Three recipes for a sweeter Christmas in company

Make the most of the festive season to enjoy unforgettable moments with the people you love the most, whether they are family or friends (who are also family).

To enjoy a sweeter Christmas in company, we're adding our touch of festive cheer by sharing some easy-to-make recipes that are very typical of the festive season. Treat yourself to some Christmas biscuits, mulled wine or delicious chocolate and enjoy!

And if you want to get your decorations in the festive spirit, take a look at our themed tea towels.

Hot chocolate, ideal for a cold afternoon

Who doesn't like a good homemade hot chocolate when winter arrives? Although it is true that there are all kinds of palates and everyone has their own tastes (more or less cocoa and sugar, spicy or not, etc.), we have provided a recipe that everyone likes, especially the youngest members of the household.

Garnish your chocolate with some decoration (marshmallows, chocolate shavings, cream, whatever you like) and enjoy its flavour.

Hot chocolate for 4 persons

The ingredients are:

• 400 g dark chocolate in bars (best with 70% cocoa)
• 1 litre of whole milk
• 1 cinnamon stick for flavouring (optional)
• 30 g sugar (optional)

First, heat the milk in a saucepan and then add the sugar (if you want to add it). Add the cinnamon stick for flavouring.

Then chop the chocolate and, when the milk is hot, but not yet boiling, add it to the saucepan.

Mix well with a whisk to dissolve the lumps. When it starts to boil, remove from the heat and, when it stops bubbling, bring it back to the boil.

This double boiling will make the chocolate thicker. Then remove from the heat and serve - it's as easy as that!

Christmas shortbread biscuits

Although you can add spices or make biscuits with hints of ginger and cinnamon, here we are going to show you the easiest way to make a delicious shortbread biscuit.

A batch of 25 biscuits

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• 150 grams of butter
• 300 grams of flour
• 120 grams of sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

The first thing to do is to beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until it forms a kind of paste.

Then add and mix the egg into the batter. Use a whisk, so it will be easier to integrate everything well.

When finished, leave the biscuit dough to cool in the fridge for about half an hour, covered with cling film.

When this time has passed, take it out and spread the dough along the baking paper (without removing the cling film, also put it on the top) until you get a sheet the thickness of a classic biscuit, neither too thick nor too thin.

Freeze for about 15 minutes to make it easier to cut with the moulds you are going to use.

Create the biscuits using some festive moulds if you wish, otherwise you can shape them round, oval, square, rectangular, whatever you like!

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the biscuits start to brown, then take them out of the oven and let them cool.

You can decorate them if you like and then devour them with a hot drink!

The German spiced wine that you can find in every street market

Mulled wine is a constant feature of Christmas in Northern Europe, especially in colder countries. Glühwien" or German mulled wine is the official Christmas drink in Germany. Do you want to learn how to make it?

Spiced mulled wine

What you need to prepare it for about six people is:

• 750 ml of decent quality red wine
• 80 grams of brown sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• Cardamom
• 4 cardamom fruits
• 6 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 1 pinch of molina nutmeg
• The peel of a lemon
• The peel of an orange

First, place all the spices in a wide pot or pan. Add the sugar and heat until the aromas start to come out. At this point you should wet the bottom with a little wine, just to cover the sugar.

Heat while stirring with a wooden spoon until it dissolves.

At this point, add the rest of the red wine, mixing well.

Heat over medium heat, but do not let it come to the boil. Cook for about 30 minutes, making sure that the temperature does not rise too much.

Check the sweetness and, if it is not sweet enough, add a little more sugar or honey if you prefer.

Finally, strain to remove the spices and store the wine in a large bottle, cask or in jars.