Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop (28 page)

 

Recipes

H
ERE
ARE
SOME
tried and tested Christmas sweetie recipes. Nothing too complicated because, as we know, this is a
busy
time of year! I would recommend getting lots of pretty little boxes—­I like tartan ribbon—­to wrap them up in. ­People really do like the personal touch, and you'll hopefully have fun making them too!

Snowballs

These snowballs are delicious, very seasonal and a totally lovely gift. And they have booze in them. And even
more
important than that, they are so easy you could let the children make them (but perhaps do the booze yourself). I'm using cups for this particular recipe, just to keep it so easy; this should make about thirty-­six, but of course it depends on the size of the balls!

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus extra for rolling

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 small can condensed milk

Splash of rum/brandy/whisky (NB: you pick one
)

Roll everything together into sticky balls, then roll in extra coconut to give them a wintry feel! Chill in the fridge until you're ready to pack them up and take as a gift.

Fudge

I know Lilian hates flavored fudge in the book, but I rather like it, so feel free to experiment with mint, rum, etc. And of course, at the very least you have to use the vanilla extract.

300 ml milk

350 g superfine sugar

100 g unsalted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

First, butter a long container for setting, and line it with parchment paper. Then put the milk, sugar and butter in a heavy pan over very low heat. Bring to a boil (I say this every year, but please remember how hot this stuff gets), and keep stirring continuously.

Fetch a glass of ice water. When it looks and smells “fudgy,” drop a little of the mixture from a spoon into the ice water. It will form a soft ball when it's ready.

You can add the vanilla, plus chopped nuts, little marshmallows—­or anything you want—­to fudge once it has hit that stage. Just mix it in well until the glossiness has gone. You can set this at room temperature (it can go a bit weird in the fridge), and cut when entirely cool. OH YUM.

Millionaire Shortbread

I always tell myself I'm not going to eat too much of this. Uh, then sometimes I do . . .

Also, I am going to tell you now that sometimes I cheat and buy the ready-­made caramel stuff. I know, I know. Okay, if you don't want to do that, just take a can of condensed milk and put it in a pan of cold water. Slowly bring to a boil, then leave to simmer (making sure water covers it completely at all times) for three hours.

For the shortbread:

250 g flour

75 g superfine sugar

175 g butter, softened

For the topping:

Caramel

200 g semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease and line a square baking pan. Rub the shortbread ingredients together to make a fine crumb, then knead until it's more like a dough. Place in the pan and bake for 20 minutes.

When cooled, cover it with the caramel, then let that cool too (maybe do this on a day when you have lots of other in-­house stuff to do, like wrapping), then melt the chocolate. I do it by breaking it into chunks and microwaving it in ten-­second bursts. Spread over the top and leave the whole thing to chill. Then don't eat it like a crazed animal, like I do. It's unrefined.

Toffee

I find toffee hard to manipulate when it's done, so any gifts would have to be done neater than I can manage. I normally hit it with a hammer and pretend it's meant to be “artistically distressed.” But I am sure you are much more artistic than I am in this area. Either way, it is still lovely to have toffee about. You can add lemon, mint, whisky—­oh, anything you like. ­People either adore nuts in this or despise them. I am of the latter category, but of course do go for it if so inclined. Also, I hate it with banana, but the kids really love it. This makes enough for twenty—­or seven if sufficiently greedy.

200 g superfine sugar

125 g butter

60 ml water

Pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract (or whichever flavoring you choose)

Grease a pan (I use my loaf pan): grease it really, really well because toffee can be absolute torture to get out. Seriously, you just have to put the pan on your head and lick your way out, like Winnie the Pooh getting his head stuck in the honey jar.

Combine the sugar, butter, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring continuously until the mixture reaches a hard ball stage. It's the same as for the fudge: when you drop it into some very cold water, it should form a hard ball and be quite dark in color.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in your chosen flavoring. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and leave it to set until it's like a rock. Do not attempt to get it out of the pan if you are in any sort hurry.

