Rice Krispies Turkey

For Thanksgiving I present to you a Rice Krispies Turkey.  

 

I love a 3-D cake pan so when I saw this turkey shaped one I had to add it to my (evergrowing) Nordic Ware collection.  My favorite use for these type of cake pans is to make molded rice cereal treats like the ones I've done for Easter, here and here.  Note to self for the next time I make it: prepare 2x the treats recipe in order to fill both cavities of the mold.  Unfortunately I only had enough ingredients for one recipe so my turkey is only half formed.  Oh well...still tastes great!

Happy Thanksgiving!

3D Bunny and Basket Rice Krispies Treat

 

 

Since 2020 I've been making a 3D Rice Krispies treat bunny centerpiece for my Easter table.  It always elicits ooohhhhs and aaaahhhs when people see it, but in actuality it couldn't be simpler to make.  My "secret" is to use Nordicware's bunny cake pans.   I've collected two (so far!) and usually nab them at Williams-Sonoma in their post-Easter sale.  

The pan I used for this year's centerpiece was a bunny holding a basket.  To make the basket part really stand out I relied on Cocoa Krispies.  I absolutely love how the chocolate basket is such a nice contrast to the spring-colored bunny.   All the bunny needed was a final accessory of a ribbon necklace and it was ready to grace the table.

Mackles'mores

 

It's rare for me to stray from my go-to chocolate chip cookie (Jacques Torres's recipe published in the New York Times), but I recently discovered a new take on the all-American classic that had me wondering if it was time to reconsider.  Over the years I've visited the Pacific Northwest many times but never had I been to Hello Robin Cookies.  

 

 

Until a few months ago I'd never even heard of the cookie shop until I was FaceTiming with my friend Evelyn who lives in Seattle.  While we were chatting her family just so happened to come home with a dozen cookies from the aforementioned bakery.  They're favorite cookie being Mackles'mores, chocolate chip dough studded with marshmallows, baked on a graham cracker and finally topped with a chocolate square.  Intrigued, I immediately went online to find out more. 

 

Luckily there were plenty of websites that not only published the Hello Robin recipe but also videos showing how it was made.  The only adjustment I made to the recipe was omitting the cinnamon.  I scooped out the dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and froze them to bake off later.  This method worked liked a dream because I found the frozen dough baked beautifully. 

 

 

After the baked cookies came out of the oven I topped them with a square of Dandelion Chocolate's Gola Rainforest chocolate.  With its hints of brownie, marshmallow and roasted almonds I thought the chocolate would pair beautifully with the Mackles'mores.   The chocolate chip cookie on its own is fantastic, nice and chewy with caramel hints, but the addition of the graham cracker really takes it over the top.  So good! It wants for nothing, except maybe a cold glass of milk.

Cupcake Bouquet

Just in time for Valentine's Day, something sweet and unpredictable.  Why not forgo the usual gift of flowers and make your Valentine a bouquet made of beautiful cupcakes instead?   Seriously, these tasty treats may look complicated but they couldn't be easier to make.  All you need are Russian decorating tips and you'll be turning out professional looking decorated cupcakes in no time. 

For these cupcakes I used my new favorite cake and buttercream recipe from Bravetart's latest cookbook.  The white cake is so moist and velvety with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb and her marshmallow buttercream is a game changer.  Even better, the buttercream pipes like a dream with these decorating tips. 

S'mores Cupcakes

Did you know August 10 is National S'Mores Day?  I didn't, until now!  To celebrate this all-American camping treat of toasted marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between graham crackers I made my own rendition, in the form of a cupcake.  Much easier to eat than the traditional s'more.

Break the cupcake down to its three main components and you'll see how easy they are to create: graham cracker crust, chocolate cake and marshmallow meringue frosting.   Oh, and don't forget the blow torch at the very end to achieve the toasty marshmallow effect. 

Blush and Bashful Marshmallows

If you're an aficionada of Steel Magnolias (the movie) like I am you'll know exactly what this post title is referring to.  If not, read on...a Louisiana accent may help!

Truvy: What are your colors, Shelby?

Shelby: They're blush and bashful.

M'Lynn: Her colors are pink and pink.

Shelby: My colors are blush and bashful, Mama!

M'Lynn: How precious is this wedding gonna get, I ask you? 

Shelby: My colors are blush and bashful.  I have chosen two shades of pink, one is much deeper than the other.

When I set about making Valentine-themed marshmallows I was instantly inspired by the movie since it's one of my all-time favorites.  I started with the raspberry marshmallows that I made this past Christmas and tweaked the recipe just a little to achieve the bi-color effect I was after.   Half of the recipe became blackberry (the deeper pink) and the other half was raspberry/strawberry.

I daresay if Shelby had seen these lovely pink marshmallows she would have served them at her wedding!

Whoopie Pies

A while back I was on Dorie Greenspan's blog and one of her posts talked about how whoopie pies have become as trendy in France as macarons are here.  Never in a million years would I have foreseen that.   Since I've never made whoopie pies before I figured now is as good a time as any to try.  I wanted to see for myself what all the French fuss was about.

I used a great recipe from Cook's Country for these whoopie pies.   I was pleasantly surprised that their version wasn't sickeningly sweet and actually reminded me of Hostess' Suzy Q's.  After one bite I can see why the Frenchies are crazy about these chocolate cake/cookies!   

I'm gifting these across cyberspace to one of my besties who is celebrating her birthday this week.     

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!

2011 Holiday Treats

A quick post to show the fruits of my labor this holiday season.  Just a pic of some of the treats I made, and gifted, to friends and family.  Some are old favorites and some are making their debut to the party: 

Dark Chocolate Truffles 

Raspberry Marshmallows

Hat and Mitten Sugar Cookies

Spiced Candied Nuts

No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

Macarons (the ones above are raspberry and pistachio)
Walnut Snowballs

Shortbread

No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

My favorite ice-cream flavor of all time is Thrifty's Coconut Pineapple.   A close second is rocky road, but the kind with almonds, no walnuts please.

I was on the lookout for new recipes to try for this year's holiday treats and I saw this one for no-bake rocky road bars from America's Test Kitchen.  After endless hours spent baking cookies it was a nice change not to use the oven. 

These bars are really, really good - sort of like a pumped up version of fudge, only better.  While the inclusion of graham crackers isn't necessarily authentic to rocky road I find it added a nice texture to the candy. 

Raspberry Marshmallows

Marshmallows are one of those things I never really thought to make at home.  It's so much easier to grab a bag of Jet-Puffed when I've got a craving for hot cocoa or Rice Krispies Treats.  Since I wanted to add some new goodies to this year's roster of homemade Christmas gifts I thought to myself, "why not marshmallows?"  I've seen other people make it so how hard could it be?

My only criteria was I wanted to make them with some kind of fruit.   I saw these raspberry marshmallows on Not So Humble Pie and I knew I found what I was looking for.  I loved their pink hue and the tartness of the raspberries would be a great counterbalance to the sweet marshmallow.

To my surprise the recipe only contained four ingredients (I don't count water!) and were so easy to make.   When you're cutting the marshmallows make sure you use a very sharp knife and lots of the cornstarch and powdered sugar mixture.