christmas lasagne: with turkey, brussels sprouts, bacon and a cheesy stuffing sauce.

Combine your love of pasta and the decadent ensemble of a Christmas dinner to make this delicious Christmas lasagne. Although it may make Italian cuisine purists wince a little, the mix of turkey mince, nostalgic scent of sage, sautéed Brussels sprouts, smokey bacon lardons and cheesy stuffing topping just works. 

If you aren't a fan of Brussels, you could always switch them out for carrots or extra onions. But, why would you want to? If you're tempted by this festive combination, you might like my other Christmas recipe, including this Pigs in Blankets Macaroni Cheese.

christmas not-so-pudding doughnuts.

Don't like Christmas pudding all that much? Me neither. If you're more of a chocoholic when it comes to the festive season (or any time of the year...) then these may answer your Christmas wishes all at once. These baked, chocolatey doughnuts are made from a simple cocoa infused sponge and finished with icing and marzipan. All the chocolate. All the festive. Less of the dried fruit.

parmesan and sesame bites.

A little Christmas gift idea or perhaps as a festive snack for the family, these Parmesan and sesame bites are super easy to make and with only a few simple ingredients too. As part of a Christmas series with Parmigiano Reggiano, I'm embracing one of my favourite cheeses with three festive recipes. 

Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard, Italian cheese which has a PDO credentials. King of Cheeses, it's one of the world’s oldest and richest cheeses - still produced today as it was nine centuries ago. For hundreds of years, this very special product has only be allowed to be made in particular areas of Italy, with selected dairies and producers. The rules of cheese-making this way mean that it's always a high quality product which has a true ancient origin. The result is fantastic, I'm sure cheese lovers will agree.

christmas tree bakewell biscuits.

With glowing glacé cherries, the subtle hint of almond essence and the signature drizzle of white icing, these delicate Christmas biscuits encompass the best of a Bakewell tart. Great for festive buffets, homemade gift ideas or to keep in your biscuit tin throughout December, these cute Bakewell inspired biscuits are the third of my festive recipes from my Christmas collaboration with Central England Cooperative. And if you like the sound of these, you might fancy making my Cherry Bakewell Mince Pies.

winter vegetable stew with comté cheese dumplings.

Could it really be Christmas without cheese? With the festive season approaching, I’m loving homemade one pots, seasonal vegetables and curling up with a bowl of comforting stew. This Winter inspired root vegetable stew features not only Brussels sprouts, but a twist on classic dumplings.

Made better with Comté, the delicious cheesy dumplings are the perfect topping for this Winter warmer. Handcrafted an amazing 365 days a year in France, each Comté cheese wheel has its own unique character. The diverse flavours mean it can work in so many dishes - from risottos to bread and salads to gratins.

Fluffy on the inside with a moreish, crunchy topping, with that extra cheesy treat. The French artisan cheese has a slightly nutty and salty flavour which adds a real extra dimension to the dish.

parmesan, parsnip and brussels sprout gratin.

Add festive side dish to add to your repertoire; a beautifully golden gratin featuring Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, creamy parsnips and Brussels sprouts. Finished with crispy bacon lardons and breadcrumbs, this is a must-have for Christmas spread come December 25th. Parmigiano Reggiano has a striking saltiness that makes it perfect to add a new dimension of flavour and texture to gratins, as well as a natural seasoning. 

Known as the King of Cheeses, it's one of the world’s oldest and richest cheeses - still produced today as it was nine centuries ago. It has an exclusive P.D.O. protection, ensuring it can only be truly made in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the west of the Reno River and Mantua to the east of the Po River. Everyone will be a fan of Brussels sprouts this season once they've tried them with indulgent Parmesan cheese, a crunchy topping and scatterings of smoked lardons. Here's how...

cranberry & white chocolate cookies.

Another cosy Christmas recipe just waiting to be enjoyed with your afternoon cuppa. Perfect as an edible gifting idea, a festive bake for the tin or treat to take into the office. These cranberry and white chocolate cookies can be really easy mixed up in one bowl too. With Christmassy cranberry combined with a hint of orange zest and chunks of sweet white chocolate, these cookies are a real crowdpleaser with minimum washing up. (Pstt, and they don't take long to make either...)

cinnamon mince pies.

A twist on the traditional mince pie recipe, I've bended the rules slightly to include of my favourite festive spices. So I wasn't much of a fan of mince pies growing up, but I think I've acquired a taste in recent years of homemade ones. In particular, where they feature a little festive twist. Last year I made Bakewell tart inspired mince pies and Christmas pudding brownies. This is - cinnamon mince pies! The cinnamon is mixed in with the sweet shortcrust pastry and they're topped with cinnamon sugar for good measure. Ho ho ho...

spreading festive cheer with wayfair: my christmas traditions.

I love a good festive tradition! Especially when food is involved. One of my favourite things to do is buy a foodie related Christmas bauble for myself, for example. So far I have a rather cute gingerbread man, a sparkly popcorn box and am eyeing up a glittery avocado for 2017. This season I've teamed up with Wayfair to share my favourite things to do each festive season, with a few of their gorgeous homeware pieces features throughout the post.

One thing I have done for a few years without fail is make the family breakfast. From kedgeree to smoked salmon and classic bacon sarnies (ketchup or brown sauce at your request), I love taking on the role of chef to make everyone's breakfast related dreams come true. One of my favourites are the seriously simple lazy baked eggs. A lazy eggs recipe I shared a while back has fast become a family fave. What's more, you can make 12 at once so it's a real time saver (as well as a crowdpleaser) too. Here's how you make them...

christmas vegetarian bake with a brie mash topping.

A festive, vegetarian alternative to Christmas dinner. This veggie bake is made up of a Brussels sprout, quinoa and chestnut mix, topped with creamy Brie mash and jewelled with dried cranberries. Forget nut roast, this Christmas veggie recipe (which is also gluten free) has a rich vegetable and grain base with an indulgent topping. If anything, you must try this cheesy Brie mash recipe as a festive side dish!

I've put together this recipe as part of Central England Co-operative’s Christmas campaign - find more recipes from fellow food bloggers on the hashtag #cooptreats!

honey & amaretto eggnog.

An indulgent twist on the classic egg nog recipe featuring one of my favourite spirits, warming honey and crunchy amaretto biscuits. When Waitrose Cellar challenged me to create my own take on eggnog using their Christmas drinks guide,  I knew that I was going to switch out the rum for my beloved amaretto.

This rich Christmas drink is whipped with egg yolk, white and whole milk, before being topped with thick cream, biscuit scatterings, ground nutmeg, flaked almonds and a drizzle of honey for good measure. What's not to love? 

vegan christmas shortbread trees.

with our christmas meal, secret santa and christmas party this week, i'm fully feeling the festive spirit. we even put our first tree up - complete with retro coloured lights and gingerbread man decorations. if you prefer your christmas trees in edible form, this dairy free shortbread with christmas spices is for you. 

christmas jammie dodgers.

it's that time of year again... time for christmas baking! i especially love getting festive ideas from fellow foodie bloggers, as well as browsing markets for cute christmas products and getting lost on christmas recipe pinterest boards. the mackays baking challenges are especially fun to follow, as their high quality, innovative preserves are such a pleasure to work with and the foodies are all really enthusiastic about their creations. 

this summer i made bakewell tart macarons with their premium morello cherry conserve. this season i was gifted their new mulled wine christmas jam and christmas marmalade with cranberries. with a newly purchased biscuit cutter and letter stamper i was armed with a plan... christmas jammie dodger inspired biscuits!