Eggnog Shot

Last weekend, Derek’s mom threw her annual Christmas party.  She’d been a fan of Shotibles since I started working on this project, and she wanted to have some at her party.  The Candy Cane Shotibles were a clear choice, but she wanted variety, so she asked for another holiday classic; Eggnog.

I used a box spice cake mix for the glasses.  For the filling, I made a butter cream frosting.  For the flavor, I incorporated actual eggnog and rum.  I then topped it off with nutmeg.

Gingerbread Shot

When I was in the 3^rd grade, we made individual gingerbread houses in class.  I remember being disappointed because instead of using actual gingerbread, we used graham crackers.  It’s sort of ironic that 25 years later I ended up using graham crackers as an ingredient in the Gingerbread Shotibles.

I made a test batch of the glasses a few weeks ago using spiced wafers and butter, similar to several of the other no bake crusts I’ve done before.  While they were enjoyable, the flavor was a bit overpowering, and the taste of filling was lost.  Melanie suggested that I cut it with something else.  So, I went back to my tried and true graham cracker crust.  I combined the two.  The result was exactly what I was looking for.

For the filling, I made a cream cheese frosting flavored with a ginger snap liqueur.  According to Jeff, this glass and filling are the best flavor combination yet.

Of special note, the gingerbread house in the background was constructed and decorated by Jeff.  Pay particular attention to the adorable snow covered shingle roof made with cereal and powdered sugar.

Candy Cane Shot

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  December has arrived and brought the Christmas season with it.  So this week I will be posting the first of four Christmas themed Shotibles I have planned.

My original plan for the Candy Cane Shotible was to make the glasses with traditional peppermint bark.  But I learned from the Candy Bar Shotible that making glasses out of pure chocolate could be a nightmare for the teeth.  So I experimented with making a sort of white chocolate fudge with candy cane bits.  While they tasted good, the texture just didn’t work.  First off, I couldn’t really get them out of the molds.  And, even if I could, they wouldn’t have held up well.

I decided to go in a slightly different direction.  I wanted to keep the core premise of the peppermint bark, but I needed to make it more functional.  I combined two proven recipes.  I used my vanilla wafer pie crust and combined it with melted white chocolate.  I knew, because of the vanilla wafer and butter, it wouldn’t turn out to be the pristine white of peppermint bark, so I used white chocolate that was already colored red, and I added more red food coloring.  I also blended up candy canes to mix in.  The resulting glasses tasted like peppermint bark, but had a consistency much more conducive to eating without resulting in a dental emergency.

For the filling, I made a peppermint mousse.  I melted down marshmallows in milk and allowed it to cool.  I then whipped some heavy cream and peppermint schnapps and folded it into the marshmallow mixture.  I filled each glass and topped them off with red and white peppermint sugar sprinkles.

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Shot

Thanksgiving is all about tradition.  I grew up as an only child.  Both of my parents came from larger families, and we spend most of our holidays with them, so nearly all of our traditions have been handed down to us.  It’s hard for such a small family unit to form any traditions of our own.  That being said, one tradition that is all ours is Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.

Many years ago, my parents discovered the joys of Cajun and Creole food.  In one of their cookbooks, they found a recipe for Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.  When we venture to Buffalo for our big holiday gatherings, others usually take care of the desserts.  But for the Thanksgivings and Christmases that we celebrate at home in Pennsylvania, we always have our Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.

So, to further the tradition, I made Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Shotibles for Thanksgiving this year.  Once again, I used the store bought pie crust dough.  The filling includes mashed sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, eggs, cream, sugar and some bourbon.  I then topped each with pecan halves and some chopped pecans.  I covered that with a syrup made with sugar, eggs, corn syrup, butter, and more bourbon.  I baked them for nearly an hour and a half at 300 degrees.

What’s fun is I didn’t have to work hard to find a liquor that would match the dessert.  My family always includes bourbon, even though it’s not part of the original recipe.  And, it’s still kid friendly because the alcohol cooks off.  Jeff and I headed up to Buffalo without my folks this year.  I brought the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie Shotibles along, and shared the tradition with the rest of my family.

