Festive Sugar Plums - Old Fashioned Sweetmeats

Total Time: 5 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

• 200 g luxury dried fruits (a medley of raisins, currants, citrus peel, sultanas, apricots, figs, dates etc.)
• 25 g ground almonds
• 2 tablespoons glace ginger, chopped
• 1 orange, zest of, grated medium
• 2 -3 teaspoons brandy or 2 -3 teaspoons orange juice
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice (or a mixture of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and allspice)
• 12 pistachio nuts
• 3 red glace cherries

Recipe

• 1 put all of the dried fruit, ground almonds and glace ginger into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. add the grated orange zest and mix well. then add the brandy or orange juice and pulse briefly until the mixture comes together.
• 2 mix the sugar and mixed spice together.
• 3 divide the sugar plum fruit mixture into 12 pieces and then roll into small balls, before rolling them in the spiced sugar to coat them all thoroughly.
• 4 cut the pistachios into slivers and cut the cherries into quarters, then push the pistachio slivers and cherry pieces into the top of the sugar plums, to imitate leaves and berries.
• 5 place them into small paper cases if you wish and store them in an airtight tin for up to 4 weeks if made with brandy, or up to 2 weeks in the fridge if made with orange juice.
• 6 you may be able to perform the nutcracker ballet now - or not!