Dessert Sushi for Kids

I have decided to add a new category to my blog called "Kids in the Kitchen."  After working for 10 years in an elementary school, I discovered that there are a number of school age kids who love to be creative in the kitchen.  This new category will include kid-friendly recipes, tips, ideas and ways to encourage kids to get in the kitchen and create. 

When I was a child, my mom used to let me share the kitchen with her.  I started learning all about making breads, pies and cookies.  Soon I was trying to take over all of the dessert making duties.  I wanted to make dessert every day!

My daughter and I first made this dessert sushi recipe when she was younger.  It was always a hit with the kids at school.  This recipe is fast and requires no oven.  There are only 4 ingredients if you purchase the Rice Krispies Treats already made.  You can also make them yourself.  Here's how to make Kids Desserts Sushi:

 Tie-die colored fruit roll-ups
 Rice Krispie Treats from a package, or make your own
1 jar of flavored peanut butter, (I used Snicker's flavored)
1 bag of mini chocolate chips, or mini M&M baking chips

Open the individually wrapped fruit roll-ups and Rice Krispie Treats.  Lay the roll-up flat on the kitchen counter.  Center the Rice Krispie Treat on top of the roll-up.  Start pressing it with your fingers to flatten it out.  Try and get it as close to the edges as possible.  Next, take one or two tablespoons of the peanut butter and spread it evenly over the top.  Sprinkle a small handful of mini chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter.  (This is one of those recipes where no real measuring is needed.  You can spread as much or as little of the peanut butter you want, and as many mini chips as you want).

Starting with the longer end, tightly roll up the sushi into a log.  Press firmly to make sure it's even all around.  The next step may require help from an adult.  Using a large serrated knife, cut a little bit of the ends off of each side of the sushi to help the pieces stand up.  Then cut the rest of the roll into about 1" pieces.  Continue making as many as you need.  Place them upright on a platter so that you can see all of the swirling layers inside.  You can serve them right away, or place them in a covered contained to store until later.  Kids love to bring these as a treat to school or for a party.

TIP:  If you are using the pre-packaged Rice Krispie Treats, microwave them a few seconds before trying to press them out.  This makes it easier for the kids to manage.  Homemade Rice Krispie Treats are soft enough to use right away.  Use only enough to cover the surface all the way to the ends.

Have fun with your kids in the kitchen!

Pam

   

Ritzy Butterscotch Snickerdoodles

Several months ago, Ritz Crackers had a recipe challenge using any of their flavored crackers.  I discovered that they had a new flavor called Brown Sugar Cinnamon.  They looked really good, so I picked some up at the store.  When I tasted them, they were buttery with a hint of cinnamon sugar.  It reminded me of a snickerdoodle cookie, so I decided that would be the recipe to create for this contest.

I thought the cookies came out really good.  For a typical snickerdoodle cookie, you are asked to roll the dough in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking.  I used a food processor to crush some of the brown sugar cinnamon Ritz crackers with a bit of white sugar.  This is the mixture I used to roll the cookie dough in before it went into the oven.  Here is the recipe for Ritzy Butterscotch Snickerdoodles from the Ritz Recipe Challenge:

1 sleeve of Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon Crackers (38 count)

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 ½ sticks (6oz.) of unsalted butter, softened

½ cup of light brown sugar

½ cup of fine white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

¾ cup of butterscotch flavored baking chips

¾ cup of cinnamon flavored baking chips*

20 Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon Crackers

¼ cup of fine white granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line a 12 ½” x 17 ½”  baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.  Set aside.

In a large food processor, add 1 sleeve of Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon crackers.  Process  for 45 seconds or until you have very fine crumbs.  Pour the crumbs in a medium mixing bowl.   Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the ground cinnamon.  With a large whisk, mix until combined.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and the fine white granulated sugar.  With a hand-held electric mixer, mix on low for 1 minute or until  combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low for 20 seconds each.   Add the sour cream and pure vanilla extract.  Mix on low  until well combined.  Mixture will look slightly curdled.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Use a large rubber spatula and mix until half of the flour has disappeared.    Add the butterscotch chips and the cinnamon chips.  Mix until well combined.  Set aside. 

 Place 20 Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon crackers in processor.  Process and pulse for 30 seconds or until crumbs are fine.   Pour the crumbs in a small mixing bowl.   Add the fine white granulated sugar.  Mix with whisk until blended.  Set aside.

