Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Virtual Cookie Exchange and Christmas Blog Hop

I would like to share a  favourite recipe - though not a cookie - which is nice to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea with one or  three or ???  for a treat.    Rum balls are very popular here in Australia at Christmas time.  

They are quick and easy to make ahead of time and keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.     They can also be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months.   

For those who do not like or want alcohol just leave the rum out. They are just as delicious and "kid friendly".   

INGREDIENTS

1 pkt Marie biscuits

395 g tin sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup desiccated coconut for rolling

1/4 cup dark rum  (optional)

Extra coconut for rolling.   You could also use finely chopped nuts or chocolate sprinkles.

METHOD

Crush the biscuits into a fine crumb.  

In a bowl add the biscuit crumbs, condensed milk, rum if using,  cocoa and coconut and mix really well.

Take dessertspoons of the mixture and roll into balls using your hands.

Toss balls through the extra coconut to coat.      

Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.  Enjoy.  

A tradition of my family is to serve a hot Christmas lunch even though we celebrate the day with quite hot temperatures.      My maternal grandparents were from England  and so the tradition of a baked meal  for Christmas lunch is something that I have grown up.   My mother carried on the tradition for many years and now it is my turn.   Rather than serve up each  individual meal I like to let each family member take as much or as little as they like.


We also have plum pudding with custard or ice cream plus a variety of other desserts to choose from.


And for those who have room for tea/coffee there is afternoon tea served with Christmas cake,  fruit mince pies, fudge slice as well as some leftover cheesecakes from dessert time.


Now onto some Christmas sewing.     I did mention in a previous post that I had joined a small quilting group and it was decided that we would make a tabletopper using the pineapple blossom block.     Here is the one that I did

And here is a picture of the three of them together.   I cannot believe just how different they look yet all three are the same pattern.   Mine seems to have a more jagged appearance whereas the other two look they have a more square appearance.    I am wondering if it due to the fact that I used a plain fabric  for the centre squares and radiating corners.     Perhaps someone can answer that question.  

                                                   

Now it is time to hop along to the blogs listed below for more sweetness.  Enjoy and a big thank you to Carol again for organising another fun blog hop.  
                                                                        December 1

Creatin' in the Sticks

Doreen – Just Let Me Quilt Guest

Bumbleberry Stitches

Home Sewn By Us

Quilt Schmilt

Food for Thought

Life in the Scrapatch

Ms P Designs USA

Just Sew Quilter

Cathie's Craftworks

Cynthia's Creating Ark

 December 2

MooseStashQuilting

Karen's Korner

Sew Many Yarns

Selina Quilts

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

Days Filled With Joy

Words & Stitches

Just Because Quilts

Beaquilter

December 3

Quiltscapes

Websterquilt

DayBrook Designs

Karrin’s Crazy World

Samelia's Mum

Songbird Designs

For The Love Of Geese

Stitchin At Home

Dreamworthy Quilts

That Fabric Feeling

 December 4

Just Let Me Quilt

Quilt Fabrication

DesertSky Quilting

Seams To Be Sew

Happy Cottage Quilter

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

The Darling Dogwood

Kathleen McMusing

Scrapdash


Linking with Put Your Foot Down

Back soon and in the meantime

  Happy sewing all

26 comments:

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

YUM! I love rum balls too. It's hard to stop at only one. Your table topper looks fantastically festive.

Cheryll said...

Thanks for the recipe...I know they'll be a 'hit" at Xmas...
Lovely challenge topper too...
Merry Christmas xox

Fiona said...

Fun post... I have never tried making rum balls..... I will remember this recipe.... your Christmas meal looks amazing.... and I love those table toppers... you all made wonderful ones and like you say it's amazing to see the difference because of colours and their placement
Hugz

Janice said...

There’s no excuse for anyone going hungry at your house at Christmas. It all sounds delicious. It’s ages since I have made rum balls. They are yummy.

tink's mom said...

I've never had a rum ball but yours look quite delicious and simple enough to make. Love the 3 table toppers. Nice group project.

CathieJ said...

Mmmm, those rum balls look delicious especially with the coconut topping.Your table toppers are all so pretty.

Stitchin At Home said...

I like a good rum ball and those look delicious! Pretty table toppers!

Vicki in MN said...

I have never tasted a Rum ball, but they sure do look delicious and I love coconut. Happy Holidays!

Corrie said...

Happy Holidays!You have a lot of items I've never tried. I'll have to look some recipes up.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Color placement and fabric selection makes such a difference, doesn't it?! All three table toppers are SEW pretty!!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Mmmmm - those look so good (and I'll have mine with rum please).

Charlene McCain said...

The rum balls look delicious, as does the rest of your meal. Everything looks so yummy! I can't imagine Christmas in hot weather although, living in California, we have had quite a few warm ones. Love your pineapple topper. Amazing what a difference fabric choices make.

Karrin Hurd said...

Thanks for the recipe, they look yummy, as do the rest of your goodies. Great Christmas sewing too! Thanks so much for sharing!

Calicojoan said...

Oh you little vixen...you had me at the rum! hahahaha I love rum balls!
They never made it into my holiday baking last year, so I better get on them now, while it's fresh in my mind. I love your toppers. They are fun to see in different colors.

Carol Swift said...

I remember the first time I had a rum ball and how much I loved it. Yours look delicious! I'm not sure what "Marie Biscuits" are, but I'll be looking it up. Your topper is a beauty! Thank you for sharing all the sweetness with us! xo

Scrapatches said...

Your cookies look so tasty. I have never had Marie Biscuits so I looked them up and see they are much like tea biscuits. I have made a similar recipe for Rum Ball Cookies over the years to which I add rum extract to make them better for the kiddos. Pretty table quilt. Thank you for sharing in the hop ... :-) Pat

LJ said...

Amazing that's the same pattern for those tabletoppers. Adorable. The Rum Balls look yummy. I'm assuming Marie Bisquits are an Australian item. What are they like? I'm sure I can find something similar here in the states.

Beatrice said...

Rum balls are very popular in Germany too but I have never made them myself. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I will definitely try this.

beaquilter said...

aww I haven't had rum balls since I was a kid in Denmark, now I want to try these!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Karen! Oh, yum! I have never had a rum ball but I love rum . . . coupled with a cookie it has to be out of this world. Plus coconut - yummy. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. ~smile~ Roseanne

kiwikid said...

Rum balls are a firm Christmas favourite! We have the same dinner as you!! The table toppers look wonderful.

piecefulwendy said...

Oh, I need to try that recipe. I have a recipe to try for rum cake, so I might as well try the rum balls as well, right? The quilt blocks are lovely too!

Carla said...

Those rum balls look so yummy. Anything rum sounds good this year for sure. It is amazing those table toppers are all the same pattern. Colors and fabrics make all the difference.

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

The rum balls sound great and your table toppers are really cute!! I just have one question, what are Marie biscuits and do you know of an equivalent here in the States? Thanks for sharing!!

For the love of geese said...

Rum balls, my mom used to make them all the time when we were little. I love your block, it always amazes me how fabric placement changes blocks. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down and the memory of my mamma.

Emily said...

That looks like a lovely Christmas table! It's amazing how the same pattern looks so different with different fabrics.