First: White Chocolate Candy Cane Hearts. Slice the tails off two candy canes if you want them to be nice squat little love hearts like here, make them face each other, fill the cavity with melted chocolate and sprinkle over edible glitter, 100s and 1000s or your decoration of choice. Refrigerate, and give a couple to anyone under 10 (or under 10 at…heart!)
This list contains such wonders as Orange Confit and the easiest fruitcake…
…Christmas-Spiced Chocolate Cake….
…Gingerbread Cut-out Cookies….
…. and Coconut Condensed Milk Brownies.
Jams and Sauces and Things In Jars But Are Actually Pretty Easy Despite Looking Fancy:
Orange Confit (sliced oranges in syrup. They’ll find things to do with it. Bonus: is cheap!)
Cranberry Sauce (So, so fast.)
Bacon Jam (The best to make at the last minute, because it needs refrigerating. Please tell the recipient this, please.)
Cashew Butter
Red Chilli Nahm Jim (for your cool relative, esp if accompanied by a jar of cashew butter.)
Cranberry (or any-berry) Curd (slightly more effort, so I’d do this before midnight – but so pretty.)
Rhubarb-Fig Jam (Easier than it sounds)
Baked Things, The Classic Choice:
Christmas-Spiced Chocolate Cake (This is also excellent for pudding on the day itself. Yes, you’ll have to dash to the supermarket to get almonds but it’s really easy and it doesn’t matter if it sinks in the middle.)
Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake
Vegan Chocolate Cake (It’s good! It’s easy!)
Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies (Dairy free!)
Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate Macaroons (These two macaroons aren’t the fancy French kind, but they’re amazingly easy, travel well, and are both delicious and gluten free. With the Coconut macaroon recipe, if you don’t have the time/money/energy for ground almonds, just use the same quantity of dessicated coconut.)
Gingerbread Cut-out Cookies (vegan, hey-ohh!)
Christmas Cake (I know, what? But I ate this the very next day and it tasted great. If you gently microwave the fruit in the ginger beer and then stir in the liquor it should do the trick. The rest is just stirring!)
Coconut Condensed Milk Brownies
Salted Caramel Slice (This is a food blog, I have to use the words “salted caramel” once every post. It’s a rule!)
Also, if you click on the link to the Orange Confit above, you’ll see a recipe for the easiest, fastest fruit loaf, which is a GREAT present to give away to those in your family who you know actually eat fruitcake. It’s dairy-free, too!
Novelty!
Moonshine Biffs (like homemade Milk Bottles!)
Raw Vegan Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles (Actually just look through Hannah’s wonderful wonderful archives if this isn’t enough for you, she’ll see you right.
Lolly Cake
I Am Already Asleep But Need A Present For That Person Who Needs A Present:
Candy Cane Chocolate Thing (No effort, vegan – well, I think candy canes are vegan – gluten free, amazingly delicious, just store it carefully so it doesn’t melt)
White Chocolate Coco Pops Slice (Even less effort! Maybe try adding a little oil to the white chocolate so it doesn’t sieze up like mine did.)
Merriest of merry Christmasses to you all – whatever you do or don’t celebrate at this time of year, I hope that plenty of love and good things come your way. I’m currently at home with the whanau and it feels good. Yesterday at the airport while waiting for my flight the news came in of another big earthquake in Christchurch – followed by a sickening and unfair wave after wave of huge aftershocks. Thinking of you all in Canterbury, and hoping the earth settles down already. Seriously. Whether Christmas is your thing or not, some peace on earth and goodwill to (hu)mankind is top of my wishlist right now.
Enoch the Christmas Skeleton says Merry Christmas too. (Oh, those parents of mine…)
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Title via: Nothing speaks of Christmas Festivity like Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked, sung by the magical Idina Menzel. Nothing. (I’m sure I’ve said this before but even if you hate all musicals stick around to the end, it’s spectacular spectacular.)
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Music lately:
So one of our Christmas traditions chez moi is listening every year to the same old Christmas cassettes. One such cassette is the amazing Tin Lids (ie Jimmy Barnes’ kids) “Hey Rudolph” tape, which has the kind of exuberant 90s production that’s good to hear at this excessive time of year. Another one is this really old Disney Christmas tape which features a (pre CGI) Chipmunks Christmas Song, strangely appealing and horribly catchy. Bringing a little much-needed classiness to our collection, is Bing Crosby and his rich handsome voice.
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Next time: I plan to resurface here on the 28th, with something entirely non-Christmassy, I promise. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, YOU’RE ALL AMAZING PEOPLE, AND JUST REMEMBER YOU CAN’T OUT-TENSION A TENSE CAT.
Merry Chrimbo doll! Great list – am just cooking up some red pepper jelly now, I was supposed to do it on Tuesday but natch, I am doing it now…After I just had a manicure. Meh.
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Might actually whip up that Cranberry sauce, I only bought jarred jelly and I fancy something with more body (and flavour).
Merry Christmas Laura, it has been a pleasure reading your blog this year, thank you for all the effort you have put into it 🙂
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Oooh, too much deliciousness! Alas, I've already finished making the dessert and sweets for Christmas tomorrow, and think I might end up jamming (can you call singing while the other person plays guitar “jamming”?) at midnight tonight with my brother instead of baking… And we have no cats. But apart from that, love the post 😛
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Here I am, 11pm Christmas Eve, flight to catch at 8am tomorrow aaaaaand yep, I'm looking midnight jam-making straight in the face. Thank you for posting this, makes me feel OK to be in this crazy-tired state and panicking a bit less about the total inadequacy of the gifts I'm about to make. Merry Christmas Laura! x
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Merry Christmas Laura! xx Looking forward to the next one I may have in Wellington with youse fullaz! xx
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Love the candy cane hearts! Thinking I really do need to invest in some edible glitter 🙂
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Oh my gosh, and I only just saw the shout-out to me! YAY!!! I loves ya, I do, I do.
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What a nice load of tasty! I've just got the one cat, she's cooped up in the bedroom where we're staying all week. But she remains a sweetheart, rather than a cantankerous and miffed kitty.
I'm a little sad Christmas is over and my New Kids on the Block Christmas album has suddenly become a bit less applicable to life…. alas.
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Am loving the toffee cashew pie and am trying to resist having the very last piece…although if I slice it in half – there will still be a 'last piece'
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