Sweet Sixteens

It has been some months since I participated in a sweet blog hop and when I saw the theme “Sweets without Heat” over at Nic’s Dining with a Stud, I knew straight away which recipe to enter! The Sweet Sixteens recipe is from the calendar  “Home Cooking” that a friend and I had worked on some years ago, back then I had no clue about photography so the styling and preparation of the food for the photo shoot was left to me. The photo above has some sweet memories, apart from being deliciously sweet, this was one of my first attempts at food styling for the camera! I also remember for this particular shoot, a short break was taken and on our return… a certain male in the house had eaten most of our “hero” food. Now knowing better I often get asked, “is this food for your photography or can we eat it?”

Sweet Sixteens is an old recipe for my childhood when living in Ireland and called Fifteens, as the recipe used 15 biscuits, 15 marshmallows and 15 cherries, I have always preferred calling them Sweet Sixteens! These yummy little morsels are not as sweet as you might think, even though the recipe uses sweetened condensed milk. With no heat involved these sweet treats are quick to make, however, the mixture needs a few hours in the fridge to set before slicing. Children will love helping you with this recipe and will take great delight in squashing the bag of coconut around, turning the coconut pink!

Sweet Sixteens

Ingredients:

• 50g/2oz desiccated coconut
• 2 or 3 drops of red food colour (optional)
• 16 digestive biscuits, crushed finely
• 16 red glacé cherries, quartered
• 16 large white marshmallows, halved
• 200ml or ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk

How to make: Mix together in a medium bowl the biscuits, cherries, marshmallows and sweetened condensed milk. If the biscuit mixture looks a little dry add another tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk, the mixture should not be very sticky.

Lay two sheets of greaseproof paper onto a work surface. Divide the contents of the bowl into two, tip mixture onto the greaseproof paper. With hands roll and form the mixture into a log.

Divide the coconut, sprinkle over log and greaseproof paper, roll each log until coated with coconut. Roll the log up firmly in the greaseproof paper, refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight to set. Slice the logs into desired thickness. Store in an airtight container until needed. Makes 20 slices (approximately).

How to colour coconut pink: Place the coconut into a medium plastic bag, add a few drops of red food colour. Holding the bag closed, gently massage the food colour into the coconut until you have the desired pink colour.

Variations: Use green glacé cherries or a mix of both. Use a mix of pink and white marshmallows.

To see all the other delicious entires for “Sweets Without Heat” head over to the hosts blog Nic’s  Dining with a Stud, which is part of the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop held monthly.