If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
– Buddha
We feed a lot of people, because we can.
We send loaves of bread to the neighbours, deliver baked treats to our local shopkeepers, and take chocolates on visits to our family GP. We routinely bake for the school orchestra, attend Parent-Teacher interviews with brownies wrapped in parchment paper, and arrive with afternoon tea for our favourite stallholders at Flemington Markets.
Perhaps you’ve thought about taking a plate of cookies to work, or offering the local fruiterer a sample of your latest baked wares, but have always been too shy or reserved to actually do it.
If that’s the case, let me encourage you to give it a go this festive season! Here are five of our favourite recipes to get you started…
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Butterscotch Bars
This is the recipe that started it all – the first universally popular treat that I ever baked. I reckon I’ve made this recipe a hundred times. It’s incredibly versatile – perfect for afternoon tea, as a gift for almost every occasion, and it’s a great cake stall item for the school fête. Come up with your own combination of chocolate and nut add-ins, and make this recipe uniquely yours.
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Toffee Bars
I’ve only recently come back to these after a long hiatus, but since then I’ve baked them three times. They’re incredibly easy to make, and the ingredients are always on standby in our pantry. The recipe makes a large number of bars, so there’s plenty to go around. Use the best dark chocolate you can find, and whatever nuts you have on hand.
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Supernatural Brownies
This Nick Malgieri recipe makes the list because it tastes wonderful, doesn’t require an electric mixer, and best of all, makes a double-sized batch of brownies. I tweaked the original methodology just a little to make these even easier. They’re super quick too – I once timed myself and found that mixing up the batter took a leisurely 13 minutes and 25 seconds.
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Freezer Shortbread Cookies
One of the earliest recipes we blogged, these shortbread cookies are my mother’s favourites. The rolls store in the freezer for months, and can be thawed and baked at short notice. Again, the toppings on the cookies can be varied to suit your personal preference – a couple of my variations are included below. I’d love to see any new ones you come up with!
Chai Shortbread Cookies…
Chocolate and Ginger Shortbread…
Click here for the freezer dough recipe
Click here for the Chocolate and Ginger version
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Little Chocolate Cakes
Like the other four recipes, this one is simple to make, but has the added advantage of being gluten-free. Within days of the original blog post, our friends Heidi, Joanna and Lisa had whipped these little cakes up in their own kitchens – it’s that kind of recipe. Dust the tops generously with icing sugar – it always adds a festive touch!
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Sharing the food from our kitchen brings us enormous joy and great satisfaction.
I know most of my fellow bloggers feel the same way, and I’d love to know who you share your culinary creations with. And thank you to everyone who is still reading this blog after nearly three years – it’s been a pleasure to share our kitchen with all of you too!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I love this! Celia, you are my kind of person!
Lizzy, that’s a nice thing to say, thank you! :)
Wow, 5 favs in one blog… I’m slowly working my way through some Christmas baking and this is just great!
Smidge, we’ll be baking all these recipes this month – there aren’t really fancy new recipes in December, just well-tested ones that we’re sure are going to work! :)
You go to extraordinary lengths to share Celia! The stall holders at Flemington, the doctor…quite remarkable. I love the idea of taking brownies to the parent teacher interviews. I am going to borrow that idea for the interviews we have coming up. I am sure those teachers would love the sweet treat break!
SG, do take something to parent-teacher interviews – by the end of the night, the teachers are starving and exhausted! :)
Ooohhh, multiple recipes bookmarked. Thanks for always sharing such great ideas! And, on behalf of teachers everywhere, thank you for bringing treats to conferences…what a sweet thing to do! :)
Abby, I hope someone brings you a treat to your next teacher’s night – you all deserve it! :)
These are 5of my favorites as well!
Thanks for sharing, Celia, and for your example of sharing with others!
Sure wish I lived close enough to do an exchange!
Heidi, that would be so nice if we lived closer, we could get together and bake! We might have to widen both our front doors though.. ;-)
As a large household ( 8 people – 2 adults 6 kids) we never seem to have enough to share though I love the idea behind it.
