A White Christmas recipe is an Australian holiday classic. It's easy to make and a delicious kid's treat. It keeps really well, making it a tasty dessert to make in advance for when guests unexpectedly pop over during the holidays.
It's funny that Australians have a dessert called White Christmas, as there is no white Christmases here! I suppose you always want what you don't have!
Kelloggs Recipes
Kellogg's does a great job in recipe development. Every country has their own Kellogg's recipe favourites (sometimes you don't even realize it). This White Christmas recipe is Kelloggs addition to Australians, and you've probably never heard of it if you're reading this from overseas. Alongside this White Christmas Slice, you might recognize other Kellogg's favorites like Caramel Rice Krispies Squares, or another Aussie classic; Honey Joys made from Corn Flakes.
White Christmas with Coconut Oil
A few unique ingredients in a White Christmas recipe. Copha is a vegetable shortening, made from hydrogenated Coconut Oil. It's like a Crisco made from coconut. I have only seen Copha sold in Australia, maybe New Zealand too. Sometimes I use Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil from Aldi instead, as I try to stay away from hydrogenated foods. Like Crisco, Copha remains in solid form at room temperature. If you are substituting with Coconut Oil, the White Christmas Slice will need to be refrigerated until serving. If the temperature is near 24 °C or (76 °F), your White Christmas tends to fall apart. So keep it refrigerated until serving.
Copha Substitute
When we lived in Canada, my wife used Crisco which worked really well as a Copha substitute. Wait, Did you say Crisco? Like the vegetable shortening? Yup, That's the one! The traditional Copha is basically Crisco that's made with Coconut Oil instead of Soybean and Palm oils. So you can easily make this recipe if away from Australia where Copha isn't readily available.
How to Make White Christmas
The hardest part of this recipe is having the patience for the white chocolate to melt! Use a stainless steel bowl and place it over a pot of boiling water. Melt the Copha or Coconut oil first. Stir in the chocolate until it's smooth and melted. Pour the melted chocolate into a bowl of Rice Krispies, cranberries, desiccated coconut and candied cherries. Mix until its combined and spoon and press onto a lined baking tray. Refrigerated for a few hours before serving to allow it to set.
Red or Green Cherries?
I use mostly red Candied Cherries (Glace Cherries), but it can look more festive is you add more green Candied cherries. With the red color in the dried cranberries and the green color in the candied cherries, it will look quite festive. Green cherries kind of scare me because.... cherries aren't green! I wonder how much food coloring would need to be added to make them green. I know it's strange because there would be tons of food coloring in the red cherries too. Feel free to use whatever candied cherries you can find! 🤣
White Christmas recipe is incredibly easy to make, very festive in name and colorful for the Christmas holidays. This is our version of a White Christmas in hot sunny Australia. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
- 3 cups White Chocolate chopped
- 5½ oz /150g Crisco, Organic Coconut Oil, or Copha
- 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- ½ cup Candied Cherries halved
- 1 cup Desiccated Coconut
- 1 cup Craisins dried cranberries
Instructions
- Grease a rectangular slice pan, line with baking paper, allowing paper to overhang the sides.
- In a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt the Organic Coconut Oil. Add the chopped chocolate and continue to heat until melted and blended together. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Mix together the Rice Krispies cereal, desiccated coconut, Craisins, and Candied Cherries. Stir in the hot Organic Coconut/Chocolate mixture and mix together until combined.
- Spoon in the mixture into the rectangular slice pan and press firmly in place. Refrigerate for a few hours until set before serving. Slice and enjoy.
Notes
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Sandra Davis
Can you make this with shredded coconut instead of desiccated coconut?
Peter Kolesnichenko
I've only used desiccated coconut - but shredded could work. It is larger in size, so that might impact the cohesiveness of the white christmas, and it has more moisture, but that shouldn't be a problem. Let me know if you try it 🙂