Celebrate the New Year with delicious treats: festive cookies and French toast berry cups

Are you ready to celebrate the start of 2024 with some delicious snacks that will make your taste buds dance? If you’re heading to any new year parties or just want to challenge yourself to pick up some cooking skills this year, these recipes are great for beginners.

Some festive cookies to get your (sweet) taste buds going. Photo: Shutterstock

Festive cookies

Ingredients:

• store-bought cookie mix (will require extra ingredients)

• baking tray

• with parchment paper

• 300g of icing sugar

• 40ml of whole milk

• food colouring

• sprinkles

• cookie cutters (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven according to the cookie mix instructions.

2. Follow the instructions to prepare the dough, but instead of just making circles, make them into festive shapes. Take a ball of dough, and flatten it to about 5mm.

3. You can use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough, or you can form pieces into hearts or stars with your hands. Place the shapes onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Leave room for the dough to expand during baking.

4. Put the baking tray in the oven. Bake according to the cookie mix instructions. Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool on a rack.

5. Mix the icing sugar, milk and a few drops of food colouring in a small bowl. Use separate bowls if you want different colours of icing.

6. When the cookies have completely cooled, decorate them with the icing and allow them to dry for a few hours until the icing is set.

French toast casserole with cranberries, raspberries and blackberries. Photo: Shutterstock

French toast berry cups

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of bread

• 4 eggs (for an egg-free option, mix 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal with 5 tbsp of water)

• ½ cup of oat or almond milk

• 2 tbsp of maple syrup or agave

• 2 tbsp of coconut oil

• 1 cup of fresh berries

• muffin tins

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Cut the bread into 2cm cubes, and put them in a large mixing bowl.

3. Mix the milk, syrup and eggs (or your egg-free option) in a separate bowl.

4. Pour the wet ingredients over the bread cubes, add the berries, and mix gently.

5. Grease the muffin tins with coconut oil and fill them with the mixture.

6. Bake them for 30 minutes, and serve while they’re warm.