Recipes

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NATIONAL CHOCOLATE WAFER DAY

If you love chocolate, National Chocolate Wafer Day on July 3 allows you to indulge in a delicately sweet cookie with a history. Have one for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

 

Also called sugar wafers, these delicate snacks melt in your mouth. Made since the mid-1800s in the United States, makers called the cookies many names; wafer cookies, sugar wafers, sugar biscuits, fairy wafers.

While many enjoyed them as snacks, they also became favorite after-dinner treats or served during teas. Lightly flavored and layered with a creamy filling, the thin cookies delight folks of all ages. 

Numerous companies produced them in North America. Regardless of the company, each one considered the production of these cookies an art form. They took pride in everything from their ingredients to the employees and the recipe to the packaging. Over time, companies merged. By the 1930s, the number of production companies dwindled.

Today, they remain an American favorite. With a waffle surface pattern and thin layers, these cookies make an excellent addition to ice cream. Use them as an ingredient in cakes and cheesecakes. While you're baking, use them to decorate, too. If you prefer pie, crushed wafers make a delicious chocolate crust.

There are so many ways chocolate wafers can be enjoyed. If you've never tried them, this holiday is the time to give them a whirl.

No matter where or how you are eating your wafers, these tasty treats are positively worth celebrating!

[ChiliPepper]

Chocolate Indulgence Martini

• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 15 minutes
• Servings: 1

Ingredients:

 

• 2chocolate wafer cookies
• Chocolate syrup, for drizzling inside the glass and the rim
• Ice
• 2oz store bought chocolate milk
• 1oz vanilla vodka
• 1oz creme de cocoa

Steps: 

• 1
  Place the chocolate cookies in a plastic baggie and pound with a rolling pin or wooden mallet until fine crumbs are formed.
• 2
  Coat the center of a small plate with chocolate syrup in a circle. Sprinkle the crushed chocolate wafers over the chocolate syrup on the plate.
• 3
  Turn a martini glass upside down and dip the rim of the glass in the mixture and spin back and forth, until the rim is coated.
• 4
  Drizzle some chocolate syrup inside the glass, forming a swirling design and place the glass in the freezer.
• 5
  In a shaker with ice add the chocolate milk, vodka and creme de cocoa. Shake well.
• 6
  Remove glass from freezer.
• 7
  Strain mixture into glass and serve.
•  
• Tips:

• If you are making these for a party, glasses can be garnished with the chocolate and cookies ahead of time and kept in the freezer until ready to use.
• This recipe can easily be doubled to make two drinks at a time.

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NATIONAL GRAHAM CRACKER DAY

July 5 recognizes 1/3rd of the s'more. It's National Graham Cracker Day! Hopefully, you saved a few crackers if you were busy making s'mores over the Independence Day holiday. 

 

When Sylvester Graham first invented the slightly sweetened cracker, he intended it as a health food. In the early 1800s, the Presbyterian minister developed the cracker as part of his "Graham Diet" program. They were made from whole wheat graham flour with added bran and wheat germs. He believed his snack would curb sinful cravings. 

Today, makers use bleached white flour and blend a variety of flavors including honey, cinnamon, and chocolate. They also come in smaller bite-size snacks and fun shapes. 

While a delicious snack on their own, they also make terrific ingredients for desserts. Crushed graham crackers blended with butter and pressed into pie tins, or springform pans make excellent crusts when lightly toasted.

Graham crackers layered between yogurt and fruit taste delicious in a parfait. When it comes to crumb toppings, oats, brown sugar, butter, and crushed graham crackers blended together and lightly toasted will always satisfy.

Graham Cracker Sandwiches

Some of the easiest ways of using graham crackers are making a type of sandwich. Of course, one of the most popular treats made with graham crackers is the S'more. However, that's not the only type of sandwich we can make with these sturdy crackers.

