Stuck for ideas for gifts or stocking fillers? Clare Latimer of Clare’s Kitchen has the perfect solution for sweet tooths

WITH only one week to go and money pouring out of your bank accounts like water, it would be a great time to save money and make a few presents to go under the Christmas tree.
If you have kids why not make your own peppermint creams? I remember as a child cutting out the shapes, peeling off the greaseproof paper and then smelling my hands as they wafted peppermint into the air.
They are foolproof, cheap to make and not too messy. Also you can make some marzipan shapes with the left over marzipan from l`ast week’s Christmas Cake and then make some wonderful, boozy chocolate truffles.
All the sweets can be wrapped in clear cellophane tied with red or black ribbon to make airtight and what could be a better and reasonable present. This won’t take long, I promise.

PEPPERMINT CREAMS
Ingredients
• The white of one egg
• 350g (12oz) icing sugar, sieved.
• Peppermint oil.

Method
Whisk the egg until frothy. Add half the icing sugar and the peppermint and beat well. Continue adding the icing sugar whilst beating until the mixture becomes very stiff. Turn out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar and knead adding more icing sugar until the mixture becomes suitable to roll out. Taste and add more peppermint if necessary. Roll out thinly and cut out into Christmas shapes or rounds and leave to dry on greaseproof paper. Leave for 24 hours. Pack and wrap.

MARZIPAN FRUITS
The best fruits for appearance are bananas, apples, satsumas and lemons but you could also try strawberries, pears etc if you wish.
Ingredients
• One pack marzipan, preferably the pale colour
• Green, yellow, brown and orange food colouring.
• Whole cloves.
• A paint brush.

Method
Cut the pack of marzipan into four. Take the first pack and preferably wearing clean rubber gloves mix in some yellow colouring with your hands. To make the bananas take a small piece and roll into a sausage and then curve like the banana. After using half the mixture then make some lemons by taking some mixture and rolling into a ball.
Then roll slightly to lengthen and then roll each of the ends to a slight point.
Prick very lightly with a fork or roll gently on a fine grater to give the pock-marking and then set aside. Leave to dry out a little. With the next pack add some orange taking small pieces to roll into a ball and then flatten slightly. Again prick with a fork lightly and set aside. For the apples, add green to the next pack of marzipan and roll into small balls leaving them round. The remaining pack of marzipan is for you to make other fruits!!
Put a little brown colouring on the paint brush and paint lines lengthways down the bananas in about four places with a slightly speckled look. Copy from the real fruit.
Then put a whole clove into each fruit where the stalk would be and press right down in until only the little star bit at the end is showing. Either place on a plate to serve or wrap like the previous recipe for presents.

GROWNUP CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
Ingredients
• 175g-6oz plain chocolate
• Two egg yolks
• 25g (1oz) butter
• One dessert spoon of brandy
• Two teaspoons single cream
• One heaped tablespoon of cocoa powder.

Method
Break up the chocolate into a saucepan and place over another saucepan of boiling water so that the chocolate melts without burning. (Or put into a microwave for one minute on medium and then stir until smooth).
When the chocolate is smooth, add the yolks, butter, brandy and cream and beat well until smooth and shiny.
Chill for about 30 minutes. Stir once and then chill for a further 30 minutes. The mixture should now be firm enough to handle. Sprinkle the cocoa powder onto a large plate. Take the mixture so that you can roll an inch size ball in your hands and then place the ball on a plate.
Repeat until the mixture is used up. Roll the balls in the cocoa until they are completely covered.
Add more cocoa if necessary. Chill in the fridge. Either serve very chilled or make into presents but wrap gently and keep chilled otherwise they will melt and stick together.