For each cookie, use a 2oz. cookie scoop.   Place each 2oz.  dough ball in the sugar-cracker mixture and  press the crumbs generously all over.  Place on the  baking sheet  2 1/2” apart.    Gently flatten the ball to 2 ½”.  Bake for 15-16 minutes or until light brown and crackly on top.   Remove from the oven and cool for 5-7 minutes.  Remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes  21

*Once again, if you cannot find cinnamon flavored chips at this time, you can use all butterscotch chips.  Cinnamon chips are a seasonal product which only are available during the fall, winter and part of spring.  Sometimes I will stock up on them right before they disappear and store them in the freezer. 

I hope you will try this recipe.  It's easy and fun for kids to make, too.  

Happy baking,

Pam  

Cupcake Liner Mania!

Have you walked into your favorite cake decorating supply store lately?  It is unbelievable how many choices there are for cupcake and muffin baking cups.  There are liners for king, jumbo, standard and mini-sized cupcakes.  They have come a long way from the basic package of light blue, yellow and pink ones that you always find at the grocery store.

There is a unique brand that I recently tried called “Cupcake Creations.”  They make free standing baking cups that require no muffin pan.  Just place them on your baking sheet, fill and bake.  Try doing that with your standard cupcake liners and you will get a brioche shaped cupcake!  These liners are made in Sweden where they use only natural raw materials.  They are chemical-free, and the company prides itself on being very eco-friendly.  The grease-proof paper peels away easily and is microwave and freezer-safe as well.  The only problem you will have is deciding what size or type to use.  They have standard, jumbo, muffin top and tart, brownie, éclair, petite crown and jumbo crown.

Silicone is another option out there for you to try.  I’m not so sure that silicone bake ware really caught on over the years.  I am not a fan of it myself, but I did purchase a package of diamond shaped silicone muffin cups.  These work great if you want to make your own chocolate cups to fill with mousse.  All you have to do is melt some chocolate and paint the inside of the cup with it.  Place them in the refrigerator for 5 minutes or so, then gently peel away the liner.  Because they are very flexible, you can flip them inside out.  This also makes them very easy to clean.  Here is a picture of a chocolate cup I made a while back.

Cupcakes are still very popular today.  With all of the different liners to choose from you can make any cupcake stand out like a star!  People are even making their own cut-outs to wrap around cupcakes.  Just make your own template by measuring the circumference of the cupcake, or find one on line to use. 

Time to get baking.  Don't you have a potluck to go to soon?  Make some fancy cupcakes to take along with you.  Your friends will love them!

Happy baking, 

Pam 

Jumbo Banana-Pecan Muffins

This muffin recipe got published in Taste of Home's Christmas 2010 cookbook.  I love how Taste of Home surprises you by sending you a cookbook or magazine in the mail and a nice letter explaining that they picked your recipe to be published in it.  I was surprised three times this way!

If you are tired of making only banana bread from those ripe bananas sitting over there on the counter, you will enjoy trying these delicious muffins.  They are so light and moist, and you will love the streusel topping.  Here is the recipe as it was printed in the Taste of Home cookbook:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of cake flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
3 eggs
6 tablespoons of butter, melted

Streusel:
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of cold butter
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the bananas, sour cream, eggs and melted butter.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined jumbo muffin cups two-thirds full.  For streusel, in a small bowl combine the flour, sugars and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until crumbly; stir in pecans.  Sprinkle over tops.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from pans to wire racks.  Serve warm.  Makes 1 dozen jumbo muffins.

This is a good pantry recipe.  What I mean by this is that you should already have all of these ingredients on hand.  I love it when I get the itch to bake something and I don't have to run to the grocery store first.  Enjoy these tender and flavorful muffins for breakfast, brunch or snack time.  They are great if you are throwing a shower for someone, too.

Happy baking,

Pam

Patriotic Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes several years ago for a cake walk at my daughter's school.  You can make any flavor of jumbo-size cupcakes for this.  I used regular buttercream frosting and colored 1/3 of it red, 1/3 of it blue and left the rest of it white.  Fill three pastry bags with the frosting, using one color in each one.  I used a star tip to pipe the stripes in a slightly wavy fashion.  The stars are mini sugar cookies that I dipped in a cookie glaze and let them set up before placing them on top.

This same design can be done on a round sugar cookie as well.  Any holiday is a good time to show off your creativity.  I hope you are inspired to get creating!

