Sweet treat: How to make your own edible advent calendar

When I was a child, an advent calendar was something on a large rectangular card featuring a picture of a nativity scene with little flaps to open each day to mark the countdown to Christmas.

Today, way beyond little windows featuring pretty pictures, the choice has grown to include a bundle of creative ideas to suit all ages and tastes, including creative boxes filled with an assortment of goodies from chocolates to coffee pods, perfumes and even miniature gins. 

Precious pets aren’t forgotten either as there are doggy advent calendars filled with 24 treats.

Baker Jenny Kay shares her creativity, a homemade option which is easy and fun to make and will enchant both young and old.

SPICE BISCUIT ADVENT CALENDAR

Makes: 30-40 biscuits

Ingredients:

Biscuits

250g butter 

250g light brown sugar 

2 extra large eggs

750ml (3 cups) cake flour 

20ml (4 tsp)  mixed spice 

10ml (2 tsp)  ground cinnamon

Royal icing

1 egg white 

375ml (1 ½ cups) icing sugar, sifted 

5ml (1 tsp) lemon juice 

Red and green gel food colouring 

Purchased small edible decorations 

Edible pen

A cardboard box, about 30 x 30cm with a clear lid

Method:

1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar very well until light and creamy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift the flour and spices and add to the creamed mixture. Mix until it comes together to form a ball of dough. Add a little more flour if necessary but don’t make the dough too dry as it is better slightly damp.
4. Divide the dough in half and roll out to 3mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into squares using a 4.5cm square cutter. 
5. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and repeat the process until you have at least 25 squares. 
6. Bake at 180ºC for 15-20 minutes until pale golden in colour. Remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely while making the icing. 
7. Beat the egg white lightly in a mixing bowl and then beat in enough icing sugar to form a stiff peaks. Then beat in the lemon juice. 
8. Divide the icing into three bowls. Add red colouring to one, green colouring to another and leave one white. 
9. Spoon about 30ml (2 tbsp) of white icing into a piping bag with a small plain nozzle and set aside. 
10. Thin down the other white icing down using a drop of water at a time to form a thick but slightly thinner icing that will adhere to the biscuits without running off the sides. Spoon the icing into disposable piping bags and cut the point off to create a small hole. Use the thinner white icing to ice the biscuit then flood the biscuits with the red, green and white icing, as per picture, and allow to dry completely. If you have a dehydrator put the biscuits in there to speed the drying process. 
11. If desired, cover the squares with small dots of the stiffer white icing you set aside in a piping bag to create texture. Once the icing dots are dry, use the same icing to attach the chosen edible decorations and set aside to dry completely. 
12. Using an edible pen write individual numbers, starting with one and ending with 24, Christmas Eve, on each square.
13. Pack into the base of a box with a clear lid big enough to hold all 24 biscuits without overlapping, using a small blob of icing on the back of each biscuit to secure each square in numerical order.