Am looking forward to adding all of this to my list of treats to bake during the coming weeks.
Sue, God bless you, I have trouble just keeping my two sons fed! One recipe you might like is our chocolate slab cake – it bakes in a roasting pan and feeds about twenty people. When we bake it, the neighbours come over with their own plates! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03/31/chocolate-slab-cake/
Thanks Celia – will be sure to make it and there might even be some for the neighbours!
Yes feeding boys is always a challenge – 4 of our brood are boys and they seem to constantly need refuelling. Luckily they are easy to feed as in they are not fussy and will try most things I place in front of them ( more often than not they have been involved with the cooking as have the girls)
About four days a week I’m in the kitchen cooking for friends and family, I find it impossible to just cook for myself, if I did not only would my weight skyrocket but I’d feel great guilt for not sharing. Fortunately several of my friends are thin and lanky and unlike me can eat at all hours and not gain a pound, they are a joy to cook for in that there’s never concern or complaint about calories or weight. I really get great pleasure feeding single people who usually eat take-out and rarely have a home-cooked meal… Feeding people feeds my soul… Also when testing recipes for my catering service I share test recipes with friends, though the recipes aren’t always stellar they’re still well appreciated by the recipients which is always, ah… stellar!!!
Gian, where would be without our friends to test our recipes for us? :) Our neighbours and friends happily ate the eight experimental ricotta cakes I made before I finally got a recipe I liked. And no-one complained! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/09/02/ricotta-cake/
Celia you are fantastic! I love baking for people too. I’ll use any excuse. Maybe this year I’ll branch out and bake for people at shops I visit frequently. I know the ladies at the bank would love some baked goodies.
Claire, thank you, and I’m sure the ladies at the bank would adore getting anything you baked!
I love to cook for other people. I can’t make cakes for myself, because I would eat them. My husband has amazing control and can eat one square of chocolate ( I know, it’s unnatural) so I love this idea of spreading it about! Trust you to think of it.
Deb, I was taught by the Italians, especially the old nonna who lived next door. She used to bring dinner over for us when we first moved in and were struggling to meet the mortgage repayments! :)
I’m bookmarking this page – I bake for my daughter’s school parents’ fundraising committee. Love recipes that are quick, popular and feed a lot. They need to sell out at sports events and parent teacher evenings to raise funds for the school. Bravo Celia – you’re a good person.
Sally, that’s kind of you, but I really do get so much personal satisfaction out of it that sometimes I feel like it’s quite self-serving on my part! :)
The three bar recipes in particular work really well for fundraising, and the supernatural brownies and the toffee bars make a large quantity, which means there’s more to sell for the same amount of work, if that makes sense.
For a couple of years, Pete and I were baking 500+ brownies for a Christmas party for the homeless – that was a palaver and a half! We figured out pretty quickly which recipes worked! :)
I think that answers the question about where all your baking ends up beautifully! Baking love rippling everywhere :) Lovely post darling !
Thank you dearheart, although a lot of it still ends up on my hips! ;-)
Celia, you are an inspiration, and in fact you’ve inspired me to bake up some goodies for a neighbour who’s in need of a bit of pre-holiday cheer. :)
Misk, thank you, and I’m so happy to hear that! Your neighbour is very lucky to have you nearby! :)
I used to work in an environment where we always brought in treats to share – if there wasn’t a reason, we made it up! But I’ve moved jobs, and my new workplace stares at little treats like they’re strange and poisonous, and then turn back to their own lunches. I have been known to take home a still full plate. It can be very disheartening. Maybe one of these will break the ice. Fingers crossed!
E.
E, sometimes it takes a while for the corporate culture to change. Try again at Christmas, people are usually happier to indulge then! I hope they all come around soon!
Celia, I too love sharing my baked goodies with family and friends. I always bake something to take with when we visit or go for a meal, I get great pleasure out of seeing other enjoying something I have made. I am also leaning more and more toward making edible birthday gifts. I purchased a beautiful bowl recently and filled it with a variety of baked treats for my SIL’s birthday and it really was a hit!
