Royal Eggplants from Paytpooja

 While I was sitting there reading and drooling over Paytpooja's Stuffed Eggplants & Potatoes I didn't think I could ever make this complicated dish. That too a vegetable! But all that is water under the bridge. Now I just love those veggies. Slowing metabolism spawns wisdom:-) I happen to have a soft corner for eggplants which was not a regular item at our home. The thing with eggplant is you either like it or you hate it. There seems to be no middle ground.

Hope Geets will not mind me renaming them the Royal Eggplants because that is what they are. Like it says in her post, a dish fit for Kings! My eggplant hater of a husband couldn't remember hating them ever after the first delicious morsel was in...

I took few more shortcuts and the outcome was still fantastic. Reduced the masala ingredients to fasten the process as it was my first time. Got enough to make it twice! Hope I got the right proportions. I also combined masala 2 into the main ingredients list so the storable masala is separate. I am reproducing Geeta's recipe here with the small adaptations I did for convenience:

In The Mix

japanese eggplants - 6 (washed & dried)
red potatoes - 6 ( i love these. peeled regular potatoes are equally good too as tried that too)
red onion - 1 meduim sized
fresh grated coconut - 2 tbsp
chili powder -  1/2 tbsp or less ( change according to your heat tolerance)
garlic cloves - 6 or 7 peeled and crushed
salt to taste
olive oil - enough to fry

for masala  - recipe needs >1 tbsp

mustard seed - 1 tbsp
whole cumin - 1 tbsp
split urad dal - 3 tsp
channa dal - 3 tsp
toor dal - 2 tsp
whole methi - 1/4 tsp or less
whole black pepper - 2 tsp
whole coriander seeds  - 1/2 tsp (didn't use it since i didn't ave it at home)


How To Do

to make masala
Recipe calls to fry each separately.  Being a little lazy and having clamoring kids around, I took a flat frying pan and fried the dals and cumin in separate clusters at the same time. Small quantities made this possible. Microwaved mustard, cumin and methi which is a great tip.First 10 seconds and then maybe 5 more taking care not to burn at any stage. Let everything cool.. Again small quantities helped me to grind it all together in our pepper mill.. Only a little more than 1 tbsp is needed for the recipe. Store the rest in an airtight bag/container. I had enough to make it twice. Once you have the masala, the second time is a breeze. Next time I will make more following the recipe measurements.
 
Preheat oven to 450F. This is the broil setting in my oven. Place the onion on a foil on the top shelf for 30 to 40 minutes. While onion is in the oven you can make the above masala if it is not already done. Roast the grated coconut till golden brown. Take the onion out at the end of designated time and peel off the black layers. Place the onion in a grinder along with the coconut. and grind to a smooth paste. Add about 1 tbsp of the prepared dry masala, chili powder and salt. Blend well.

Slit the eggplant with a sharp knife from the nose to the stalk  taking care to keep shy off about 1" from the stalk so the slit pieces can be held together there. Now generously spread the masala onto each layer of the eggplants making sure to keep all layers together in shape. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F ( Open the door to bring down the temp from previous broiling step if necessary)


Time to tend to the potatoes.  Cut in halves if using red potatoes. Peel and cut into 2-3 pieces if using regular potatoes. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes on both sides till golden brown. Fry red potatoes cut side first. A few minutes on each side  will do the trick. Take out, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt on both sides when hot . Potatoes will complete cooking in the oven so no need to over fry. Covering up the potatoes with any remaining masala makes it tastier as the recipe suggests. I leave some masala free for my girl who loves potatoes.

Remove some of the \oil if necessary and place the eggplants into the pan one or two at a time depending on the space.  Spread out the slit layers and fry onl all sides. Drain on paper towels.

Add the crushed garlic cloves to the oil for a few minutes and take out when soft.

Place the eggplants and potatoes in one or two baking dishes or cookie sheets lined with foil. Sprinkle with garlic cloves and bake for about 30 minutes. Wait! Hold your breath please. Out comes the most spenldid veggie dish I have seen in my entire life!!! Thanks paytpooja for this awesome recipe!

Potatoes will not keep for long but the eggplants can be frozen according to paytpooja. I have yet to do this because the egplants and potatoes vanish in no time. Perfect with hot rice or the breads.