• Ice cream sandwiches - It's summer, so head to the freezer. Just one scoop of ice cream between two crackers is all it takes. Wrap the sandwich in wax paper and place it back in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. 
• Nut butter sandwiches - Whether it's peanut butter, hazelnut, or sun butter, spread your favorite between two crackers and enjoy. 
• Fruit sandwiches - Layer banana or strawberry slices between two crackers. Add nut butter. 
• Frozen fruit sandwiches - Puree your favorite fruit and then freeze slightly. Spread the pulp on the crackers and refreeze just like you did the ice cream. These sweet treats are delightfully refreshing!

During Christmastime, graham crackers go into overtime. They join forces with gingerbread and create magical houses with frosting. The edible delights may not last very long, but they make memories that last a lifetime. 

[ChiliPepper]

Graham Cracker Latte

Skip the coffee shop latte and make one at home. Components for this Graham Cracker Latte can be prepped ahead and warmed just prior to serving, to give your morning a sweet, warm kick start.

Servings: 2 Lattes

Ingredients:

Ingredients for the Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Simple Syrup:

• 1/2 c. light brown sugar
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Graham Cracker Infused Milk:

• 1 1/2 c. low-fat milk
• 2 graham crackers 4 squares

Ingredients for the Latte:

• 1-1 1/2 c. strong coffee
• 1-1 1/2 c. graham cracker infused milk
• 4 tsp. brown sugar simple-cinnamon syrup

 

Instructions:

Make the Simple Syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, combine light brown sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat an allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

Make the Graham Cracker-Infused Milk:

1. In a small saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl, if you prefer to microwave), heat 3/4 c. milk slightly. Add graham crackers and remove from heat. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes until graham crackers are good and soggy.

2. Use a sieve to strain milk mixture into a clean bowl, stirring and pressing the milk through while removing the graham cracker solids. The milk will be thick. If there are still chunks of graham cracker solids, rinse the sieve and repeat.

3. Combine graham cracker-infused milk with remaining 3/4 c. milk and stir. Anything not being used immediately should be stored in the refrigerator.

Make Your Lattes:

1. (Note: All ingredients are all prepped but may not be warmed. You can warm coffee and/or graham cracker-infused milk in the microwave or on the stove top prior to portioning lattes, or you can warm in the microwave after. Your choice.)
2. Place 1/2 c. of coffee in each coffee mug (you're making two lattes, so 1/2 c. coffee in each). Divide graham cracker-infused milk between the two mugs, about 1/2-3/4 c. in each. Stir in 2 tsp. brown sugar cinnamon simple syrup in each latte.
3. Heat each mug in the microwave, if not already warmed, for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes.

4. Sip and adjust to taste, adding more coffee or simple syrup, if desired. Check the temperature and heat for up to 30 seconds more, if needed.

5. Enjoy hot.

[ChiliPepper]

@Writer with Flair 

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NATIONAL SUGAR COOKIE DAY

Each year on July 9 we honors the ever-popular and delicious sugar cookie on National Sugar Cookie Day. Whether you love your cookie plain or decorated, sugar cookies are a sweet addition to our snack list.

 

A holiday favorite and very easy to make, sugar cookies disappear quickly once they come out of the oven. Most sugar cookies include sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and either baking powder or baking soda.

While most people have the ingredients on hand at all times, some of the ingredients should be fresh for the best outcome. Children enjoy baking and decorating anytime someone makes a batch of sugar cookies.

The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. German Protestant settlers created a round, crumbly and buttery cookie that came to be known as the Nazareth Cookie

Today, sugar cookie making and decorating has become an art form for kids and adults alike. Starting with the shape of the cookie, the dough is formed with either a cookie cutter or other methods of cutting and shaping the dough.

Once the cookie is baked, the cookie artist adds colored frosting or icing. Sprinkles, edible glitter, colored sugars, and additional details may be added. Some cookies receive so much detail, it's almost a shame to eat them. 

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL SUGAR COOKIE DAY

While making some delicious and beautiful sugar cookies, marvel at the skill of bakers who have mastered the skill. Learn some of their tips and tricks, or share your own. Don't forget to give a shout-out to your favorite baker and let them know you appreciate their delicious cookies.