Naan, Plain or Peshwari

A good meal will always include at least one grounding element. Naan is one of those elements for me with Indian Cuisine. A tremendous vessel for Hummus or Baba Ganoush, wonderful for sopping up the last bits of curry or stew, and just fabulous on it's own. Peshwari Naan is a bit sweet and can be served as dessert.  Hot bread pleases the senses and enhances any meal. This naan can be cooked in a nonstick pan or in a panini/ griddle press. One of my waffle irons had reversible plates that have a smooth side and it is perfect for this! (It would probably work with the waffle side as well.) 

Naan cooked in a nonstick frying pan.

Naan

2 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup ghee (melted butter, milk solids excluded)

Plain naan cooked on a waffle iron w/ smooth griddle plates.

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with the honey in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Allow to activate for 3 or 4 minutes. Add remaining water, yogurt, olive oil and salt. Stir to blend. Add flour and baking powder. Mix with dough hook, scraping down sides as needed until it is a soft dough. Cover and allow to rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Punch down dough and knead on a floured board. (Dough will be sticky and require floured hands to handle.) Pinch dough in half, then in half again until there are 24 approximately equal balls. Roll each into a flat oval disc and place on plastic wrap. Cook by heating a griddle press (smooth waffle iron or panini press) to medium high heat. Place 1 or 2 pieces of the naan dough onto cooking surface and close the lid. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until browned. Remove to a cooling rack and spoon or brush both sides with ghee. Alternate cooking method: place in a non stick pan over medium high heat 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side until browned.

Slightly sweet, Peshwari Naan is good with a meal or for dessert.

Peshwari Naan
1 batch of naan dough, rolled out into 18-20 circles
Filling:
4 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios (I use lightly salted shelled pistachios)
4 tablespoons finely chopped raisins (golden or regular)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, optional
Greek yogurt for serving

Mix filling ingredients together. Place a heaping teaspoon full of the filing in the middle of the dough and pinch together to close. Carefully, roll out the ball again on  floured board into an oval. Make sure to keep the filling covered with a thin layer of dough. Set aside. Continue filling the remaining peshwari and then cook as for plain naan. Brush with ghee and serve warm with Greek yogurt for dipping.

Hints: The dough is soft and can be a bit tricky to work with, so be sure to flour your hands and board. Roll out gently especially with the Peshwari filling in place. You can easily add crushed garlic to the ghee or just use garlic butter to brush onto the plain naan. And you could substitute coconut or another chopped nut for the pistachios in the peshwari. I make the ghee by melting butter in the microwave for a minute. As it cools, the milk solids will settle to the bottom of the container and I spoon the ghee off the top to use. You can also spread the hot naan with regular butter instead of ghee. Halving the recipe is fine and so is doubling it. I have made this without the 30 minute risen time- I was under a time crunch and had to make 48 pieces of naan so I let the doubt batch of dough just rest for about 10 minutes and then started rolling out half of it. By the time I got 24 rolled out and started cooking two at a time, they had risen for the full half hour.

Stella helps by rolling out Peshwari Naan

See the milk solids as a white layer at the bottom?

This is a quick recipe to make with stuff I usually have on hand in my pantry. It smells and tastes fabulous. Guests appreciate the effort and sometimes there are leftovers! (reheat the leftovers in a microwave for about 15 seconds and enjoy all over again.)

Fudge Mug Cake

So yes...you do deserve a treat now and then. Your latest work project turned out superb or you found a twenty in the pocket of a coat you haven't worn all year or you coaxed a smile from the neighborhood curmudgeon. You DO deserve a treat! This simple mug cake may be just the ticket tonight. With a few readily available ingredients, fudgy deliciousness is only moments away...

Fudge Mug Cake (single serving)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix together in a microwave safe mug. Then stir in the following:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
After mixture is combined thoroughly, microwave on full power for approximately 1 minute 40 seconds. (Timing will vary for different models of microwaves.)

Hints: Make sure to stir all of the dry ingredients into the batter as there tends to be a bit that will stick in the joint where the bottom meets the sides of the mug. This batter should be very thick. The cake will raise during cooking but will sink quickly. The texture of the cake will be slightly sticky if cooked the right amount of time. If it is dry, it is overcooked and won't have nearly the delightfulness intended.