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

No more baking posts. I promise! This is the laaaaaast.... I had always turned away from cookies in general, especially sugar cookies when presented on the usual platter of snacks. I don't have a sweet tooth. Honestly.  Then why oh why did I go and make these? One word. Kids! Yup, they were day dreaming as well as night dreaming about frosted cookies ever since Christmas came around. Since I haven't done cut-out cookies at all, I wasn't sure what or where to start. With work and some holiday activities going on I simply couldn't get to these until later.

Decided on this recipe from how2heroes mainly because of the video demo for both sugar cookies and royal icing.  Denise's instructions are clear and filled with useful tips. Both kids diligently watched with me and on their own and were a big part in the process. If you remember those superbly made Christmas Cakes from Casino in Cochin with the yummiest icing (yes, even for my non-sweet tooth!)  then you will know why I wanted hard (royal) icing. This one came out fine but nowhere close to that icing/cake combo. Maybe it was the combo of fruitcake/icing that made the taste so great. Wait a minute! I think I will check this out next time I make fruit cake.

I am repeating the recipe here for easy reference. I hope the video will stay forever as that helped the most.

For Sugar Cookies

In The Mix

unsalted butter - 24 tbsp (3 sticks brought to room temp)
ranulated sugar 1 1/3 cup
kosher salt - 2 tsp
egg  yolks - from 3 eggs
pure vanilla extract - 2 tbsp
all purpose flour - 3 3/4 cups (I sift this)
parchment paper or silpat - to line cookie sheets

How To Do

Beat the butter and sugar until the color changes to a lighter shade and fluffy. I used a hand mixer but an electric stand mixer is bothering me in my dreams ever since I saw how much easier it is to use it. But the sheer idleness it will face once the cookie making is over prevents me from getting my hands on one. We'll see how long I can hold off:-)  Add kosher salt and vanilla extract. Beat in the egg yolks one by one. Beat till well combined. Add in the flour in small quantities and beat till fully incorporated. Denise cautions that beating too much will move the cookie texture to that of short bread.

I loved the idea of using plastic wrap to spread the dough. So I made it in two batches as the recipe suggests. Just place the dough b/n two sheets of the wrap and roll away into a consistent thickness. This dough is totally flexible and my inexperienced hands found it to be an easy task. Repeat with the second part. Now keep the sheets in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour. This is to make the cookie cutting easier. The dough will obey the cutter and handling in general better when not too soft. I made the cookies the next day. Need to take it out a good 15 minutes before you start to cut so the dough will yield properly.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove the top plastic sheet, use cutters and other tools and have fun making all kinds of shapes like we did!

Line cookies sheets with parchment paper and place cut out cookies with a spatula about 1/2 inches apart. Cook for 12-15 minutes. I swapped the racks as well as turned the sheets around 8 minutes into the baking for even baking as suggested. Take out and cool on a rack before icing.

For Royal Icing
Denise gives a video demo for the icing too.  We didn't prefer the tartness of the icing from the lemon so for the second batch I didn't use lemon but and substituted with water instead. I also added almond extract the second time which came out good too. Used meringue powder (egg white mix) instead of fresh eggs.When she tasted it before the icing hardened, my daughter said it tasted like sweet tart. Once it hardened the tartness blended in and couldn't be detected as overpowering but kids still preferred not adding the lime. I made the icing each time but there was enough left over from the first time and so just making the icing once and using economically might last it for the two sets of cookie dough.

In The Mix
confectioner's sugar - 1 lbs
meringue powder - 1/4 cup (Michael's has it)
water - start with 7 tbsp
vanilla or almond extract - 3 tsp
food coloring
parchment paper - to make piping cones

How To Do

Beat the sugar and meringue powder at low speed first for a minute or two. Add in water and vanilla extract and beat together. Add more water 1 tbsp at a time till the right consistency is achieved. Being able to make a figure of 8 as the video shows and seeing it well before it melts back into the mix is the right indicator. Divide into as many colors you want to do. Add a few drops of the food coloring and combine. Remember to keep aside some as is for white coloring.

