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    Home » Recipes » Christmas Food

    Traditional Australian White Christmas Recipe

    December 12, 2009 By Sara McCleary Updated November 29, 2020 - This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe

    A classic white Christmas recipe is a simple creature. Crunchy, sweet, packed with dried fruit, rice bubbles (rice Krispies), and desiccated coconut. All held together with a copious amount of Copha.

    One of those sweet treats you only need to eat once a year. Get your fix, then you are set for the next 12 months.

    It is readily available in the stores around Christmas. But making it yourself using a traditional white Christmas recipe is going to be a far tastier with a superior result.

    bowls of white christmas
    What's in this post
    • Ingredients
    • Recipe Walk Through
    • Alternative Ingredients
    • Printable Recipe
    • More Christmas Recipes

    Ingredients

    white christmas recipe ingredients
    1. Rice Bubbles (Rice Krispies): The crunchy crispy component of the recipe.
    2. Desiccated Coconut: Adds a wonderful rich coconut flavour, and more texture.
    3. Milk Powder: Buy good quality milk powder as it is what adds the creamy taste and texture.
    4. Glace Cherries: Traditionally red is used, but feel free to mix it up with green or a combination of both for a more festive result.
    5. Copha: Copha is a vegetable fat made from hydrogenated coconut oil. It is the glue that holds the white Christmas recipe together.
    6. Icing Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar): The sugar component. It dissolves and mixes with the milk powder and heated Copha to create the sweet creamy texture.
    7. Dried Apricots: The healthy component of the recipe???
    8. Sultanas: More fruit to warrant eating a second piece.
    white christmas in a red star shaped bowl

    Recipe Walk Through

    ingredients in a bowl

    Place all ingredients except Copha into a large bowl.

    Mix ingredients well, making sure the icing sugar (confectioner's sugar), milk powder, and coconut are evenly mixed together.

    white christmas recipe ingredients in a bowl
    adding copha to the ingredients

    Place Copha in a small saucepan and melt.

    Pour Copha into bowl with the dry ingredients.

    Mix ingredients well ensuring that all the ingredients are mixed and combined with the Copha.

    ingredients being mixed
    white christmas in the tray to set

    Line a 20 x 25cm (8 x 10 inch) lamington/slice tin with baking paper.

    Spoon white Christmas recipe mixture into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly. Do not compress it down.

    It is ready to go into the fridge to set at this stage. Decorating as below is totally optional, but looks great.

    For a more festive result sprinkle with Christmas theme sprinkles. Then place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

    decorated with sprinkles in the tray to set
    three square pieces of white christmas

    Alternative Ingredients

    • You can swap out the Copha for coconut oil, or another vegetable shortening such as Crisco.
    • Use any dried fruit you like, peaches, pears, pineapple, etc.
    • Instead of fruit you could use your favourite jelly style lollies. Soft types like red raspberries, but up snakes, etc.
    white christmas in bowls

    Feel free to play around with the flavours and ingredients you like. Remember that a little white Christmas goes a long way! Good thing it keeps extremely well in the fridge.

    Sara xxx

    Printable Recipe

    white christmas recipe

    White Christmas

    Recipe Author: Sara McCleary
    A classic white Christmas recipe is a simple creature. Crunchy, sweet, packed with dried fruit, rice bubbles (rice Krispies), and desiccated coconut. All held together with a copious amount of Copha.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin SaveSaved! Email
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 5 minutes mins
    Fridge Time 2 hours hrs
    Total Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Course Confectionary, Dessert, Slices
    Cuisine Australian
    Servings 20
    Calories 392 kcal

    Special Equipment

    • small saucepan
    • chopping board + sharp knife
    • large mixing bowl

    Ingredients

    • 250 grams Copha
    • 75 grams (3 cups) Rice Bubbles
    • 75 grams (1 cup) desiccated coconut
    • 120 grams (¾ cup) icing sugar
    • 125 grams (1 cup) powedered milk
    • 100 grams glace cherries
    • 80 grams (½ cup) sultanas
    • 80 grams (½ cup) dried apricots

    Instructions
     

    • Line a 20 x 25cm (8 x 10 inch) lamington/slice tin with baking paper.
    • Place all ingredients except Copha into a large bowl.
    • Mix ingredients well, making sure the icing sugar (confectioner's sugar), milk powder, and coconut are evenly mixed together.
    • Place Copha in a small saucepan and melt.
    • Pour Copha into bowl with the dry ingredients.
    • Mix ingredients well ensuring that all the ingredients are mixed and combined with the Copha.
    • Spoon white Christmas recipe mixture into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly. Do not compress it down.
    • It is ready to go into the fridge to set at this stage. Decorating as below is totally optional, but looks great.
    • For a more festive result sprinkle with Christmas theme sprinkles. Then place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

    Oven Temperatures

    All oven temperatures are fan forced.

    Measurement Notes

    All measurements are Australian metric standard. All measures are level, and cups are lightly packed unless specified. 1 teaspoon = 5ml / 1 tablespoon = 20mls / 1 cup = 250ml /4 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.

    Recipe Notes

    ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS
    • You can swap out the Copha for coconut oil, or another vegetable shortening such as Crisco.
    • Use any dried fruit you like, peaches, pears, pineapple, etc.
    • Instead of fruit you could use your favourite jelly style lollies. Soft types like red raspberries, but up snakes, etc.
     
    GENERAL COOK’S NOTES
    All oven temperatures are for a conventional oven, if using fan forced lower the temperature by 20 Deg C (70 Deg F).
    All measurements are Australian tablespoons and cups. All measures are level, and cups are lightly packed unless specified;
    • 1 teaspoon equals 5ml
    • 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml (Nth America, NZ & UK use 15ml tablespoons)
    • 1 cup equals 250ml (Nth America use 237ml)
    • 4 teaspoons equals 1 tablespoon
    • I use the below unless specified in my recipes;
    Herbs are fresh | Vegetables are of a medium size | Eggs are roughly 60 grams in weight (large)

    NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

    The recipe's nutritional information is an approximation based on an online calculator. It is meant solely for reference purposes. If you're looking for precise details, be sure to double-check with your own research.

    Calories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 4gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 44mgPotassium: 314mgFiber: 2gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 360IUVitamin C: 1.3mgCalcium: 106mgIron: 0.7mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?I do a happy dance when people share how they went. Tag me on Instagram @bellyrumbles & #bellyrumbles

    More Christmas Recipes

    There are lots of Christmas recipes to be found in the recipe section of Belly Rumbles. Including some of my traditional favourites like piragi, eggnog, and gingerbread.

    • Piragi are traditional Latvian bacon buns. Made by my grandmother, myself and now my son. This recipe is a family tradition.
      PIRAGI - Latvian Bacon Buns
    • Maggie’s Christmas Eggnog Recipe
    • Traditional fruit mince recipe.
      Christmas Recipe: Fruit Mince (Peel Free)
    • Christmas Recipe: Gingerbread Biscuits
    pinterest pin
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    « Singapore Chilli Mud Crab Recipe
    How to Cook Live Australian Yabbies »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Margie

      November 30, 2024 at 8:45 am

      Hi there. Could I use half copha and half white chocolate?

      Reply
      • Sara McCleary

        December 06, 2024 at 12:15 pm

        Hi Margie
        I can't see any reason why you couldn't. I think it would be a great enhancement from the traditional White Christmas recipe.
        Cheers, Sara

    2. Jack

      January 18, 2020 at 7:03 pm

      5 stars
      Ahhhh this brings back childhood memories 🙂

      Reply

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