I’ve never heard of anyone making these outside Northern Ireland (unless that person happened to have a Granny from NI), so I think we can claim these as our own.  Fifteens are delicious as a teatime treat, or with an ice cold glass of milk or a tea/coffee.  They are easy to make, and ideal for little hands to help with it.

The name comes from needing fifteen of most of the ingredients, so it’s really hard to mess up.

These are sweet, but they aren’t for everyday so little it’s all about balance.  Sometimes we need a little indulgence, so go ahead and treat yourself.

Make 15

Ingredients

15 Digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)

15 Marshmallows

15 Glace cherries (if you really hate these, you can experiment with alternatives like Turkish delight or maltesers, go nuts)

150 mls condensed milk (double check you’re buying condensed milk, not evaporated or else these will be totally rank.  I’ve done it before I know, but if you did check out the recipe for gypsy pie which does use evaporated milk)

100gms Desiccated coconut

Makes 15

Method

1. Put the digestive biscuits in a bag and bash the life out of them with a rolling pin until the crumbs look like rough sand (this is a great stress reliever).  When this is done, put the crumbs into a mixing bowl
2. Cut marshmallows and glace cherries in half, and add to the digestive biscuit crumbs
3. Add the condensed milk, it will look like there isn’t enough milk to make the mix come together but trust me.
4. Put a 12-15 inch piece of cling film on a counter top and sprinkle with the coconut
5. Sprinkle the 15s mix in a line down the centre of the sheet of cling film, and press the biscuit mix into a log shape, about 10-12 cm long  depending on how wide you want the 15s to be.  Sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top and sides of the log.  When this is done, gather the cling film tightly around the sausage shape making sure it is completely covered.
6. Refrigerate the log for 2 hours, and then remove the cling film and cut into 2 cm thick slices.  You can cut off as little or as much of the log as you want, and as long as it is covered in the cling film it will live in the fridge quite happily for several days (Although I can promise it won’t last that long)