Family Favourites

Yo Yo’s

 

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Nana Grace's Yo Yo's
My mum was an amazing cook, anything she turned her hand to was always delicious. Her Yo Yo biscuits/cookies never lasted long, so it was always such a treat when she baked them.
Category: Afternoon Tea, Baking, Lunch Box, Snacks
Style: Australian
Keyword: Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, Mum's Recipes, Nana Grace's Yo Yos, Yo-Yo, Yo-Yos
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 225 g / 8 oz butter
  • 115 g / 4 oz custard powder
  • 115 g / 4 oz icing sugar
  • 2 - 2 1/2 cups plain flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160˚C/320˚F (fan-forced).
  2. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

  3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

  4. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix to a dough like consistency.
  5. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into small balls and place on the prepared baking trays, leaving room for a little spreading.

  6. Use a fork to gently flatten (dip the fork into some plain flour every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the biscuit).

  7. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes.
  8. Join together with a little icing (see note below).
Notes

While many choose to join their Yo Yo's together with a butter icing, we always made a simple icing using icing sugar, a small piece of butter, probably about half to one teaspoonful, a little vanilla, and just enough boiling water to mix to a nice consistency.

 

The instructions for the recipe in mum’s recipe book were limited…

Cream butter and sugar add sifted dry ingredients roll into small balls & place on slide press with fork.  Join with butter icing and roll in castor sugar.

 I have expanded the instructions a little and you will see from my note in the recipe that we didn’t use a soft butter icing, and we don’t roll the biscuits in caster sugar, as guided by my mum’s original recipe – she never followed these instructions either!

 

Brigita’s Sweet Pumpernikel

For me, there is one thing about Christmas that is reallyspecial, and it is the memories of family and friends, those who are with us, and those no longer here…

As I was deciding on the recipes for the biscuits (cookies) to be baked for this year’s Christmas gifts, I recalled a beautiful, kind lady whom I felt privileged to call a friend, Brigita, a lecturer and colleague whom I worked with at Deakin University almost 30 years ago! (She was an academic, I was in admin). The department we worked for was a very social group, and we celebrated Christmas twice a year! Brigita, originally from Latvia, always prepared the mulled wine, but what I remember more is her very special sweet treat, a biscuit that she called pumpernikel. It was not the dark, dense, savoury pumpernikel that I was familiar with, but rather a crisp, light, sweet, fruity biscuit that she had baked and given to me as a gift for Christmas. I was so privileged to have received this recipe from her, and it is through this recipe that Brigita will be forever remembered by our family.

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Brigita's Sweet Pumpernikel

The fruit and peel make this little treat delicious!

Category: Baking, Biscuits, Cookies
Style: Latvian
Keyword: Biscuits, Christmas Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Fruit Biscuit, Fruit Cookies, Gluten Free Option, Pumpernikel, Sweet Pumpernikel
Quantity: 120 biscuits
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 200 g butter
  • 400 g sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 drops of almond extract
  • 500 g plain flour
  • 300 g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 125 g candied citrus peel
  • 100 g glace fruit diced
  • 75 g currants
  • 60 g glace ginger diced
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 175˚C (fan).
  2. Line 3 baking trays with baking paper.
  3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Add fruit and dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
  6. Roll into 2 cm thick sticks and lay across the lined baking tray, leaving space for spreading.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden.
  8. Cut on the diagonal while still warm.

  9. Lay out on baking trays and dry in a tepid oven. (See notes.)

Notes

To dry out the sweet pumpernikel, I heat the oven to 150˚C (fan), return the biscuits to the oven, turn the oven off and then leave them in the residual heat overnight .

 

For gluten free sweet pumpernikel replace flour with Gluten Free Flour Blend, add an additional tsp of GF baking powder and 1 tsp xanthan gum.

 

First published:  24 December 2019
Last updated:  10 July 2026

 

If you have a moment, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you see on
this page – just pop a note in the comments box below.
With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.

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Marinated Coleslaw

 

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Marinated Coleslaw
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 mins
Total Time
17 mins
 

I was asked to prepare the coleslaw to be served at the Banquet for the 2017 Shakespeare Festival in nearby Stratford, but they needed quantities for approximately 120 people! I used my mum's recipe for the dressing. The salad was served alongside orange glazed leg ham , baked potatoes and a root veg bake.

Category: Salad, Side Dish
Quantity: 10 cups
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 1.2 kg cabbage thinly shredded
  • 170 g red onion thinly sliced
  • 2 large carrots 220g, grated
  • 2/3 cup celery 100g, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 2/3 cup vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 tablespoon horseradish cream
  • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp reshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Combine the cabbage, onion, carrot and celery together in a large container, and mix well. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the vegetables.
  2. Place remaining ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
  3. Pour over salad, and cover immediately. Allow it to cool slightly and then refrigerate for 24 hours.
  4. Just before serving toss the salad, check the seasoning and adjust, if necessary.
  5. Arrange in a serving dish and serve.
Notes
  • Ensure that the container you are using has a lid to cover the salad while it is marinating.
  • You may need to drain some of the dressing from the salad prior to placing it in a serving dish.
  • You can replace the red onion with white onion if you wish.
  • The method used in this salad is more like that for a quick pickle, making it the ideal prepare ahead salad for large numbers.
  • I have made much smaller quantities and served the salad after only an hour or two of marinating, it was still delicious.
(Updated 22 August 2023)

 

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Mrs Collins’s Pavlova

 

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Mrs Collins's Pavlova
This is a recipe my sister has been making for more than 40 years, it was given to her by her late mother-in-law."
Category: Dessert
Style: Australian
Keyword: Gluten Free Dessert, Pavlova
Quantity: 12
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 tsp vinegar
Instructions
  1. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  2. Add 1/3 cup of the caster sugar and beat until dissolved.
  3. Gradually add remaining caster sugar, beating well after each addition.
  4. When sugar is dissolved, add the vanilla and vinegar, and beat for another minute - only to combine. The mixture will be thick.
  5. Line tray with baking paper and dust with cornflour.
  6. Spread mixture into a disc shape.
  7. Bake in a very slow oven 125°C for 1 1/2 hours.
  8. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar until cold.
  9. Carefully remove the pavlova from the paper and then, again, carefully, place a large plate over the pavlova and invert it onto the plate.
  10. Cover with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit of your choice.
Notes
  • Meringue can be made the day before.
  • Can be dressed with cream and fruit in advance and refrigerated up to 3 hours before serving.

 

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