FRENCH WINTER FAMILY RECIPES - CHRISTMAS TREATS
/Sharing is caring! We have asked several charming French mothers to open up their cooking books for us. Discover families’ favorites meals for the winter season and Christmas holidays. Loved by children and made countless times by mums, try out our family friendly easy recipes! You’ll be a French chef in no time!
Caroline’s Christmas sablés
Sylvie’s Galette Ardennaise
Sylvie’s Gougères
Chloë’s Chocolate truffes
Fanny’s Rustic apple tart
Photo by @carolinesfamily
Caroline’s Christmas sablés
French mother of two little gourmets Philippine and Côme, Caroline always launches the festive season by baking “sablés de Noël” with her two children. These freshly baked Christmas biscuits shaped as little figures or stars will be found in her kitchen almost all winter, adding a warm and welcoming feeling to her home!
Ingredients for a family batch
2 eggs : 1 for the dough and 1 beaten egg yolk to brush the biscuits
125g of soft butter
125g of sugar (we tend to use brown sugar)
7,5g of vanilla sugar (the best French brand is Vahiné)
350g of flour
A tablespoon of baking powder
Instructions
*Mix all the ingredients (1 egg only) together by hand or using a cooking mixer.
*Work the dough on a flat surface covered with a little flour.
*Roll out the dough evenly with a rolling pin, make it about 0.2 inches thick.
*Use a cookie cutter to give the biscuits sweet festive shapes and lay them on baking paper.
* Brush the tops of the biscuits with the beaten egg yolk.
* Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until they become deep gold at 180°C.
*Leave the biscuits to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet.
For those needing more guidance, here is a step by step recipe with photos and a video ( at the bottom right)
Follow Caroline and her sweet family on Instagram
Sylvie’s recipes
Under the Instagram account @maptiotte which is an old fashioned French colloquial expression meaning “my little one”, Sylvie, mother of two and now grandmother, shares her about family life, home decor, garden, daily joys but most of all recipes! All look delicious but for now we would like to present two typically French winter ones.
La galette Ardennaise
Les Ardennes is a French region in the north east of France. This dessert is typically eaten with stewed apples.
Ingredients
20 g of baking powder
8 tablespoons of milk
80g of sugar
250g of flour
2 eggs
80g of soft unsalted butter and 20g of salted butter
Instructions
*Dilute 20g of baking powder with 8 tablespoons of lukewarm milk and 60g of sugar. Let it rest 5-10min.
*Mix 250g of flour, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs and the diluted baking powder.
*Add 80g of soft unsalted butter and 20g of salted butter. Beat the mixture for several minutes.
*Once you have obtained a sticky dough, lay it flat with your hands in the pie pan.
*Let it raise for 2 hours.
*Make a few holes in the dough, add 20g of sugar and a little butter.
*Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 18O°C.
Photo by @maptiotte
Photo by @maptiotte
Gougères
This is choux pastry from Burgundy frequently served as an appetizer or as a main dish with fresh salad
Ingredients for about 20 gougères
80g of butter
160g of flour
4 eggs
100g of grated grated Gruyère, Comté, or Emmentaler or any grated cheese
A pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
*Warm 25cl of water in a pan, add salt and the butter cut into little squares.
*Let it boil to make the butter melt and remove from the stove.
*Pour the flour in one go and mix vigorously to make a ball.
*Put back on the stove and work the dough until it stops sticking to the pan and dries.
*Remove from the stove and add the beaten eggs one by one.
*Add the grated cheese and mix.
*Place the dough in tiny balls on baking paper.
*Cool at 180°C for 30 minutes.
Follow Sylvie’s Instagram account @maptiotte
Chloë’s Chocolate truffes
Living in a charming French village near Angers, Chloë and her two beloved children Hortense and Gustave frequently cook all together. They kindly agreed to share one of their favorite Christmas treat : Les Truffes au chocolat
Ingredients for about 15 truffes
1 tablespoon of either lavender flower extract or vanilla pod or other spices such as cinnamon
5cl of milk
150gr of dark baking chocolate
30gr of butter
Icing sugar or cocoa powder
Instructions
*Brew the lavender/spice/vanilla in boiling milk for 10 minutes.
*During that time make the chocolate melt gently in a pan.
*Sift the infused milk and pour it in the pan.
*Remove from the stove and mix gently.
*Add the butter and stir until it melts totally and blends in with the mixture.
*Let it cool down for 2 hours in the fridge.
*Take out the mixture and make small balls using a spoon and your palms (Be sure to wear an apron as the chocolate may melt when touching it!).
*Place the balls on baking paper and roll them one by one in cocoa or icing sugar.
*Store in the fridge.
PHOTO BY @novembre_rose
Fanny’s Rustic Apple Tar
Photographer, blogger and mother to a little Rose, Fanny likes to picture the recipes she makes. The “tarte rustique healthy à la pomme du jardin épicée” is a perfect dessert for the fall/winter season.
Ingredients
For the pastry :
250g of wholemeal flour
7g of baking powder
1 egg
40gr of “fromage blanc” (it is basically soft creamy yoghurt)
1 pinch of salt
30 ml of water
For the filling :
Apple or pear stew without added sugar
2 big apples
Crushed almonds
Vanilla sugar
Cinnamon
Instructions
* For the pastry mix all the ingredients together ending with the butter. Using a food processor works well.
*Use a rolling pin to lay the dough flat.
*Place the dough in the mould and make tiny holes in it with a fork.
*Add a thick layer of fruit stew.
*Cut the apples into thin slices and add them on top overlapping one another.
*Add the almonds and sprinkle a little cinnamon and vanilla sugar on top.
*Fold the edges of the dough over the apples.
*Bake at 200°C in the oven for 30 minutes.
For more details, here is a similar step by step recipe of the rustic French apple tart
Follow Fanny’s Instagram account @novembre_rose
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