It is exactly three weeks until Christmas Day and most of us are still busy trying to find the perfect gifts.
The Pat Kenny Show has featured dozens of Irish businesses which are offering unique presents for children and adults.
Another great idea is to make some delicious foodie gifts for family and friends this Christmas.
Gareth Mullins, executive chef at The Marker Hotel, gave his recipes on the show today for two festive classics: mince pies and gingerbread men.
Here are his foolproof recipes to satisfy the sweet tooth of young and old this year:
Mince pies
Making your own mincemeat for pies "is something really worth doing" as it is "really simple", according to Gareth.
Ingredients
175g currants, raisins, sultanas and cranberries
100g mixed peel
An apple, cored and grated
125g butter
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon mixed spice
50g ground almonds
250g brown sugar
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
200ml rum/brandy
Method
Put all the ingredients, bar the alcohol, into a pot, bring it slowly to a boil and let it cook for ten minutes.
Then add the rum or brandy.
Place the mincemeat into sterilised jars. Jars can be sterilised by placing them into the oven at 100 degrees for 20 minutes.
The jars of mincemeat should be stored upside down in a cool, dark place and can hold for up to three months.
To cook the mince pies, Gareth advises to cut out disks of shortcrust pastry, place them in a muffin tray, spoon in the mincemeat mixture, and then place another disk of pastry on top.
These can then be baked at 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Closeup of Christmas gingerbread men. Credit: Marion Owen/Design Pics via ZUMA WireGingerbread men
Gareth said making gingerbread men is brilliant with kids because of its "very, very, very forgiving dough" as even if it is overworked, it won't lead to "catastrophe".
This dough can be made in advance and frozen until you want to use it.
Ingredients
300g white flour
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
125g butter
100g brown sugar
3 tablespoons golden syrup
Method
Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a bowl.
In a small pot, melt the butter, golden syrup and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them together carefully with a wooden spoon until a dough is formed.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for an hour.
After that, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is around 5mm thick, a bit thicker than a euro coin.
Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits, and bake them spread out on the baking sheets for 12 minutes until they're golden brown.
Place them on a cooling rack and then decorate them as you like.
