Christmas Treats

  

Since I didn't have the pleasure of being Christmas host this year... not yet anyway... I decided to make a Christmas treat to take along to Grandma's instead. Yummy little Chocolate Reindeer Tartlets. The recipe is not mine however, I had help (from the free Coles food magazine I picked up ages ago) and have been waiting to make these little delights ever since.

Christmas rolled around finally, so I did some preparation (while boys were sleeping) so H could help and wouldn't have to wait for the tedious stuff to be done first and lose interest, as usual.

  Reindeer eyes, noses and antlers. Check.

Chocolate Butternut Snap Tartlets. Check.

Apron on, we dove into putting the Rudolphs together... I made quite a few extra eyes and noses knowing there would be casualties in the making.

Unfortunately my plan was foiled! He lost interest after eating a bite out of three tartlets and gobbling down a few marshmallow noses. Obviously dinosaur stickers are way more fun Mum! Duh!

If you think these little Reindeer Tartlets are cute here's how you too can make them... maybe next year!

  

Ingredients:

• 1 x pkt Arnott's Butternut Snap Cookies
• 1/3 cup cream
• 200g milk or dark chocolate, chopped
• 65g unsalted butter, chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place biscuits over each hole of a twelve hole, 1 1/2 tbsp capacity round based tartlet tin. Bake for 2 - 3 min or until soft. Remove from oven and press softened biscuits into tin to mould into a cup shape. Allow to cool. Repeat with remaining biscuits.
2. Place butter, cream and chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir constantly until melted and smooth - approx 7 min. Pour into a clean, dry bowl and refrigerate until cool but not set - approx 20 min.
3. Fill biscuit cases with 1 heaped tsp of chocolate mix then place in fridge for 20 - 25 min until set and ready to serve.

Decorating:

1. Cut a regular marshmallow in half and place cut side down for face.
2. Stick a jaffa to marshmallow using icing or melted chocolate.
3. Cut a mini marshmallow in half and place cut sides up onto tart for eyes. Add a dot of dark icing or chocolate for pupils (though I used little blue choc drops).
4. Cut mini star shaped pretzels into shape and press into chocolate filling to make antlers.

ENJOY! But watch out for little sneaks who like to taste...

Christmas Stockings

Oooh I love Christmas! It's nearly here... only 3 weeks away! Firstly I can't believe the year is almost over already! Where has that time gone? Secondly, it's baby's first Christmas and he doesn't have a stocking yet! Better get a wriggle on...

I had a beautiful stocking growing up, one my very clever creative Mum made for me and my siblings. Sadly that stocking was misplaced in a Christmas Care Package in the post en route to England a few years ago, and hopefully is being used somewhere by a person also called Ashley. Otherwise that would just be weird.

  

Anyway, inspired by fond childhood memories, two years ago I made stockings for my own family members. As you might notice I've hand stitched the names. That's mostly because I am frugal, but I also had more time on my hands, and was far more organised back then. So much so that I started the 4th stocking in anticipation of expanding our family... Eventually... Thank goodness!

  

One previously prepared gender neutral Christmas stocking has been fished out of the cupboard and is on it's way to completion. Let's hope Mummy gets it finished in time for your 1st Christmas Billy!

  

Colours and Cake

I managed to indulge in some of what I call "creating" this past fortnight.


Taking inspiration from H's beading I made some fun colourful necklaces - which have already been given away as birthday gifts.

 

And, among all the cleaning, cooking (regular meals), hosting mothers group and the rest of the extensive list of motherly duties I regularly tackle each day, I also attempted a new chocolate brownie recipe... which didn't quite turn out. So, in my creativity I decided to make a twice baked chocolate fudge brownie tart slice... thingy... And let me tell you - it was YUM! It too lasted only briefly in our house.

  

The Naked Chef

We like to bake. Anything will do. Though, sweets are preferable to my son... Oh OK, preferable to me too!

  

brownies

I try to include him whenever I'm baking. He runs off and pushes a chair up to the bench to join in. I wrap him in my spotty apron and hand him the spoon and measuring cups. He'll watch eagerly when I'm using my mixer and sneak a finger or two into the batter when I turn it off.

  

pavlova

  

I've come to accept a few things when cooking with him;

1. there is going to be mess, just clean it up later
2. my cake will turn out a little smaller than it should be
3. a good soak in napi-san straight away usually gets the chocolate out

  

chocolate crackles

Or bake nude and you don't have that problem! Thanks my little Naked Chef!

  

rolling pizza bases

Threading Delights

I was just tickled pink when I found out my two year old LOVES to thread! He will thread these coloured straws for hours... well... not literally hours, he is only two. But his attention is held for longer than the average two year old when it comes to threading. His masterpieces - naturally - are displayed in our home.

  

Of course it inspired me to join him in a threading experience, but I had no straws. Improvise. I made him some coloured beads out of long skinny triangles of coloured paper, gluing and rolling them to make these quirky little beads.

  

I had fun, but I think it took too long and he'd lost interest because mostly they just ended up in Muck.

 

Note to self: make beads in advance… or spring for the straws next time.