Every Christmas the kids and I love to make up a batch of Christmas Balls.  This year we did Choc Cherry and Apricot flavours.  They are a great homemade gift for teachers, friends, family and all those other people in your life you want to give a small gift to at this time of year.

Making a combination of flavours also gives a mix of colours which look great when they are packaged up.  For packaging you can use any gift box (noodle boxes, little cardboard boxes or chocolate boxes are good) or clear bags.  Simply tie a bit of festive ribbon around them and it’s ready to go.  Here’s how we packaged them (featuring my helper Maggie).

The balls can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen so they are ready when you need them.

Choc Cherry Balls

Ingredients

425g Cherry Ripe bars
250g packet plain chocolate biscuits
395g can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup desiccated coconut
Extra desiccated coconut

Method

Chop the chocolate bars.

Chopped Cherry Ripe

Process the biscuits to a fine crumb.

Chocolate Crumbs

Combine chocolate, biscuits, condensed milk and coconut in a bowl and mix well (don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty).

Choc Cherry Ball Mix

Roll a teaspoon of mix into a ball and roll in coconut.

Rolling Choc Cherry Balls

Apricot Balls

Ingredients

400g dried apricots, chopped
250g packet plain sweet biscuits
395g can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup desiccated coconut
Extra desiccated coconut

Method

Process the biscuits to a fine crumb.

Combine apricots, biscuits, condensed milk and coconut in a bowl and mix well (don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty).

Apricot Balls ready to mix

Roll a teaspoon of mix into a ball and roll in coconut.

Apricot Balls ready to roll

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Cherry Ripe chocolate bars combine cherries, coconut and dark chocolate.  Any similar chocolate bar could be used, or even experiment with different flavours.
• The chocolate bars and apricots are most easily chopped using a food processor.
• I used Arnotts Chocolate Ripple and Marie biscuits.
• The balls can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for 6 weeks.  So make plenty ahead of time and use as required.

What other flavours could we make for Christmas Balls?  Please let me know below.

Last week at the markets there was the first real flush of stone fruit available.  Plums and nectarines were leading the charge so I got a carton of each.  The nectarines, although small were full of fabulous flavor but with only a short shelf life so the plan was to cook them up or preserve them.

Pouring through the cookbooks I came across the following Nectarine Chutney recipe.  The ginger and spices won me over so last night I cooked it all up with the help of my daughter Maggie who did a lot of the chopping.

When all the ingredients went into the pan, the mixture had a real Christmas look – all red and green.  And that is why I had to get this recipe out as it is a great one to make as a Christmas gift (what I’ve done), particularly if you are lucky enough to have nectarines in season (which we do in Australia).

Nectarine Chutney Precooked

If you don’t have nectarines in season now, be sure to make this Nectarine Chutney when you do.  The beauty of chutneys is they are so easy to make – throw everything in the pan, simmer away until nice and thick, then bottle it up.

Chutneys are great served with curries and meats.  My Mum loves them on crackers with cheese.  However you eat chutney, enjoy!

Nectarine Chutney

Recipe from The Book of Preserves (“Australian Women’s Weekly” Home Library)

Nectarine Chutney

Ingredients

2kg nectarines, chopped
1 medium green capsicum, chopped
2 ½ cups white vinegar
4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup chopped dates
¼ cup chopped glace ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Method

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Stir over heat to dissolve the sugar without boiling.  Bring to the boil, simmer uncovered stirring occasionally until mixture is thick (it took about 3 hours for me).

Nectarine Chutney Cooked

Pour chutney into hot sterilized jars (see note) and seal.

Makes about 6 cups.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

To sterilize the jars select a suitable number of jars (makes about 6 cups).  Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water then rinse well in hot water and drain.  Put the jars into a low oven (100C-120C/210F-250F) for 30 minutes.  Remove the jars a few minutes before use so that they are still warm when bottling the jam.

How do you like to serve your chutney? Please let me know below.