Signature Snack Calandar: American Flag Layer Cake
Creating “signature snacks” can be a fun way to get the kids to eat, spend time with your guests, and make an occasion quickly presentable. Serving snacks, finger foods, and small portioned foods can provide an assortment of quick and tasty options for big get-together's and featured events. Create a new family tradition with this snack calendar for your next holiday-inspired event.
January - Snowflake shaped cut out cookies, steaming hot cocoa served with small marshmallows and leftover holiday chocolates on display. Bear claws, hot donuts and steamy espresso coffee. Or cheese topped crab cakes, spinach filled filos, and stuffed mushrooms.
February - Heart shaped bread cutters for sandwiches and toast. Football shaped cookies with white lace icing. A dish full of sweetheart candies, red velvet cake, chocolate hearts, and pink frosted cupcakes.
March - Maple leaf cookies, lemon Meringue Pie, and maple sugar candy. Corned beef sliders, home baked carrot cake, blackberry tarts, and green food colored beer.
April - Bright pink, turquoise, and blue sugar cookies. Pastel food colored deviled eggs. Easter Bunny cake with jelly bean eyes. A colorful wicker basket full of hardboiled eggs. Platters of fresh vegetables and fruits, Hand spun cotton candy, and chicken salad sandwich squares.
May - Fresh baked banana bread, dandelion tea, floral frosted cupcakes, key lime pie, home made hot buffalo wings, chocolate covered bananas, and home grown peppers. Citrus flavored sherbert, push pops, and creamsicles.
June - Cornbread cupcakes for chili or stew night. Hot fudge sundaes, home made juice popsicles, spongy strawberry shortcake, and blueberry crumble cake. Steak, chicken, and vegetable kabobs. Fried potato chips and 7-layer nacho bean dip. Fresh squeezed pink lemonade, BBQ Brisket sliders, and fried dough.
July - Bright colored Jell-O molds, elephant ears or funnel cakes. Cheese, cracker, and meat trays. Cherry pie, fresh fruit flag cake, chilled dinner salads: (pasta, macaroni, potato, coleslaw), and corndogs on a stick. Tropical smoothies, fudge pops, or fruit filled slushies.
August - Grilled s’mores with milk chocolate and graham crackers. Caramel apples dressed with shaved nuts, fruit filled banana splits, and smoked corn on the cob. Chocolate peanut butter buckeyes, or peach cobbler and home made ice cream. BLT’s, dried apples, and incursion salad.
September - Fall themed chocolate candies: (reds, browns and oranges), dried fruits, apple rings, and vegetable chips. Zucchini bread, fresh canned apple butter, caramel-coated kettle corn, and lemon poppy seed muffins. Pepper relish for sandwiches and crackers, popcorn balls, and shelled peanuts.
October - Hot apple cider with dried cinnamon sticks for a straw. Chocolate dipped pretzels with liquorish legs shaped like a spider. Clear, plastic, popcorn filled gloves with a candy corn nail at the end of each finger. Cream cheese olive eye balls. Pumpkin roll, cupcakes, or pie.
November - Cooked pumpkin seeds, baked zucchini, and syrup-drizzled butternut squash. Candied apples, home made cinnamon apple sauce, and sauerkraut balls. Fresh baked apple pie, smoked deer sausage and cheese cubes, home made harvest oat bread, and Indian corn.
December - Gingerbread cookies frosted with red and green buttons. Dark chocolate covered pretzels, mason jars of candy canes wrapped with big bows and ribbon. White chocolate peppermint bark and lemon drop candies. Strings of popcorn and cranberries, and assorted nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans).
Here is a cute and presentable, holiday-inspired fresh fruit recipe:
American Flag Layer Cake
INGREDIENTS
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
1/3 Cup Butter
3 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Vanilla Cake:
2 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ Cups Sugar
½ Cup Butter
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 ¼ Cups Milk
3 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Ripe and Round Blueberries
10-12 Large Ripe Strawberries, Halved
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together until well combined. In a large, separate, mixing bowl add milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until completely blended. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and cream together on a low speed, or with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth. Pour batter, equally, into 2 greased 9 inch round cake pans, and place in preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minute or until a toothpick, dipped into the center of each cake, has no excessive moisture. Remove from oven and on to wire cooling racks. When completely cool, remove each cake from it’s pan and place one onto a cake holder or plate. Begin to frost only the top of this cake until even and smooth. Place second layer on top and frost all remaining parts. Using your fresh fruit, begin to form a design of a flag on top of entire cake. Place a square of blueberries spread evenly about ½ inch a part in the left hand corner (for American flag). Use halved strawberries, in stripes, across cake leaving about 1 inch in between horizontal stripes. Refrigerate after serving.
