Posted in Food and Beverage

Pumpkin Pasties

He had never had any money for sweets with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn’t have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

If you’re a Potterhead like I am, the term pumpkin pasty won’t be too unfamiliar. 

Though I can’t make chocolate frogs jump, create sugar mice that actually squeak, or snack boxes to get you out of class (not, at least, without contravening several health laws), I can make a pasty. A quick Google search reveals that I’m certainly not the first to try to recreate this snack, nor the last. 

Now call it what you want, pasties, hand pies, turnovers, or empanadas. They are all practically the same; the only difference is the crust. I’m not familiar with how Cornish pasties are made. I know they tend to be more savory. Myself personally, I prefer sweets.

Since I was a little girl, pumpkin empanadas have been my absolute all-time favorite empanadas. They were the only kind I chose at the Mexican panadería (bakery). I learned the terms hand pies and pasties and turnovers later in life from tv shows and movies. After reading harry potter for the first time, I remember forcing my mom to call pumpkin empanadas pumpkin pasties. 

Ingredients: 

For the Pumpkin Filling:

  • 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree (or canned)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon butter

For the dough:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (cut in cubes)
  • 6 oz. butter, room temperature

Egg Wash:

  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

For the Pumpkin Filling:

Combine the pumpkin puree with the sugars and spices in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the pumpkin puree is heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the butter; set aside and cool to room temperature.

For the dough:

Place the flour, cream cheese, and butter in a medium bowl. Using your hands, cut the cream cheese and butter into the flour until no large pieces are visible. Continue combining the ingredients with your hands until the dough forms a ball.  (This can be done in a food processor as well.)  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a 3-inch round cookie cutter or empanada mold.

Spoon about a teaspoonful of filling into the center of the dough circle. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-moon-shaped pie, crimp the crust’s edges together with a fork, leaving little fork lines in the dough. Gently lay the empanadas onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Combine the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the uncooked empanadas with the slightly beaten egg, then sprinkle a little of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Posted in Blogmas, Food and Beverage

Stone Cookies

Some random day this week I woke up at two in the morning, in a panic. My mind waited until I was dead asleep to remind me, I still had to come up with a recipe for a dessert to take to my office Christmas party.

So I had the grand idea to make a Harry Potter recipe.

I should start by saying I haven’t read the books in a while, and it was 2 in the morning. I decided I wanted to make stone cookies. It was just a random Hagrid recipe. And since I don’t have the best memory, I decided to Google it.

I googled harry potter stone cookies and billions of harry potter cookies but nothing about hagrid making cookies.

So I try again. I’m smarter this time; I google hagrid rock cookies and find dozens of recipes for rock cakes. But I’m looking for cookies, not cake or scones or biscuits. At this point, I have 100% convinced myself Hagrid made cookies, and it is just one of those tiny little forgotten details that only people who read the books would know, like Winky.

Turns out I was wrong. When I finally go to get my quote from the book. Turns out they were rock cakes. And rock cakes are a very common British recipe. A traditional rock cake is a scone-biscuit baked good. Which makes way more sense why I was seeing people make scones.

So please enjoy my Stone Cookie recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups choco rocks

Directions:
Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. Stir in choco rocks. Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set, but the centers are still puffy. Let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

I like the imperfect look of the cookies and I just imagine they look like something Hagrid would make.

Posted in Food and Beverage

Butterbeer Recipe

Sweet September 🤍 finally starting to feel like fall, and I love it 🍂

Today, I’m keeping my post short and sweet!

Every Harry Potter fan knows what Butterbeer is. But suppose you’re a muggle and have no idea what it is. In that case, it is a popular wizarding beverage described as tasting “a little bit like less sickly butterscotch.”

There are several Butterbeer recipes out there. And I tried a few highly rated ones with disappointing results.

I’ve never had the real deal Butterbeer from the theme park but this is just what I’d imagine it to be like.

I found this recipe in 2011, and I’m sure it needs an upgrade, but I’m a little sentimental with it.

