BAKED GOODS CHRISTMAS SWING TAG

This swing tag design is probably my favourite from my new Christmas collection. They make me want to bake up a storm and add these cards for a dual Christmas greeting / gift tag. Don't you think they'd be cute?

These and the rest of the holiday collection are on sale in my shop at the moment. Enter MERRY20 at the checkout to receive 20% off your entire order. Offer valid till the end of the month

Take a look at the entire holiday collection here.

CHOCOLATE FAIRY BREAD HEARTS

It's not till you move away from your home country, that you fully realise the foods that are iconic to your heritage. At least that's what I've found. There are the stand out obvious ones, like Vegemite & Milo, but now that we've lived here for a while I'm finding a few different things that aren't on the regular line up of food. Like Lamingtons, passionfruit pulp in a can, or for that matter pavlova for the passionfruit-in-a-can to decorate, Coke spiders (remember these mini's ones?), tasty cheese..., and the grocery list goes on!

Which brings me to today's post - Fairy bread. Oh, yes the humble birthday party staple from my childhood. Cheap & fun, and a little bit retro! I haven't seen this here yet (please correct me if I am wrong fellow Nth American dwellers! :)
But I'm a bit of a weirdo and want my kids to experience stuff that I have happy memories of when I was a kid. So the other day I randomly made some regular fairy bread or afternoon tea; which went down a treat! Sprinkles & butter on bread? Oh yes!

It got me thinking to add some Nutella to the equation...just becuase. I'm probably not the first to think of this, because really, who doesn't like Nutella??

Now this isn't rocket science, but it was fun to kind of shoot these photos as I made them (and made them all heart shaped for Valie day coming up!).
Maybe I'll just have to introduce it at the next kids party I host!.... : )


Simple supplies you'll probably have on hand -
// Bread (traditionally on white, but we are brown bread eaters, so brown it is!)
// 100's & 1000's aka sprinkles
// Nutella
// Cookie cutters if you want.

Choose your 100's & 1000's appying technique - the sprinkle vs the face plant. I'm a face plant kind a girl as it give a good thick coating! :)


Enjoy with some milk and be prepared the wipe away some little chocolatey smiles : )

Happy weekend! I'm off to help Levi create his first ever class valentines...with me luck!
xo

COKE SPIDERS

Coke Spiders are as close to Halloween as I'm getting this year. I'm not really into all the spooky stuff, but it's such a big community holiday here in Canada, it has rubbed of just a smidge. (Not doing anything celebratory is kind of like being scrooge at Christmas!)

Reflecting on this holiday and growing up without it in Australia, the only thing I could think of that remotely related were 'Coke Spiders'. They're called 'floats' here and I have no idea where the name 'spider ' comes from, maybe the 'spidery' bubbles that appear at the top?? Anyway, regardless, they are yum and I proudly introduced Levi to them yesterday (his first shot of caffeine!).

Heres a tip when you're needing to make a lot of ice cream balls.


Then when you're ready to serve, pop each spoot + ice cream ball into it's own glass.

They actually remind me of my pre-married life, when I would go out to 'coffee' with another non-coffee drinking friend of mine and we'd both order these with a garlic bread. Weird combo I know, but we loved them, and now it's a great memory!

Enjoy!

Images by // Jordan - Polkadot Prints

LETTERPRESS BISCUITS

When I left Australia, a good friend of mine, gave me these letterpress cookie cutters (available here or here) as a gift. I got a chance to give them a spin last week, which was fun.

 

I had a little help. 

I'm no pro cookie maker, but I do love the Biscuiteers recipe from this book - secret ingredient golden syrup makes them extra delicious! And I will press a bit harder next time.

I think they'd make some fun birthday biscuits, don't you? Spelling out the birthday-ee's name, a holiday greeting, or can you imagine a cute wedding proposal? (Not sure how many cookie-making men are out there, but I think it would be really sweet!) 

I'd love to hear how you think you'd use something like these? 
Images // Polkadot Prints

CHOC PEANUT BUTTER INDULGENCE :: DAILYBUZZ MOM'S 9X9

This post is brought to you by DailyBuzz Moms. Bringing you the best of the independent web.

I unpacked our last boxes on Friday - oh what a feeling! And you know the one thing I have been hankering to do since we moved in to our apartment, is to bust out my baking supplies and put this kitchen through it's paces. I've had images of decadent layers cakes floating through my mind, so on the weekend, I baked. And I loved the process just as much as the finished cake.

 Something I love here in Canada is the combination of chocolate & peanut butter. There is something about that sweet & salty combo that hits the spot. So a Reese's inspired cake it was. I used a choc cake recipe of my own and based the middle peanut butter layer on this recipe. Delish!

Then it was time to sit down and savour a magazine from home my mum brought me (real paper one...non online!). I've been saving it just for this occasion. Feet up. Cake cut. Ahhhhh. Bliss! Magazines & me time are a real energizer for me.

How do you treat yourself and take time out to regroup? Is it even a priority to you? I'd love to hear your tactics to staying fun and effective in all you do.

