Christmas Bonanza | Christmas Snacks

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without all the party food, all the trimmings and all the snacks. You know what I’m talking about; crackers, chocolate, biscuits, sweets and all the extras.

I’ve been trying out a few new snacks that might look good in your Christmas cupboard this year, albeit a little less than traditional but no less yummy. I love having things like this to hand in the kitchen for those unexpected Christmas guests, or if you just fancy a picky meal in the evening. They’re great for finishing up the end of year too, especially after a huge Christmas roast dinner followed by a huge turkey curry on boxing day.

I much prefer snacking (and eating chocolate) and the festive period is the perfect excuse to be indulgent amongst other things. So, let me introduce you to a few things you might not yet have heard of.

Stag Bakeries Christmas Snacks

The sweet straws in the top left of the picture, I have to say, didn’t sound appealing at first. I’m not a huge fan of basil and I often find I much prefer something to be sweet or savoury, rather than both. Having said that the basil wasn’t that strong and they actually tasted really lovely. The raspberry and chocolate ones were quite nice too. They’re dusted over with sugar so they really are quite sweet, but these are nice to get out to have on their own, or with a cup of tea or a coffee. You know, the kind of thing you’ll have on the coffee table in the middle of the living room throughout the festive period. These are also really nice as desserts, or finger foods for the kids to pick at!

Two of my favourite snacks on this board are the dipping crackers. I also got the chance to try the chickpea crackers at BlogOn in September so I was excited to try these two flavours. The green bean crackers have a lovely little kick to them with the ras el hanout really coming through and these are really lovely with a hummus dip. The lentil and biryani crackers are also really nice and these are probably my favourite of the two and go nicely with an avocado dip.

Baru Christmas Snacks

The marshmallows were absolutely amazing, especially the dark chocolate and sea salt caramel ones. So soft and fluffy yet that gooey sea salt caramel was gorgeous. I can’t say I was a huge fan of the blueberry and basil ones, but they still got eaten!

Opies Christmas Snacks

Opies has been family owned since 1880, which makes them one of the oldest, privately owned, food companies in the UK. The Opies range consists of perfect store cupboard items, just like the ones that come into their own at Christmas. And here are some of their best sellers!

The black cherries in kirsch are great for a Christmas shortcut, and Lord knows we could all do with one of those sometimes.  the They’re perfect to make a quick pudding; served them with cream, meringue, over ice-cream or a mixture of all of them. They’re not too sharp but the kick of the kirsch mixed with ice cream and meringue with the black cherry juice bursting out with every bite is something you really can’t miss.

Pickled walnuts are a huge stape for many households and for many, Christmas isn’t complete without a jar of these. They’re perfect when they’re paired up with a nice charcuterie and cheese board. Delicious!

Cocktail cherries are great for adding to your Christmas cocktails this year! Or if you’re a big fan, eat them on their own, or make a dessert out of them just like the black cherries.

My favourite, without a doubt, are these cocktail gherkins. I love gherkins anyway so to have them in mini form where I can just pop them on a cocktail stick and eat them all night is my idea of a little slice of heaven. Some people love these in their drinks too just for decorative purposes, but I find them much better on a charcuterie and cheese board, or just in my mouth on their own!

If you want to stock up on Christmas snacks this year, I’m giving away two small bundles. One winner will receive a bundle of Opies jarred and pickled foods and another winner will receive a small bundle of Baru goodies. Just enter below, good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

• This competition will open on 20th November and will close on 9th December at 11.59pm
• Two winners will be selected at random.
• The first selected winner will receive the Opies bundle of goodies.
• The second winner selected will receive the Baru bundle of goodies.
• UK entrants only
• No cash alternative will be offered
• The winners will be announced on Raising the Rings social media outlets, not the blog
• The winners will have 28 days to respond to their winner’s email