Coconut Snowman Food

COCONUT SNOWMEN

Steps:

• Line a baking pan that fits in your freezer with parchment paper. Scoop the vanilla ice cream, rounding scoops as much as possible, until you have 4 of each size, and place on the prepared baking pan. Place the pan in the freezer to harden for 15 minutes.
• Remove the ice cream from the freezer, and roll in coconut. Return to pan, then return the pan to the freezer. Add orange food coloring to marzipan until carrot color is attained. Shape marzipan into small carrot shapes, using a paring knife to make ridges. Remove 1 small scoop of ice cream at a time from the freezer, and make faces using Sen Sen for eyes and mouth and marzipan carrots for the nose. Return to freezer until ready to serve.
• Remove middle-size scoops from the freezer one at a time; place Sen Sen in a row down the front to create buttons. Remove remaining scoops from freezer, and stack to create snowmen, pressing slightly to adhere. Return snowmen to freezer.
• Make the top hats by roasting marshmallows on skewers over a gas burner. Alternatively, place marshmallows on a baking sheet under the broiler, and cook until browned, rotating every few seconds. Place the toasted marshmallow on the chocolate wafer, and dust with sifted confectioners' sugar. Place the hat on the snowmen just before serving.

COCONUT SNOWMAN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the coconut, confectioners' sugar, milk and butter. Shape into 1-1/4-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and chill for 1-1/4 hours or until firm. , In a microwave, melt vanilla chips at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave in additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth., Dip balls in melted chips; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes. Set aside remaining melted vanilla chips., In a microwave, melt semisweet chips on high for about 1 minute; stir. Microwave in additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. , For hats, dip each marshmallow in chocolate; place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet, allowing excess to drip down. Swirl the marshmallows in chocolate on waxed paper to create hat brims. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes., Level the top of coated coconut balls. Attach marshmallows hats, using reserved melted vanilla chips. With black icing, add eyes and a mouth to each face; with orange icing, add a nose. Use red icing and leaf candies for holly on hats. Store in an airtight container.

SNOWMAN COCONUT ICED BUNS

Steps:

• Combine the bread mix and caster sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in 200ml of the milk, the melted butter and egg, then mix together swiftly with a wooden spoon. If it feels a little dry, add a dash more milk. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 mins until you have a dough that is smooth and springy. Put the dough in a large, lightly oiled mixing bowl, then cover and leave in a warm place for 1½-2 hrs, or until doubled in size.
• Tip the dough out of its bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back (gently kneading it a few times to expel the air). Split the dough into 10 equal-sized pieces, then shape each one into a ball and roll out to a diameter of about 10cm. Pinch the bottom tightly together to seal. Arrange nine of the buns, pinched-side down, on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, ensuring there is a good amount of space between each one. Cover loosely and leave for 1 hr more to double in size.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Bake for 20-25 mins in the centre of the oven until golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on the baking sheet.
• Mix the icing sugar and 3 tbsp water together to create a thick, glossy icing. Dip each one in the icing, then in the desiccated coconut. Make two eyes using the black icing, plus smaller blobs (to look like coal) for the mouth. Use the orange icing to make little carrot noses. Leave the buns to set at room temperature for 1 hr. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.