Santa works hard on Christmas Eve, and he deserves a snack for the energy to keep going. It is also a good thing for kids to give Santa something in return for his work and gifts.

Of course, you could just buy a plate of biscuits but

 Who knows, making something special for Santa could become a treasured family tradition – it certainly has in our house!

So here are some suggestions of snacks your kids could leave out for Santa this December – or cook for Mum and Dad at any time of the year!

Shortbread

(or 5cent biscuits as my 3 year old called them! This is now our family tradition.)

Ingredients:

250 butter, unsalted
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
½ cup rice flour
extra caster sugar to sprinkle on top

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 1500C
2. prepare a tray with butter or non-stick surface
3. ‘cream’ the butter (this means, beat it until it is white and creamy)
4. add sugar and vanilla essence
5. mix until mixture is pale and looks bigger
6. sift flours
7. add floors to mixture with a wooden spoon (using a beater here will make the biscuits tough later)
8. knead the mixture on a floured board
9. roll out flat and cut into shapes OR divide into two and make two flat circles and mark as segments
10. sprinkle with caster sugar
11. bake 50 – 55 minutes until pale golden colour
12. remove from oven and cool

You can then ice the shortbread or dip it in melted chocolate.

 Cheese Twists

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, finely grated

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated

1 egg

Spices to taste – tumeric, curry powder and oregano are all nice

Preparation:

1. lay out pastry on the bench
2. preheat oven to 220OC
3. beat the egg
4. spread the egg over the sheet of pastry
5. sprinkle cheese and spices over the pastry
6. cut pastry into thin strips about 1 cm wide
7. twist each strip
8. lay strips on a baking tray
9. bake for about 10 minutes and pastry is puffed up and brown
10. cool then keep in an airtight container
11. nice with dips but that’s a bit hard to leave out for Santa…

Zucchini Spirals

Ingredients

2 medium zucchinis coarsely grated

1 small onion grated

100g salami or ham finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

½ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

4 sheets filo pastry

1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs

Preparation:

1. Combine everything except the pastry
2. brush or spray the pastry sheets with canola oil and layer them
3. place the mixture on the pastry – leaving a 5cm gap along one edge
4. roll the pastry towards the clear edge – roll as tight as possible
5. brush or spray the roll with canola oil and cover with cling wrap
6. put in the fridge for at least an hour
7. preheat oven to 210OC
8. prepare a tray with butter or non-stick surface
9. remove roll from fridge and slice into 1.5 cm thick pieces
10. place pieces on a baking tray
11. bake for 12 -15 minutes And spirals are well browned
12. best served hot, but Santa will still enjoy them cold!

 Fruit Skewers

(avoid apple, pear and banana unless soaked in lemon juice first)

Ingredients

Whatever fruit you have available – kiwi fruit, pineapple and berries work well

Preparation:

1. wash the fruit
2. cut the fruit into bite size chunks
3. thread chunks of fruit onto short skewers

That’s it! Of course, you could serve it with a dollop of ice cream but that will probably melt before Santa arrives!

Apricot Balls

Ingredients:

400g tin condensed milk

250g Marie biscuits

3 tablespoons brandy or orange-liqueur

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

¾ cup pecan or cashew nuts, chopped (optional)

Preparation:

1. mix all ingredients together
2. roll into balls
3. roll balls in extra coconut or sesame seeds if you want to
4. put in the fridge to set, or you can even freeze them!

For a change, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice before forming the balls. Or heat 150g condensed milk and ¼ cup of white chocolate and add that instead of the condensed milk.

Chocolate Balls

Ingredients:

1 packet Marie biscuits

¾ cup desiccated coconut

2 Tablespoon cocoa

1 tin sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:

1. crush the biscuits - inside a calico bag is perfect, but a plastic bag works!
2. mix all dry ingredients
3. add the milk
4. roll dough into balls
5. roll balls in extra coconut or chocolate sprinkles if you want

If you think Santa would like it, you could add a little rum or an orange liqueur to the mix as well.

Delight a special child this Christmas with a personalised letter from Love Santa. Simply complete an online form with some details about your child, and they’ll get an individual letter relating to a hot Australian Christmas and listing their good deeds. Merry Christmas!