We had a few colors and so I made as many cones as I needs with the parchment paper. Fold the paper from one end till it meets diagonally to make a triangle. Cut off the sheet and cut the diagonal. Fold together into a cone with the diagonal side forming the tip of the cone. Taping the cone and standing it in a glass for easy pouring are all wonderful/quite useful tips. Thanks Denise!

Cut off the end if needed and start the artwork. This is the bestest part of the entire thing!!! Total unadulterated fun since elementary school days:-)) Cookies were cut in many imaginable shapes and were colored as it pleased us.

Will I repeat this exercise? But of course! Remember the adage, "It is the  participation that counts"? No, I am not talking about when India comes up with zeroes or close in the Olympic Gold tallies but about  real applicable situations:-) Well, this was one such situation. Once the cookies were done and the colorful icing was prepared and coned even the reluctant Dad jumped into the fray.

I told you we went to town with the icing and shapes. Didn't I?

Frosted cookies were left overnight for the icing to harden and while I won't advice the sweet fest for the health conscious or the slow metabolism crowd, the young citizens were happily devouring one crazy design after another. Enough said!

Melting Moments from spicyana/joyofbaking

Exactly to the day today, it's been two years since I started my food and book blogs. These are important spaces for me and I am glad that they still give me something fun and meaningful  to do when I have the urge.

Reflections has given me the sweet blog award. The little ice cream cake with a mint on top is mine.  I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this anniversary. Thanks Nancy! She is not just sweet but also very witty and intuitive and deserved it best.

I had wanted to try making coffee cookies. Had a recipe and ingredients all set to go. Unfortunately they didn't come out well most likely because of the coffee powder (not instant)  I used. Next time I'll try dissolving  instant coffee granules in hot water before adding.

Since that experiment went south I started on this with some trepidation. spicyana is an awesome baker and always has easy to follow instructions. The recipe from joyofbaking looked good and here I am with yet another attempt at making cookies. Luckily for me this time it turned out well and these melt in the mouth cookies are keepers. It didn't go well with the kids though and as good parents we did our duty by finishing it for them!

In The Mix
all purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
corn starch (corn flour in UK) - 1/2 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
unsalted butter - 1 cup (bring to room temp )
pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

powdered sugar for sifting/placing - 1 cup
you will need parchment paper to bake the cookies in.

How To Do

Whisk together corn starch, flour and salt and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (2 minutes) Add vanilla extract and beat together. Add the flour mix in small amounts while beating. Beat till all blends well. Do not over beat. The corn starch is apparently what makes these guys melt in the mouth by making the dough lighter. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Take dough out from the fridge and form 1 inch balls. Place these 1 inch apart on 2 of the cookie sheets. 12-14 minutes of baking will do just as the recipe says when cookie edges start to brown. Cool for a few minutes on a rack. Sprinkle half of the powdered sugar onto the remaining cookie sheet and place the cookies on it. Now comes the fun part! Sift the remaining sugar powder on top of the cookies and voila! You have picture perfect cookies calling out your names:-) If little ones made tiny cookies, those will come out fine too. 6-8 minutes might be enough for those.

To be honest, when I tried it right after baking, I didn't think it melted anywhere. But the story changed next day when I tried the tempting rounds again. Not only did it melt in the mouth but once you take up one, your hands keep reaching for more rather involuntarily!!

Out Of The World Ribs

Hope the year so far is going well for everyone.

We had the usual cold/cough/fever cycles but it was not too bad. We weathered it with a quick trip to Disneyland, one to the theater for The Princess And The Frog and watching Iron Chef episodes galore at home. Santa's visit was a success as expected and now we are all back on the hamster wheel.

Today's recipe is not of the ribs that came from Adam for Eve, but the pork rib appetizers that my husband prepares occasionally. They can pass for dinner when accompanied by  rolls or artisan bread or any other carb of your choice. H has developed a surefire method that yields the same delicious results every time. So please follow the steps exactly even if it is not that exact or else....

Kids and adults love this alike and each time we make this for a party they vanish in seconds. So he makes it just for us once in a while.


In The Mix

pork baby back ribs - 2 lbs (mostly from Costco)
Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce Original - as needed to coverall the meat (we love this particular brand)
freshly ground black pepper - to taste (start with 1 tbsp)
salt - to taste

How To Do

Cover meat with pepper and salt and marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Now take out the meat, spread BBQ sauce, cover in an aluminum foil and marinate for 4 hours cold.
Take out and add more sauce, cover and marinate cold overnight.
Optionally put the whole thing in a sealable food grade bag to get better results. It tastes great even if you don't do this part.