Candied Peanuts

Yes, so I hate nuts in toffee, but I love candied nuts. Just call me female
.

100 ml water

250 g granulated sugar

500 g raw peanuts

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Combine the water, sugar and peanuts in a saucepan (heavy-­based is better) over medium heat. Stir thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved; keep stirring until the liquid boils off and becomes like syrup. Then it should turn grainy, and the peanuts will look a bit sandy.

Keep stirring until the grainy bits melt and the peanuts cook and turn a golden brown. Add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour everything onto the foil and separate the peanuts with a spoon. Once cooled they should keep for several weeks. They look lovely in colored plastic bags.

Easiest Cheesecake

If you get caught short during the Christmas season (it is busy, after all), I have found this recipe a total lifesaver on more than one occasion; you can even decorate it with a sprig of holly! It is, officially, the world's easiest cheesecake, and will make you look like an amazingly together person who just makes yummy things effortlessly (it is yummy, I promise).

Throw some (about half a packet) graham crackers in the blender with some melted butter and honey. Mix, then cover the bottom of a round pan with parchment paper and spread the mix across.

Then whip 250 ml of heavy cream. Add a small can of condensed milk, the juice of 1 lemon and a bit of zest.

Spread over the top and refrigerate until it's set or overnight.

I KNOW!

A very, very sweet and merry Christmas to you and yours,

Jenny, xx

 

Acknowledgments

T
HANK
YOU
SO
much Rebecca Saunders, my editor, and Ali Gunn, my agent. Also Manpreet Grewal, David Shelley, Emma Williams, Charlie King, Jo Wickham, Doug, Sarah and the board—­may our Christmas parties never run on predictable lines.

Apologies for the trumpet blowing, but special thanks to the wonderful Romantic Novelists Association, (www.rna.org.uk) for naming
Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams
2013's Romantic Novel of the Year. It made writing another Rosie novel even more fun. OK, end of trumpet-­blowing. And, as ever, thanks to my lovely sailor boy and the three wee bees.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who's gotten in touch, (@jennycolgan on twitter, or www.facebook.com/thatwriterjennycolgan) to say hello or to show me a recipe they've made; it makes my job so much more interactive and fun. I don't always spot all my e-­mails on Facebook so if there's anyone I didn't get back to I am SO SO SORRY and I owe you a cake.

Now, I have to tell you that obviously I have tested all the recipes in this book. Not all on the same day, of course. Seriously, how does Mary Berry stay that thin? It is the most ridiculous mystery in the world.

Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year to you and yours!

Jenny xx

 

About the Author

JENNY COLGAN is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Little Beach Street Bakery
and
Christmas at the Cupcake Café
, as well as more than a dozen other beloved novels. She lives with her husband and three children in Scotland.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

 

Also by Jenny Colgan

The Little Beach Street Bakery

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris

Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams

Christmas at the Cupcake Café

Meet me at the Cupcake Café

The Good, the Bad and the Dumped

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Operation Sunshine

West End Girls

Where Have All the Boys Gone

Sixteen Again

Do You Remember the First Time

Working Wonders

Talking to Addison

Looking for Andrew McCarthy

Amanda's Wedding

 

Credits

Cover design by Julia Gang and Mary McAdam Keane

Cover photograph © Susie M. Eising / Getty Images

 

Copyright

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Sphere.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

CHRISTMAS
AT
ROSIE
HOPKI
NS
'
SWEETSHOP
. Copyright © 2013 by Jenny Colgan. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper­Collins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

Harper­Collins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please e-­mail the Special Markets Department at [email protected].

FIRST
U
.
S
.
EDITION
2015

Library of Congress Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data has been applied for.

EPub Edition OCTOBER 2015 ISBN 978-0-06-237120-1

15 16 17 18 19
OV
/
RRD
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

 

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