I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

Archives for October 2012

Thirsty Thursdays: Apple Pie Cocktail

After Amanda and I had fun with our S’mores Week in August we decided to make a that we should do more posts together related to a theme. We thought about different themes we could do but the main thing that kept coming up was that we wanted it to be longer than a week. So things evolved to become sharing weekly drink recipes that can be boozy or non-alcoholic and that can match the season or holiday. The possiblites are endless! So we are kicking our Thirsty Thursdays posts today with fun recipes that we both wanted to share. I picked this apple pie cocktail and Amanda picked Honeycrisp Apple Sangria.

Last year when my mom and I went to Utah to attend a crafting event we came back one night to the hotel and were discussing how we wanted to get a drink. We asked a group of guys, who were drinking in the lounge watching sports, were they got their beers. They were so nice that they just gave us a few. Well, we run up to our room with our prizes in hand and that is when I noticed that they were not twist tops. By this time I had actually put my pajamas on so I went back to downstairs to them in my pajamas (clearly, I have no shame) for them to open the bottles. They gave me a cup of Apple Pie Moonshine for us to try and I was hooked. Seriously the midwest is so nice. It was sweet, light, and packed a punch.

 

This is a great cocktail to make to celebrate fall. The original recipe calls for Everclear as it is a grain alcohol like moonshine but I was having trouble finding that in Massachusetts. So I switched to vodka and increased the amount. One of the biggest things is that I really suggest using cinnamon sticks. If you use ground cinnamon then you need to then remove it as it does not dissolve and it would be pretty intense to drink. This is great both hot and cold so you can enjoy some just from the stove while the rest of the batch cools.

Check out Amanda’s Honeycrisp Apple Sangria.

Apple Pie Cocktail

Serves 24 (8oz cups)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 gallon of apple cider (8 cups)
  • 1/2 gallon of unsweetened apple juice (8 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 vanilla bean, optional
  • 2 cups vodka
  • 3 cups Whipped Cream flavored Vodka

Process

  1. In a large pot, combine the cider, apple juice, sugars, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Cook together to dissolve the sugars and to warm.
  2. Remove from heat and the cinnamon sticks and vanilla.
  3. Add the vodkas.
  4. Enjoy hot or cold.

Oreo Peanut Butter Lovers Ice Cream

So I’ve recently been snatching up all different kinds of flavored Oreos. Sandwich cookies are my favorite cookies. Don’t even think about getting me Snackwell’s Creme Sandwich Cookies… watch out for your fingers. Anyway, I love to play around with using Oreos in recipes so when I got my hands on some Peanut Butter Oreos I knew just what to do…

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Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Cookies

I’m skipping this week’s edition of Monday Munchies because I wanted to participate in sharing a great recipe instead.

I love being part of Secret Recipe Club. It is so much fun to ge a new secret assignment every month. Plus it’s a lot of fun on reveal day having your partner find our out ou had their recipe and what you made while you are searching around to find out who made a recipe on your blog. All of that is great but it is time’s like this that I realize that community is just as important.

Sadly, an email went out sharing the news with out group that one of our members had passed away. Dan, aka the Herring, and Meredith, aka the Haggis shared the blog The Haggis and The Herring. Dan, a man in the prime of his life, unexpectedly passed away recently. Meredith shared a very touching post about Dan, their kids, and their love together. It is unbelievable to me that Meredith is expecting a baby at this point. I could not imagine that pain and sadness. I wish her and her boys nothing but happiness and they rebuild their lives.

 

In a tiny way of honoring a great cook, a great man is my post of his Chocolate Chip Cookies with Rice Krispies. As soon as I saw these I knew I would have to try them. These cookies are a lot of fun. They are great chocolate chip cookies with a fun surprise inside. The contrasting texture is a lot of fun and makes the cookie more interesting than a typical chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Cookies

Makes

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Process

  1. Combine together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl/stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well.
  4. In small batches, add the flour mixture, mixing until combined.
  5. Stir in the rice krispies and chocolate chips.
  6. Portion out heaping tablespoons sized cookies into your hands, roll into balls and then gently press onto baking sheets covered with parchment paper/coated with cooking spray.
  7. Bake at 350-degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
  8. Remove immediately from baking sheets and cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container up to 3 days.