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
  • 1/2 tsp – vanilla extract
  • 2 liters Vanilla Flavoured Cream Soda, chilled

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, stirring occasionally. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, bring it to a gentle boil and turn off the heat after about a minute of cooking.
  2. Turn off the heat and add the butter, salt, vinegar, and 1/4 cup heavy cream and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Cool mixture to room temperature before using.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat together the remaining cream (1/2 cup) with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar syrup.
  4. In each glass, mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar syrup with 1/4 cup cream soda. Pour in the rest of the cream soda until it is near to the brim of the glass. Top with whipped cream.

You can adjust the flavor by adding more or less of the brown sugar syrup. 

Also, mix it up a little and use marshmallows for a creamier topping.

  •  200 g (7oz) marshmallow creme
  • 1 c whipping cream
  • 1 tsp. rum extract
Posted in Food and Beverage

Pumpkin Juice and Stoat Sandwiches

🍂 Happy Fall, Friends! ✨🍂 

Fall is here, so I’m ready to jump into my fall recipes. What better than to start fall with a nice glass of pumpkin juice!!!

Ingredients

  • 1-liter apple juice (I like pressed apple juice for this recipe-the thick, almost apple sauce apple juice. You can use apple cider)
  • 15oz can of pure pumpkin puree
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Honey
  • 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pice spice (cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)

Directions 

  • Pour apple juice, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and spices in a blender until all incorporated. I used to hand mix everything, but I feel like when I hand mix, you get an uneven pumpkin taste. 
  • add honey, measure with your heart
  • stick it in the fridge for a bit, then serve

I paired my pumpkin juice with a stoat sandwich.

Stoat sandwiches are one of the many things Hagrid offers Harry, Hermione, and Ron during their visits to his hut.

“Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused” (Sorcerer’s Stone 231).

We all know Hagrid isn’t the best cook. He has good intentions but is not overly competent.

I recently found out what stoat is; if you are wondering, it’s a weasel-like animal that used to be super popular in Britain.

Wizard or not, I will certainly have no desire to discover what these cute little guys taste like. I definitely understand why Harry, Ron, and Hermione refused. Being a dumb American, I always imagined a roast beef sandwich.  

You can use brioche buns or something fancy, but I feel like Hagrid wouldn’t do anything too fancy. It’s a basic sandwich, but I don’t put mayo on it; I put horseradish sauce.

  • 1 cup light sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 pinch of pepper and salt
Posted in Food and Beverage

Liquid Luck

In America Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer.

It’s everyone’s last excuse to barbecue and there’s a whole thing about not wearing white after Labor Day. Idk it’s a lot of nonsense that I don’t pay attention to. 

We didn’t babaque or anything but definitely decided to take advantage of the weekend off work.

So kiss summer goodbye and start fall off with a little liquid luck.

Felix Felicis, also called “Liquid Luck,” was a potion from Harry Potter that made the drinker lucky for a while. It’s supposed to be the color of molten gold. I’m still mad that the movies made it a clear liquid.

So I decided to make my own. It’s the perfect blend of fall and summer. And despite the name, it’s non-alcoholic. 

But if you wanted to add a little alcohol you can.

Ingredients

  • sparkling sugar
  • Cinnamon 
  • vanilla ice cream
  • caramel sauce
  • 1 bottle of Martinelli’s Gold Medal Sparkling Cider or whichever sparkling cider you prefer 

Measure everything with your hearts

(Optional for 21+ add 1 shot of rum to each drink )

Instructions

  • Pour some of the caramel into a small bowl. Dip the rim of your glasses in the caramel and then into the sparkly sugar.
  • pour about 6 oz. of the cider into each of the prepared glasses
    • If 21+ also add your shot of rum
  • Using a cookie scoop, add ice cream to each glass.
  • Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of each drink.

I used Wilton Gold, Silver and White Sugars 

Can be found here

Posted in Lifestyle

What the hell is a hufflepuff?

It’s September 1st!!! It’s time to return to Hogwarts!!

🎶 I’m sick of summer and this waiting around
Man, it’s September so I’m skippin’ this town
Hey, it’s no mystery
There’s nothing here for me now

I gotta get back to Hogwarts
I gotta get back to school
I gotta get myself to Hogwarts
Where everyone thinks I’m cool 🎶

If you know, you know.