Preheat oven to 350C.

Fill a medium oven safe pan with water and place all the way at the bottom of the oven.
Place marinated ribs on regular cooling racks and keep on top rack of the oven.
Place cookie sheets covered with aluminum foil under the rib racks to catch drips if any.

Bake for 30-35  minutes or till cooked.

Take out and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice gently following the rib lines and bite into tender juicy meat for hours of satisfaction! Ketchup is an easy dip for this.Finger lick cleaning is allowed during a satisfying session:-)

Cake In A Jar - Bacardi Rum Cake

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & A Wonderful Year Ahead Everyone!


This is the last on jar cakes. I promise!

It came about because I also wanted a cake with easier ingredients to make in bulk and guess what turned up in the search? Bacardi Rum Cake! So that was the second cake that went into my jars. This site also has many helpful baking tips. I changed the glaze from the original recipe a little as it was too heavy for us.

Apparently this is a very popular cake and came out in an Ad for Bacardi Rum in the late 1970's. From the reviews it looks like different versions can be made by adding to the recipe or changing the type of the rum used.  But for this classic cake, use only the dark/gold rum. It looks best when made in the classic bundt shape as shown in the ref picture. I didn't add chopped pecans for the jar version. Hope to make the bundt version with the chopped nuts for one of our gatherings provided there is time. It is a good looking cake I think.

In The Mix

pint sized canning jars/lids - 6 (used wide mouthed for this cake)
shortening - 2 tbsp or melted as needed

classic yellow cake mix - 1 box (18.5 oz)
jell-o vanilla cook & serve - 1.5 oz (only used half of the 3 oz. package)
eggs - 4
water - 1/2 cup (did not use the cold milk)
vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
bacardi gold/dark rum - 1/2 cup

for the glaze 
butter - 1/4 cup (4 tbsp)
water - 1/2 cup
sugar - 2/3 cup
fresh orange juice - 1/2 cup (pulp removed)
bacardi gold/dark rum - 1/4 cup

How To Do
Follow steps as before for the jars.
Sterilize by boiling in water for about 15 minutes. Take out only the jars and let dry.
Spread melted shortening to cover all the inside areas making sure to leave the lip clean.
Keep the lids in the warm water till you are ready to put them onto the jars.

Preheat oven to 325C.

Beat together the cake mix, jell-o vanilla, eggs, water, oil and rum on high for 2 minutes. The batter is ready!
Pour batter to a little less than half of the jar. Place on a cookie sheet to balance the jars and keep in the oven. Bake for 45-48 minutes.

While the jars are baking, prepare the glaze.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add water, sugar, orange juice and stir till all the sugar is melted. Boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the rum. The rum could cause steam to rush out so be a tad careful here. Let sit while waiting.

Insert a skewer in the center of the jar to see if done. Turn off the oven, but keep the jars inside.

As before, take out the lids and screw tops and keep on a plate. No need for this to dry out.

Take the jars out one at a time from the oven, gently insert a skewer to make deep holes and pour 2-3 tbsp or more of the glaze into each jar. Place the lid onto the jar and screw on with reasonable tightness. Set aside for the jars to self seal. The heat and moisture will help with the sealing process. When the jars are completely cooled, press the center of the lids. If they don't move up or down, they are vacuum sealed. You will most likely hear a gentle popping sound when this happens.  If they move up and down then there is no seal and use as you would a regular cake. Once completely cooled, decorate as you please. See previous post for ideas.

The original glaze when I made it was really rich and we felt the rum content was too much for us. The glaze we used was lighter and more pleasing to us. I think the gentlemen in the family will prefer this cake and the ladies will prefer the one in the previous post. I plan to make a yellow cake mix from scratch when I try to tackle this another time. The cake apparently stores well whether sealed or not. But for the jar version, it is safer to make sure that they are sealed.

When you are ready to eat, open the lids and slide out the cake and cut into circles or just spoon out of the jars or make long cuts using a knife and slide out the pieces to enjoy!

