#BringHomeChristmas with SuperValu NI

This is a bit off piste but when SuperValu NI got in touch to ask me to get involved in their #BringHomeChristmas initiative, it just felt like a lovely, family focussed thing to blog about. Plus, I love supporting local companies. Oh and they sent me some wine too....that helped!

The campaign is all about local ingredients and about enjoying them at home, with family and friends. So I was asked to spend an afternoon making Mulled Wine Shortbread Biscuits with my children, using local ingredients sourced from my local SuperValu.

I'm not going to lie, baking with the kids is great and we do it loads but add the pressure of social media and photography and things can get.....well.....a little stressy!!!

But we got there in the end....next time though I'm going enjoy it more because there will be no phones involved and no pressure to make everything look all Insta-perfect!

The recipe is really simple and you can find it on this link - it's essentially a basic shortbread recipe with a sachet of mulled wine spices thrown in for the flavour. I had never thought of doing that with those sachets - assuming they had to be dissolved in liquid but of course they're just edible spices that add a fab flavour to these biscuits. I should say here that I halved the recipe - and still had about 30 biscuits.

I've never been overly happy with shortbread I made in the past so I googled what the secret to perfect shortbread is. Several recipes recommended chilling the cut out shapes in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking and so it was either that or the amazing local ingredients (or a combination of both) that made these biscuits the most melt in the mouth gorgeous shortbread I've EVER made. Honestly, they won't last beyond the weekend. Delicious. And I don't know what it is about shortbread but I always think of it as being healthy...because it's not covered in chocolate perhaps? Though, saying that, maybe I'll dip the next lot into chocolate?? Local stuff of course :)

One last thing I wanted to mention before I go. Remember the wine I told you I was sent? Well it was none other than Graham Norton's wine...

I had heard about Graham's wine a while back but wasn't aware that it's stocked locally. I've tried the Red and it's absolutely gorgeous. My friend rushed out and bought the white when she heard about it (she has a SuperValu at the end of her road!) and she's told me that it's gorgeous too and that she's been back for more. So there's another reason to shop local this Christmas.

Hope you enjoyed this less fashion-ey post. Thanks to SuperValu for asking me to get involved!

BUT now for the best bit - I have £200 in SuperValu vouchers to give away to one local reader....pop over to my Facebook page to find out how to win them!

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Disclaimer - this post was written in collaboration with SuperValu. All words are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog (and give me wine!) xx