Packed with bites of walnuts, reasonably sweet biscuits with a hint of saltiness go great with a morning coffee or an afternoon cuppa. But Hup Toh Soh - Chinese Walnut Biscuits, that symbolise happiness for the whole family are traditionally baked for Chinese New Year celebration. They're given as gifts or served to family and friends. The biscuits are round, slightly flat, have crackly edges and resemble walnuts, hence their name. They are so delicious that you will be whipping up at least a batch at any time of the year.  Find the recipe here...

Mincemeat needs at least two weeks to macerate before using in mince pies. Dried fruits, almonds, spices and orange zest have enough time to soak beautifully in sherry, and their flavours become rich and complex. Although I’m not entirely against store-bought mincemeat as you can buy a very good one, but when is homemade its taste is completely different. Homemade mince meat is easy and quick. Cooking takes only 10 minutes, dried fruits, almonds are available at grocery stores, and you can control the amount of sugar which may be important. The homemade mincemeat can be made up to six months in advance. Find the recipe here….

My poppy seed filling is full of almonds, nuts, dried fruits, flavoured with orange juice and zest. All its sweetness becomes from honey, not sugar. I make it only once a year, just before Christmas, for a traditional polish cake – Poppy Seed Rolls. The filling is an amazing natural poppy seed paste which can’t be compared to any ready-to-eat canned store-bought stuff. Neither difficult nor time-consuming to master can be prepared a few days in advance. The poppy seed filling is also eaten with pasta as a traditional meal at Christmas Eve in some regions of Poland. Find the recipe here...