(About 8 Servings - About 8 Large Slices of a Double Layer Cake)
©Amorie Keys 2013 - "Honey I'm Home"
Photo Credit ©Amorie Keys 2013
January - Snowflake shaped cut out cookies, steaming hot cocoa served with small marshmallows and leftover holiday chocolates on display. Bear claws, hot donuts and steamy espresso coffee. Or cheese topped crab cakes, spinach filled filos, and stuffed mushrooms.
February - Heart shaped bread cutters for sandwiches and toast. Football shaped cookies with white lace icing. A dish full of sweetheart candies, red velvet cake, chocolate hearts, and pink frosted cupcakes.
March - Maple leaf cookies, lemon Meringue Pie, and maple sugar candy. Corned beef sliders, home baked carrot cake, blackberry tarts, and green food colored beer.
April - Bright pink, turquoise, and blue sugar cookies. Pastel food colored deviled eggs. Easter Bunny cake with jelly bean eyes. A colorful wicker basket full of hardboiled eggs. Platters of fresh vegetables and fruits, Hand spun cotton candy, and chicken salad sandwich squares.
May - Fresh baked banana bread, dandelion tea, floral frosted cupcakes, key lime pie, home made hot buffalo wings, chocolate covered bananas, and home grown peppers. Citrus flavored sherbert, push pops, and creamsicles.
June - Cornbread cupcakes for chili or stew night. Hot fudge sundaes, home made juice popsicles, spongy strawberry shortcake, and blueberry crumble cake. Steak, chicken, and vegetable kabobs. Fried potato chips and 7-layer nacho bean dip. Fresh squeezed pink lemonade, BBQ Brisket sliders, and fried dough.
July - Bright colored Jell-O molds, elephant ears or funnel cakes. Cheese, cracker, and meat trays. Cherry pie, fresh fruit flag cake, chilled dinner salads: (pasta, macaroni, potato, coleslaw), and corndogs on a stick. Tropical smoothies, fudge pops, or fruit filled slushies.
August - Grilled s’mores with milk chocolate and graham crackers. Caramel apples dressed with shaved nuts, fruit filled banana splits, and smoked corn on the cob. Chocolate peanut butter buckeyes, or peach cobbler and home made ice cream. BLT’s, dried apples, and incursion salad.
September - Fall themed chocolate candies: (reds, browns and oranges), dried fruits, apple rings, and vegetable chips. Zucchini bread, fresh canned apple butter, caramel-coated kettle corn, and lemon poppy seed muffins. Pepper relish for sandwiches and crackers, popcorn balls, and shelled peanuts.
October - Hot apple cider with dried cinnamon sticks for a straw. Chocolate dipped pretzels with liquorish legs shaped like a spider. Clear, plastic, popcorn filled gloves with a candy corn nail at the end of each finger. Cream cheese olive eye balls. Pumpkin roll, cupcakes, or pie.
November - Cooked pumpkin seeds, baked zucchini, and syrup-drizzled butternut squash. Candied apples, home made cinnamon apple sauce, and sauerkraut balls. Fresh baked apple pie, smoked deer sausage and cheese cubes, home made harvest oat bread, and Indian corn.
December - Gingerbread cookies frosted with red and green buttons. Dark chocolate covered pretzels, mason jars of candy canes wrapped with big bows and ribbon. White chocolate peppermint bark and lemon drop candies. Strings of popcorn and cranberries, and assorted nuts (pistachios, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans).
Here is a cute and presentable, holiday-inspired fresh fruit recipe:
American Flag Layer Cake
INGREDIENTS
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
1/3 Cup Butter
3 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Vanilla Cake:
2 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ Cups Sugar
½ Cup Butter
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 ¼ Cups Milk
3 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Ripe and Round Blueberries
10-12 Large Ripe Strawberries, Halved
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together until well combined. In a large, separate, mixing bowl add milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until completely blended. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and cream together on a low speed, or with a wooden spoon until thick and smooth. Pour batter, equally, into 2 greased 9 inch round cake pans, and place in preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minute or until a toothpick, dipped into the center of each cake, has no excessive moisture. Remove from oven and on to wire cooling racks. When completely cool, remove each cake from it’s pan and place one onto a cake holder or plate. Begin to frost only the top of this cake until even and smooth. Place second layer on top and frost all remaining parts. Using your fresh fruit, begin to form a design of a flag on top of entire cake. Place a square of blueberries spread evenly about ½ inch a part in the left hand corner (for American flag). Use halved strawberries, in stripes, across cake leaving about 1 inch in between horizontal stripes. Refrigerate after serving.
(About 8 Servings - About 8 Large Slices of a Double Layer Cake)
©Amorie Keys 2013 - "Honey I'm Home"
Photo Credit ©Amorie Keys 2013
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