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.