Category: Sweet/Dessert
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Honeycrunch
It’s not a party if there’s no honeycrunch! When I was growing up in the seventies in New Zealand, Rice Krispies seemed to be one foodstuff that every family had in their kitchen. Whenever a kid had a birthday party, along with little red “cheerio” sausages on sticks and Bluebird chips, there would…
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Pam’s Cookies
The recipe that was used around the world This cookie recipe was given to me years ago by a well-traveled friend of mine who, at some time in the past, had met a woman called Pam when she was visiting Borneo. Pam gave her this cookie recipe. My friend carried on with her…
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Chocolate Crackles
Chocolate Crackles: essential New Zealand party food When I was growing up in New Zealand in the Seventies, every single birthday party I went to would have a plate of chocolate crackles sitting proudly on the party food table, just waiting to be gobbled by sugar-frenzied, over-excited herds of children. The Seventies seem to…
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Hokey Pokey: New Zealand’s Best Kept Secret
Candy surprise from Down-Under I had forgotten all about hokey pokey until recently when we went down to visit my family in New Zealand. Suddenly I saw it everywhere: in ice-cream, in biscuits, in chocolate and even by itself. It’s New Zealand’s best kept secret (or maybe second best, after the fact that…
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Strauben: Sugar-Dusted Swirls From The Dolomite Mountains
Strauben: Sugar-dusted swirls from Northern Italy I came across these delicious fried treats a few years ago when we went to the Dolomite mountains in the North-East of Italy. There’s nothing better than a crunchy-tender freshly fried pastry dusted with powdered sugar or lavishly spread with jam (traditionally it’s blueberry jam) to give you…
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Pasticciotti: Custard-Filled Pies From Puglia, Italy
Where you can find pasticciotti custard pies I first came across pasticciotti a few years ago, when we spent a long weekend in the Salento region, way down in the “heel” of Italy. These custard-filled pies are typically eaten for breakfast there with a frothy cappuccino. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you eating…
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Chocolate Afghan Cookies
A Special Cookie From New Zealand This cookie is for some reason called an Afghan cookie, although it is not from Afghanistan, and is not made by an Afghan dog. Afghan cookies are a specialty from New Zealand and are one of those sweet treats that you find in just about every cafe…
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Nutella Crostoli: Italian Carnival Pastries
What happens during Carnival in Europe? It’s Carnival time in Europe right now! In France, that means that Nice on the Cote d’Azur has an enormous parade and a flower-throwing battle and the children get to dress up in costumes and throw confetti around (but more about that later). In Italy, for Carnevale, people…
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Yoyo Biscuits, Escalator Rides, And The “Two Things” Rule
The excitement of going to town when I was a kid When I was a kid growing up on a farm in New Zealand, we used to get to visit “The Town” a handful of times a year. It was always a very exciting trip. We would get dressed in our best clothes,…
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Baci Di Dama
The joy of choosing tiny pastries Baci di Dama are cookies that you find in pasticcerias all over the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. We always choose to have a few when we go in to order a tray of pasticcini. I adore this Italian tradition of picking up a tray full of all…
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Christmas Tree Cookies
What to make when you can’t give a present My younger son’s teacher laid down the law in his class this Christmas, and said that she wanted NO Christmas presents from the families. In fact, she’s getting the kids to do a “reverse advent calendar” this month instead. Each day, a different child…
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Mothballs: A Sweet Treat From New Zealand
Don’t be deceived by the unappetizing name Since the holidays season is here, over the next few weeks on Italian Kiwi, I’m going to be sharing recipes for sweet treats and cookies that you can make for this time of the year. Christmas is a great excuse to load yourself up with sugar.…