Pumpkin Pie Shot

Thanksgiving is still a few days away, but it was such a nice day my parents decided to put their Christmas lights up.  When it got dark, the lights came on automatically, but then they turned back off a few seconds later.  Moments later, the lights came back on, and then flashed off again.  It was too slow to be a flash setting.  It could be speculated that it was because Thanksgiving hadn’t come yet and it was too soon to be celebrating Christmas.  That, or they were so bright that they kept triggering the light sensor they were plugged into, causing them to turn off.

Anyway, Pumpkin Pie is clearly the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert.  I used the store bought pie crust dough again. Unlike the Apple Pie, I baked the crust for a few minutes before filling it this time.

For the filling, I combined canned “pure” pumpkin, evaporated milk, molasses, eggs, brown sugar and spice.  For the liquor, I used spiced rum.  It seemed appropriate.  I poured the mixture into the glasses and baked them for half an hour.

Before serving, I made whipped cream using heavy whipping cream, sugar and more spiced rum.

Apple Pie Shot

As hard as retailers try to move it up, I am a big proponent of holding off the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving. That is why the next three posts are dedicated to pie, the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. The first baked pie Shotible is Apple Pie.

I used a store-bought pie dough crust for the glass.   Each package came with two crusts. I cut each into quarters, and then rolled each quarter into a ball. I then spread the dough out covering the sides and bottom of the molds.

For the filling, I made a syrup with brandy, butter, flour, sugar, brown sugar and spices. I brought the mixture to a simmer in a sauce pan. I then added diced apples. I used a combination of Macintoshes and Granny Smiths. I cooked them for just a few minutes in the sauce pan just to soften them up a little.

I filled each dough glass with the apple mixture put them in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. I then took them out of the oven and covered them with aluminum foil so the tops wouldn't burn when I baked them for another 15 minutes.

We brought the Apple Pie Shotibles with us to dinner the next night with my folks, my cousin Cherise and her fiance Pat.  There were a couple left over that Jeff and I took with us on a weekend trip to New York City.  I figured, what better place for an Apple Pie Shotibles photo shoot than the Big Apple itself?

Carrot Cake Shot

I have been looking forward to the fall for half a year because I wanted to make a Carrot Cake Shotible.  I’m not sure when I got to the age where it became acceptable to eat a dessert with a vegetable as the key ingredient, but I can tell you I haven’t looked back since.  Carrot Cake has become one of my all time favorite desserts.

I’ve got to hand it to the companies that make box cake mixes.  Not only do they engineer them so that it is just about impossible for anyone to screw them up, but lately they’ve come out with some pretty complex flavors that produce rather sophisticated desserts.  The Carrot Cake mix I used for this Shotible came with two packages in the box.  One contained the normal cake mix, but the other had dried shredded carrots and raisins.  You soak the carrots and raisins in hot water for five minutes before mixing them in with the rest of the cake batter.  The result is a cake with distinctively varied flavors and textures.

For the filling, cream cheese frosting was a must for carrot cake.  I used hazelnut liqueur as the flavoring and mixed in chopped pecans.  And of course what would a Carrot Cake Shotible be without an orange and green frosting carrot on top?

Orange & Black Shot

Happy Halloween! 

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Cherise’s family came to town to visit for the weekend.  We had dinner at my folks' house one night, and I decided to bring along a trio of Halloween themed Shotibles.  Over the past couple of weeks, I posted about two of them; the Pumpkin Spice Latte Shot and the Candy Bar Shot.  For the third Halloween Shotible, I made a treat specifically for Cherise; the Orange and Black Shot.

Cherise loves the combination of orange sorbet and chocolate cookie crust.  While the flavor isn’t exactly specific to the holiday, the colors sure are.  For the glass, I used the chocolate sandwich cookie recipe again.  I made the filling with a combination of sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese.  I gave it the orange flavoring with Triple Sec and the orange tint with food coloring.  I then froze the Shotibles overnight.

