Say G'Day Linky Party {117} and Fabulous Festive Features!

G'Day from Oz sweet friends. Welcome to the last Say G'day Linky Party for the year!

+Joanne T Ferguson and I have truly enjoyed hosting this link up each week and are so honoured that you choose to share your amazing posts with us each weekend. We are both ready to have a bit of a break from the linky party for a while and will be back, bigger and better than ever in January!

I am so thrilled to be sharing just a few posts that caught my eye from last week's party. It was extremely difficult to choose only a few as each and every single post was remarkable!

Here are a few fabulous festive features from last week's Say G'Day Linky Party!

A Very Merry Christmas Home Tour via +Chic California  

Vanilla Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Buttercream Frosting via +Southern Krazed 

Christmas Recipe: Cranberry Citrus Shortbread Cookies

Welcome to Natasha in Oz, dear friends! Thanks so much for stopping by to Say G'day.

I'm sharing a Christmas recipe this week for Cranberry Citrus Shortbread. I have shared this recipe before at my Christmas blog but realized just this week that I hadn't posted about them here!

These cookies are the perfect Christmas treat and, with the tangy zest of orange and sweet cranberries in the mix, they look so festive and jewel-like when served at the Holidays.

The base recipe is so easy and I use it for all of my shortbreads. I have posted about my Caramel and Cashew Shortbread Cookie Recipe here and my Chai Tea shortbreads here.

This shortbread recipe is so versatile that you can actually add whatever you like. I have added things like dried fruits, nuts, citrus zest, choc chips, lavender and ginger. The options are endless!

The other great thing about this recipe is you can freeze the cookie dough ahead of time then slice and bake for holiday parties when you need them.

Cranberry Citrus Shortbread Cookies

Recipe by Natasha in Oz

These cookies are the perfect Christmas treat and, with the tangy zest of orange and sweet cranberries in the mix, they look so festive and jewel-like when served at the Holidays.

5/5 stars

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 12-15 minutes
Total time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Yield: Approximately 40
Ingredients

• 2 sticks or 225 grams unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup confectioners' or icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Cooking Directions

1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add vanilla, almond extract, orange zest and dried cranberries and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter beating at a low speed until blended.
3. Form dough into 2 logs, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in parchment, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
4. Preheat the oven to 350 just as the cold cookie dough comes out of the refrigerator and you are ready to bake. If the dough is frozen, let the logs stand at room temp for 10 minutes. Now remove parchment and slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space each cookie about 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until pale golden, about 12 minutes. Keep an eye on the at all times-they can overcook very quickly!
5. Let cool.and enjoy! They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week but I doubt they will be around that long!

These Cranberry Citrus Shortbread Cookies would be make a wonderful gift and a perfect addition to your Christmas celebrations, cookie swap or holiday party. I hope you will give them a try these holidays!

Don't forget about the Sundays Down Under linky party which starts on Saturday evening in the US and Sunday morning Down Under. Hope to see you this weekend!

Best wishes,

Natasha In Oz 

Please join me at PINTEREST, TWITTER, GOOGLE+

INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Easy Christmas Craft for the Kids: Personalized Candles using Sharpies.

Today, to help us get into the Christmas Spirit, I am thrilled to introduce you to Coco from Homeschoolapalooza  who is sharing her tutorial on how to make... 

Personalized Candles using Sharpies!

Coco is a home-schooled teenager who loves to work on DIY crafts. Coco also loves to blog and it is a passion she would really like to pursue. If you haven't met Coco please drop by and say g'day. She would LOVE to hear from you!

It's over to you Coco!

Hey there everybody! My name is Coco from Homeschoolapalooza and I am super excited and happy to be a Guest Poster for Natasha! Today, I am going to show you how you can make a Personalized Christmas Candle. It's super easy, fun, and a great gift to give for Christmas. Let's get started!

Say G'Day Linky Party {116} and Fabulous Features!

G'Day from Oz sweet friends. Welcome to the weekly Say G'day Linky Party, THE place for YOU to share your blog posts each weekend.

I'm so thrilled you have been able to join me for another fun link up. Can you believe this is the first linky party for December? Where has the year gone?

Today I am so thrilled to be sharing some of my favorite posts from last week's party. I would normally be sharing these each Friday but I'm going to change things up for a while and start sharin them at the weekly link up....you know what they say about change right!

So, without any further ado, here are a few fabulous features from last week's Say G'Day Linky Party!

Fluffy Village Christmas Wreath via +Virginia Fynes of Fynes Designs 

How to Make a Dish Towel Apron via Little House Living

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere: Pomegranate, Peach and Lime Sangria!

G'day friends. Thanks for stopping by to visit me in my little corner of the world Down Under.  Summer has officially arrived and when summer arrives Aussies know that Christmas is right around the corner! To help us prepare for the festive parties that will be happening over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, I am thrilled to welcome +Eliza Ellis  who is sharing her amazing recipe for

Pomegranate, Peach and Lime Sangria! 

 

 It's over to you, Eliza!

A few weeks ago I happened to read that the lovely Natasha in Oz was looking for some bloggers to guest post for her... let me tell you, I was on the email to her faster than you can say 'omgIwouldlovetodothisanditwouldbeawesome'!

And as luck would have it, here I am today!

Massive thanks to Natasha and you guys for having me, and since its such an exciting occasion, and our summer weather has been way too hot already, I thought I'd share my gorgeous Pomegranate, Peach & Lime Sangria recipe.

Sangria is something I've just recently discovered - it's not that common here in Australia - but oh my goodness....

Light and refreshing, it's just perfect for our hot summer evenings, and it's now one of my go to entertaining recipes.

I'm also a massive fan of supporting local vineyards, and this recipe features wine from another Aussie blogger -  my good friend Elisha from The Windmill Paddock - who kindly dropped around a bottle of her Sangiovese Tempranillo.

So here's how to make it.

POMEGRANATE, PEACH & LIME SANGRIA:

You will need:

2 small yellow peaches
1 pomegranate
1 lime
1 bottle of lemonade
1 bottle of Rose
2 - 3 drops vanilla essence

STEP ONE: Finely slice the lime and peaches, and add to the bottom of a large jug. Add pomegranate seeds.

STEP TWO: Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the fruit. I found a few drops weren't enough to make the drink taste of vanilla, it just softened the flavors and helped round them out.

 

STEP THREE: Fill the jug 1/3 full with the Rose - depending on how strong and alcoholic you want it to be. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Top the jug up with lemonade right before serving.

And there we have it - Pomegranate, Peach and Lime Sangria! 

The great thing about this recipe is it's so versatile - you can use whatever fruit is in season, your favorite local wines, and taste as you go to make your own unique, fabulous recipe.

Once again, I'd like to say a massive thanks to Natasha and you guys for having me today! I hope you try this recipe and love it as much as I do!

All the best,

Eliza.

Thank you SO much for this delicious guest post Eliza - I truly appreciate it!

If you aren't already following Eliza you really MUST! She shares delicious recipes, organisational tips, fabulous free printables and so much more. Please do stop by and say g'day to Eliza and tell her Natasha in Oz sent you!

elizaellis.blogspot.com.au

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If you would like to share a favourite recipe, craft project DIY or tutorial in the form of a guest post here at Natasha in Oz please let me know!

Thanks again for visiting today. I hope you have a wonderful week.

Cheers and best wishes,

Natasha In Oz 

Please join me each weekend for the Say G'day Saturday Linky Party!

You can also visit me at PINTEREST, TWITTER, GOOGLE+

INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!