The festive season is all about time with friends and family, relaxing and sharing a meal.
Such is the philosophy behind the Foodie Secret Santa.
Food bloggers Australia wide register to participate in the ultimate treat swap via good old Australia Post.
In giving a gift of a foodie treat to your three assigned bloggers, via Foodie Secret Santa, you also receive. Three other bloggers will send you a treat in the post.
On one of my last packing days before moving home, after a sweltering day of lugging dusty boxes, the postie rang the doorbell.
With a smile he handed me a parcel – my first Foodie Secret Santa!
Sweet gift in the mail. Photo: Willunga Wino
What perfect timing, I popped them in the car and took my carload of boxes over to the new house, where the willing hands of my friends and family helped to unload.
So pretty inside. Photo: Willunga Wino
Soon we were reclining on our new deck, a glass of bubbles in hand, and beautiful homemade caramel blondies – white chocolate brownies – to enjoy. Thank you Roxanne @ The Baking Dentist!)
A quick snap of the last bit left! Photo: Willunga Wino
Then once I’d given up hope of any of my other goodies finding their way to my new address, arrived a mystery parcel (no blogger name on it!) with the cutest little card saying just Merry Christmas and a motherload of delicious mini-gingerbread men, each carefully decorated!
Some of them made it intact, but the limbs and heads made tucking in straight away an easy choice. Thank you!
Some of them made it intact, but the limbs and heads made tucking in straight away an easy choice. Thank you!
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An army of tasty gingerbread men. Photo: Willunga Wino
Due to the move, the last one of my Foodie Secret Santa gifts went missing ( I suspect into the new tenants’ tummies), but nonetheless I enjoyed and shared the ones I did receive!
For my gift to three lucky recipients, I decided upon super fine dark chocolate and cinnamon shortbreads.
Easy Festive Dark Chocolate Shortbread
2015-04-25 18:45:26
Serves 4
These easy, rich, dark chocolate shortbreads make lovely gifts
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
- 180gm unsalted butter, left out of fridge to soften 15mins (I use B.D Farm Paris Creek)
- 90gms brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract (I use Queens)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use Murray River Pink Salt)
- 1 2/4 cups (250gms) organic plain flour
- 1/4 cup (20gms) cacao powder
- 1/2 cup (85gms) fair trade organic 85% dark chocolate
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. First finely grate the 85gms of chocolate.
- 2. Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt together in a mixer until creamy, this takes around 2 minutes.
- 3. Add in the flour, cacao, grated chocolate and cinnamon until the dough comes together into a ball.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 165 degrees.
- 5.Turn out the dough onto baking paper, form into a ball, then wrap in the paper and rest the dough in the fridge for an hour before rolling.
- 6. Roll the dough until it is approx 4 mm thick. Cut out shapes from the dough (one larger and one smaller inside) to create rings. Place rings on a baking tray lined with baking paper in a single layer.
- 7. Gather offcuts into a ball, roll again, and cut shapes from the dough with biscuit cutters again.
- 8. Continue till all dough is used up.
- 9. Bake shortbread in the oven for 20-22 minutes. Dust with icing sugar.
Adapted from Lady & Pup on Food 52
Adapted from Lady & Pup on Food 52
Wine Food World http://www.winefoodworld.com/
Packaging: (approx $27)
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Ready for packaging. Photo: Willunga Wino
I gathered four biscuits, and then tied them with festive bakers twine. I nestled them amongst lots of tissue paper, in a Christmassy box, adding a note from rocking horse notepaper and my business card.
Postage: (approx $27)
Ready for their new owners! Photo: Willunga Wino
I sent the boxes inside Aus Post postage boxes, to make sure the cookies didn’t get crushed. They were sent regular (not express) mail.
I hope that my three recipients enjoyed their shortbread and that they arrived intact!
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What would you make for Foodie Secret Santa?
See more Foodie Secret Santa 2014 treats here.
What a shame about your last gift! Your biscuits look yum!
Thanks Clare! I made a few extra “decoy” shortbreads (the misshapen ones) for Mr Wino to enjoy too, so it really was the gift that kept giving!
Chocolate and cinnamon would have to be one of my favourite combinations! Thanks so much for being a part of FSS and sorry your last pressie didn’t make it.
They were very tasty, even the carpenter that was working here at the time approved! Thanks for running it Claire and I cant wait for next year
Oooeeee these are SO GOOD! Thank you so much Santa!!
Hooray! So glad you liked them Tara. I’ve caught Mr Wino nibbling on the offcuts more than once! 🙂
What a lovely idea. I wish I’d known about it. Next year 😊
Hi Nicole! Participating is lots of fun, can definitely recommend it and will do it again next year!