Lisa - I shouldn't admit this but it is actually rather easy to make and the molding pan for it is very versatile (easy but a little time consuming and my hands start to cramp from the icing bag). You can use the same mold to make a teddy bear, panda bear, frog, elephant... you name it. My local cake shop sales the pan but you can also buy it at http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-603
One of my favorite restaurants is Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli. On many of their sandwiches they use what they call a “Cajun Sauce.” This sauce is sort of like a mix between mayonnaise and hot sauce. One of the employee’s was nice enough to give me the recipe and I have scaled it down to a more normal sized recipe for home use. 1 cup Mayonnaise 1 oz. Honey ¾ oz. Cayenne Pepper Mix together and chill to blend flavors.
I decided on my 5th week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies to make a bar cookie. I made these a few weeks back and took them to a party and they got rave reviews... my friends like to tease me when I make them desserts asking if I could figure out how to pack more calories into each serving than I already do! Well these certainly live up to the calorie overload they have learned to expect! In all honesty I did find them to be tasty and a lot like a traditional 7 Layer Bar except with a brownie base instead of the traditional grahm crackers. I made the recipe as written but I figured in a time pinch you could easily use a box brownie mix made per the instructions on the box and topped with all the yummy toppings. I have a mixed feeling about them because I personally found there to be too many toppings so I would have probably scaled them back (but take that for what its worth because I am not really into desserts I just like making them) but my friends love...
For the 6th week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies I decided to think a little outside the box and went Greek! These little baklava bites are wonderful and a great two bite treat just to cure that sweet tooth! They are convenient, portable, bite size, and make the perfect cookie tray treat! Baklava Cups 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped 1/2 cup pecans, chopped 1/2 cup almonds, chopped 1 lemon, zested 1 orange, zested 1/2 cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 boxes mini phyllo shells, 15 shells each 1 cup water 1/2 cup honey Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the pistachios, pecans, and almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let nuts cool slightly and add to a food processor along with the lemon zest, orange zest, 3 tablespoons of sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and pulse to comb...
My sister loves pandas. She would adore a cake like this. Too bad I don't have the skills to make it.
ReplyDeleteSo cute!!!
ReplyDeleteLisa - I shouldn't admit this but it is actually rather easy to make and the molding pan for it is very versatile (easy but a little time consuming and my hands start to cramp from the icing bag). You can use the same mold to make a teddy bear, panda bear, frog, elephant... you name it. My local cake shop sales the pan but you can also buy it at http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-603
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