Apricot balls, White Christmas and Nuts and bolts

Among all the cookery books which I have there are some which are produced on a small scale by small local publishers containing family recipes. These are really special as they represent part of the history of that family. Some of the recipes are common dishes such as shepherd’s pie or stew and dumplings, or specialities such as mum’s Christmas cake, grandpa’s Bolognese sauce, or aunty’s marmalade, recipes which have been practised hundreds of times. Some of the recipes are from the parents or grandparents of the person writing them, some of them maybe even older than that.

I’m looking at a self-published book of an Australian grandma whose name is Elsden, although we have no known connection, and the page just fell open at confectionary. I can just imagine this lady, a grandma to a couple of dozen children, having made these apricot balls, white Christmas and nuts and bolts for her own family, and now making them again and sharing the recipes for the next generation.

Apricot balls

1 cup minced dried apricots
½ cup condensed milk
2 cups desiccated coconut

mix the apricots and condensed milk together really well
form into balls and roll in the coconut
allow to dry and store in the fridge

White Christmas

1 small cup desiccated coconut
1 tin condensed milk
¾ cup icing sugar
1 cup chopped apricots, ginger, sultanas, cherries/ or 1 cup any mixed fruit
8 oz cophra (coconut butter)
3 cups rice crispies

melt the coconut butter and add all the ingredients
mix very well, press into a biscuit tray, refrigerate until set
cut into squares, and store in the fridge

Nuts and bolts

(a note says this quantity makes a large amount, so if you’re tempted by this vey strange sounding and strange mixture, then maybe halve the ingredients)