The joy of giving is one that everyone can connect with. This for me is why the annual bloggers’ “Sweet Swap” is so much fun and so successful.
Normally I don’t make many sweets. The occasional pancake brunch is as far as I go. So whan I learned about The Sweet Swap on Twitter, it seemed the perfect opportunity to bring to life a few of the many sweet recipes I’ve been hoarding collected, to practice something new, be creative, and make friends with new people.
What is the Sweet Swap?
The Sweet Swap is an annual late winter event designed by Sara (Belly Rumbles) and Amanda (Chew Town) to achieve numerous goals at once.
Firstly to to connect bloggers who perhaps would not normally have connected over home made goodies.
Secondly, to raise funds for a charity – this year it was Child Fund Australia – by charging participants a very modest ($6.30) fee, all of which is donated to help children access clean drinking water in Vietnam.
How does the Sweet Swap work?
The way it works is after registering, you are sent the details of three other bloggers, for whom you must make, package and send sweets.
In return, you receive three sweets in the mail, connecting you with six other bloggers.
Finally, you write up your experience, including your recipes, to share on The Sweet Swap website.
Modern Chocolate Crackles
(adapted from a recipe from Loving Earth)
When I think sweets, it reminds me of childhood. My childhood favourite – and I’m sure it’s shared by many children of the eighties – was chocolate crackles. So for my first sweet, I decided to adapt a wholefood recipe for chocolate crackles I found at Loving Earth.
I also wanted to share a little taste of my paradise here in McLaren Vale, so I tried to incorporate as much delicious local produce as possible. I’ve marked these ingredients with *LOCAL. All ingredients were organic.
Ingredients
2 tbsp Mayvers cacao peanut spread
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbs rice bran syrup
Method
7. Enjoy!
But why stop at one sweet when you can make two?
Carob & Rosemary Whoopie Pies with Pistachio Cinnamon Butter
(adapted from a recipe from chispagram)
I went a little mad and also made a very modern sweet, carob and rosemary whoopie pies with pistachio cinnamon butter. This was adapted from a recipe I saw on Instagram from chispagram.
I also wanted to share a little taste of my paradise here in McLaren Vale, so I tried to incorporate as much delicious local produce as possible. I’ve marked these ingredients with *LOCAL. All ingredients were organic.
Ingredients
Whoopie Pies:
1 cup of corn flour
1 cup wholemeal flour *LOCAL – I used Pankgarra
1 cup of non dairy milk *LOCAL – I used home made almond milk using activated Willunga almonds
1/2 cup of walnuts, roughly chopped *LOCAL – I used Willunga Farmers Market walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil *LOCAL – I used Lucilla Willunga olive oil
5 heaped tbsp of roasted carob powder *LOCAL – I used The Carob Kitchen
1 tbsp of finely chopped or ground rosemary *LOCAL – I used locally foraged rosemary
1/4 cup of sweetner (I used rice bran syrup)
1/4 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of baking powder
Pistachio butter:
1 cup shelled pistachios *LOCAL – I used local, roasted and salted
1/4 cup of sweetner (I used rice bran syrup)
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Cover pistachios with hot water in a small heatproof dish and set aside.
3. Mix the whoopie pie ingredients together. Mixture should be a thick dough.
4. Form balls with the dough, about walnut shell size, and flatten to about 1 1/2 cm rounds onto an oven tray lined with baking paper. Space them evenly.
5. Bake for 10 minutes (350F/180C). Let it cool down completely
6. Drain the water off the pistachios and discard. Blend pistachios with sweetner and cinnamon until creamy and smooth.
7. Spread a thick layer of the pistachio cinnamon butter on 1/2 of all the whoopie pies (flat side).
8. Sandwich them closed
9. Enjoy with coffee!
Result
Tasty treats a mix between the texture of a cookie and a brownie, that aren’t too sweet. Herb and spice flavour shines through and they are great with a hot drink for a no-guilt treat!
Packaging and Posting
Wrapped in brightly coloured tissue paper, and tied up with ribbons.
The sweeties then went into boxes that become brown paper packages tied up with string.
Away they then went to:
Participating in the Sweet Swap was an absolute pleasure, and I can’t wait for it again next year!
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Now, if only I was as innovative as you – my choc crackle base could have been healthier 😛 But I can totally use your recipe now to make it healthier still 😀
It sounds awesome!! 😀
Great minds on this sweet swap 😉
Great minds indeed! Next time I’ll try topping it with rocky road – now THAT’S an innovation! 🙂
Wow – I can’t believe you made two such impressive sweet swaps!
Thanks Shari! I was lucky to see such useful recipes in the week of the Sweet Swap. They were surprisingly easy too
I LOVE your focus on local produce. The chocolate crackles look brilliant. I am very fond of the cacao peanut spread-have you tried adding it to a blended frozen banana for choc peanut butter vegan ice cream? My favourite.
Thanks Nicole! We’re spoilt for choice here in McLaren Vale, produce galore including interesting artisinal products like carob. Oh I can’t wait for the warm weather, I love frozen bannana & strawberry “nice cream” – choc peanut sounds like heaven!
Thank you so much for my sweet treats! My hubby and I absolutely loved them. And now I’m thrilled to have the recipes so i can make them! xx
So glad you liked them Lucy – and that they arrived intact! Both were surprisingly easy and quick to make 🙂
Great recipes! This was my first time participating in The Sweet Swap and I’ll certainly be doing it again next year – such a good cause and so much fun! Thank you for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Friday, have a great weekend.
Thanks for dropping by Lauren! Fabulous Foodie Fridays is fun!