Here is the lowdown on jar cakes compiled from the many sites and from trying out:

* buy 1 pint sized jars. these can be wide mouthed or not. the wide mouthed ones are easier to slide out of but the other looks better.

* only use shortening to grease the jars prior to baking

* any quick bread type of recipe (recipes with baking powder)  can be baked in the shortest time and the baking time is similar to that of the actual recipe.

* a regular cake recipe will take longer with the jar baking time about 15 min less than the actual baking time.

*quick bread types can be filled up to half or slightly more of the jar as they will not rise out of the jar too much at that level.

* regular cake recipes should be filled less than half of the jar to avoid overflow

* even if the cake overflows, it can be pushed back into the jar while closing the lid but this is not much fun to do.

* for each recipe you try, it is good to make one jar at first to get an idea of the amount of batter needed and the baking time.

* they are all time great gifts with a home made touch for friends, family, teachers, work.. you name it.

* it may sound like a lot to do but once you make the jars in a cake  a first time, it will not feel so and there is no parallel to it for a personalized gift

Cake In A Jar - Yogurt And Brown Sugar Cake from Cannelle et Vanille

The Manger is up and lighted.

So is the tree with the ornaments.

Even the ginger bread house is made and devoured!

The dangling roof lights from last year were never taken out and so turning those on was easy as usual:-) Hey, you do what you can to make life easier.

Now it is time to bake some gifts and goodies, mainly the cake.  Unfortunately having a crazy time at work with projects moving at the speed of light does not conduce to relaxed planning at home for the holidays. Instead you develop brain fatigue at the prospect of working through the holidays leading to inertia and apathy. OK it is not that bad only pretty close. Luckily squeals of laughter from the little ones jumping in joy at the thought of the upcoming holidays (already here) and of getting gifts from Santa and everyone else can just perk you up. Why the activities can even help to relax and restart the overworked brain! Since the fruits were not bought they didn't get macerated and the fruit cake simply cannot be made this year. That is when I remembered the cakes in a jar that we had sent out as gifts to family in the early years of our marriage. They were apparently a success unless the recipients were being polite out of love:-).

Those were the early years of food blogging. Google had not made its appearance, yet the truly initiated were already making their mark on the net. When my search for Christmas gifts yielded these pages (I am so glad I was able to find them intact again now, years later!) I was energized. Had a hard time finding the canning jars (also called mason jars) then but now I see them everywhere. In grocery stores as well as in Target. I made brownies and banana nut bread then but wanted to try something different and more Christmassy this time.

Yogurt And Brown Sugar Sponge Cake from cannelle et vanille

When one of my colleagues came back from a trip to France, we were all given the delightful French Macarons. Now, they are not the thick heavy macaroons  that we are used to but melt in your mouth angelic textured pieces of sheer delight!  cannelle et vanille was brought to my attention by the colleague as a good site for homemade french macarons with detailed instructions. The recipe index at the home page makes it very easy to navigate. The pictures are so awesome that I couldn't take my eyes off of the site for the longest time. I hope I will get to make those macarons some day (I hear Starbucks sells some in their stores) but didn't want to try this for the Christmas baking. The name of this recipe is what caught me and the 'yogurt and brown sugar cake' sans the ice cream  from there is what I made as it sounded yummy and doable. I just had to get muscavado sugar from amazon. Other than that I had all the ingredients. So made them in the jars and they were delicious and light as hoped.

In The Mix
pint sized canning jars/lids - 5 (used narrow mouthed for this cake)
shortening - 2 tbsp or as needed
check here for gram conversion

butter  - 170 grams/11.942 tbsp ( keep at room temp for some time before making the batter)
brown sugar - 150 grams/10.537 tbsp (to soften this, keep covered with a wet paper towel for a while)
granulated white sugar - 85 grams/5.971 tbsp
muscavado sugar - 50 grams / 3.512 tbsp
vanilla extract - 1 tsp
eggs - 2
yogurt - 180 grams/12.645 tbsp
all purpose flour - 180 grams/12.645 tbsp
baking powder - 4 grams/0.843 tsp
zest from 1 lemon

How To Do

Sterilize the jars and lids by boiling in water for about 15 minutes.
Take out the jars and let dry.

