Christmas Trees Recipe 55

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Stir in marshmallows; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in cereal and pecans. Let cool just enough to handle. , With greased hands, shape into trees. (Work quickly, as the cereal hardens quickly and becomes difficult to form.) Roll in green sugar. If desired, decorate with sprinkles. Place on a serving tray; dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• Remove the cinnamon rolls from the tube and place on a large cutting board or a clean work surface; reserve the icing for later. Unravel 1 roll into a long strip of dough. Fold the strip in an accordion fashion, making each fold slightly wider than the last, to create a Christmas-tree shape. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 4 rolls and space the Christmas trees apart on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and puffed up, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir the green food coloring directly into the container of frosting with a rubber spatula until the desired shade is achieved (we added about 30 drops).
• When the trees are ready, let them cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, transfer the reserved cinnamon roll icing to a small resealable plastic bag and refrigerate until slightly chilled.
• When the trees are cool enough to touch, spread desired amount of green frosting onto each and spread evenly. Garnish with holiday-themed sprinkles. Snip a tiny corner from the bag of icing and pipe a garland onto each tree. Add a yellow candy to the tip of each tree to resemble a star.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unroll the two pastry sheets, keeping them on their baking parchment. Spread the pesto over one of the pastry sheets, then scatter over half of the grated cheese. Flip the second sheet of pastry on top and press to stick the two pastry sheets together. Remove the top layer of parchment.
• Cut out a Christmas tree shape - a large triangle with a little stump at the bottom, using as much of the pastry as possible. Cut a star shape out of the offcuts for the top of the tree. Reserve the rest of the offcuts. Lift the tree onto a large baking tray, brush with the beaten egg, then do the same with the star and press it on the tip. Scatter over the rest of the cheese and gently press to help it stick to the pastry.
• Cut vertical lines into the sides of the tree, about 1cm apart, leaving a 'trunk' of about 2cm up the middle. Twist the strips of pastry and stick them back down to the tray. Do this with all the pastry 'branches'. Cut the offcuts into straws, and arrange them on another baking tray. You can now wrap and chill the tree and offcuts for up to two days, freeze for two months, or bake straightaway.