Easy to make, smells utterly delightful, tastes decadent, and complete in under three minutes. A winner on all fronts!  

Poached Pears with Cardamom Yogurt Creme

Autumn desserts are special somehow. Pears in season are one of the best parts of my culinary life. Try Pear Pie this year if you haven't already, or for a lighter touch try out these poached beauties-lightly scented with ginger and lemon-for a warm finish to a fall meal.

Poached Pears
3 nearly ripe pears - Bartlett end up softer, Anjou firmer
1 cup sugar
2 slices lemon
2-3 small knobs of ginger root
4 cups warm water
Slice pears in half lengthwise. Core with a spoon and scoop seeds out. Leave stem intact if desired. Heat sugar, lemon, ginger and water in a large pan until sugar is dissolved. Peel pear halves and place in heated water. Cover and bring to a light simmer. Reduce heat to maintain this level of simmer. Poach for 6 minutes then with a slotted spoon remove pears to a covered dish to keep warm. Remove and discard 2 cups of the poaching liquid. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until volume is halved. Discard the lemon and ginger. Serve by placing a pear half in a bowl, topping with Cardamom Creme (see below) about 2 tablespoons of the reduced syrup and pistachios.

Hints: I prefer the softer Bartlett pear but the Anjou is nice, too. If the Bartlett is too ripe, it will not hold it's shape when poached and become mushy. Boiling the pears will also cause them to break down too much, so be sure and just simmer lightly. The reduced liquid will be quite hot so be careful handling it.

Cardamom Yogurt Creme
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 (plus more to taste) tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 (plus more to taste) teaspoon ground cardamom
Stir together and taste. If desired, add more cardamom or brown sugar to taste. Serve with poached pears or apples.

This creme is also great as a dip for fruit platters or as fruit salad dressing.

Quesadillas with Stilton Cheese

Who does't love quesadilla goodness! Quick to make and always delicious. Kids love them and so do adults. This particular version works equally as well as a snack, appetizer or even dessert. Using a uniquely flavored cheese is the difference here and gives this quesadilla it's appeal.

Stilton Mango Ginger Quesadilla 
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 corn tortillas
1 1/2 ounces White Stilton cheese with Mango and Ginger
Honey for drizzling, optional
Heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Melt butter in pan. Crumble cheese onto one tortilla then cover with the other tortilla. Place quesadilla in pan and cook on one side for about 2 minutes. Flip over and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Serve hot with a drizzle of honey if desired.

Hints: Costco carries this cheese in the summer. I like the pale white corn tortillas but the yellow variety is just as good in this dish. I tend to push down on the top with the turner as the quesadilla are cooking so that I can tell when the cheese is melted. It is best when the tortillas brown up a bit.

I love these for lunch--really good and really quick. I love them for dessert with a few fresh berries or peaches. I love them for a snack in the evening with a glass of soda water and orange twist. I think I would even eat then for breakfast. I have tried quesadillas with other cheeses besides cheddar and this is by far my favorite. Try them and let me know what you think!

Mini Cheesecakes

Who doesn't like "mini" things? These cheesecakes are mini in size but big in flavor, appeal and time savings. They cook in a fraction of the time a regular cheesecake takes and are already portion controlled...I mean, what could be better? I bought a specialty pan with removable bottoms (Norpro 3919, $20) from Amazon, made some of these bad boys and then bought another pan because I could see how often these will be just the ticket. Take a look at the Hints section for the Holiday version: Eggnog (Oh Yeah!) and also a chocolate hazelnut flavor link at the end. WooHoo!!

Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Topping
Crust:
5 1/2 full graham crackers (the full crackers are usually scored into 4 parts)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
Spray the cavities of the mini cheesecake pan with coconut oil or veggie oil.  Process crackers in food processor until very fine crumb. Mix in sugar then butter. Place 2 teaspoons of mixture in each compartment and press down firmly. Set aside.

Filling:
8 ounces Greek yogurt cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon citrus zest (orange, lemon, grapefruit etc.)
1 egg yolk
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in sugar, salt and corn starch beating until well blended. Reduce mixer speed and pour in half and half slowly and beat until batter is smooth. Blend in vanilla and citrus zest. Finally, add the egg yolk and mix just until incorporated. Spoon batter onto crusts, filling cavities 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for an hour then push the cakes out from the bottom and remove the pan bottom disks from the cheese cakes. Chill in a air tight container for at least another hour.