Spread melted shortening to cover the insides making sure to keep the lip clean.
Keep the lids in the warm water till you are ready to put them onto the jars.

 Preheat oven to 350C.

Beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and muscavado sugar together for about 2 minutes. If you find that the muscavado sugar does not completely get broken, this is just fine and even desired. Makes for a crunchy bite in the cake as the site suggests.  Add lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix well together. Add the eggs one at a time and then add the yogurt. Time to add the flour and baking powder. Both can be sifted together for a good mix.

Checkout my new digital scale. I had bought this for my HMom before she left last year and meant to get one for myself based on all the awesome reviews. Got it at last and it is all that and more. Love it.

Pour the batter to a little over half of the jars. Place on a cookie sheet to balance the jars and keep in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Insert a skewer in the center to see if done. Turn off the oven, but keep the jars inside.

Now that the jars are ready, take out the lids and screw tops and keep on a plate. No need for this to dry out. Take the jars out one at a time from the oven, place the lid onto the jar and screw on with reasonable tightness. Set aside for the jars to self seal. The heat and moisture will help with the sealing process. When the jars are completely cooled, press the center of the lids. If they don't move up or down, they are vacuum sealed. You will most likely hear a gentle popping sound when this happens.  If the lid moves up and down, then there is no seal and just use as you would a regular cake. The sealed cakes are perfect for mailing and have been known to keep fresh and moist for up to 6 months when stored in a cool, dark place. They never last this long anyway so I have not experienced the longevity personally. Can vouch for 3-4 weeks for sure.

Once cooled, decorate to your heart's content. You can make little notes and thread on a ribbon tied to the jar. Little pieces of fabric cut as 10" squares or circles will add to the festive look. This time we printed out little index cards and punched holes on them to thread. We had greetings from the 4 of us as well as a link to the original recipe site and the name of the cake on it. Lovingly homemade yet with a nice professional touch I'd say. If that is too much, just put a little circular festive label on the top with the cake's name handwritten on it. We tasted some ourselves a few days later and the cake stayed as fresh and moist as the day it was made!

For these type of narrow jars, use a knife to slice inside and slide out the pieces.

Apple Car....t A Fun Kitchen Activity With Kids

"Mom, Mom I want you to do the cutting." says my girl. She's been at it from the morning. I wave her away impatiently. "Later Molu, Mommy is busy". She is persistent yet yielding so Mom gets away without cutting anything. Later, when the two of us were all dressed to go out but waiting so we can open the door for the cleaning service, I could still see the unspoken request in her face. I give up and say, "Now is the time to do this cutting. Where and what do you want me to cut?" Little did I know that this oh so patient requester had a very specific task at heart  and knew exactly how to go about it!! The above picture is the result of our few minutes together in the kitchen. A lovely fruit snack that she observed in their baking class by volunteering Moms.

To make it, I was assigned to peel and cut carrots. Not to be cut long but as discs K? We don't have pear? No problem. Let us use those apples sitting in the fruit bowl. Now we need some cream cheese and with some colorful fruit loop cereal pieces we are all set. I still had no clue what it is all about. So I went about focused on  following the deftly thrown instructions from up there on the high stool.

Finally the apples were cut as specified and we glued the carrot discs to each side with cream cheese. Then it dawned on me that we are trying to make a fruit car here. Call me clueless, though I prefer guileless:-) Now I am totally on board and dutifully pasted on the carrots as well as the fruit loops. Let me put it into a recipe format here.

In The Mix

apple or pear - 1
carrots - 1
cream cheese - 2 tbsp or as needed
fruit loops or cheerios - 8 - 12 (fruit loops add color)
whipped cream - (optional)

How To Do

Most of it is as mentioned above. Cut 2 slices from the apple as seen in the picture. Dice the carrots into tire shapes. Glue 2 of these on to each side of the apple pieces. Glue the fruit loops over the carrots. If you glued some of those fruit loops to the top it will look like this.

Or try whipped cream AND fruit loop!

When we took that first bite of this quick snack I was taken aback to find it crunchy and tasty! I know, I know.  It is all the cream cheese. Yet all the additions went very well together! This is so simple, many of you probably are in on this but I am glad that my little one got me to see the possibilities by keeping after me. She made another set just for Dada & bro since they had gone out earlier.