:-) Mandy
Mandy, you SIL is very lucky to be getting a bowl of your goodies! Edible gifts really are the best, aren’t they? They don’t clutter up our houses, damage the environment, or cost a fortune! :)
What a generous heart you have Celia! A real inspiration during this season of giving. I’m sure all the blessings you bestow on others will come home to roost one day soon sweetie :) Cast your cake upon the water….
Becca, you’re kind, but as I said, I get enormous pleasure out of it too! I think life is all about the relationships we form, and the doctors and shopkeepers and stallholders and teachers are all a significant part of my village. It isn’t difficult to offer them food! :)
It seems that every one loves to share , this makes me happy cause there are a lot of kind people out there. I am addicted to bakling and seem to have no end of things to share with people as well. I am usually to shy to take them too far a field, ( the doctor or shop people ) but probably should
Tania, at this time of year, we all have a good excuse to share! :) The people I shop with have mostly become friends, so it’s easy to take them a plate of cookies..
Love that these recipes are quick and simple, and easy to eat and share too :) My neighbors aren’t too friendly, and after receiving one or two weird looks after offering them cookies, I have since not shared my bakes with them. Guess I really should try again :)
Janine, occasionally I get odd looks from people, but generally the response is positive. Try again at Christmas – folks are often more receptive then! :)
Dear Celia
This looks like a delicious collection of cookies and cakes. Think I would love the butterscotch and toffee bars. Like you, we love going to Flemo markets as well coz the stuff there are so cheap and fresh. We usually go when we want to throw a dinner party and that first sentence from Buddha rings a bell for me! Thought you might like to check out our Flemo market escapade. We got a 3kg box of rocket leaves for $4 in our last trip :)
http://chopinandmysaucepan.com/sydney-markets-flemington
Thank you! I adore Flemington markets, and we’re there almost every fortnight. After a couple of years of shopping there, it’s become hard to buy fruit and veg anywhere else, because the stuff in the shops is always a couple of weeks older…
And you are also sharing your recipes, so thank you :)
I’m tempted by the shortbread
Thanks Claire! The shortbread dough is great – it keeps in the freezer for ages. I’ve used it to make tart shells, sandwich cookies, cut out shapes – it’s very versatile!
I love sharing food and cooking for people. I’ll have to try these. Yay!
Maz.
Maz, I know you do! :) Hope you like these…
Dang your amazing. I love that you are so generous and kind with the food you bake and make. Oh how I wish we lived closer… So yummy!!! I share my cooking with Mr HG hungry colleague, they are like hoovers, every last scrap. :) And my work mates, oh and sometimes my chiro. It’s a good feeling to see people munching on your foods. :)
Anna, we take jam to the osteopath too – he loves it! It’s great to have people enjoying your food! :)
So generous Celia! And thank you for sharing with us. I love to bake for my 70 odd office colleagues. I step it up at this time of year too – thanks for the recipes.
Sue, how fabulous for your work colleagues, and how cool to have 70 people eating your baked treats! They must love you! :)
I wish I was one of your neighbours ;) haha! I love to take things in to work for everyone to eat. Its usually a fight to the kitchen but they love it
Nic, I’ll bet there is! Do you have to ration it out? :) What a treat for your workmates! :)
Celia, you really are gold! From your heart, all the way through. xxx
Thanks Amanda, that’s very kind of you! Basically though, I just like watching other people eat my cooking! ;-)
I’ve got sourdough baking as I type to take to the chiropractor this evening :-)
Your feeding the masses brownie was the first ever brownie I made last year.
Brydie, you’ve got one very lucky chiropractor! What sort of loaf did you make him?
You are the glue that holds this food blogging community together. Congrats on your 3 years :)
Cindy, you’re very kind, thank you, but I think we’re all connected through our mutual obsession with good food! It’s been a really fun few years!