All Images // Copyright to Polkadot Prints

GIFTING :: TWINE-WRAPPED CHERRY RIPE

Apparently Cherry Ripe is one of those 'only in Australia' flavours. An Australian friend living here in Canada has been missing home and was craving some of the deliciousness that is a Cherry Ripe bar.
I decided to make her some when we visited her last month and packaged it up just to entice her a little more!
I based my recipe on this one, but substituted the base for a biscuit crumb base as I couldn't for the life of me find chocolate puff pastry here. While it wasn't the real deal, it still hit the spot!

I gifted it by cutting it into bars, placing inside a glassine bag, tied with jute string, & finished with a swing tag.

Images // Polkadot Prints


P.S. I'm still operating at half speed at the moment, so thanks for the understanding on my sporadic posting. It's been the biggest transition in history, but we'll be moving into our own place in two weeks...can. not. wait!

CAKE POPS FOR CHARITY

On the weekend I baked, crumbed, mixed, rolled, covered & decorated some cake pops for a a dessert auction at church.
I haven't built up my baking supplies yet, so the actual pops are quite plain. So, to spice them up a little, I added some washi tape to the sticks and made a little flag on each to decorate. I'm no Bakerella, but I think they turned out quite cute. And this box of goodies raised $40 for the cause! Not bad for some cake on a stick! : )
The washi tape sticks actually have me really excited, I want to make more! I wonder if you would like to see some in the shop for food picks, cake pops etc? Would you, would you?? (Please say yes!)

WEEKEND WHIPAROUND :: JOY MOMENT NO.2

After my big offload to you I've decided to share another joy moment with you this week.

I made Sushi!

Levi asks for it everytime we got to the shops as it was his usual snack when grocery shopping back home. They do have sushi here, but it is just the small rings, not the large hand rolls we are use to, so I took things into my own hands and created my own. I based the rice quantities on this recipe, and was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Ah these little things that bring joy...I was definitely Levi's favourite mum that day and that made me smile! : )

Here are a few things from around the web this week that might bring a smile to your face:

// This tape would be at home in my tool box

// Letter light

// Creative kids playgrounds - amazing!

// Have you seen Olive Us yet, so very sweet.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! xo

PIZZA SCROLLS :: RECIPE

Today I bring you the ever-faithful pizza scroll. It's another of my go-to recipes that I pull out for parties, morning tea, lunches, girls nights...and I haven't met someone yet who doesn't like them (unless my friends are all being really polite!).

To be honest the word 'recipe' is used very loosely in this instance, because there is actually no measuring or mixing of any kind. Hooray! They are super simple and easy enough for little helpers too!

Ingredients:
:: Puff Pastry Sheets
:: Pizza sauce
:: Ham
:: Pineapple
:: Cheese & any other vegies or pizza toppings you like.

Lay out the puff pastry sheets to thaw. Spread with pizza sauce (I use Leggo's squeeze bottle pizza sauce). Sprinkle with your toppings - meat, vegies, then top with cheese.

Employ the ever faithful pizza scroll maker on this job {those cheeks are not usually that big}

{And...beware of mice! :) }

 Roll up into a log

Cut into rounds. I get ten good sized rounds out of one sheet, but you could do thinner ones and get more if you prefer.

Place rounds face up on a tray lined with baking paper (makes for an easy clean up and so you're not scrubbing cheese off your trays for weeks to come!). Bake in a moderate oven for about 10-15mins or until cheese and pastry are golden brown.

Eat warm, and just see if you can stop at only one!

Once you get in the groove and puff pastry is a regular in your freezer, you can just chuck whatever you like on these, I often use grated carrott, or diced capsicum to get the vegie quota in. Or you could just do cheese and pizza sauce... Let me know what combo's you try!

Chocolate Covered Biscuit Sticks

Don't these just make you hungry? It's coming to that time of the year when I start to think baking, and cute packaging for Christmas gift giving! These yummy looking chocolate covered biscuit sticks are from We love baking. This idea is definately going into my 'ideas bank'. How cute for a theme party, packaged up with a gift tag, or popped in a jar for post dinner nibbles. What flavour would you create?

Babushka Doll Cookies

When I came across this Babushka Cookie tutorial from Bubble And Sweet, I automatically thought they would be a perfect match for my Aimee invite collection. Cute hey? A little bit of fondant and some cute cutters and you can have yourself some gorgeous party favours for your guests to take home! 

I've tried my hand at decorated biscuits a couple of times, I'm definately not a pro, but I do love how you can use them to build on a party theme. Someone here in Australia who has mastered this art is Hello Naomi. She makes amazing cakes and cookies like this....

...and uses them to build amazing dessert tables. I am in awe! Make sure you check out her blog & flickr stream, for more of her creations.
Are you are a big fan of cookies for your parties? Have you given them a go yourself?

Twine is coming to town

 I've been interstate for a few days and when I came home, this is what was awaiting me at the post office direct from the US...fun, colourful baker's twine from The Twinery!

 

The spindles are so bright with lots of colour through their cottony strands. 

They come in a wide range of colours too - yellow, orange, green, red, pink, aqua, brown, & purple. The design possibilities are endless - Christmas, favours, packaging, garlands....Oh the things to be made!

It will be in my store soon, in full spindles or smaller bundles, but if you can't wait, just shoot me an email!