Cracking Christmas Recipes – 4 festive, essential-oil infused bakes to get you in the holiday spirit

December is finally here and the countdown to Christmas is officially on. While some will be spending this time putting up their tree and decorating their home with twinkling lights and baubles, others may find themselves concocting warming, festive blends to diffuse across the home, filling their Christmas with the scents of the season. This year, we’re of the firm belief that everyone deserves a treat to see them through to the new year, and as 2020 has required all of us to stay at home, we’ve thought up a delightfully delicious list of festive recipes to get you baking essential-oil infused treats that’ll both satisfy your sweet tooth and impress your loved ones.

1. Sweet Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnamon Bark+ Essential Oil

Ingredients

For the dough

• 100g unsalted butter
• 200ml milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 250g plain flour
• 250g strong white flour
• 1½ tsp fast-action yeast
• 1 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Olive oil for greasing

For the filling and topping

• 75g unsalted butter (softened)
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 drops Young Living Cinnamon Bark+ essential oil
• 1 large egg (beaten)

Method

1. Heat the butter, milk, and salt in a pan until the butter melts and the mixture combines. Allow the mixture to cool until it is lukewarm.
2. In a separate bowl, combine both flours with yeast, cardamom and sugar and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the eggs one by one. Pour in the lukewarm milk mixture and stir everything together to form a sticky dough. You may have to use your hands as the dough becomes stiffer.
3. Oil the work surface using a teaspoon of olive oil. Turn the dough out onto the oiled surface and knead vigorously for 5-8 minutes. Do not be tempted to add flour, as this will make the buns dry and tough. Keep kneading until the dough is considerably less sticky, smoother, and gains an elastic consistency. Shape into a ball, and put into a large, greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place to prove for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. While the dough rises, create the filling and topping by mixing the softened butter in a bowl with half the sugar and 1 drop of Young Living Cinnamon Bark+ essential oil. Use a fork to mix the sugar and essential oil into the butter until it is completely combined. Mix the remaining sugar and another drop of Young Living Cinnamon Bark+ essential oil in a separate bowl and set aside.
5. When the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured work surface and gently roll out into a large rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough with a knife.
6. With the longest edge closest to you, roll the dough up into a cylinder before cutting into 12 even slices.
7. Place each slice onto a flattened-out paper cupcake case on a baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside to prove again for 30-45 minutes, or until risen.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
9. Brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg and dust liberally with the cinnamon sugar topping. Bake for 12 minutes until the buns are dark golden-brown and try while they’re still warm!

2. Custard Tart with Nutmeg+ Essential Oil-Infused Pastry

Ingredients

• 500g pack of pre-made shortcrust pastry
• 3 drops Young Living Nutmeg+ essential oil
• 4 large eggs
• 140g golden caster sugar
• 300ml double cream
• 300ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod (with seeds scraped out)
• Fresh nutmeg (for grating)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 before rolling your pre-made pastry out into a circle about 1 cm thick.
2. Add 3 drops of Young Living Nutmeg+ essential oil to the pastry and fold the dough in half, before rolling it out again to around 5 mm (large enough to line a 20cm cake tin with some overhang).
3. Gently press the essential oil-infused pastry into the tin (leaving the excess draped over the sides), put onto a baking tray and chill for 10 minutes.
4. Line the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or rice to keep it weighed down. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the beans/rice and paper before baking for another 15 minutes until golden brown. Then, trim the edges of the tart with a sharp serrated knife.
5. Turn the oven down to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Put the cream, milk, vanilla pod, and seeds into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour onto the eggs, being sure to keep whisking as you go. Sieve into a jug.
6. Put the baking sheet onto the pulled-out oven rack, then pour in the custard, filling the tin right to the top. Please be aware that you may have excess custard left over.
7. Grate over a nice layer of fresh nutmeg, before sliding the tart gently back into the oven and baking for 60 minutes. When it’s ready, the tart should be set and pale golden on the top.
8. Cool completely and serve in slices.

3. Christmas Gingerbread Men with Ginger+ Essential Oil

Ingredients

• 350g plain flour (plus extra for rolling out)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 drops Young Living Ginger+ essential oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 drop Young Living Cinnamon Bark+ essential oil)
• 125g butter
• 175g light soft brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• Icing (as desired for decoration)

Method

1. Start by sifting together the flour and bicarbonate of soda before pouring into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter, Young Living Ginger+ essential oil and either ground cinnamon or 1 drop of Young Living Cinnamon Bark+ essential oil and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
2. Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together in a separate bowl, before adding to the food processor and pulsing until the mixture clumps together to form a dough.
3. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
5. Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut out the gingerbread men and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them to allow for any spreading that might occur.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling. When cooled, personalise your biscuits using icing and decorations as desired.

4. Chocolate Orange Yule Log with Orange+ Essential Oil

Ingredients

For the cake

• 3 large eggs
• 85g golden caster sugar
• 2 drops Young Living Orange+ essential oil
• 85g plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder

For the filling and icing

• 50g butter
• 140g dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 285ml double cream
• 200g sifted icing sugar (plus additional icing sugar for decorating)
• 1 drop Young Living Orange+ essential oil

Method

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Then, prepare your swiss roll tin by greasing it with butter and lining it with baking parchment.
2. Beat the eggs, golden caster sugar and Young Living Orange+ essential oil together with an electric whisk for about up to 8 minutes until the mixture turns thick, pale, and creamy.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together, before sifting into the egg mixture. Fold in very carefully, in order to keep as much air in the mixture as possible, before pouring it into the lined tin. Tilt the tin from side to side to spread the mixture into the corners evenly and bake for 10 minutes (cooking time may vary based on the size of your tin and the thickness of your cake).
4. Lay a fresh sheet of baking parchment on a clean work surface. Take the hot cake out of the oven, tip it out of the tin onto the parchment, peel off the lining paper, and roll the cake up from its longest edge with the fresh paper inside. Leave to cool to ensure the cake stays rolled up.
5. To make the icing, melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Once the chocolate and butter have melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the golden syrup, the Young Living Orange+ essential oil and 5 tbsp double cream. Beat in the icing sugar until the icing turns smooth in consistency.
6. Whisk the remaining double cream into the icing mixture until it thickens and holds its shape. Unravel the cake, spread a portion of the icing over the top, and roll the cake back into a log, being careful not to roll too tightly in order to keep the filling from spilling out.
7. Finally, cut a thick diagonal slice from one end of the log. Lift the log on to a plate and arrange the slice on the side with the diagonal cut against the cake to make a branch. Spread the remaining icing over the log and branch (don’t cover the ends), before using a fork to mark the icing to give the effect of tree bark. Then, scatter with extra icing sugar to finish off the perfect, festive Yule Log!

Nothing says Christmas quite like the sweet smell of tasty treats baking in the kitchen, and thanks to our exceptional Young Living + oils range, you can now enjoy your favourite desserts with the added benefit and delicious taste of our high-quality essential oils. Merry Christmas – we hope you enjoy whipping up these festive bakes just as much as we did!

Which of these fantastic Christmas recipes are you most looking forward to trying out? Write your comments below or contact us at mseublog@youngliving.com