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.
Click here for the recipe
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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.
Click here for the recipe
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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.
Click here for the recipe
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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!
Click here for the recipe
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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!
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