How to Avoid Doing the “Tim Tam Slide”! 6 Sweet Bring a Plate Ideas

Have you ever found yourself doing the “Tim Tam Slide” as you walk into a school morning tea, committee meeting or mum’s group get-together?

If you haven’t heard of it before, don’t worry too much. I just made it up!

But it’s a move that goes a lot like this:

You walk into the room with your packet of Tim Tams  – bought at the supermarket on the way, if you’re anywhere near as organized as I am! – tucked away under your arm or hiding in your bag.

As you walk in, all you can see is plate after plate of home-baked goodies: mini quiches, iced sponges, jelly slice…

Quickly and quietly, you slide your Tim Tam offering onto the table.

Hoping nobody sees.

Hoping nobody notices that yours is not a real ‘plate’.

Or that your shiny, unopened packet of Tim Tams stands out like a sore thumb among the sausage rolls, choc-chip cookies and chicken sandwiches. And those fancy-looking, cream-filled chocolate eclairs.

A welcome sore thumb, for sure. (You know those Tim Tams are not going to last long once they’re opened, especially if there are kids around!)

But right about now you’re wishing you’d taken the time to be a bit more creative, and you’d bought along your own plate of delicious goodies that you could walk in with, head held high.

Whether it’s time that’s the issue, or you just need creative inspiration, these bring-a-plate ideas are guaranteed to disappear faster than you can say “Tim Tam”!

CLEVER & CREATIVE SWEET TREATS

1. CAKE POPS

Image Source: flickr user Tarale

If you’ve never seen Cake Pops before, you should definitely check out Bakerella’s delicious website!

Want to be the best mum in the world? Let your kids help make these for their next school morning tea. Just be sure to allow plenty of time. They’re not a ‘quick’ treat to make!

You can find a great basic Cake Pop recipe here on Stay at Home Mum’s blog.

Or, for something different, try these sweet Cake Pop recipes:

For some amazingly creative decorating ideas and cake pops flavours, check out these great books:

2. WHOOPIE PIES

Strawberry Milk Whoopie Pies from Sprinkle Bakes

This I know: 12 year old girls love to make Whoopie Pies…

… and EVERYBODY loves to eat them!!

For some delicious Whoopie Pie recipes, try these:

Or if you’re after a book for your collection filled with gorgeous Whoopie Pie recipes, here are some of my favourites:

  • Whoopies! by Susanna Tee
  • Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley & Amy Treadwell

3. CUPCAKES

Image Source: Flickr user Lamantin

For a long time, when my kids were babies and toddlers, I had a go-to muffin recipe that was good enough for us.

My muffin recipe was quick, took about 15 mins only to prepare, and another 10 or 15 to cook, and only resulted in one bowl needing to be washed.

Of course, when we started seeing beautifully decorated cupcakes at markets and in shops, I couldn’t resist having a go at creating something equally irresistible. I’m not sure if we managed that, but we’ve had a lot of fun trying!

I’ve never returned to the one bowl, 15 minute muffin recipe since discovering the soft, buttery deliciousness of a well-made cupcake!

For a simple but delicious cupcake recipe, Magnolia Bakery’s Vanilla Cupcake recipe is our favourite, topped with Magnolia’s Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

If you’d like to try some more fancy cupcake ideas, here are some gorgeous cupcake recipes that I’ve found around the web:

And these cupcake recipe books will have you running to the kitchen to start baking!

4. MACARONS

Source: modernbuttercup.blogspot.com.au via Katia on Pinterest

I have to admit that Macarons are not a creative challenge I’ve faced yet!

We’ve bought some stunning macarons at the Torquay farmer’s market – that looked as tempting as the ones in the photo here.

The taste was sensational!

Me, I’m not sure if I could do them justice. But if you’re looking for something a little more challenging and adventurous than cupcakes and slice, macarons may be just the thing.

Very tempting macaron recipes:

My favourite macarons book:

 QUICK & EASY SWEET TREATS

5. TEA CUP BISCUITS

Image Source: Planning With Kids

Tic-Toc Biscuits, marshmallows, chocolate freckles, musk lifesavers and a little icing sugar are all you need to make these adorable Tea Cup Biscuits.

This is another great activity that the kids would love to help out with. Not only that, but these gorgeous creations are quick and easy to make!

Instructions to make these beautiful Tea Cup Biscuits from The Planning Queen can be found here.

6. TIM TAM SLICE

Image Source: www.thestonesoup.com

You know that packet of Tim Tams?

I don’t think this post would be quite complete if I didn’t give you a great excuse to buy (and eat) them anyway!

This gorgeous slice from Jules at Stone Soup is a quick and easy way to transform those biscuits into a ‘plate’ that you’ll be sharing the recipe for.

Tim Tams, quality dark chocolate and butter… that’s all you need! You can find Jules’ instructions for Tim Tam Slice here.

Okay. Time to head out for supplies now!

Hopefully you’ve found some great baking ideas here for your next bring-a-plate event.

I would’ve loved to include some sugar-free sweet treat ideas here too, but those I could find or think of all seem to include nuts, so are not really suitable for school events. That will be my challenge for another day!

But in the meantime, if you know of any great sugar-free treats, please do share your ideas in the comments.

For now, Happy Baking!!

Brigid

Have you ever done the “Tim Tam Slide” yourself? Or do you have a favourite ‘bring-a-plate’ treat that you always take? I’d love to hear your ideas. And of course, any sugar-free ideas are very welcome too!