Adventures in Advent Calendars (with Frozen themed cookies in a jar!)

Brought to you by Nuffnang and BIG W

S1 For full details please see my disclosure policy

Traditions around Christmas are what it's all about. I have such fond memories of going Christmas Tree Hunting back in the days when you had to cruise the streets for hours (OK, maybe 45 minutes) for a glimpse of a tree in a front window. Aunty Penny and I would be in the back seat of the tiny little orange Datsun Stanza, windows down, the cool air of the Freo Doctor on our faces after a hot day, shouting out "CHRISTMAS TREE!" and "THERE'S ONE!", keeping a tally to see who would win. I would always win; as the little sister there was a "if I can't win, I don't want to play" policy.

Each Christmas it's our tradition to make an Advent Calendar with a themed activity for each day. Now, before you start thinking you don't have time for daily activities, hear me out! They don't have to be huge things! Some examples of our activities are: go Christmas Tree hunting, donate toys to a charity, sing Christmas Carols, bake festive yummies, visit Santa, colour in a Christmas picture and other super easy things. Activities we can all enjoy together.

Including baking in to our Advent Calendar traditions was done not just because it was something fun, but so we could give out the fruits of our labour as gifts. We get in the kitchen together, listen to Carols, bake things with a shed load of sugar, have fun and get a gift out of it. It's like a cheesy holiday movie playing out in my own house.

If you're stuck for time and turning on a hot oven in 37C heat doesn't take your fancy, then you can prepare the ingredients and give away COOKIES IN A JAR. I personally don't understand the jar obsession - I drank out of jars when I was poor, now when rich people do it I find it quite funny. But it's on trend, or on point, or on something, so let's go with that.

These aren't just adorable, they are a gift that keeps on giving: the baking experience, eating the cookies and graduating to Official Hipster by drinking from the mason jar. But they're also very affordable. I bought mason jars with handles from BIG W for $2 each, lids ($6 for a pack of 6 - kept with preserving items) popped in the ingredients, tied it up with some ribbon ($2 in the gift wrap section) and hung a bag of sprinkles on the side for decoration. I bought the $6.50 Wilton brand sprinkles - it's my absolute fave and used to be really hard to get, but BIG W stock it now! HUZZAH!

To make your own:

• Grab your jars and lids and sterilize them by boiling or putting them through the dishwasher

• When filling the jars, each layer needs to be compressed so that it won't move around in transit. I used a spatula and a melon baller to press it down gently - the only things I could find as Bobbin slept

•  Fill the jars with:

110g SR Flour
50g oats
35g blue M&Ms
35g white chocolate drops
55g brown sugar
35g white sugar
20g macadamia nuts (or substitute 20g extra M&Ms instead to make this nut free)
extra SR Flour for leveling at the top - fill it to the brim!

Pop on the lid, tape on a label, tie a ribbon around it, or some fabric and voila! I put on the Wilton sprinkles because I thought kids would like to decorate the cookies after they'd made them, but you don't have to. You don't even have to have them Frozen themed, you can vary the recipe really easily by substituting any colour M&M, or swapping it out for dried cranberries for a hint of festive red.

As a special treat I've created some printables for you! Click on the images below to download a sheet of labels for the front and back of your jars. They'll be the right size for a two inch punch - the red will go to the edge but the blue will have a white border.

I'm not the only one with a cool Advent Calendar this year though, BIG W have an online Advent Calendar with a new surprise special every day that sure beats a miniscule square of cooking chocolate. And I can tell you now, all secret squirrel like, that on the 6th there will be 30% off all Skylanders and Infinity Storage products. Ooooh storage. Buying storage things could possibly become a tradition in this house...

Tell me your Christmas traditions. Will you be giving cookies in a jar?

Coconut and raspberry pikelets

How do I love thee, pikelets. Let me count the ways.

You're a super quick snack made from pantry staples, you are the perfect size for kiddies, your recipe is flexible and somewhat healthy depending on what goes in, and you're bloody delicious little pillows of yum.

Almost every time I make them, I change the recipe. Banana, choc chip (or the heaven that is banana and choc chip), orange and poppyseed, chia seed when I'm feeling a bit wanky, dairy free with fruit puree and of course, plain with a shitload of butter. My latest fave is coconut and raspberry because firstly I somehow bought a kilo of coconut last week and have been chucking it in everything since, and secondly, everything tastes amazing with coconut and raspberry in it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut (shredded, desiccated, depending on which texture you prefer)
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ~ 1 1/2 cups of milk (this varies on how dry the coconut is)
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, blitzed (optional - just go for the jam at the end if you want)
• butter for greasing the frypan
• the tinsiest little bit of oil to stop the butter burning
• raspberry jam to serve

