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.

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. 

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.

Watermelon Gelatin Shot

My cousin Cherise just moved to town, and Jeff and I had dinner with her on Wednesday.  On our way to her place we stopped to pick up an apartment warming gift, Pear Vodka.  While at the liquor store, we picked up watermelon vodka for ourselves because it was on sale.  For her dinner, Cherise ordered the Watermelon and Goat Cheese Salad.  I decided to take my inspiration from that.  (The Watermelon, not the Goat Cheese) 

I’ve been wanting to experiment with a gelatin Shotible.  It proved to be more challenging than I had expected.  While at the grocery store, I was quite surprised to find that they no longer make plain watermelon gelatin, but instead a mixed melon, which is green.

Since green and red are on opposite ends of the color wheel, I didn’t want the gelatin to be translucent.  For the glass, I used the mixed melon gelatin and cheese cake instant pudding.  After a disappointing first try, I divided the gelatin/pudding mixture into two parts and added green food coloring to one half.  I poured the light half of the mixture into each mold, and then the dark half on top.  I swirled the two in each mold in an attempt to emulate a watermelon rind.

For the inside, I used plain gelatin, the watermelon vodka, red food coloring and some sweetened condensed milk to add opacity.  At Cherise’s suggestion, I topped each with chocolate jimmies. 

Toasty S'more Shot

The first time I ever met my friend Frank, we were out to dinner at a trendy restaurant that serves all their desserts in shot glasses.  The servers carry the desserts around on a tray so that they can present them to the patrons, allowing them to pick them up immediately and partake.  It certainly appeals to our society’s desire for instant gratification.

A couple of drinks in, but before our dinner was severed, our waitress stopped by to check in on us.  She had the dessert tray with her, and Frank was mesmerized by one dessert in particular.  The S’more was basically chocolate mousse and graham cracker crumbles with a toasted marshmallow on top.   Frank wanted to order one then and there.  We talked him into waiting until after dinner.

That was the moment I was first inspired to create a dessert in an edible shot glass.  Rather than layer the graham cracker and chocolate, I decided to fabricate the shot glass out of graham cracker crust and fill it with chocolate pudding.  And since it is shot glass shaped, it only makes since to me that is should be spiked with alcohol.  In this case, I used Irish Cream.  And, of course, I topped it off with toasted mini marshmallows.