Inspiring whimsical sweets & savory dishes

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mini Grasshopper Pies and SprinkleBakes Book Giveaway!!

by Darla

I got a beautiful new cookbook a couple of weeks ago. It’s filled with the most delightful works of food art around, and it tells you how to make them yourself.

SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist, by my dear friend, and fellow blogger, Heather Baird of SprinkleBakes, is simply wonderful. I can’t say enough good things about it.

When I first got it, I couldn’t wait to pick something out to make. I paged through, looking at all of Heather’s delicious recipes…

…gorgeous decorations…

…and easy to follow pictorials, and thought I’d never be able to decide on what to make first.

In the end, I settled on something that looked and sounded wonderful, and appeared to be crazy easy, even though it looked so elegant and lovely. I made the right choice. Heather’s grasshopper pie was easy, pretty, and so yummy, you wouldn’t believe it.

All you need for the crust for these pies is chocolate cookie crumbs (I used these, but I think Oreos would work great, too), and butter, melted.

And all you need for the filling is marshmallows, heavy cream, créme de menthe, and créme de cacao.

That’s it.

The crust pretty much speaks for itself…crush up your cookies, mix them with the melted butter, and done.

The filling is just as easy, though, so if you’re thinking you’ll need to make these way ahead, think again.

To make the filling, just melt the marshmallows, stir in the créme de menthe and créme de cacao, then fold in some plain whipped cream. See? Easy.

To assemble, simply press the cookie mixture into whatever pie plate, tart pan, or pastry ring you’re using (I decided to make many mini pies using Norpro Tartlet Tins) and pour the filling in on top, smoothing it with a spatula. Next, chill until set (about an hour), then top with whipped cream and serve.

Easiest. Dessert. Ever.

These look beautiful with a light dusting of cocoa powder or more cookie crumbs (finely crushed), and I added Valrhona Crunchy Pearls to mine, as well. I added the pearls on a whim because I bought them a few weeks ago and haven’t had a chance to use them yet. I’m really happy that I did, because they added a lovely deep chocolate flavor and a gorgeous little crunch to the pies. Don’t get me wrong, these pies are wonderful as-is, but I adore the extra bit of texture that comes from the pearls.

Not only is this one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever made, but it’s one of the most beautiful, and definitely one of the most delicious. I may or may not have eaten five or six of these while taking pictures. May have. Or not. Whatever. Shut up.

This is an impressive, tasty, lovely dessert for any occasion, and if you’re pressed for time, then this can’t miss. Enjoy!

Oh yeah….. How do you guys feel about winning a copy of Heather’s stunning new book?

And what if I told you it’s a signed copy?? Yep. I thought you’d like that.

It’s easy. Just comment below, before Midnight (12:00 am) EST on Monday, May 21st, 2012.

Want an extra chance to win? Just follow @Bakingdom on twitter and tweet, “I wanna win @SprinkleBakes lovely new book, SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist from @bakingdom t.co/RFxXeGaD” Once you’ve tweeted, return here and leave a comment saying you shared the tweet. Be sure to leave this as a separate comment; each comment is an entry.

This giveaway is open to international readers.

The winner will be chosen randomly at www.random.org and announced Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012.

I will contact the winner, so don’t forget to add your email in the email section!

**Comments are moderated, so if you’ve never commented before, it will take some time for your comment to appear!**

Good luck with the giveaway!

♥,
Darla

If you haven’t already, click the ‘like’ button on my facebook page here, and follow me on twitter here.

Grasshopper Pie
Makes 1 9-inch pie, 6 4-inch pies, or about 20 mini tarts

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/2 cups, about 30 Nabisco Famous Wafers (grams) chocolate cookie crumbs
5 tablespoons butter. melted

FOR THE FILLING
1 cup heavy cream
25 large (or 250 mini) marshmallows (cups or grams)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) créme de menthe
1 tablespoon (15 ml) créme de cacao

1 recipe Whipped Cream

To make the crust: In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter until thoroughly mixed.

Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie plate; set aside (I chilled mine while I made the filling).

To make the filling: Whip the cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large, heatproof bowl, microwave the marshmallows until very puffy, about 45 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until they have lost their shape and completely melted.

Stir the créme de menthe and créme de cacao into the marshmallows until smooth and uniform. If needed, allow the mixture to cool.

Fold the whipped cream into the marshmallow mixture until smooth.

Assemble: Spoon the mixture evenly over the prepared pie crust, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Chill until set (about an hour).

Top with whipped cream, garnish with cookie crumbs or cocoa powder and Valrhona Crunchy Pearls, if desired, and serve immediately.

Recipe by Heather Baird, from SprinkleBakes

Supplies:

SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist
Norpro Tartlet Tins
Valrhona Crunchy Pearls
Pearly Sixlets – Lime

{ 365 comments }

Friday, May 11, 2012

Elegant and Easy Mother’s Day Cookies

by Darla

On Wednesday, I got a little “express” shipment of some of our household goods. Primarily the shipment contained kitchen gear. It more or less had our entire kitchen contained in it. I’m sure you can imagine my excitement, I’m not sure if I can describe to you the feeling of being reunited with the stuff you love.

Obviously, it’s nothing to how thrilled I’ll be when the Hubster comes home for good, but there is a comfort in seeing the things that make your life what it is on a day to day basis. I sound totally materialistic, but it isn’t about the things so much as it is about what they make a house into.

Up until Wednesday (since mid-March), our house has been filled with very, very little. It’s still filled with very little, but there’s something soothing in having familiar things to be a part of that little. Before, it was just the kiddo and I, plus Loki, and a rented couch, two rented beds, and the few pieces of furniture that I have invested in for my office since we’ve been here. It’s a little depressing.

As for the kitchen, it was a lot depressing. I had a pot, a pan, a wooden spoon, and a cheap knife and cutting board for cooking. We’re eating off of plastic dishes with plastic utensils until our dishes get here. I was fortunate to have been able to bring a small supply of blogging tools and props with me, but otherwise, that’s all we had.

Maybe I’m spoiled, but it was tough, so those few boxes Wednesday were wonderful! I’ve been reunited with my KitchenAid mixer (which I actually haven’t seen for seven months. Seven. Months.), and even though I really needed to just unpack everything and get it all organized and put away, I made cookies instead. Using my mixer.

It was wonderful.

Happy Mother’s Day, friends. [read more→]

{ 18 comments }

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