Recipes

The Cosmopolitan is a bright and easy-to-make cocktail with a variety of light flavors such as lime, orange, lemon and cranberry. It’s a vodka daisy which is a sour, made with fresh citrus and a liqueur like curacoa. If you’re looking for a more traditional Cosmopolitan, be sure to grab a lemon-accented citron vodka. The citrus accents are key to this drink. For the cranberry juice you want to go with a 100% unsweetened version. Refrain from cranberry juice cocktail as these are often packed with sugar, making it difficult to balance in a drink. Total time: 5 minsServing: 1 serving Ingredients: 2 ounces Absolut Citron (citrus vodka) 3/4 ounce cranberry juice 3/4 ounce Cointreau 3/4 ounce lime juice 1/4 ounce simple syrup Directions: Shake: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, and shake until cold to the touch. Strain: Strain into a chilled martini glass. Enjoy!: Garnish with an orange twist. Source: Simply Recipes

Ingredients: Baby Ruth Pillsbury grands or Crescent dough Non-stick spray Icing (optional) Directions: Cut Baby Ruth into small pieces. Place each piece inside the dough. Use dough amount as desired. Roll the dough to completely wrap around each piece. Coat the air fryer pan with non-stick spray. Set the air fryer to 350 degrees F and cook for 8 minutes. Top with icing.

The exotic flavors in coconut milk can add a bold touch to many dishes such as soups, stews, curries and baked goods. It also works great in a smoothie or to sip on its own with a bit of cinnamon. But did you know you can easily prepare coconut milk at home with just two ingredients? Here’s how. Ingredients: 1 (8-ounce) package unsweetened shredded coconut 4 cups hot (near boiling) water Equipment: Measuring cup Blender Nut milk bag Medium bowl Mason jars (for storage) Instructions: Combine the coconut and hot water in a blender. Place the coconut in a blender. It may seem like a lot of coconut, but it is just enough to get the job done. Pour the water over the coconut. Allow the mixture to rest. Let the coconut and hot water sit in the blender for a few minutes to give the coconut time to soften before continuing onto the next step. Blend the mixture. Blend on high until the coconut is puréed and the mixture looks milky, 1 to 2 minutes. You will still have flecks of coconut in the mixture. Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag. Open the nut bag and arrange it inside a medium bowl. Pour the coconut mixture from the blender into the nut milk bag. Squeeze out the coconut milk. Cinch the nut milk bag shut. Take the bag in both hands and squeeze it out over the bowl. The finished milk should easily pass through the bag. Continue to squeeze and wring out your bag until you’ve extracted as much of the milk as possible. You can discard or compost the leftover coconut pulp in the nut bag; if you have a dehydrator, the pulp can be dried and used as coconut flour. Bottle the coconut milk. Transfer the coconut milk into a storage vessel of your choice, like large mason jars, swing top jars, or other air-tight container. This milk can be used right away. Source: the Kitchn

Ingredients: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Pillsbury grands or Crescent dough Non-stick spray Cream cheese frosting (optional) Directions: Chop Reese’s Cups into quarters. Place each piece inside the dough. Use dough amount as desired. Roll the dough to completely wrap around each piece. Coat the air fryer pan with non-stick spray.  Set the air fryer to 350 degrees F and cook for 8 minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients: Kit-Kat bar Pillsbury grands or Crescent dough Non-stick spray Powdered sugar (optional) Directions: Chop Kit-Kats in half. Place each piece inside the dough. Use dough amount as desired. Roll the dough to completely wrap around each piece of Kit-Kat. Coat the air fryer pan with non-stick spray. Set the air fryer to 350 degrees F and cook for 8 minutes. Serve with powdered sugar as desired.

Looking to satisfy that sweet tooth? Use your Air Fryer to prepare these delicious fried snickers bites. The flaky grands pair perfectly with the Snickers bar inside. It’s a quick snack the whole family will love. Ingredients: Snickers bar Pillsbury grands or Crescent dough Non-stick spray Powdered sugar (optional) Directions: Cut the Snickers bar in small pieces about ½ inch each. Place each piece inside the dough. Use dough amount as desired. Roll the dough to completely wrap around each piece of Snickers. Coat the air fryer pan with non-stick spray. Set the air fryer to 350 degrees F and cook for 8 minutes. Serve with powdered sugar as desired.

