Last week I made three different sweet treats – rum balls, chocolate fruit balls and white chocolate, lemon and almond balls – for our family Christmas get together. I’ve been making them for years and they’ve become somewhat of a family tradition. I’m thinking that maybe next year I’ll try these chocolate coconut drops as well and see what the family thinks of them.
Making your own liqueurs was a fun thing to do back in the 70s when every dinner party finished with liqueurs or port. They’re not so fashionable these days, but maybe they’ll make a comeback on day and these two recipes will be worth a try (although I think I’d substitute a brewed coffee for the instant).
We’ve just entered Lockdown No. 3 here in Melbourne and are really hoping it doesn’t last as long as the last one. If, like us, over the past year Zooming with friends or just sitting locked in at home has seen you enjoy a lot more alcohol than you normally do, this recipe could be the answer. Non-alcoholic fruit punch. Of course, the desperate can always add a little something extra if needed……
This is definitely a tempting slice, but I’m not sure it needs Festive in the title, I think it would be good any time of the year, not just at Christmas. It’s a great combination of chocolate, fruit and Amaretto biscuits and doesn’t need baking – how can you go wrong with that?
Now the calendar has ticked over to December I’ve realised that I’d better get onto Christmas planning. What’s more important food or presents? How good is it if you can combine the two. When my children were at school I used to make a variety of sweet treats to give to their teachers. I’d put them in a jar or basket decorate, it with with Christmas ribbon and problem solved. One of those treats was White Christmas, made with copha and milk powder. This White Christmas is a step up from that as it uses white chocolate, butter and icing sugar and is great for all those who don’t like copha.
This is an old 1950s (or thereabouts) recipe for chocolate covered caramel balls. With the schools shutting down for an extended time it could be a project for the kids. Obviously, they’ll need supervision with cooking the tin of condensed milk, but the rolling out of the balls could be a fun and messy job for them.
When my kids were growing up providing something for them to take to be sold at their school fetes was a major headache. I’m not sure if it’s the same sort of problem these days, but I thought this compile of Fete Treats might be worth posting just in case it is. It’s from a Herald Sun feature in August 1994 and has all the major fete treats of the day printed in one place which I thought was a great idea.
Mum saved this recipe from her bowling magazine, which published the same sort of down to earth recipes as the old PWMU Cookbooks that every woman had copy of back when I was growing up and every young cook, as I was back in the 1970s, was given. The cookbook was a fund raiser for the Presbyterian Womens Missionary Union and was full of recipes and useful hints. Along with everything else cookbooks have changed a lot since those days, but I still sometimes hunt through my copy for a good chutney or jam recipe.
There’s really nothing different about this recipe. I think French Toast’s been made this way around the world for a long time. Must admit that the heading Tempting Tucker, followed by French Toast was what appealed to me about this cutting – so Australian ……………
It’s that time of year again when schools, kindergartens and child care centers are having their end of year activities which from my experience always means that parents have to take along a plate of food. Strangely, good wholesome things don’t seem to be that popular, but something like this chocolate and marshmallow slice should be a hit with the kids.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 