Ladies Night Out

Cook's notes: I decided a jump start on summer solstice with a party was in order at the lake. Wine and appetizers were top of the menu. I relooked at the Black Forest Cupcake recipe posted June 7th under Turtle Crossing. I made the same batter but used mini cupcake liners instead. I added a cherry to each one before baking. After baking I did not cut out a quarter sized hole instead frosted each mini cupcake with cream cheese frosting and topped it with a raspberry. It worked well for an appetizer. 

    Appetizer Mini Black Forest Cupcakes 

with Cream Cheese Frosting 

makes 48

Ingredients:

• 1-15oz. can pitted sweet cherries in syrup
• 4 oz. dark chocolate coarsely chopped
• 1-1/3 cup sugar
• 10 TB. butter (option that worked better for me was using half margarine and half butter)
• 1/4 cup cherry brandy
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup flour
• 2 TB. cocoa powder
• 1 TB. baking powder  

Directions:

• Drain cherries and set aside 
• In a saucepan add the reserved cherry syrup, chopped chocolate, sugar, butter/margarine and 1/4 cherry brandy
• Cook on low heat stirring till chocolate melts
• Pour into a large bowl and whisk in egg
• Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder  
• Fold gently into chocolate mixture
• Use a teaspoon to spoon batter into mini cupcake liners filling almost to the top
• Add a cherry to each mini cupcake
• Bake 18 minutes
• Cool on a wire rack and frost

Tequila Lime Coconut Bars with Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies(store bought the crisp kind)
• 1-1/4 cup crushed macadamia nuts
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 TB. melted butter

Filling

• 4 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups sugar 
• 3/4 cup coconut plus 1/3 cup coconut for topping
• juice from 3 limes at least 1/3 cup can add more if like a lot of lime taste
• 3 TB. tequila
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 TB. lime zest
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup flour

Directions:

Crust

• Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil allowing 2 inches to extend over the sides-lightly grease
• In a Cuisinart finely chop cookies-in 3 batches
• Add chopped nuts and cinnamon and 2 TB. melted butter
• Pat crumbs in foil lined pan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Filling

• Whisk eggs in a bowl until smooth-whisk in coconut, zest, lime juice,tequila and sugar
• In a small bowl stir baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup flour 
• Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture and pour over hot crust
• Bake 10 minutes and add sprinkle 1/3 cup coconut over top and return to oven to bake about 10 more minutes or until filling is set 
• Cool pan on a wire rack then lift foil off bars and place bake in 13 x 9 pan to cut

Serving suggestion-sprinkle with powdered sugar-cut in squares and then recut the square on diagonal to be a triangle

Chicken Salad Mini Bites

This recipe was previously posted in April but worth repeating.

Note that curry powder is strong so start out small. 

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• Mini Phyllo shells (used Athena brand)
• Cooked chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp. curry powder
• chopped celery
• chopped onion
• finely chopped walnuts
• Miracle Whip

Directions:

• In Cuisinart finely chop nuts, chicken and onion
• Place chicken mixture in bowl and add finely chopped celery and curry powder
• Add only enough Miracle Whip just till mixture is moistened
• Bake shells on a cookie sheet for 3 minutes-let cool
• Use a teaspoon to fill and top each shell with with a blackberry