Happy decorating,
Pam

Recipe Reviews

I am happy to announce a new category for my blog called “Recipe Reviews.”  Here is where you will find my review or commentary on hand-picked recipes that I find while browsing the web.  How many times have you come across a good recipe, but were afraid to try it for some reason or another?  That’s what I’m here for!  I am going to prepare recipes from the web that I think sound really good.  Then I will discuss how the recipe came out, how it tasted and if I would make it again.  That way, you can decide if you want to try it yourself at home. 

I am not here to give negative responses or to fault the recipe in any way.  After all, the person who created the recipe likes it very much, or it wouldn’t be posted.  Any observations that I make about the recipe will just be my own opinion. 

So, here is my first recipe review:

Johnnycake Blueberry Dumplings

Source: kitchenvixen.ca

Photo from kitchenvixen.ca

   

¾ cup of all purpose flour

¼ cup of cornmeal

½ tsp of baking soda

1 ½ tsp of baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp of powdered ginger

3 tbsp of sugar

½ cup of butter (cold)

1 cup of buttermilk

4 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tsp of lemon zest

2 tbsp of Grand Marnier liqueur

1 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg

Mix flour with cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger and sugar. Using a box grater, grate 1 stick of butter into mixture. Incorporate with fingers, squishing dough to form pea-sized meal. Add in buttermilk and mix until a smooth dough is formed.

Form 8 to 10 dumplings and set aside.

Pour blueberries, sugar, zest, liqueur and nutmeg into a large pot. Simmer until the blueberries release some of their juices. While the blueberry mixture is still quite moist, add in dumplings. Cover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes, until dumplings are set.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.  Makes 4 servings.

Review

This recipe caught my eye when I saw the word "johnnycake."  As a true lover of corn cakes, I knew that I must give this one a try.  While I was mixing the dry ingredients together, I started wondering if the dumplings would turn out heavy or light.  I know that cornmeal is a bit heavier than flour, but the recipe is only calling for 1/4 cup of it.

The technique of using a grater to grate the butter into small pieces was my favorite part of making this recipe.  Of course, you have to work fast and make sure the butter is very cold to achieve success.  Having the butter in such small pieces made it so much easier to mix it into the flour.    

I didn't have enough fresh blueberries to make 4 cups, (only had 3 cups), so I added frozen blueberries for the last cup.  Also, I didn't have any Grand Marnier on hand so I used 2 Tablespoons of orange juice.  As I got out my nutmeg to add to the blueberry mixture, I found myself stopping to think about the amount that was asked for.  I know how strong this spice can be and how a little goes a long way.  I went ahead and used the whole teaspoon. 

I used my 2" cookie scoop to measure out the dumplings.  It took exactly 10 minutes for them to cook.  Now it was time to taste....

All of my worries about a heavy dumpling just flew out the window!  The dumplings were absolutely delicious.  They were not only light and tender, but had the sweetness of buttery corn flavored throughout.  I will definitely want to make these again, but for my own taste, next time I will use only 1/2 teaspoon of the nutmeg.  

These dumplings are a great example of comforting food.  If you love johnnycakes or cornbread as I do, you must add this recipe to your list of favorites.  I want to thank the Vixen for adapting her mom's recipe and sharing it with all of us.  If you want to try more recipes from the Vixen, visit her blog at kitchenvixen.ca.

Happy eating,

Pam

  

  

Microplane Kitchen Tool

This is a kitchen tool you should not be without.  Developed by the Microplane Company in the 1990's, it takes its design from a woodworking rasp.  This short handled grater has a long shaft with etched metal teeth that are razor sharp.  Because you have more control when using it than you do with other, more clumsy graters, there is less chance of actually cutting or injuring yourself.

The microplane is perfect for grating only the fragrant zest from citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges.  It removes the flavorful zest by shaving it into very fine lacy ribbons.  Other graters will sometimes grate the zest too thick, and you end up having to chop it finer with a knife before using it. 

But the microplane doesn't stop there.  It's excellent for finely grating hard cheeses like parmesan, whole spices like nutmeg, blocks of chocolate, and fresh coconut.  The possibilities are endless with this tool.  It's the best kitchen helper you can own.  The price is around $12.95 and is worth every penny.  I've had mine for several years and it is still sharper than ever. 

To clean it, just soak it a few minutes in warm water.  Take a soft brush and gently brush in the direction of the teeth.  Never brush against the teeth or you could risk injury.  The microplane is also dishwasher-safe.  When storing your microplane, keep it in its protective cover.  This way no one can get hurt by its sharp teeth.

I can't say enough about this tool.  I hope you will run out and get one soon.  You can find them at most kitchen stores, or they can be ordered on-line. 

Happy grating,

Pam