The result was a great combination of tangy citrus and chocolate crumble shot with a look perfect for Halloween.

Candy Bar Shot

I’m doing my very best to satisfy the Shotible suggestions of my readers.  I’ve gotten a hand full of suggestions to make specific candy bars. But here’s the thing; I am extremely concerned about violating registered trademarks owned by huge corporations.  I’ve had to get a bit creative when it comes to naming some Shotibles.  For example, did you know that the name “Popsicle” is owned by Unilever.  For that reason, I won’t be mentioning the name of the extremely popular candy bar this Shotible is based upon.

Making a shot glass out of chocolate always seemed like too obvious of a choice, but for the Candy Bar Shotible, it was necessary.  I do have to warn you though, chocolate can be hard!   I don’t mean that it was hard to work with.  I just melted it down in a double boiler, and then poured it into the molds.  But when it came to eating them, it got a little dangerous.  I was afraid people were going to break their teeth.  Fortunately, there were no injuries.

For the filling, I made my own amoretto nougat using powdered sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, and obviously, amoretto.  I also used some amoretto when melted down the caramel chews.  And what would a candy bar be without some chopped peanuts on top. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

A couple of weeks ago, just as fall was beginning, we went to the beach with a few friends for the weekend.  Both mornings we were there, Jason made a run to a local café for what he referred to as his addiction; Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  That was the start of my own pumpkin obsession for the season.  In the weeks since, I’ve had two types of pumpkin ice cream, five varieties of pumpkin ale, and about a dozen pumpkin nut cookies.

For the glass, I used a pumpkin cake.  I had intended to use “real” pumpkin out of a can, but apparently there have been some issues with the pumpkin crop this season, and there was a run on pumpkin at the stores.  I was able to buy “easy” pumpkin pie in a can however, so I improvised.  I used the pumpkin, a yellow cake mix, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. 

For the filling, I made a cream cheese and coffee liqueur frosting.  The combination of the pumpkin cake and coffee frosting made for terrific homage to the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I am quite certain this will not be the last pumpkin themed Shotible of the season.

Caramel Apple Shot

As a kid, I loved going to the Apple Harvest Festival every autumn.  The fair is the ultimate tribute to apples.  Everywhere you look, there is another treat made from the fruit.  Vendors sell hot apple cider, apple cookies, apple fritters, apple sausage, and even apple pizza.  And of course, a trip to the festival isn’t complete without a Caramel Apple. 

For the glass, I used a Caramel Apple box cake mix.  Okay, I get it wasn’t the most inspired choice, but it worked well. 

For the filling, I decided not to cook the apples.  I left them raw because I wanted them to remain crisp and fresh, just like a real Caramel Apple.  I diced up granny smith apples and infused them with Apple Ginger flavored vodka.    

I melted caramel candies and drizzled them on top of the apple chunks.  I then topped off the Shotibles with chopped peanuts.  The result was a fun little treat that successfully jump started the autumn season.

PB&J Shot

Last week, millions of kids and teachers went back to school.  Millions of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches joined them.  To commemorate this event, I decided to make a PB&J Shotible.  Okay, I know that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t dessert items per se, but let’s be honest, they’re not far off.  It’s peanut butter (my favorite dessert ingredient) and a sugary fruit layered between a couple of pieces of cooked dough.  I think there’s an argument to be made here.

The ironic part of this is, although the PB&J Shotible is meant to honor the beginning of the school year, I cheated with this recipe more than I have with any other Shotible so far.  Sure, I’ve used a lot of prefab components over the course of this project like graham crackers, box cake mixes and canned whipped cream, but this time around, I took it a little further.  For the glass, I just opened up a can of premade dinner roll dough from the refrigerated section of the local grocery store.  I baked them up and cored the middles.

I did, however, make my own jelly.  I started with grape gelatin mix, but instead of using cold water, I chilled some red wine.  It’s funny because it took me a while to think of a grape flavored alcoholic beverage.  After the gelatin set, I mixed in some sugar to offset the dryness of the malbec wine.  I then filled each Shotible with smooth peanut butter from a jar and my home made wine jelly.  The result was a PB&J treat that should not be packed in a lunch box.

