Edible Christmas gifts: devour, digest, gone!

Christmas is pretty much my favourite time of the year. 

I could go on, but I think I've narrowed it down to three main reasons: 

1) It's Jesus' birthday

Granted - it's an arbitrary date, but dates are really just numbers. What rocks is that we welcomed a pretty big rockstar light years back, in a dingy manger. That little tot came to save our little hinnies, I'm forever grateful.

Plus, I love birthdays. Winner winner.

2) Everyone is so much more relaxed

It's the end of the year. Work winds down, what can be done has pretty much been done, no one really wants to fix 7am conference calls anymore. 

In other words, everyone is so much less crabby, so much more cheery.

I like that.

3) Much ado about gathering

There's a legit reason to feast fantastically, with the people in our life, near and far - all in the name of Christmas. Oh and of course, with plenty of dessert. 

> Decadent Chocolate Cake

> Show me some chocolatey love!

It's a paaarttty!!

There's always a fine line between over-doing this special holiday with excessive fuss, and showing a little love to people dear to us. 

But I think it's a blessing to be able to pass on some smiles and let folks know we care - not just at Christmas, but every other chance we can. But heck, since we're talking Christmas, it's just about the right time now.

> Eating with family: Lazy-day bread

> Whimsical partner yoga come with treats

Edible gifts are perfect for minimising clutter (devour, digest, gone!), and bear so much warmth and spirit. 

It's a holly jolly Christmas with the privilege of festive treats, share that Petite Pops cheer all round!

> Details in mailer above

What do you get with Petite Pops desserts?

• Small batch baking      The only good way to do quality control.

• Good ingredients          Real and delicious, no further preservatives added.

• Fresh                              Made only when orders come in.

• Balanced                       A little naughty and a whole lot nice. Less sugar & fats,                                            while balancing the yum.

Sometimes YOLO is code for Granola

Ok that's probably quite a stretch... 

But what I'm saying is, we're hard-wired to seek comfort.

We do the whole YOLO / bucket list thing, searching for new thrills, loving new adventures. 

But when it comes down to happiness, it's often the dead-easy parts of life that do the trick.

Like a cup of good coffee.
A hot bowl of chicken soup.
Fried chicken that crunches.
Juicy steak.
And of course, brunch.

(I am all about food, I realize!)

All the in-built yearnings.
Nothing fancy.
Just a whole lot of comforting good.

The whole idea of brunch is a soothing indulgence.

A precious weekend treat of taking things slow. Not having to scramble, eyes half-closed, jostling with scores of fellow un-deads.

Brunch is wickedly set in the middle of breakfast and lunch, just to say - I get to eat at a weird time, and no one's gonna stop me.

I love a good hearty full brunch of eggs, bacon, toast, beans and sometimes - even fries.
Fries go with every meal. Truth.

But some brunches are stay-in days. When you're too lazy to get into decent clothes, or when it's raining outside.

Life's answer to stay-in brunch comfort: GRANOLA.

I'm a shameless granola hussy, for 3 simple reasons:

1) Crunch = good
It's a party in your mouth. There's crunch, there's flavor - I'm sold. I was born with a tooth for the crunchy (fried food, chips, nuts - you name it), and granola has awesome crispy texture with such amazing flavors folded into their tiny nuggets of crunch. This may be a sign - I need to start Granola Anonymous.

2) Sweet, salty, sour
Have I mentioned how versatile granola is? There's not a single flavor dimension that cannot work with these grains. I made some super fabulous sweet granola below - Deep Chocolate Crunch and Chai Spice Honey - look out for posts on some savory ones soon!

3) Trickery

And because I snack so much, granola is a fab way of tricking my brain into believing I'm eating my fave crunchy snack, but with the bonus of amazing nutrients and none of the evil trans-oils and salts.

I feel healthier already, just thinking about it!

Totally planning to granolarize the kitchen again, can't wait.


CHAI SPICE HONEY GRANOLA

A wonderfully fragrant mix from the Inquiring Chef, this is a granola that is subtle and strong at the same time. The spices impart a beautiful tang to the grains, and you could eat this on and on... and on without getting tired of it.



































Vary the spice mix as you like, I went with about 3/4 the quantities and found it to be quite the perfect balance.

The granola itself is pretty much up to the grains and nuts you like. Almonds are great for adding a sharp crunch, either whole or slivered. The coconut oil is interchangeable with vegetable oil or any other light oils, and I made mine with rolled oats (instead of a mix with quick-cook oats), and it turned out just as delicious.

More desserts like this:
> Summer cakes & shakes
> Sesame match cupcakes, Zingy ginger crunch


DEEP CHOCOLATE CRUNCHY GRANOLA

I call this an indulgent granola because it's not something you can eat everyday, even if you declare every day Brunch Day. It's got a deep earthy chocolate crunch that is such a treat, but keep reminding yourself - step away from the bowl. 

And I'm saying this as a friendly baker-warning, and a recovering sore throat victim - you SHOULD NOT be finishing this all in one sitting. It's a dangerously addictive granola that needs to be paced out.

Take my word for it.


































Here's the recipe from Peaceful Cooking, I've adapted parts of it to make a blend I like:

Halved the amount of brown sugar, reduced the honey slightly, omitted raisins (I find the blend sweet enough as is). The chocolate chips melt when I stir them in, giving the grains a nice chocolately coat that I love. If you like them whole, stir them in after baking instead. Both instant and regular oats work for this recipe, you just need to vary the baking time a little to the crunchiness you like.

More chocolate desserts:
> Death by chocolate cake
> Guinness chocolate cake
> Chocolately love
> 10 years young