans coming along? What are you all baking for Christmas? The amount of sugar and syrup I have gone through this weekend is insane!

Spiced beetroot & orange chutney

My aunty gave me some surplus beetroot this week so I saw it as an excellent excuse for trying my hand at chutney. I've never made any before, but got a chutney/jam making kit for my birthday last month which I've been itching to use. The recipe came from BBC Good Food if anyone else has a glut of beetroot which needs using.

What a lovely smell this made in the kitchen! In hindsight I did cut my beetroot on the chunky side, it probably should be much finer, but there was only so long I could be bothered standing at the kitchen sink chopping messy beetroot. I forgot to buy gloves to wear whilst chopping so I wore clear sandwich bags instead!

I also fancy making some beetroot and chocolate brownies. I keep hearing about them but have never tried them. Wish me luck!