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First there was a wedge-tailed eagle, which never flew because of a broken wing. Then there was a kestrel, a galah, several magpies and later, a tawny frogmouth. We’ve had our share of bird pets along the way, all thanks to my father, who was (and still is) a bird enthusiast. We never bought any of them; Dad would be given them by folks who knew (or thought) he could help, or we would find them hit and stunned on the side of the road. Either way, there was often wildlife around that needed feeding.

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So, what do you feed to hungry birds in captivity? Being a carnivore, the eagle got mincemeat, as did the magpies. As for the galah, its dietary needs could have been met quite easily with a bag of birdseed, but the closest pet shop was several hundred miles away… time to get creative! I guess Dad figured that breakfast cereal is made with wheat, wheat is a grain… and I distinctly remember a galah chick eating Weet-Bix mush from a spoon.

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Who knows what my child-mind extrapolated from this event, but I have never really enjoyed Weet-Bix since! My son doesn’t seem to like it either, and after countless futile attempts to convince him otherwise, I have turned to other options. He’s happy with semolina, and I’m happy not to be wasting bowls of uneaten cereal every morning. That leaves only one small problem: what to do with the remaining half-eaten box of cereal bars.

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Here we have a take on the ever-popular and shamelessly retro confectionary known as Rum Balls. Instead of using cake crumbs (I mean, who has cake crumbs just lying around, anyway? Isn’t cake for eating?), this version uses crushed Weet-bix. Win! I always knew there was a better way to eat them… smothered in sweetened condensed milk seems appropriate! Also another great way to bake without baking – summer’s not over yet!

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{Weet-Bix} Rum Balls
To increase the flavour, I’ve added in a step to soak the raisins in rum/orange juice, but this step is completely optional. If you are in a hurry, feel free to skip it.

Makes about 30

Ingredients
9 Weet-Bix
1 tin of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut (optional)
1 cup finely chopped raisins
2 tablespoons rum or orange juice {I used 2 teaspoons rum essence and 1 ½ tablespoons orange juice)
Chocolate sprinkles, to coat

Method
Place the chopped raisins in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the orange juice and/or rum and heat in the microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the Weet-Bix into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder, coconut, raisins and orange juice. Cover and place in the fridge for half an hour.

Roll into balls and coat with coconut or chocolate sprinkles. Chill and eat.

5 thoughts on “{Weet-Bix} Rum Balls”

  1. I only ever have tiny crumb cakes lying around on plates! This looks like a great recipe – I might substitute honey weetbix bites coz we have a few spare boxes of them.
    I’ll need to buy some sweetened condensed milk too – that stuff is way too yummy to leave lying around!

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