You may already have your own family Christmas traditions, but if not, or you’re looking for something more to do, then creating in the kitchen with your little ones at this time of year is a great way to make memories. By Kineta Booker (assisted by 10-year-old Austen Booker)
My favourite thing to do is to craft Christmas treats with whatever is in the cupboard, which is mostly what I’ve done here, although I did raid baking cupboards of family and friends, promising treats in return.
Never again will you shy away from taking a plate to a Christmas get-together because these goodies are sure to amaze through taste, and also turn heads – even if it’s just because someone is having a giggle at the stunned or cross-eyed reindeer…
Right, let’s have some fun!
(Warning: some recipes use toothpicks, so be sure to tell anyone biting into these treats to take care.)
Rudolph Pretzels
This salty and sweet mix is such a good combo and a great place to start.
Ingredients
Pretzels (whole ones and some broken ones for the antlers)
Milk melting chocolate
Candy eyes
Red lollies (eg: M&Ms or Jaffas. If you can find/have them, use mini M&Ms)
Baking paper
Set your pretzels out on the baking paper (you may not have realised, but some pretzels in the bag are bigger than others. Choose the biggest ones). Spoon some melted chocolate in the middle, taking care not to put too much in as you don’t want it going over the sides. Press in the antlers first, then the eyes (use a toothpick to gently move it into place, without disturbing the chocolate underneath as all it wants to do is cover the eyes) and nose. Yes, you will make mistakes with chocolate going everywhere and wonky eyes, but it’s all part of the fun! They set perfectly on the baking paper. You’ll know they’re ready to pop into a container when you can pick them up without resistance. Easy!
Reindeer Pops
We don’t eat Ricies for breakfast and I didn’t want to make a batch of rice bubble cake as I wasn’t keen on leftovers in the house, however, we did have a couple of choc-chip LCM bars in the pantry, which is what we used as the reindeer face.
Ingredients
Rice Bubble Slice or plain LCM bars
Milk melting chocolate
Candy eyes
Red lollies (eg: M&Ms or Jaffas)
Baking paper
Plastic Snack Bag
Iceblock sticks (optional)
Cut pieces of Rice Bubble Slice a bit bigger than a box of matches or cut your LCM bars in half. If you’re using sticks, push them into the ends of your rice bubble pieces, holding each side ensuring it doesn’t lose shape, and then lay them on baking paper. Put some melted milk chocolate in the snack bag and cut a very small amount off the corner of the bag. (I always cut too much. So ensure it’s the tiniest cut.) Squeeze a dot of chocolate on the red lolly and push it into the bar, creating the nose. Do the same with the eyes (just remember not to use too much chocolate, as you don’t want it squeezing out around the sides). And finally, get a bit creative and draw some chocolate antlers. (If they get a bit wonky, like mine, embrace it! Nothing in nature is truly symmetrical, right?) Once the chocolate is set, you’re good to go! Too easy!
TIP: to ensure your chocolate piping doesn’t dry out between reindeer, do all eyes and noses first, then pipe the antlers all in one go.
Marshmallow Reindeer
I’m not gonna lie. This is harder than it looks… Working with marshmallows is tricky. Halfway through I thought: I wonder if it would be easier if they were frozen? And it was! Just make sure they’re not too frozen because chocolate isn’t a fan of water or even tiny specs of ice.
Ingredients
Marshmallows (regular or jumbo, whichever you prefer)
Pretzels – plain or chocolate-covered
Milk melting chocolate
Candy eyes
Red M&Ms (or brown! Not all reindeer can be Rudolph!)
Break some pretzels in half to create the antlers. Pierce your marshmallows with a skewer or whatever you have on hand. (I used jumbo mallows because once you start skewering them they seem to get smaller). Swirl the marshmallows in a bowl of melted chocolate, using a spoon to pour the chocolate on them to ensure full coverage. Laying them down on baking paper is the easiest way to wrangle these reindeer. Use the tip of a sharp knife to make two small holes on top of each marshmallow to make inserting the antlers easier. Now, pop on your eyes and nose then leave to set. A somewhat messy masterpiece! But they still taste great.
Reindeer Cookies
Sticking with the reindeer and pretzel theme, this time let’s use some Oreo cookies for the face.
Ingredients
Oreos (any flavour)
Pretzels
Milk melting chocolate
Candy eyes
Red lollies (eg: M&Ms or Jaffas)
Baking paper
Put your Oreo in a bowl of melted chocolate. Use a fork to ensure it’s all covered then lift it out slowly as the excess chocolate drips off. Place on baking paper. Pop two full pretzels on to create antlers, two eyes and a nose. (You could also use two pretzel halves for the antlers if you think the full pretzels look too antler-heavy.) Repeat the process with as many cookies as you’d like to make. Leave to set. Done!
Christmas Tree Cookies
Still using Oreos but shifting gear by not only moving away from reindeer, but also introducing white chocolate.
Ingredients
Oreos
White melting chocolate
Icing
Green food colouring
Sprinkles (optional)
Candy stars or baubles (optional)
Choc hail (optional)
Baking paper
Plastic Snack Bag
Over a bowl of melted white chocolate, use a spoon to cover half of your Oreo, which represents snow. (We learnt the hard way not to dip the biscuit into the chocolate because it contaminates the chocolate with crumbs). Put them on some baking paper to dry. While they’re drying, mix green food colouring into a bowl of icing (I tried to do this with white chocolate but as I stared at the crayon consistency I’d created, I remembered my own advice: chocolate doesn’t like water). Once the ‘snow’ is set, you’re ready to draw on your tree. Spoon the green icing into a plastic bag and cut the corner, just like we did earlier with the milk chocolate antlers. Pipe the green mixture onto the dipped Oreo and, if you like, add sprinkles over the tree, a star or bauble on top, and a piece of chocolate hail for the trunk. Once set, pop them in a container.