Topping:
3/4 cup finely diced fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup sweetened whipped cream
Mix all ingredients but the cream together and macerate for 1 hour or more. To serve, place 1 teaspoon of whipped cream on cheesecake and top with about 1-2 teaspoon of strawberry mixture.

Hints: I like using Greek cream cheese but this would work the same with regular cream cheese. I used the orange zest because the strawberries had orange flavor. Lemon or lime or grapefruit would be awesome. The pan cavities are easy to pop out a cooled cheesecake if they are sprayed with oil. The coconut oil in a spray can is what I have on hand but they could be greased by hand with butter.

To make the Holiday version:
Add 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg to the graham cracker crust mixture, use eggnog in place of the half and half, reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons, use just 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and replace the citrus zest with nutmeg. Top with whipped cream, fresh diced persimmon and more freshly ground nutmeg. (I buy whole nutmeg and grate it on a micro-planer.) SO GOOD!!! In fact, after New Years, I went to the store and bought some eggnog I could freeze to make these one more time :)

Here is a link to another flavor, chocolate hazelnut, I tried for my friends wedding along with the strawberry version. It was also wonderful. I think any cheesecake recipe could be adapted for a mini version. I guess I'm just a "little" crazy about these little guys...

Stella's Mini Chocolate Cakes

Happy 7th Birthday Stellie! She asked for mini chocolate cakes and what can a grandmother to do but comply?! Happy birthday Claus, too. (He is also fond of chocolate cake, for him I would put a bit of apricot jam in the depression and then pour some chocolate glaze on top and drizzled down the sides to mimic sacher torte.)

Stella's Mini Chocolate Cakes
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon soda
2/3 cup milk
Chocolate sour cream frosting (see Mud Ball Cookies )
Maraschino cherry halves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini tea cake pan with Baker's Joy (oil and flour coating). Place chocolate chunks in a food processor and process until the chocolate has become very fine particles. Set aside. Cream together butter, sour cream, sugar and salt. Add egg and mix throughly. Stir in flour, cocoa and soda. Continue beating while adding the milk slowly.  Stir in the chocolate dust and mix well. Spoon batter into the tea cake pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 14-16 minutes until tops spring back when touched lightly. Remove from oven. It may be useful to trim the domed part of each cake flat with a serrated knife. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then invert pan and place on cooling rack to cool completely. Pipe frosting into depression on top of cakes and then top with cherry halves.

Hints: The tea cake pan is available at cookware stores or via Amazon. A mini muffin pan would work instead -- perhaps with some mini cupcake liners. There will be enough batter for more than 24 tea cakes but don't overfill the cups. Use semi sweet chocolate chips if you prefer a bit lighter chocolate taste. I use unsifted all purpose flour and Hershey's cocoa. Baker's Joy is easy but you can also grease and flour the cups the old fashioned way. Don't over bake or the cakes will be too dry. I put the frosting in a plastic bag and cut a corner off the bottom then pipe it out onto the cakes -- this is a very easy way to get a smooth flow and then you can throw it away without any cleanup.

This cake was inspired by my brother Craig's "black out" cake. He is a very good cook and I alway enjoy the dishes he shares. That's the best thing about knowing good cooks, they inspire you to create new and wonderful recipes. Thanks Craig -- and Stella thanks you too. 

Pomegranate Cheesecake Bites

Pomegranate!!! My favorite fruit is now in season and I am thrilled about it! A cheesecake "bite" just has to taste like cheesecake right? So these cocoa laced pate a choux puffs work as crust and the whipped Greek yogurt cream cheese filling yields the cheesecake flavor/ texture one desires. So delicious!

Pomegranate Cheesecake Bites
Cocoa Pate a Choux
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup minus 3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with sil pat or parchment paper. Bring water and butter to a boil in a small sauce pan. Add the flour and cocoa powder to the water and stir until throughly blended and mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and add sugar and eggs. Beat until all the egg has been incorporated. Drop by teaspoons on to baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool before filling. Makes 25 puffs.