Margarita Shot

Labor Day marks the unofficial end to summer, and for me, the unofficial end of margarita season.  In my opinion, margaritas are the perfect summer cocktail.  They have everything.  The lime is sour.  The triple sec is sweet.  The tequila adds some heat.  And of course, the salt rim adds…well, saltiness.  This all adds up to a thirst quenching cocktail with a kick.  A Margarita Shotible was definitely necessary to usher out the season.

I decided to use a pretzel crust because a pure salt glass would be just a little too much.  I used a similar technique as I have with other no-bake recipes.  I crushed up the pretzels and added some sugar.  I then melted the margarine and combined it all.  I then pressed the mixture into the molds and refrigerated them for about an hour.

For the filling, I used fresh lime juice, heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk for the base.  For the first time, I used two different liquors in a single Shotible; tequila and triple sec.    I filled the glasses and froze them overnight. 

I considered adding a salt rim, but Jeff and I agreed, that would still be a bit much, so I topped them with some sea salt instead. 

Piña Colada Shot

I knew for the end of the summer I wanted to make a couple of summery cocktails, including a Piña Colada Shotible. What I wasn't sure of was if I should use a pineapple cake glass or coconut cake. I decided to put it to the people for you to vote on the website. Your clear choice was coconut cake.

I definitly agree that you guys made the right choice witht he coconut cake.  A lot of people aren't big fans of the texture of coconut.  Putting it into the filling may have been a bit much for them, but having just a little in the cake batter allowed it to provide flavor without being offensive.

I used a box french vanilla cake, but instead of following the normal directions, I added some coconut milk and a little shredded coconut.  I baked them up and scooped out the inside. 

I made the filling with vanilla pudding mix, pineapple coconut rum, milk, heavy cream and crushed pineapple.  And, of course, what would a summer cocktail be without a little umbrella on top. 

The Piña Colada Shotible turned out to be a great poolside treat.

Mint Chocolate Chip Shot

My friend Frank is concerned that he is going to come off as fickle on the blog because he has had so many new favorite Shotibles.  Mint Chocolate Chip is his newest favorite, but I certainly can’t blame him.  I’d like to think that they just keep getting better as we go along.

I used chocolate sandwich cookie crumb to make the glass.  I’ve been asked by several folks if I scraped the cream out of the middle.  I did not.  I ground the cookies whole.  As a benefit, I was able to use less butter than I have with other no-bake glasses.

For the filling, I used the same basic sweetened condensed milk ice cream recipe as I used in some of the other Shotibles.  But this time, instead of using vanilla extract, I used crème de menthe for flavor and color.  I then topped the Shotibles with chocolate chips and froze them. 

The combination of the chocolate cookie glass and the mint ice cream turned out delicious, and it's the new favorite for more people than just Frank.

Root Beer Float Shot

In my real life, I work at the same company as my father.  One Friday morning, about a month ago, I found a manila envelope on my desk when I arrived in the morning.  Inside was a newspaper page with an advertisement for a root beer flavored liqueur.  Attached was a note from my father suggesting a Root Beer Float Shotible.

That same evening, we had guests over for dinner.  When I got home from work, a root beer flavored vodka bottle was sitting on the kitchen counter.  My cousin Cherise had brought it, intending for it to be inspiration for, you guessed it, a Root Beer Float Shotible.

Since vanilla ice cream is a key component to a root beer float, it seemed obvious it should be a frozen pop shot.  I really liked the consistency of the Strawberry Mojito Shotible, but, so far as I know, nobody makes root beer flavored gelatin.  Instead I used plain gelatin along with root beer soda pop and root beer vodka.  For the filling, I used the same sweetened condensed milk ice cream recipe I used for the Orange Cream Pop.

Boston Cream Shot

We’re in the midst of planning a trip to Boston for a late summer vacation.  We love city vacations because, as Jeff says, “we like staying in hotels and eating at restaurants.”  Planning this trip has inspired me to try making Boston Cream Shotibles.

