Sittingbourne-based family firm Bennett Opie Limited has been in the business of flavour-making since 1880 and excited by the endless possibilities ever since. Why not make a gift of flavour this festive season?
Chocolate covered cherries
Makes about 40 cherries
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Allergens: Dairy
Ingredients
• 375g Icing Sugar
• 60g Butter, softened
• 1 tbsp Milk
• ½ tsp Almond Extract
• 2 jars of Opies Cocktail Cherries, drained
• 340g quality Dark Chocolate Chips
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Fat (e,g, Trex)
Method
1. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. In a bowl combine the sugar, butter, milk and almond extract. Knead until smooth and pliable then shape into balls around the size of a two pence piece before flattening into a disk. If the mixture gets too sticky, place in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden a little.
3. Place a well-drained cherry in the centre of the disk and wrap to fully enclose the cherry. Place on the baking tray, cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
4. In a microwave, melt the chocolate and vegetable fat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until melted.
5. Submerge the cherries in the chocolate until fully coated then place back on the lined tray until set.
6. Store in an airtight container.
Make it vegan:
Swap the butter for vegan butter and the milk for a plant based alternative. Ensure the dark chocolate is vegan friendly.
Halva with pistachio & black cherry (vegan)
Serves 6 - 8
Preparation Time: 15 minutes (plus 3 hours chilling time)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Recipe Type: Gluten Free, vegan, sweet treats, home-made gifts
Ingredients
• 360g Tahini
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Salt
• 300g Granulated Sugar
• 75ml Water
• 75g Pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1 jar Opies Black Cherries with Kirsch
Method
1. Line a 20cm square tin with parchment paper.
2. Place the tahini, vanilla extract and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Add the sugar and water to a heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir it once then leave it untouched to reach 245°C (you will need to use a sugar thermometer for this).
3. As soon as it reaches temperature, carefully pour it over the tahini mixture and stir until well combined and the mixture starts to thicken. As soon as this happens stop stirring, to avoid it becoming crumbly.
4. Transfer into the pre-prepared tin and smooth the top over using a knife. Sprinkle over the pistachios then drain the cherries well and stud them all over the halva.
5. Leave to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until chilled and set for at least 3 hours.
Hints and tips: Swap out the black cherries with cocktail cherries or slices of stem ginger in syrup.
Reindeer Shortbread
Serves 8
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Allergens: Gluten, dairy (check pretzel ingredients for additional allergens)
Ingredients
● 200g Unsalted Butter, softened
● 100g Caster Sugar
● 300g Plain Flour
● ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
● Pinch of Salt
● 16 Opies Cocktail Cherries
● 16 Mini Pretzels
● 32 Candy Eyes or Mini Chocolate Chips
● 50g Thick Icing
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the plain flour, vanilla extract and pinch of salt to the bowl. Mix until the ingredients come together to form a dough.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about ½cm, use a large dinner plate as a template to cut a large circle and place on a lined baking sheet.
5. Place the baking tray in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown around the edges.
6. Once baked, remove from the oven and cool on the baking tray for a few minutes and cut into wedges, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Use icing to glue one Opies Cocktail Cherry at the end of each cookie to represent the reindeer's nose.
8. Break the mini pretzels in half to create antlers. Use icing to glue two halves into the top of each cookie on either side of the cherry nose.
9. Place two candy eyes or mini chocolate chips above the cherry nose to create the reindeer's eyes.
10. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
Vegan spiced gingerbread Christmas tree biscuits
Makes around 25 biscuits
Preparation time: 2 hours 10 mins
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Allergens: Gluten
Ingredients:
• 150g Vegan Butter, diced
• 120g Light Brown sugar
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 3 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp Ground Allspice
• 50g Black Treacle
• 3 balls Opies Stem Ginger with Syrup, roughly chopped in a food processor
• Additional 3 tbsp Opies Stem Ginger Syrup from the jar
• 380g Plain Flour
• ¾ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
To decorate:
• Ribbon or brown string
• Icing sugar mixed with some syrup from Opies Stem Ginger with Syrup jar
• Silver edible balls
Method:
1. Place all ingredients with the exception of the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a heavy weight bottomed saucepan.
2. Heat gently to melt the butter and sugar. Stir well throughout.
3. Add in the bicarbonate of soda and whisk until smooth. It may fizz up a little.
4. Add the flour to the mixture and fold in until it is well combined.
5. Wrap the dough into cling film (it may be quite soft at this point). Place in the fridge and chill for 2 hours until it is form enough to roll out.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan/ gas 5.
7. Line baking trays with baking paper.
8. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out to around 5mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the dough.
9. Place the uncooked biscuits onto the trays, leaving a little space between each biscuit to allow for spreading.
10. Place the baking trays and biscuits back in the fridge and chill for around 15 minutes.
11. Bake in the oven for around 8 – 12 minutes. If you prefer a soft bake, reduce time to around 8 minutes, for more crunchy go for 12 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes. Then, using a skewer pierce a hole at the top of the biscuits whilst still warm so that the ribbon can be threaded through later on. Place them onto a wire rack so that they cool thoroughly.
13. Once cooled, ice and decorate the biscuits then tie the ribbon through the holes so that they are ready to hang onto the Christmas tree.
bennettopie.com
@OpiesFoods
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