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23rd Dec 2017

10 Easy Cooking Hacks That Will Make Your Christmas That Extra Bit Special

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The turkey; will it be sufficiently moist?

The ham; will there be crackling?

The Brussel sprouts; will anyone even eat them?

Food at Christmas can be a recipe for disaster. Yet some people seem to pull off all the trimmings seamlessly. 

How do they do it? Well… they probably added soy sauce to their gravy and vanilla essence to their whipped cream, as seen in these hacks below. 

Here’s a list of Christmas cooking hacks that you can try out to help you ace your Christmas spread without any cookery skills whatsoever!

1. Blend candy canes for magic dust

Pop a few candy canes in a food processor and blend until dust-like. You can then sprinkle the sweet powder on any dessert to add an extra touch.

It’s especially good over hot chocolate!

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2. Decorate ice cream cones to look like Christmas trees

Cover them in green icing and stick small coloured sweets onto the icing.

You will have yourself a miniature forest in no time!

3. Keep the ice cream in a ziplock bag

If you put your ice cream tub in a ziplock bag before putting it in the freezer then it will be frozen but still soft enough to scoop out with ease come dessert time on Christmas day!

Handy!

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4. Soak the turkey in chicken stock

There’s no bigger fear than slaving for hours over a roast only to discover it’s dry and bland. Turkey, the troublesome foul that it is, tends to do that.

Avoid this by soaking your turkey in chicken stock once cooked for a few minutes before serving.

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5. Add a pinch of baking powder to the mash

The raising agent in baking powder will be activated by the heat from the mashed potato which then expands and create air pockets for lighter, fluffier mash.

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6. Add soy sauce to the gravy

The salty edge of the soy sauce will uplift the flavour of your gravy, giving it that extra zing!

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7. Breath life into whipped cream with some vanilla essence

Before you whisk your cream add two or three drops of vanilla essence. If you have a sweet tooth, a tablespoon of sugar is recommended too.

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8. Use a potato peeler for fancy chocolate shavings

Peel along the side of a chocolate bar for those elegant chocolate curls which you can use to garnish any dessert or hot drink.

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9. Dip cookie cutters in flour before use

In order to maintain the shape of the freshly cut cookies, lightly dip a cutter in flour before you attempt to cut your cookie dough. The cookies will maintain a clear shape and appear neater.

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10. Boil the potatoes before roasting them

If you ever feel like roasting potatoes takes an age then boil them beforehand. You can even parboil them in advance, freeze them and then on the big day, roast them.

It will save you time, stress and your roasties will be fluffier and lighter.

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READ NEXT: 8 Of The Best Christmas Movie Moments From Your Childhood

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