Christmas Puds
If you’ve got some green icing or milk chocolate left over then here’s a quick idea:
Ingredients
Marshmallows
Green icing or milk melting chocolate (or both!)
Baking paper
Something red for the top (red glazed cherry, Jaffa etc)
Lay out some marshmallows on baking paper and spoon the chocolate on top of the marshmallows, allowing it to drip down the sides. Pop your red lolly/cherry on top. Leave it to set. Done.
Christmas Sticks
Here’s a super quick idea if you happen to have some wafer biscuits in the cupboard and some white chocolate left over.
Ingredients
Wafer biscuits (any flavour)
White melting chocolate
Christmas coloured sprinkles/lollies
Baking paper
Hold the wafer over a bowl of melted white chocolate and spoon the mixture over half the biscuit. Lay it on some baking paper and decorate it with whatever sprinkles or lollies you have. Leave to set. Easy!
Christmas Bites
These have quickly become my favourite no-bake Christmas treat and I hope you like them too! (Please don’t be put off by my long-winded instructions. They’re actually super easy!)
Ingredients
Chocolate Fudge Cake (I used our family favourite recipe*, you may have one too, if not, use ours!)
Marshmallows – jumbo (I used white and pink but you can use any)
Desiccated coconut
Red, green, or both, food colouring (optional)
As I’ve already mentioned, working with marshmallows is a tricky business as they lose shape when you cut them and the knife becomes a sticky mess. Here’s a tip: pop them in a container and put them in the freezer while you make the fudge cake. Once the fudge is finished, leave it to set slightly in the fridge. If you’re keen to have colourful coconut, take out three small bowls. (If you’d rather just leave the coconut white, use just one.) Put coconut in each bowl. In one put a couple of drops of green food colouring, in another put a couple of drops of red food colouring. Using a spoon, mix the colour into the coconut. Take the marshmallows out of the freezer and the fudge out of the fridge. Wet your hands and spoon about a palm-full of fudge into your hands and flatten it out. Put a white marshmallow in the middle and completely cover it with fudge. Roll it in either white or green coconut. Put aside on some baking paper. Do the same with a pink marshmallow and roll it in red coconut. (You can mix all the colours up if you like! Be creative, get crafty!) Once all are rolled in coconut, I always pop them back in the freezer for a few minutes just to be sure that there’s no sticky marshmallow when they are cut in half. Take them out of the freezer, cut in half and put them into an airtight container.
Santa Hats
Finally! Time to introduce some fruit to the no-bake Christmas treats! And, it’s also another way to use the fudge you’ve made and the rest of the white chocolate.
Ingredients
Strawberries
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Mini marshmallows
Toothpicks
Round cookie cutter – small
Baking paper
Using fudge that has set in the fridge, cut out some small circles with the cookie cutter. Put aside on baking paper. Wash, dry and hull the strawberries. Spoon some white chocolate onto the middle of the fudge circles. No need to spread. Pierce a strawberry up the middle with a toothpick, leaving some out the top to put the mini marshmallow on. Now place the strawberry on the fudge, aiming the toothpick for the middle of the circle, and the chocolate will spread itself out nicely. Repeat with as many as you’d like to make. How quick was that!
Christmas Kebabs
Just when you thought you’d seen the last of the candy eyes, we’re going to end our no-bake Christmas treat session using my favourite cross-eyed ingredient!
Ingredients
Strawberries
Green grapes
Bananas
Mini marshmallows
Candy eyes
Red M&Ms
White melting chocolate
Toothpicks
Skewers
Baking paper
Wash and dry your grapes and strawberries and hull the latter. Peel the bananas, removing any stringy bits, and cut them in half. Cut a couple of slices off the bottom of each half. Set the prep aside.
Grinch Santa: Pierce the top of a grape with a toothpick. Thread a slice of banana, a strawberry on it, and finally a mini marshmallow on top.
Banana Santa: Thread the skewer with half a banana, then a slice of banana, a strawberry and hide the top of the skewer with a mini mallow. Lay down on baking paper. Put a dot of white choc on the back of each eye and nose and push onto the banana. They’re always a hit! (Be sure to create these just before you leave for the kids’ Christmas party so the bananas are in the best possible shape.)
TIPS:
- When I say ‘no bake’ I mean, you won’t need an oven. You will need a microwave or stove-top, though.
- I melt my chocolate in the microwave by popping the bowl in for one minute, stir, then for a further 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- If the chocolate starts setting between recipes, just microwave for another 30 seconds, stir, and it’s good to go.
- When working with melted chocolate, make sure all your tools are dry. Water and chocolate aren’t mates.
- Baking paper really is the best tool you can have on hand. It helps the treats set, and they come off the paper easily.
- Candy eyes, which give character to your creations, may not be a pantry staple. They certainly aren’t in mine! I was happily surprised to find them at my local Woolworths.
- As you can see, I haven’t made a heap of each creation, and you don’t have to either because so many of these overlap, using similar ingredients. Having a couple of each is all you need to wow your guests or the people at the Christmas party you’re taking a ‘plate’ to.
- You can easily use these edible pieces of craft as Christmas gifts! Pop them in a cellophane bag, wrap a piece of ribbon around it, and your creations will make someone else’s day.
- *Use your favourite no-bake biscuit fudge recipe. I use the classic Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe on the Griffins website, not only because it’s delicious but because it doesn’t use eggs, as I don’t like the thought of consuming raw egg.
