This month we’re learning about animals in the wild! Here are three recipes for you to try at home:
Cream Cheese Penguins Via allrecipes
Ingredients (yields 18 penguins)
18 jumbo black olives, pitted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
18 small black olives
1 carrot
Directions
- Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.
- Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.
Guacadile Dip via Fork and Beans
Ingredients (yields 2 guacadiles)
1 avocado, sliced and flesh scooped out
1 Tbsp. cilantro, minced
1 large clove garlic, grated
2 lime wedges
Pinch of sea salt for taste
4 slices of cucumber
4 homemade googly eyes
baby carrots, cut into teeth
Directions
- In a bowl, combine the mashed avocado flesh, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and sea salt until well-combined.
- Place back into each half of the carved out avocado.
- Add the eyes and teeth. Serve with fresh veggies and chips for the perfect after-school or on-the-go snack.
Mini Panda Cupcakes Via allrecipes
Ingredients (yields 36 cupcakes)
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes:
9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tablespoons boiling water, or as needed
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs eggs
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Panda Face Decoration:
¼ cup white sugar
180 miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles
1 ounce fondant, ready-to-use, white
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 24-cup mini muffin tin and one 12-cup mini muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.
- Sift cocoa powder into a large bowl and add 5 tablespoons boiling water. Stir into a thick paste, adding more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Add 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until batter is smooth.
- Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir into the batter until well combined. Spoon batter into the prepared mini muffin cups using an ice cream scoop, filling each 2/3 to the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tin for a few minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Combine cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir in confectioners’ sugar gradually.
- Frost each cupcake with a layer of white frosting. Pour white sparkling sugar into a small bowl and dunk each frosted cupcake into the sugar, so the frosting is evenly covered.
- Place 2 chocolate chips into the middle of each cupcake for the eyes with the pointy side facing the cupcake. Place 1 chocolate chip with the pointy side pointing down for the nose, like an upside-down triangle. Make a mouth with 3 chocolate sprinkles in the shape of an anchor. Place 2 chocolate chips on top of the cupcakes for the ears.
- Roll fondant into tiny balls for the eyes, smaller than the mini chocolate chips, and stick 1 half piece of chocolate sprinkle into each ball for the pupils. Glue eyes onto the 2 eye chocolate chips with some frosting.
Notes
If you don’t need that many mini cupcakes, just make the amount you need and bake regular- sized cupcakes with the rest of the batter. You need to adjust the baking time, probably more like 20 minutes, just keep checking with a toothpick.
You can also use small sugar eyeballs instead of making the eyeballs out of fondant yourself.