My First Christmas Cookbook, by David Atherton & Katie Cottle
My sister, who’s a bit younger than me, recently sent me a message about some old books I received as gifts in my childhood. She shared photos of them, and as I looked at these images, memories began to stir, initially faint but gradually growing clearer. I realized how these books subtly shaped my worldview. This reflection was prompted by my reading of the new children’s cookery book, My First Christmas Cookbook (Walker Books 2023), that aims to teach cooking to children, and provide recipes for children to make easily at home.
My First Christmas Cookbook features recipes by British Bake Off winner David Atherton and illustrations by Katie Cottle. It reminded me that introducing children to fun yet reliable recipes can lay a solid foundation for their dietary habits and culinary preferences in adulthood.
Pros: The book crams in recipes and beautiful illustrations, offering substantial content without unnecessary filler. This will undoubtedly keep a young chef engaged for months. The recipe selection is particularly impressive, striking a balance between creativity and simplicity – a challenging feat, especially in a book that helps teach cooking to children.
For instance, the Christmas Cracker Carrot Cake recipe, which suggests using parsnip, sweet potato, or butternut squash as alternatives, is a clever tip that even seasoned cooks might not have considered. The Snow People Iced Scones, adorned with vanilla icing and currants for eyes, are another delightful touch. Lots of gift ideas, so there’s a sense that food will be made and given away rather than necessarily filling up every box and tin.
Cons: As a Christmas-themed baking book, it’s ideally used starting early December to make the most of its festive content, which somewhat limits its suitability as a Christmas gift. However, perhaps the joy of receiving gifts, especially for children, isn’t confined to a specific time of year. While the book breaks down recipes into simple, illustrated steps, the pages can initially seem overwhelming due to their busy layout. But upon closer inspection, you’ll see that the recipes are far less complicated than they first appear.
Perfect for: a great gift for any child from 5-10 years, needs parental supervision for most of the recipes. A lovely mix of fun and not too overwhelmingly “wholefood” recipes that will teach cooking to children, while pleasing the young cook and everyone around to test-taste and encourage them.
Recipe: David Atherton’s Christmas reindeer biscuits
These cookies are clever because you don’t need a reindeer cookie cutter to make them. Instead, we use a small gingerbread person cutter and just turn the shape upside down so that it looks like a reindeer’s face. Cool, right?
Ingredients
70g butter
30g soft pitted dates
60g icing sugar
15g cocoa powder
½ tsp ground ginger
125g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
2 tsp cold water
100g white chocolate
24 raisins
24 mini pretzels
(broken into halves)
Makes 24 biscuits
- Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
- Put the butter and dates in a food processor and blitz until smooth.
- Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and ginger and whizz again.
- Add the flour and pulse a couple of times until mixed through.
- Add 2 teaspoonfuls of cold water to soften the mixture and pulse again, then tip out onto a surface. Gather up the mixture with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough.
- Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is 0.5cm thick.
- Cut out biscuits using a gingerbread person cutter, no bigger than 10cm tall, and transfer to the baking trays.
- Chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 160°C (fan-assisted).
- Bake for 14 minutes, then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Break the chocolate into pieces and add to a microwavable bowl. Ask an adult to help you microwave it for 30 seconds, then stir and repeat until it is melted and smooth.
- Ask an adult to carefully transfer the chocolate to a small piping bag.
- Pipe blobs of chocolate for the eyes and nose, then place a raisin onto the nose blob.
- Pipe on ears, then add 2 blobs to the middle of the biscuit. Stick the pretzel antlers onto the blobs, then leave your biscuits to set.
