White Christmas

A quick and easy treat to make for the holidays!

Looking for a last minute Christmas gift? What about a plate of White Christmas—bite-sized squares of crunchy rice bubbles mixed with sweet delights.

Hubby was relating how his mother used to always make White Christmas at this time of the year so I decided to have a go. Searching the Web yielded lots of recipes for White Christmas. After taking bits and pieces from different recipes and a disastrous overly-sweet first batch, I ended up with this basic recipe and two batches that cater for the family's dietary restrictions: one low in potassium and another that is dairy-free and nut-free.

Makes around 20 squares

Times

Preparation:

15-20 minutes

Setting:

1-2 hours

Ingredients

• 100g white chocolate To cater for allergies, use a dairy-free chocolate.
• ¾ cup rice bubbles
• ¼ cup marshmallows
• ¼ cup glacé cherries
• ¼ cup of mixed fruit To lower potassium, substitute ¼ cup of turkish delight.
• ⅓ cup of dessicated coconut (optional)

Method

1. Line a slice pan with baking paper.
2. Cut the marshmallows, cherries, and large pieces of dried fruit (or the turkish delight) into small pieces about the same size.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Melt the white chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

   Do not cover the bowl or let the bowl touch the water because moisture can ruin the chocolate

5. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate and mix well.
6. Press the ingredients into the slice pan and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours until set.
7. Cut into squares for serving.

Notes

• The slice is best made up to a day before serving. If the slice is kept longer the rice bubbles lose their crunch.
• For a richer slice:
  1. Remove the chocolate from the heat and stir in 2 Tbs of thickened cream into the melted chocolate.
  2. Add another ¼ cup of rice bubbles to the dry ingredients and then add the dry ingredients to the chocolate.

  The cream seems to be more readily absorbed by the rice bubbles so the slice might not be as crunchy.