 Cheesecake Filling
8 ounces Greek yogurt cream cheese
3 tablespoons half and half
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon clementine zest
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger root, optional
1 cup pomegranate arils
Whip the cream cheese, half and half, sugar, zest and ginger until well combined and light. Fold in pomegranate arils.
Slice puffs open and fill with about 1 tablespoon of filling each. Replace tops. Chill any leftovers.

Hints: The pate a choux will just about double when baked but you want to have bite sized puffs so make sure to keep them small. The filling can be made with regular cream cheese if you like. Adjust the sugar if you want to make the filling sweeter.

I love cheesecake but the full experience comes with lots of calories and a fair amount of time. These bites are relatively less of both. I think you'll like them...

Mud Ball Cookies

Alert: Copy cat recipe for Swig Dirt Balls.
I'm a fan of Swig (a Utah born cookie and drink establishment). My son Neal found a copy cat recipe on line for Swig-like Sugar Cookies that is great--(the frosting amount is about 3 times more than you will use). However, when you are at Swig and craving some chocolate, nothing but a Dirt Ball will do!
Here is my version of a Dirt Ball with a little extra chocolate oomph so I call them...Mud Balls! (Wouldn't Grandpa Bennie be happy with this name?)

Mud Balls
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/3  cup powdered sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons Hersheys Chocolate Syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 to 2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Cream butter, oil, sugars, egg, chocolate syrup and salt together until smooth. Add cocoa powder, 2 cups flour and baking powder then mix well. Add more flour if necessary to form a stiff but not dry dough that forms a ball.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Scoop golf ball sized portions of the dough into your hand and roll into a sphere. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Use a flat bottomed glass and flatten the cookies to about 1/4 inch thick. (dip the bottom of the glass in sugar to prevent sticking) Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to a cooling rack. When cookies are room temperature, cover tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled.
Frost just before serving. Makes 24-30 cookies.
*For standard dirt ball cookies omit chocolate syrup and decrease cocoa to 1/3 cup.

Cocoa Sour Cream Frosting
2 tablespoons softened butter
4  tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar
Cream butter, sour cream, salt, vanilla and cocoa together until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, adding enough to produce a silky, soft frosting. (The butter and cocoa mixture will loosen up as you stir in the powdered sugar.)

Such simple ingredients but such wonderful flavor! The textural trick is in the butter and oil combination. Using some saturated fat and some unsaturated fat yields that chewy, brownie like texture that is so blissful. Mix that mouth feel with sugar and chocolate? What's not to love???

Hints: It is critical not to over bake these. This is not supposed to have much crunch at all. We are looking for a smooth, moist, chewy texture. Don't allow the cookies to dry out. I use a plastic container with a tight fitting lid to chill them. They will hold a day (or two, although there have never been any left two days later) in the fridge. The frosting will need to be refrigerated if not used all at once because of the sour cream.

You may be upset with me for posting this--it is really hard not to make these every day! Hence the paper plate to show that these are perfect for giving away. (Of course, keeping one or two to eat your self.) Warning: Definitely not a health food recipe. Loaded with fat and sugar.  Honestly. these may be  on par with Hostess Cupcakes health wise.   

Lemon Blueberry Hand Pies

Hand pies? Cutie pies? We used to call them turnovers. But whatever you call them, they are a sweet way to end a meal. They also make great snacks. A hand held pastry that smells, looks and tastes amazing is never a bad thing. A neat little bundle of joy. I developed this recipe to utilize some frozen blueberries that were in my freezer. I bought a giant bag and just wasn't making enough smoothies.

Lemon Blueberry Hand Pies
Crusts:
5 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
14 tablespoons cold butter
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water
Place flour, sugar, salt, butter and zest in a food processor bowl. Pulse for 3 seconds about 15 times, then run for about 2 minutes, scrapping down sides as necessary until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Turn into a large mixing bowl. Add lemon juice and 3/4 cup water. Stir to combine. Add more water as necessary to make a dough that will hold together. Try not to overwork the dough. Pat into a 2 inch thick rectangle, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
8 teaspoons cold butter
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, corn starch and salt. Add the blueberries, lemon zest and juice. Stir gently for several minutes until the sugar becomes purple throughout.