A sweet potato soup is the perfect balance of sweet and savory with onions, garlic, and leeks along with nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s creamy and satisfying. If you’d like to skip on the dairy, feel free to substitute it with soy or coconut milk. You can serve this soup with crusty bread to dip or along with beef, pork or chicken. Due to its creaminess, the soup goes well with a side salad of fresh lettuce greens. Prep time: 15 minsCook time: 50 minsTotal time: 65 minsServings: 6 to 8 servings Note: If you want to make this soup without dairy, feel free to substitute either additional stock, which will result in a thinner soup, or soy milk or coconut milk for the cream and milk in this recipe. Omit the sour cream or yogurt topping, and use olive oil instead of butter. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 celery ribs, chopped 1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped (1 teaspoon) 1 1/2 pounds (about 2 large) orange-flesh sweet potatoes (a.k.a. yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups) 4 cups chicken stock (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option) 1 cinnamon stick 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup milk Salt Pepper 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt Directions: Cook the onions, celery, leeks, and garlic: Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the celery and leeks and sauté for 5 more minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Make and simmer the soup: Add the sweet potatoes, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until the sweet potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Blend the soup: Remove the cinnamon stick. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup or work in batches and purée the soup in a standing blender. Finish the soup: Add the cream and milk to the soup. Heat on medium until the soup is heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.Sprinkle with more black pepper and swirl some water-thinned sour cream or plain yogurt over the soup to serve. Source: Simply Recipes

Madeleines are little French butter cakes with classic lemon scents. They can be a bit tricky and need a fair amount of confidence to turn out just right. Madeleines come in many different flavors such as chocolate, rose and vanilla. Some people even add mini chocolate chips or a glaze. This recipe is fairly straightforward for the classic lemon taste. Ingredients: 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest Powdered sugar (optional) Equipment: Small saucepan Small bowl 2 medium mixing bowls Measuring cups and spoons Whisk Spatula 2 madeleine pans Pastry brush Small sieve for dusting with powdered sugar (optional) Directions: Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. If you feel you can get it slightly toasty brown, go right ahead and do so by leaving it to bubble in the pan until it smells toasty and starts to color. Just remember that the butter will turn very quickly from toasty to burnt and that it will continue to color after it is off the heat unless you pour it into a new container. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the butter into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Let the rest of the butter cool slightly. Prepare the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour and the sugar, and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with the vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the eggs are frothy. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the eggs to the flour. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Add the remaining 1 stick melted butter and continue to stir. It may take a minute for the butter to blend into the mixture but do not over mix. Rest the batter. Cover the bowl with a plate (or plastic wrap) and place in the refrigerator to rest at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Prepare the pans. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon flour to the 3 tablespoons reserved butter and stir to combine. Using a pastry brush, brush the interiors of the shells with the butter-flour mixture so that they are well coated. Place the pans in the freezer for at least an hour. Preheat the oven and fill pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and one pan from the freezer. Fill each well in the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of the batter. Remove the other pan and fill in the same way. Bake the madeleines. Place both pans on a baking sheet for easy handling and place in the oven. Check after 8 minutes and rotate plans. Check again 5 minutes later. The madeleines should be browning around the edges and puffed up a little in the middle. Using your forefinger, press lightly on the center hump — when the madeleines are finished baking, it should spring back at your touch. Cool and dust with sugar. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Using a fork, gently loosen the madeleines from their molds and then tip the whole pan out onto a cooling rack or tea towel. Once cool, dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve. If you are freezing or storing the madeleines, do not dust with the sugar until you are about to serve. To store. Store cooled madeleines in an airtight container for a few days or freeze them in a double wrapping of plastic wrap for several months. Let the cakes defrost before dusting with sugar. Source: the Kitchn