[Zeppelina]

I'm lucky enough to have some nice neighbours (and some neighbours who seem nice enough, though I don't know them), and would like to do some baking this week to give to people in my little street for Christmas. Only, as I don't really know them very well (and a few of them are elderly), I'm not sure what to bake, as I'm thinking about things like:

*allergies - nuts, wheat, dairy, etc.
*high blood pressure
*diabetes
*other special dietary needs

So I'm wondering - does anyone have any ideas of some 'inoffensive' (for want of a better word) but still nice baked goods (or anything else that I can cook and share around)?

Alternatively, if your neighbour brought you something that you couldn't eat, how would you feel about it?

[*Lib*]

Shortbread is always a winner...but honestly, if I hadnt seen your kitchen....I probably wouldnt eat them....I can't eat stuff made in strangers kitchens.

If it was something I couldnt eat, I'd serve it to guests over christmas.

This post has been edited by *Lib*: 16/12/2012, 09:09 PM

[aprilrain]

We make Rumballs. People say thankyou, if they don't want to eat them themselves they take them to others I presume. I'd think 90% of people are happy to eat something others have made.

[gettheetoanunner...]

OOooooooh - that's ace, zepellina!
How lovely.
I wish you were my neighbour. I eat everything.
I don't care who from - (I'm so ripe for poisoning)

Shortbread
Fruit mince pies
Edited - not baked goods.

Little lemon meringue tartlets
Cherry pie


This post has been edited by gettheetoanunnery: 16/12/2012, 09:17 PM

[i-candi]

Shortbread is always a winner...but honestly, if I hadnt seen your kitchen....I probably wouldnt eat them....I can't eat stuff made in strangers kitchens.

If it was something I couldnt eat, I'd serve it to guests over christmas.

ROFL I'm the same and I bake a lot !!! I make cookies, cup cakes and cake pops for a lot of people but I couldn't ever buy off a stall or even eat stuff I don't know who made. I also let people know I use latex gloves when rolling and smooshing up my cake pops because I think it's more hygienic.

OP just make your speciality, it will be warmly received even if the person can't eat it I'm sure. I cater for gluten free for an adult but I wouldn't cater for a child unless that person asks me (and I've been asked from a parent of a child with T1 diabetes and celiac disease).

[ubermum]

I made Christmas cookies last week. Just a basic biscuit recipe, but I used an egg replacer due to allergies. They were butter, sugar, flour and egg replacer. I used a tree shape cutter. iced them in green icing and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands. They were a huge hit. I used a recipe out of my year 7 textbook "Cookery the Australian Way".

[Peanut]

What neighbourhood do we live in again?!!

What a lovely gesture, particularly to your elderly neighbours who would more than likely be quite touched by your kindness.

I think biscuits are always a good bet. Shortbread is ripe for this season but any type of homemade biscuits are delicious. If you are unsure about dietary concerns you could always slip in a note explaining what type of biscuits they are and what you have put in them.

[Funnington]

I can't eat stuff made in strangers kitchens.

Yay, there's another food snob like me! I thought I belonged in a museum.

I feel horrible when my adorable, elderly neighbour next door brings me homemade 'things'. Sponge cakes with cream are my worst fear. It combines all my food snobbery - unknown kitchens + dairy products not from my fridge.

Can you just hand out a little cellophane bag of Ferrero's? I would love that!

[*Lib*]

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1623/custard+biscuits
these are easy peasy, if they seem a bit wet put the mix in the fridge. They melt in your mouth!

[my serenity]

We do shortbread decorated every year and for the kids hars of premade ingrediants needing milk for over ten years the neighbours love it and some neighbours are brought to tears as their own family gave no contact. We are in a low income area .
And yearly we get fresh fruit veg and the fave of my son fresh cherries remember it takes a village to raise a family