Now that the festive season has arrived, you may want to enjoy some quality time with children or grandchildren. One way you could do this is to spend time in the kitchen making tasty treats that can be enjoyed by the household over the Christmas and the new year period.

Read on to discover five mouth-watering treats that you’re likely to enjoy making as much as eating.

1. Snowflake pretzels

Ingredients:

• 200g white chocolate chips for cooking
• 32 mini pretzels (about 45g)
• white or silver sprinkles

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, being careful not to allow the base of it to touch the water or any of the water to get into the bowl. When melted, turn off the heat but leave the bowl on the pan. Then add the pretzels and stir well.

Put a sheet of baking parchment or a non-stick tray liner on a baking tray. Carefully lift the pretzels out of the chocolate with a fork, shaking off any excess chocolate. Then put them on the tray and into the freezer for 5 minutes to set.

Then dip the pretzels in the chocolate again, laying four at a time together on the tray, pushing them together so that the pointed ends are at the centre. This then makes a snowflake shape. Add more chocolate with the end of a teaspoon in the middle of each snowflake so they hold together, then decorate with sprinkles.

Leave to set completely in the fridge or freezer.

2. Spiced and iced Christmas trees

Ingredients:

For the biscuits

• 100g butter, chopped
• 175g dark muscovado sugar
• 85g golden syrup
• 350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg, beaten

To decorate

• 300g sifted icing sugar
• 16 lolly sticks or coffee stirrers
• a few sweets
• sugar, for sprinkling
• red and white tubes of writing icing

Gently melt the butter, muscovado sugar, and syrup in a large pan until the sugar dissolves. Then mix the flour, spices and half a teaspoon of salt while the butter mixture cools a little, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Immediately add half of the spiced flour and beat well.

Add the egg and the rest of the spiced flour, then beat well again until the mixture comes together as a soft dough. Tip onto a sheet of foil, flatten to a large disc, then cool and chill until firm.

Heat the oven to 190C (170C for a fan oven). Halve the dough and roll out on a floured surface, then cut out trees using a cutter about 10cm long. Arrange on the baking sheets spaced well apart and bake for 12-15 mins until golden.

Leave to harden, then lift onto a rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To decorate, mix about 3 tablespoons of water into the icing sugar to make a thick icing. Use this to sandwich two trees together with a lolly stick between them. Use the writing icing to make an outline of the tree and then fill in using the rest of the icing. Add sweets or sprinkling with the sugar. The treats will keep in a tin for 3-4 days.

3. Rudolph Oreo cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 15 Oreos
• 30 pretzels
• 30 candy eyes
• 15 red M&Ms

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside before melting two cups of chocolate chips, either in a microwave using a safe bowl, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Be careful not to allow the base of it to touch the water or to let any of the water get into the bowl.

Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, use a fork to place an Oreo in the melted chocolate.

Then place the chocolate-covered Oreo on the parchment paper. Set two pretzels on the top of the Oreo for antlers, place two candy eyes beneath them, and finish by placing a red M&M beneath the eyes for the nose.

4. Snowball treats

Ingredients:

• 400g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 100g Rich Tea biscuits
• 50g white Maltesers
• 50g mini marshmallows
• 50g dried cranberries
• 50g cake crumbs (such as Madeira cake)
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 100g desiccated coconut
• edible glitter (optional)

First, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Then, crush the biscuits and Maltesers in a large bowl with a rolling pin and add the mini marshmallows, dried cranberries, and cake crumbs, then the chocolate and golden syrup.

Mix the crushed biscuit mix well and then tip desiccated coconut onto a plate. Drop large spoonfuls of mixture onto the plate, then roll them around, coating in coconut and shaping into balls. Place on a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes before serving. If you like, sprinkle with edible glitter.

5. Christmas Rice Krispie cakes

Ingredients:

• 50g Rice Krispies or equivalent
• 30g raisins, chopped
• 50g butter
• 100g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
• 30g mini marshmallows
• 80g white chocolate
• ready-made icing holly leaves (we used Sainsbury’s Christmas cake decorations)

Put the Rice Krispies and raisins into a bowl. Then put the butter, milk chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallows into a small saucepan and place on a medium to low heat.

Stir until the chocolate and butter have melted but the marshmallows are just beginning to melt.

Pour onto the Rice Krispies and stir until well coated. Line an egg cup with cling film then press about a tablespoon of the mixture into the egg cup. Press firmly and then remove, peel off the cling film and place the pudding into a cake case, flat-side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Chill until firm.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Spoon a little chocolate over the top of each pudding. Top with icing holly leaves.

Get in touch

We hope you enjoy these tasty festive treats and have a wonderful Christmas and new year. If in the meantime you have questions about your finance, please call us on 0800 434 6337, as we’d be happy to help.