Koala Biscuits

Have you ever seen a koala in the wild? I haven’t.

I’ve seen wallabies and kangaroos in the wild, but never a koala.

I’ve seen koalas at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and various other animal parks, but in the Aussie bush, never.

Whenever I’d see a road sign warning about koalas in the area, I would grow hopeful I would see one in their natural habitat.

But to this day, I’ve yet to see one.

It’s probably going to be even harder to see one now due to the bushfires. Yet despite what these animals have gone through, the attempts to save them have been epic. The donations have poured out for these animals too, to rehabilitate them.

When I shared about the how echidnas survive bushfires, one of our readers, Amanda, shared how her kids made koala biscuits.

I wanted to make some with my kids too and maybe it’s an activity which can be a Segway to talk about what we can do to help our native animals affected by the bushfires. If you want some ideas, I share some cool initiatives at the end of this post.

Ingredients

• Arrowroot biscuits
• Black food colouring (I used the Queen Food Colour Gel brand)
• Icing (make your own or pre-made like Betty Crocker)
• Desiccated coconut
• Chocolate sultanas
• Marshmallows
• Choc Chips or Edible Eyes

Instructions

Start by colouring the icing grey using Black Food Colour Gel found in the Woolworths baking aisle (this is the Queen Food Colour Gel brand). Only add a drop or two to make grey icing.

Cut your white marshmallows in half for the ears.

Assemble your koala biscuit by spreading the grey icing on the biscuit.

Sprinkle coconut.

Add a chocolate sultana for the nose.

Add edible eyes and marshmallows for ears.

If you don’t have edible eyes… or you run out like I did, use dark chocolate chips for the eyes.

These biscuits also make a great food craft with the kids, or can be brought as a plate to share on Australia Day.

Ways to help koalas, or koala themed purchases to help those affected by bushfires.

• Adopt a koala from the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie
• Buy Cadbury Caramello Koalas, Freddo Frogs or Furry Friends chocolates where 100% of profits from these items will be donated to the Bushfire Relief initiative.
• Buy a Katy Koala Beanie Boo, available in March 2020. 100% Profits will be donated to Wires. Details can be read here.
• Donate financially to WIRES Wildlife Rescue. They do also have a donations page for particular items needed to help rehabilitate koalas. Financial donations are preferred due to the high volume of items donated.
• Donate to World Wildlife Fund where a specific donation page has been set up to save koalas.
• RSPCA have set up donation pages in VIC, NSW and SA.
• Buy a Treehuggers Bracelet. For every bracelet sold, a tree is planted in to help restore Koalas’ habitat.

Other Aussie Inspired Food Ideas

Fairy Bread

Vegemite and Cheese Pull Apart

Echidna Biscuits