I know that outside it has been a gazillion degrees everyday this past week but summer is over the second the kiddos go back to school, which was mid-August for my family. I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things like Autumn.

Something about fall always reminds me of Harry Potter. Maybe it’s because most of the books take place during the school year and always mention Halloween. Or, you know, the whole dark academia vibe. Pumpkin juice, as a basic white girl, translates in my mind as pumpkin spice. Just all the food from Harry Potter gives fall vibes. I need a house elf to make steak and kidney pie, treacle tart and pumpkin pasties for me.

It’s time to bring out my fall decor and any Halloween decorations that have survived the years. Most of my fall decor is subtle harry potter inspired things that no one notices until I point it out.

I need the weather to cool so I can have reread Prisoner of Azkaban while drinking a nice hot glass of butterbeer. I found a recipe back when I was a kid that, to this day, I still drink. It’s one of the reasons I refuse to try butterbeer at universal studios. I don’t want my “perfect” recipe to be tarnished by not tasting how it’s supposed to.

And I know everyone, and their mother has their version of Harry Potter-inspired desserts, but over the next few months, I’ll be sharing my recipes.

Most of the recipes are inspired by the trolley.

Does Harry buying everything on the trolley bother anyone else or just me? I’m sure the trolley magically refills, but still, that little shit just brought the entire trolley.

Side note.

I love Harry Potter, but I disagree with the beliefs of J.K. Rowling. I know that I can’t wholly cut Harry Potter out of my life. Harry Potter has been such a formative part of my life for almost fifteen years. It’s given me community, countless happy memories, and a safe landing place to return whenever life feels like too much. To me, the Harry Potter world has been a comfort, an inspiration, a home.

I hate that J.K. Rowling has tarnished my love for this series, but I hate even more that she’s using her platform to spread disgusting ideas that hurt people who have grown up looking up to her and her characters. So I completely understand why so many people feel like they have to turn their backs on Harry Potter for good.

I have learned to separate the art from its creator and enjoy Harry Potter without supporting her in any way.

I don’t give J.K. Rowling any money. The majority of my Potter decor is either DIY or purchased from small businesses.

The only Albus Dumbledore I respect

Posted in Blogmas, Food and Beverage

Christmas Day

The final day of Blogmas!

I would have posted sooner but yesterday and today was crazy between going to work, getting last-minute presents, and trying to wrap everything before people came over.

Usually, I’m a gift bag type of person, but I tried to live out my Hallmark main character fantasy. I watched two videos on how to wrap presents, and let’s just say I’m going back to gift bags next year.

Wrapping problems aside, last night was so fun. I’m surprised I stayed up until midnight- saying that makes me sound like an old person, but I was just sooo tired. But it was worth it to see everyone’s faces as they opened their gifts.

My boyfriend has wanted a new longboard for a while now. He always talks himself out of buying one because of the price. So I knew it was perfect even though I went over the agreed-upon $50 gift limit we set months earlier. Giving him his gift was the highlight of my day. I don’t know if it was his cute little smile or the fact he just started smothering me in kisses, or the fact he ran outside at midnight to ride it. He was like a little kid it was soo cute.

Since we open presents on the 24th we don’t usually do much on the 25th.

The kids played with their new toys while the adults just at and watched tv. Soul came out on Disney and Wonder Woman premiered on HBO. So we were so busy watching the movies.

When we were done with all the new stuff it was time for a classic. We decided to put on Harry Potter and make our own butter beer.

I tried to convince my family to play a Harry Potter drinking game with me but they were completely against the idea.

Apparently watching Harry Potter which wasn’t even my idea was soo boring. My sister fell asleep during the first movie.

Today was overall fun. the little ones had a great time opening all their gifts.

I’ve had this recipe for butterbeer saved in my notes for a year. This isn’t my usual recipe it’s not even my original recipe. But I don’t remember where I got the original recipe from.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 6 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
  • 4 bottles (12 oz. bottles) cream soda

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
  2. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
  3. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.