If someone helps me source something I need specific to a recipe, or helps me out with something then I always take a sample as thanks :)
Tandy, I bet there’s a queue of people in line, trying to help you with your recipes! :)
I ran a highschool tuckshop for five years and as the convenor I had to stay afterschool for parent teacher interviews and supply afternoon tea. I guess I’m surprised that all schools don’t do this. I won’t even begin to start with whom I share food. I will say though that I understand. Congrats on your very successful blogging; I wouldn’t mind the recipe for that one.
Wow Mariana, running a school tuckshop is a tough gig! And I know you understand, I’ve read about all the people you feed! :)
Hi Celia,
Echoing so many of the sentiments – thanks for sharing! As a teacher myself, by the end of those meeting sessions, if someone arrived with a plate of those wicked delights, you’d be the new best friend! Anyway, I had to of course make the chocolate brownies straight away but I found that they were really gooey in the middle, even after a little extra baking time. It’s like pulling reasonable well formed but uncooked dough off the plate. Any ideas what I might need to fix before i make them again? I thought I followed the recipe correctly – but one can never be sure! My first instinct was they needed more flour, but I don’t want to turn them into a dry cake! Any thoughts that might help?
Thanks so much,
Ray PJ
Ray, thanks for trying the brownies! They might need more flour, or your oven might run a little cooler than mine? Did you go by weight measure, or cups? I always use scales, as I find cup measures can vary enormously depending on humidity and location.
Here’s the original Nick Malgieri recipe if you want to cross-refer:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Nicks-Supernatural-Brownies
They can be pretty gooey brownies, but they usually hold their shape! One more thing – if you baked them in a smaller tin than the 9″ x 13″ one recommended, they might be thicker, and therefore take longer to bake?
One last thing – if your eggs are huge, that will make a difference too. I was baking with jumbo eggs for a while (67g) and couldn’t figure out why my mixes were all so wet.. ;-)
Hope that all makes sense.. :)
Check to the toffee bars! Must try those chai shortbreads, though. I would love to see the look on a teacher’s face if I brought them brownies to a parent teacher interview..buttering them up a little perhaps? No, seriously, I would like to give more foody gifts this year and as we only do one kris kringle within our extended family have to actually rack my brains for willing recipients! I often eye off the school crossing guard and all the hard work she puts in all year, in all kinds of weather, she could well make it onto the list! :)
Hehehe…I pull out the brownies at the end of the PT interviews.. ;-) I think the crossing guard would be a very deserving recipient of your baked treasures, Chris! :)
I still love those chestnut brownies! They were swoonworthy! :D
So glad you liked them! I made a batch for Carm last week! :)
My friend Roz at Taste Travel has been baking the toffee bars and handing them around Tasmania! Here’s a photo she sent me today.. :)
What a celebrating post! It surely does warm me u for the holiday :)
Thanks Tes! :)
Such a lovely idea Celia and thank you for reminding me about the toffee bars, I definintely want to make those!
I pretty much always bake for other people – the majority of the time it’s my work colleagues, who seem fairly happy to eat my cakes. I get the occasional ‘oooh, so many calories’ but just reply with ‘well, I don’t force you to eat them…’!!! I wish I could find someone to share bread with though – there are so many bread recipe I want to try, but only so much bread I can eat… and the two don’t match.
C, I always think your work colleagues are sooo lucky to get to eat all your cakes! Maybe you could start slicing your loaves and taking them in for lunch with a little olive oil to dip.. :)
What a nice post:) I have taken things to work a few times but should do it a bit more often. Problem is, I bake on Saturdays and by Sunday there are only crumbs left. Oops:)
Woah, so much chocoloate in the butterscotch bars. But that makes them so good:)
Hehehe…it is a bit outrageous how much chocolate goes into those bars! It’s also my recipe for using up leftover chocolate – here are the bars I made with Easter eggs one year! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/04/16/easter-egg-butterscotch-bars/
WOW! Thank you dear Celia, with my love, nia
You are most welcome, Nia! :)