Last night, (Stop press: Ummm, let’s make that Monday night), I had a delightful evening chatting with some friends, drinking tea and eating bicuits/cookies/truffles/slice. I wanted to get home early so I could finish writing a magazine article that was well past it’s deadline, but I was having so much fun (maybe talked a little too much…) that I had to come home and burn the midnight oil.

I first participated in a Cookie Exchange and documented it in one of my early blogs here. It’s a great concept. The premise is to gather a group of friends together. Everyone nominates one thing to bake and then bakes enough so that each person can get 10 serves each and then an extra serve to eat that night. On the designated night we all turn up and have a cuppa and a chinwag while sampling all the yummy treats that were made.

Don’t they look yum? This is our delightful hostess! Thanks so much for organising  it N! xxx

My contribution this time was condensed milk biscuits (You really should try the recipe in that link if you haven’t made them before. Fabulous basic biscuits and with one tin of condensed milk you can make a ton of  them.) To make them Christmassy, I drizzled an sugary glazed icing on that I coloured red and then adorned with green sprinkles.

BTW, check out my completely cool vintage food colouring!

When my grandfather moved into a nursing home I nabbed it from his pantry since my beautiful Gran is no longer with us to bake, and Grandad certainly wasn’t going to use it! I know this will probably make the health freaks shudder, but this stuff is the real deal. Seriously, if you need red these days, it just doesn’t come out so vibrant. The bottle is almost finished which makes me a bit sad, because not only will all my food look pink instead of red, but it’s just a little momento of my Gran that I love to use! And the bottle, I love it. I don’t think I’ll ever throw it out. (Which incidentally is a genetic hoarding flaw that my Gran also passed onto me as well as a love for baking.)

My father-in-law is arriving from overseas at the end of this week. I’m so happy that we will be able to offer him an impressive snack selection!

All the goodies waiting to be taken home. There’s included Cherry & coconut bikkies, Choc chip  and Choc peppermint biscuits, Oreo truffles and pumpkin slice. (Mine are hidden in the reindeer bags!)

Have you ever participated in a cookie exchange?  What do you think is a good cookie to contribute/receive?

I was going to link this post in Essentially Jess‘s I Blog on Tuesday. I did blog it for Tuesday. It just has taken me awhile to work out how to get some photos onto here, so I missed the submission. *Sad Face, bottom lip drops.* (Remember, I’m technically challenged…) And since it’s taken me until Thursday to post, (and because this is a great example of being smart and frugal) I’m linking to I thrive on Thursday. And because this is an excellent activity for Mum’s to do that the kids will appreciate, I’m linking with True Aim Education