Pretzel Salad Shot

I'll admit it, I'd never heard of Pretzel Salad before I was given this challenge. Our friends, Charles and Stephen were in the middle of planning a 10 year anniversary when the topic of Shotibles came up. They showed me a picture of the layered dessert and challenged me to come up with a Shotible version.

For those of you who aren't in the know, pretzel salad is a dessert. The bottom crust is made up of crushed pretzels. The next layer is typically some sort of cream cheese or whipped cream filling. That is then topped with strawberry gelatin and sliced strawberries. Rumor has it, some people use other flavors of gelatin or other fruits.

For my Shotible version, I used the same pretzel cup as the Margarita Shotible. I made a whipped cream and cream cheese filling with some Strawberry Tequila liqueur mixed in. Rather than putting gelatin on top, I sliced the strawberries and let them stew in granulated sugar for a while making them gooey and syrupy.

I ended up making almost 100 and serving them at Charles and Stephen's anniversary party along with Carrot Cake Shotibles. They seemed to be a big hit, if I do say so myself.

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.