Minecraft Rice Krispies Treats

Dagan turned 7 this past Saturday and since he loves Minecraft we made Minecraft rice krispies treats. Israa came over and helped me with this project which was easy but did take many hours in the kitchen. I got the idea from the video Nerdy Nummies.

The grass blocks are chocolate peanut butter with vanilla frosting grass. The sand blocks are traditional vanilla rice krispies. The creepers are mint with vanilla frosting and decorated with black candy melts. The cakes are peanut butter with white candy melts and decorated with cherry airheads. And the dirt blocks are chocolate peanut butter. We made 4 different flavors of treats but half a recipe for each flavor.

The creeper faces were a challenge because the candy melts harden rather quickly in the piping bag and it's hard to get good detail. In the video they pipe the candy melts onto waxed paper, let them harden and peel them off. Though I do think it would make them look nicer, our treats were small and it would be hard to place them on each one. They would also need to be glued on with additional candy melts or run the risk or sliding off during transport. It would require a lot more time and patience.

Mini Apple Pies

The boys and I made mini apple pies using our new mini pie lattice mold. I was so excited when I first bought it since I have trouble cutting even strips of dough and then weaving them to make a lattice, especially a small one. This mold was not too hard to use. First you roll out the pie dough, then you use the mold to cut out a piece for the bottom and a piece for the lattice. Then you place the bottom dough into the mold and spoon in the filling. Egg wash the sides and then place the lattice over it. Press down to crimp and seal. Then pop them out and put them on the baking sheet. The only challenging part was that the little diamonds for the lattice are hard to punch out. You need to use a knife to cut them out again and lift them out. A double pie crust recipe makes 6 mini pies.

Buttermilk Biscuits

These buttermilk biscuits are full of buttery layers. We served them for breakfast with raspberry pomegranate jam and nutella.

Muhallabia- Milk Pudding

This middle eastern milk pudding is one of my favorite desserts these days. We were inspired to make it since we are studying Saudi Arabia this month. It is relatively healthy since it is mostly made of milk. A little sugar and cornstarch are added. A touch of orange flower water gives it a unique flavor. Crushed pistachios and almonds are sprinkled over the top. We have made this recipe twice this month.

Spicy Brownies

Sometimes I crave chocolate so bad that a few squares of dark chocolate just won't satisfy. A few nights ago I was tired. I didn't feel like baking but then suddenly I turned into a raging chocoholic. I dug through by cookbooks in a frenzy and found a recipe I had printed out from one of the Baked recipe books I had borrowed from the library last summer. I was inspired and full of energy. I whipped up a batch of these fudgy brownies and ate one before bed, falling into a satisfied slumber.

These brownies are super fudgy. I pulled them out of the oven when there were moist crumbs clinging to the toothpick. They are super dense and rich. Not for those of you on a diet. There is a quarter teaspoon of cayenne since I didn't have ancho powder. It adds a little kick at the end. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and powdered ginger all add a little spice to it as well. This is one of my favorite brownie recipes of all time.

Nutella Cinnamini Muffins

These cinnamon sugar sprinkled mini muffins have a surprise in the middle. Nutella! These are perfect little bites for a winter morning.

Banana Heart Muffins

Dagan woke up this morning begging to make banana muffins. I added in some walnuts, applesauce, and whole wheat flour to make them more healthy.

Gingerbread Cake

Looks like chocolate but it's not. It's gingerbread. This cake was really moist and full of spices and freshly grated ginger. It had just the right amount of sweetness. It turned out pretty dark even though I used light brown sugar when it called for dark. I like that it reminded me of the holidays.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Walnut Biscuits

These buttermilk biscuits were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I took a basic buttermilk biscuit recipe and added dried sour cherries, semi sweet chocolate chips and walnut pieces. I rolled the dough into balls and dropped them onto the cookie sheet. They were so full of fixings that they seemed more like scones than like biscuits.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with Fresh Mint Ice Cream

This was our dessert for Christmas day. It was served after August's braised lamb shanks. I haven't made a plated dessert in quite a while. I was so excited to serve this. The dark chocolate cake is really rich with a brownie like crust to the outside and a warm gooey centre. The fresh mint ice cream is made with milk and half and half instead of heavy cream. It is cold, light and refreshing. Texture wise it is between an ice cream and a sorbet.

Orange Cinnamon Rolls

These are quite time consuming but so worth it. I prepared them on Christmas eve (lots of rising time) and put them in the fridge. I brought them to room temperature on Christmas morning and baked them. Everyone had fun opening presents while eating the freshly baked rolls. The first batch I slightly overbaked so they were a little hard and dense. The second batch I pulled out earlier and they were soft and delicious. I didn't have orange zest so I just zested a couple of mandarins.

Candy Cane Bark

Late at night, I searched in the cupboard and came up with some leftover candy canes, a huge block of white chocolate and some half used bags of mint and semisweet chocolate chips. Perfect for candy cane bark. This recipe was so easy to make. It's basically just melting chocolate and pouring it into a pan. The candy canes, I crushed with a meat mallet. It was fun to be aggressive. The boys even came out of their room to ask what I was doing.

Mienski Honey Cake

Our studies of Belarus lead us to make this honey cake. It is named after Minsk, the capital of Belarus. This cake was quite dense but the honey flavor really stood out. It was a delicious snack when served with tea.