Assembly: Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and cut into 12 cubes. On a floured board, roll out one cube at a time into a 6 1/2 inch circle. Cut out a 6 inch circle and place about 2 tablespoons of filling on one half. Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Wet the edge of the pastry, fold in half and seal. Cut a small opening or long slit to allow steam to escape. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and keep chilled until baking. Repeat with remaining cubes and then use the excess dough trimmings to make 2 or 3 more hand pies. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wet the top of the pies with a little water and sprinkle with sugar just before baking. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Using a simple plastic mold like this one speeds up the process.

Hints: Keep the dough cold and it will be easier to work with. Substitute frozen cherries or raspberries or blackberries for the blueberries, all would be great with the lemon crust. You could make a regular pie with the lemon crust (halve the recipe) and the blueberry filling with this same recipe. It would need to bake 50 to 60 minutes.

Blueberry and lemon is one of my favorite flavor combinations. It tastes so lovely and smells so lovely and looks so lovely. All purply and citrusy and sweet. What's not to love?

Connie's Strawberry Puff

Here are two of the Apron contest winners wearing their prize. Thanks for the photos ladies! And congratulations to Meesha, she delivered a healthy baby boy about one month after sending this photo. Connie included a recipe of hers that you all might really enjoy--I know I will. Keep visiting because a new contest is just around the corner.

More Snow Cone Syrups

Happy 4th of July! Or as my son-in-law says, "Happy 'Mer'ca Day." Here are two more snow cone syrups I have been using with my new ice shaver. These are also great as Italian sodas but you may want to have those on Italian Day--just saying.

Mandarin Vanilla Bean Syrup
2 cups sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
3 mandarin oranges
1 cup water
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Place sugar in a medium sauce pan. Split vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape the seeds into the sugar. Drop the pod in as well. Slice the oranges into 1/4 inch thick slices and add to sugar. Stir in water, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature. Remove vanilla pod and oranges slices. Place in a covered container and store in the fridge. 

Lemon Blueberry Syrup
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup blueberries
1 large lemon
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Place sugar in a medium size sauce pan. Add blueberries to pan. Slice lemon about 1/4 inch thick and add to pan, removing seeds if possible. Stir in water, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often and mashing berries. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and then pass through a fine mesh strainer, pushing berries through with the back of a spoon. Discard lemon and berry pulp. Place syrup in a covered container and store in the fridge.

Hints: I used fresh blueberries but frozen would probably turn out the same. Simple syrups are just water and sugar boiled with flavoring agents. The corn syrup to help prevent crystalization. Choose any flavor or flavor combo you can think of. I am going to try Kiwi soon and something with lavender. I have also been thinking about mint with peach or pear.

I'll let you know if I get a great flavor when experimenting and you do the same for me. Enjoy the fireworks today!
 

Snow Cone Syrups

I bought an ice shaver (snow cone maker) this year. I also purchased some of the flavored syrups that were marketed along side it. They were...OK...if you're a kid. They weren't great. Lots of artificial flavors and dyes. So here are a couple of healthier versions, still loaded with sugar so not actually healthy but all things in moderation, right? A snow cone can make the miserable heat a bit more tolerable. These syrups work well in sparkling water--add some cream for Italian Cream Sodas. Check out this post for two more flavors.

Strawberry Basil Syrup
2 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
pinch of salt
In a medium size sauce pan, combine strawberries, basil and sugar. Mash with a potato masher until strawberries are broken down. Stir in water, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender container). Allow to come to room temperature. Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and pour syrup through stainer into bowl. Stir to help the syrup pass through the mesh. Discard any solids left in strainer. Store syrup in a covered container in the refrigerator. Serve with snow cones, Italian sodas, on crepes or ice cream.

Lime Ginger Syrup
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
2 cups water
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
1 lime, sliced thinly
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a medium size sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature, remove lime slices and chill in a covered container. Use for snow cones, Italian sodas or for punch.

Hints: The corn syrup will help prevent crystallization as the syrup chills. These syrups can be stored for 2 weeks in the fridge. You can choose how much syrup you use on the snow cones. I like to serve mine in a mug with a handle so that my hands don't get too cold.

I didn't like snow cones until this year. But when I went to the zoo with Sophie, Robert and Stella we shared one and then I saw the machine for sale and now I'm nuts about them! Next up I'm going to try a blueberry lemon syrup. I would love suggestion for new flavors...