I have to admit, this time around; Jeff did nearly all of the work.  He bought all of the ingredients, baked the cups and made the fillings.  I say “fillings” because we made both a spiked version and a virgin version.  My only role was to core the cups and put the components together.

It just so happened that we needed to make a last minute trip up to Buffalo to see my extended family.  Several of them had been asking about Shotibles, so this was our opportunity to share them with nearly everyone.  Jeff baked the cups and made the filling in advance.  He used a store bought vanilla box mix.  I cored the cups the night before we left and packed them up in plastic containers.

By the time we got to Buffalo, there were a few casualties from the travel, but most had made it intact.  To our surprise, the hotel room had a microwave and a refrigerator, so we were able to prep the Shotibles there.  I used a store bought fudge frosting that I microwaved for a minute.  I dipped the rim of each cup in the frosting and put them in the fridge to cool.

At the family event, I filled each with the vanilla pudding/whipped topping mix Jeff had made.  The spiked version was made with Irish Cream.  The Shotibles disappeared in no time. 

Peach Cobbler Shot

Jeff’s aunt Connie turns 50 this week, and her family threw her a surprise birthday party.  This was my first real opportunity to bring Shotibles to a party.  People have been suggesting I try out peach cobbler for a while now, so I went with it.

It’s kind of funny to me that peach cobbler can mean a lot of different things to different people.  I wanted to be sure that I didn’t make it too much like a peach pie, so rather than baking a pie crust "glass", I made one out of vanilla wafer cookies.  I found a recipe similar to the graham cracker crust used for the S’more and Key Lime Pie Shotibles.

Jeff was a huge help this week.  He peeled and diced eight peaches.  We cooked it up in a sauce pan with some bourbon, sugar, corn starch and cinnamon.  We cooked it on medium to low heat for about 20 minutes; until the peaches were tender.

After the peaches cooled, I filled the glasses and topped it with a little cookie crumb.   I’m thrilled to say Shotibles gained a few more fans at the party.  The Peach Cobbler Shotibles were a huge success.

Chocolate Chip Shotwich

My cousin Sarah was coming to town, and she requested a Shotible with chocolate.  It had been a long time since I used chocolate, and I knew Jeff would like something without fruit, so I decided to attempt my interpretation of a chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

I’d been wanting to try a baked cookie cup.  The first couple of attempts were less than successful.  I tested out some theories using premade cookie dough from the grocery store.  Unfortunately, the chocolate chips were too big and too plentiful.  The glasses didn’t have a chance of holding together.

I went ahead and made dough from scratch using the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag as a base.  I used miniature chips, and far fewer than the recipe called for.  I whipped up the dough a bit more than you normally would cookie dough.  In fact, it was almost like cake batter by the time I started filling the molds, which worked out really well.  I baked them just like I would cupcakes, and, like the other baked glasses, I cored them after they cooled.

For the filling, I took a big step and made real ice cream!  I bought a $25 ice cream maker, which worked remarkably well, although some complained about the sound it made.  I used vanilla vodka to flavor the ice cream.

I was thrilled with the end result.  I certainly plan to use both cookie dough and the ice cream maker a lot in the future.

Lemon Bar Shot

It’s HOT in the northeast again.  I know I shouldn’t complain because I’d much rather deal with extreme heat than the hazards of winter weather.  So, rather than complain about the heat, I chose to combat it with a refreshing Lemon Bar Shotible. 

The combination of sweet and sour in a gelatin shot was a great fit for a poolside afternoon.   Instead of just using straight gelatin, I mixed in some instant pudding again to add creaminess to better match a lemon bar.

 For the inside, I wanted to do something that would emulate the cake base of the treat.  I remembered that my friend Melanie had introduced me to cake flavored vodka.  It’s more than a little bizarre just how close it tastes to birthday cake.  So, I mixed plain gelatin, the cake vodka and a little sweetened condensed milk to add some creaminess to the filling.

