Christmas Treats From Around the World.

France - Buche de Noel The story of this dessert: Napolean demanded households in Paris to keep their chimneys closed during the winter to prevent medical problems. This prevented them from engaging in many of the traditions surrounding and involving the fireplace. French bakers invented this dessert as a symbolic replacement around which the family could gather for story-telling and other holiday merriment.

Spain -Turron The sweet Turrón may be roughly classified as: Hard (from Alicante): A compact block of whole almonds in a brittle mass of eggs, honey and sugar. Soft (from Jijona): Similar but the almonds are reduced to a paste and it is more chewy.

Finland - Gingerbread Gingerbread is made and cut into different shapes: hearts stars houses men They are then decorated with icing and can be used as decorations.

Guatemala - Bunuelos Buñuelos are fritters of Spanish origin. They are a popular snack in many Latin American countries and they are traditionally eaten at Christmas. They typically consist of a simple, wheat-based yeast dough which is fried and finished off with a sweet topping. Buñuelos may be filled with a variety of things, ranging from cheese to yams.

Chile - Pan de Pascua Pan de Pascua is a typical Chilean cake that is traditionally eaten around Christmas time (although it is called Easter bread). It is a sweet sponge cake flavoured with ginger and honey. It usually contains candied fruits, raisins, walnuts and almonds. Pan de Pascua was introduced to Chile by German immigrants. In Germany the cake is called ‘Stollen’, and it is very similar to the Italian ‘panettone’.

England – Mince Pies A mince pie is a traditional festive British sweet pastry, usually consumed during the Christmas and New Year period. Now they only contain fruit, but originally contained spiced meat and fruit.