Method

• Preheat your frypan. No, really. You don't want the first batch to be rank and half cooked, do you?
• Chuck coconut, flour, baking powder and eggs in to a bowl, gradually add milk until you have the batter at the desired consistency - I like it a little thick to make fluffier pikelets
• Whisk it. Get your arm in to it. Pretend you're a TV chef
• Put the tinsiest bit of oil in the pan and a knob of butter
• Laugh that you used the word knob
• Swirl it around then drop plops of coconutty batter in to the pan
• When the tops dull and a bubble or two form, flip it over - don't leave it until there are squillions of burst bubbles, you want that air inside the pikelet
• Cook on the other side until, well, cooked - ten seconds?
• Flip out those golden orbs of awesome on to a plate and serve with raspberry jam in a vintage thingy you found at an op shop
• Instagram the shit out of it

I have absolutely no idea if these freeze well because none have ever survived long enough for me to find out. Lemme know?

How to make a fire engine birthday cake in 10 easy steps

So your kid is about to have a birthday and you want to impress him/her with a fire engine birthday cake but aren't quite sure how to do it? This post... um... well, it won't really be that helpful. Sorry about that. 

Step 1: Trawl the internet looking for inspiration. Get distracted by clips on YouTube of $10,000 wedding cakes and cakes the shape of Sydney Opera House

Step 2: Make a little fondant fireman that is so cute you hyperventilate at the thought of anyone eating him. Name him Freddy and update him on the progress of the cake as you go. Don't tell anyone you do this

Step 3: Make a fire hydrant that looks like the ones you see in movies. When anyone tells you that fire hydrants in Australia don't look like that, give them a death stare and tell them artistic license means you can create whatever damn fire hydrant you want

Step 4: Bake the cake, make the ganache. Cover the former with the latter and try really hard not to lick the knife. Fail miserably. 

Step 5: Create little pressure gauges, wheels, and number plates. Use gel colour, thinned down with vodka and watch everyone's eyes go wide when they come in and see you sitting there with a bottle of vodka and a shot glass on the bench

Step 6: Take a swig of the vodka, might as well, everyone thinks you already have

Step 7: Cover the cake with a shed load of bright red fondant and use edible glue to stick all the pieces on

Step 8: Take a bajillion photos and put them all over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to show off - buy a new hat to disguise how much your head has swollen

Step 9: Melt in to a giant mushy puddle as you watch your kid's face light up when he sees it and feel like the best mum in the world. Immediately forget how many times the bloody rungs fell off the ladder and the handle came off the fire bucket

Step 10: Cry a little bit when it's time to cut the cake and all your hard work is completely destroyed. Get over it when you taste the cake and realize it tastes just as good as it looks. Start planning for next year because it has to be bigger and better

Homemade Nut Free Muesli Bars

I've jumped on the nut free wagon since Tricky's anaphylaxis reaction. Whilst he can handle peanuts I wanted to try my hand at some nut free muesli bars for two reasons:

Firstly to see if they tasted as awful and bland as they looked... they did.

And secondly so I could give them to him to take to his little nut allergy parties where all the anaphylaxis kids get together and compare EpiPen carriers or some shit.

So, as always, I threw out the different recipes I'd seen and decided to take what I'd learned to create my own... and they're pretty damn tasty if I do say so myself. The Wonder Couple have declared them "better than the shop bought muesli bars". High praise indeed!

Nut Free Muesli Bars

Ingredients

• 120g of margarine
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 cups of oats
• 1 cup of crushed cornflakes 
• 1 1/2 cups of mixed dried fruit* - this is the important bit so make sure you have a variety, I use a combination of currants, sultanas, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, apricots and even a little peel. This is where the total nom factor comes from! If you just use sultanas it is BOR-ING!
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Method

• In a big bowl combine all your dry ingredients and the super awesome selection of dried fruit
• Combine margarine, honey and sugar in a saucepan and melt together, bring to the boil for 3-4 minutes stirring continuously - it will froth and thicken slightly
• Pour the contents of the saucepan in to the bowl and stir until the whole mix is wet and sticky
• Dump the mix in to a lined slice tray, push down as firmly as you can and bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool (whack it in the fridge to speed it up) then cut to size - bars or squares, I ain't fussy

It is slightly crumbly so make sure you wait until it's completely firmed in the fridge before cutting - if you get impatient because it looks so amazing then you'll end up with crumbs everywhere. If it happens though, scrape them all together form little balls - the honey means they'll still stick together. Muesli balls FTW!

Happy baking!

*I go to the local bulk food store and get a little scoop of all the dried fruits I want so I don't have to pay for giant packets of dried fruit that will take forever to get eaten

Mild Gingerbread Recipe

I have gone a little gingerbread crazy this Christmas. I'd never made it before a few weeks ago and now I seem to be making a batch a week.

