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.

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.

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!