The texture still wasn’t quite right, but Jeff suggested a topping of crushed vanilla cookies.  The addition of a little powdered sugar finished it off.

Pineapple Upside Down Shots

I think Jeff is ready for the summer to be over because I keep making Shotibles that are appropriate for the season, and summer desserts almost universally include fruit.  Jeff hates fruit in his desserts.  He’s been known to pick cherries off or eat around the filling.  The fruit I decided to go with this round is pineapple.

More specifically, I decided to make my version of Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  I baked a pineapple flavored box cake mix.  In honor of the “upside down” aspect of the cake, I cut off the tops of the glasses just to make them stand on the wider end.  I then cored the “bottom” of the glasses.  It's a little avant-garde, but I think it works.

I made a filling with brown sugar, crushed pineapple, butter, flour and pineapple rum, and then topped each with a little brown sugar and a piece of maraschino cherry. 

Key Lime Pie Shot

The Key Lime Pie Shot isn’t the Shotible I had originally intended to post on the 4^th of July.  I meant to post this a few days ago and then post some sort of Red, White and Blue shot on the 4th, but life got in the way.  It is quite summery none the less.

Frank contends that this is the best Shotible to date.  He’s a pretty good authority seeing as he has sampled more than anyone besides Jeff and myself.  He even tells us that the thought of them has kept him up at night.

The Key Lime Pie Shot was a great chance to break out the graham cracker crust again.  It takes a bit of work to get the right consistency, but in the end, it is totally worth it.

For the filling, I used key lime juice, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and spiced rum.  I topped it off with a little lime zest. 

The Key Lime Pie Shot was definitely a crowd favorite on a hot summer afternoon with friends.

Strawberry Mojito Shot

The Strawberry Mojito Shot was the first special request I satisfied.  Shortly after my friend Patty discovered Shotibles, she challenged me to make her favorite cocktail.  We made plans to hang out that weekend, and I knew I needed to come through.  Heck, the strawberry part went with the summer theme I'd started. 

At my friend Frank’s suggestion, I tried something new with this ice pop.  The Orange Cream Ice Pop’s glass was a little too hard and didn’t hold flavor well.  This time I used gelatin as the base, which turned out much better.  In particular, I used lime gelatin, mixed with limeade and some strawberry rum. 

For the inside, I pureed some strawberries and mint, and mixed it with a little more limeade.

Brownie Sundae Shot

Sunday was Father’s Day, so I made my first Shotible especially for my Dad.  A Brownie Sundae seemed like a sure bet.  My whole family has a soft spot for Irish Cream, so I decided to combine it with the ice cream recipe I recently discovered. 

 I made a simple box brownie mix.  After letting the brownie glasses cool, I cored them.  I mixed up some ice cream,filled the glasses and put them in the freezer.  After the ice cream froze, I melted down a chocolate bar and drizzled it on top.  Before serving, I covered each with  

whipped cream and put a cherry on top. 

I was very pleased with the resulting texture.  I had been concerned that the ice cream would be crunchy and the brownie would be tough.  Happily however, the ice cream was smooth and the brownie stayed soft.  All and all, it made for a fun little treat.

Strawberry Shot Cakes

June means a lot of things to me.  It means the official beginning of summer.  It means the end of the school year in the northeast.  And it means the local Strawberry Festival is coming.  I couldn’t let June pass by without posting Strawberry Shot Cakes. 

This is actually the third time I’ve made them.  The first time, I used way too much vodka and they were more cocktail than dessert.  I think I found the key the second go round.  Each time, I’ve used the basic Strawberry Short Cake recipe off the back of a biscuit mix box for the glass.  I cook them in the silicone molds and then core out the insides once they are cool. 

The first go round, I soaked all the strawberries in both whipped cream vodka and sugar.  I’m pretty sure somehow the strawberries only absorbed the vodka.  They were lethal!  The second go around, I covered half the strawberries with sugar and the other half with vodka.  I then combined them just before I served.  This time they were syrupy sweet, with just the right kick!