Best homecooked Christmas gift recipes to help you save money on presents – and add a handmade touch

WITH a dash of love and a sprinkling of fun, homemade presents cost less but mean so much more.

You could create flavoured oils, fruity jams, tasty truffles or crumbly cookies. The edible sweet treats here can all be given as gifts.

Finish them off with some gorgeous wrapping and a special personal message.

Find the Christmas cake and cookie recipes at recipes.lidl.co.uk.

•  Cost per serving based on proportion of ingredients used to make the dish.

Danish Romkugler Chocolate Rum Balls

ROMKUGLER were traditionally made by Danish bakers to use up leftover pastries and cakes. Pop leftover muffins or pastries in the freezer until you have enough for the recipe or use a supermarket madeira cake.

Find the recipe in Craft Your Own Cosy Scandi Christmas, by Becci Coombes (hygge style.co.uk).

(Makes 30 to 40 balls)

YOU NEED:

• 100g marzipan
• 500g leftover cake or Danish pastry
• 3 tbsp ­raspberry jam
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp rum
• 150g chocolate vermicelli

METHOD: Grate the marzipan (put it in the fridge for half an hour first).

Place the marzipan, cake, jam, cocoa powder and rum either into a food processor or a stand mixer with a beater attachment.

Mix until the mixture becomes a smooth paste and it changes from a crumby mess to a glorious chocolate squidge.

Have a taste, then add more cocoa, marzipan or rum if you think it needs it.

Pop the mix in the fridge for half an hour to let it firm up a little.

Form into balls (about 15g or the size of a small walnut) then roll them in either chocolate vermicelli or sieved cocoa. 

The romkugler will last about a week in an airtight tin, but can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer for a month if you used fresh cake/pastry to make them.

Give as gifts in petits four cases and gift boxes.

Total cost: £6.70

Get Ahead Christmas Cake

SCENTED with citrus and spice, this Christmas traybake cake can be made and stored up to two months ahead of the big day.

Simply splash with brandy every two to three weeks before decorating with easy ready-to-roll marzipan and icing.

(Serves 16)

YOU NEED:

• 2 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 1kg brandy-soaked fruit
• 190g softened unsalted butter (plus extra to grease)
• 190g light brown soft sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 3 large eggs
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp mixed spices
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 100g pecans
• Brandy (to feed)

To decorate:

• 90g apricot jam
• Icing sugar (to dust)
• 500g marzipan
• 500g ready-to-roll icing

METHOD: Zest the oranges and lemon, then juice one of the oranges. Tip the brandy-soaked fruit into a large bowl and stir through the citrus zests and orange juice.

Cover and set aside for at least three hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 140C, fan 120C, gas mark 1.

Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm traybake tin with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, light brown sugar and golden syrup for a few minutes until pale and fluffy.

Crack in the eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Fold through the flour, mixed spice and salt until well combined. Chop the pecans, then stir through the cake batter with the soaked fruit.

Scrape into the prepared tin, then level the surface with a spatula.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 mins to two  hours until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Once cool, remove the cake from the tin on to a board. Use a thin skewer to poke holes into the cake, then “feed” with 2 tbsp brandy. Wrap the cake in a double layer of fresh baking paper, then a double layer of foil.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Repeat the feeding every two to three weeks until you decorate, rewrapping each time.

To decorate, warm the apricot jam in a small saucepan to loosen it.

Meanwhile, dust your work surface well with icing sugar. Roll out the marzipan to slightly larger than the top of your cake.

Brush the surface of the cake with some of the apricot jam, then carefully lift on the marzipan. Trim around the marzipan with clean scissors so it sits neatly on top.

Dust your work surface again with icing sugar, then roll out the icing in the same way.

Stamp out stars using different sized cutters. Brush the marzipan with water, then carefully lift the icing on top.

Smooth over with your hand or a piece of leftover icing. Dot the back of any stamped-out stars with a little apricot jam and secure on to the cake as you wish.

Slice and serve.

Total cost: £14.20

Pistachio and Orange Sugar Cookies

THESE brightly coloured cookies make a gorgeous gift. Just let your inner artist run wild.

(Makes 24)

YOU NEED:

• 135g plain flour
• 135g cornflour
• 75g whole pistachios, coarsely ground
• 90g icing sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 orange, zest only
• 135g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 125ml whole milk

To decorate:

• 240g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 3 tbsp milk
• Food colouring gel
• Icing pens

METHOD: For the shortbread dough, mix together the flours, nuts, icing sugar and baking powder, then pour into a mixer.

Add the orange zest and butter cubes, pulsing to combine until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Tip the mix into a bowl and gradually add the milk, bringing the mix together to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for ten minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas mark 6. Line two large baking trays with parchment.

Roll out the dough and cut out 24 biscuits, either using a decorative cutter or by dividing into rectangles.

Divide between baking trays and bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove them from the trays and put them on a wire rack to cool.

While the biscuits are cooling, prepare your icing.

In a bowl, combine the icing sugar and vanilla essence along with two tbsp of milk.

Beat the mixture until it turns pale and meringue-like – if you need a runnier consistency, just add an extra spoonful of milk.

To create different coloured icing, divide the mixture between bowls and use the food colouring gels.

To decorate, unleash your inner artist and use the coloured icing pens to create patterns and shapes.

Total cost: £8.05