So why haven't I put on any weight? Well, because I don't actually eat gingerbread. I don't like ginger! But I love the way the house smells when I'm baking it.

I've been playing with a few recipes and having a bit of a tinker to try and make a mild version that I can eat and I've come up with this one.

Mild Gingerbread Recipe

(for those who get their spice elsewhere in life)

Ingredients

• 120g room temperature butter
• 100g brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 large egg
• 100g golden syrup
• 3 cups of plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp ginger
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Method

• Cream butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed
• Beat in egg and golden syrup on medium speed
• Sift in flour and baking powder
• Add in ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg then stir to combine
• Cover and refrigerate for an hour to firm the dough
• Roll out dough between two sheets of baking paper and cut however you like
• Bake at 180C for 10 minutes (or longer depending on how thick you like your gingerbread!) until golden brown at the edges

I've not tried a gingerbread house yet I've been too busy with the gingerbread men (above), an army of gingerbread Santas:

And an edible centrepiece Christmas tree just like the shortbread one:

 

Do you love or hate gingerbread?

Edible Christmas Centrepiece - White Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread Christmas Tree

I am obsessed with baking at the moment. I keep getting in trouble on Twitter and Instagram for posting photos and making people hungry.

So it's about time I shared some recipes!

Instead of giving my mum a present this year I'm making her an edible Christmas centrepiece to decorate her festive table. She's really excited after seeing my first attempt and is now themeing her entire table around the centrepiece... I really can't blame her, look at it!

White Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread Christmas Tree

Ingredients :

• 250g room temperature butter
• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins), chopped
• 100g white chocolate, chopped
• Cachous or mini MMs for decorating

Method:

• Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric beater (or with a hand beater if you want to look like The Hulk afterwards)
• Stir in the flour, craisins and chocolate
• Pull dough together (it will be very crumbly), cover with clingwrap and place in fridge for an hour to firm
• Roll out between two sheets of baking paper and using nested star cookie cutters, create a bunch of stars
• Place in oven at 160C for 15 minutes - although it depends how thick you've rolled the dough

Once they're completely cool you can use royal icing to create your tree - start by placing a few dabs of icing on the base of the largest star and sticking it to your board/plate so that it doesn't slide off. Then turn each star 45 degrees from the last and place a little dab in the centre to hold it in place.

If you happen to drop one of the cookies like I did, don't panic, just use icing to glue each piece down, you won't be able to tell when the next layer goes on top. 

Place your cachous or MMs on as you go, while the icing is wet, so they stick.

My first attempt was a little wonky, but with the combination of cranberries and white chocolate it still tasted amazing!

Will you be decorating with a Shortbread Christmas Tree this year?

Oreo Macaroons

Bless me, Mother Magneto, for I have sinned. Until yesterday I had never made a macaroon or a macaron. In fact, I'd never even tasted one. But, it gets worse, a mortal sin it would seem... I had no freaking clue that they were different things.

Do you know the difference? MasterChef didn't and they got in BIG trouble for it. I do now. You can call me Smuggy McSmuggerson as I sit here in my foodie smugness. 

So anyway I was avoiding my own melancholy thoughts yesterday and saw Nicole from Planning With Kids tweet this recipe for coconut macaroons with chocolate and figured it was about time I lost my macaroon virginity. I'm not a major fan of coconut but thought I'd try them out and see. Since I have zero baking ingredients in my house I hauled my butt down to the local to grab some coconut and sugar when I spied something and had a calorie-laden thought.

Hrmmm. I wonder if I could just replace 2 cups of coconut with 2 cups of CRUSHED OREOS!?!?!

Behold, the awesome:

Oreo Macaroons

(makes about 18)

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 100grams of grated chocolate
• 150grams of crushed Oreos (I used a food processor to get it really fine)

Method:

• Beat egg whites until stiff (optional to make stiffy jokes with your significant other)
• Keep beating and slowly add in sugar - beat until glossy and smooth
• Fold in half your chocolate and ALL the crushed Oreos with a metal spoon (this means you can't sample any before you add them, OK!)

• Using a dessert spoon, dollop mounds of mixture on to a lined baking tray
• Bake at 150 degrees Celsius (130 fan forced) for 12-15 minutes
• Melt the remaining chocolate (takes about 45 seconds if it's grated)
• Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled macaroons

Serve and watch your family bow down at your awesomeness

Oreo Macaroons. Embrace the Awesomeness

Crunchy on the outside, ooey gooey chewy on the inside. Noms!

And no, I've still not tasted a macaron. Aunty Penny says they taste like crunchy air, someone will have to send me some so I can decide for myself *hint hint*