Jenna is a self taught, home cook with a passion for baking. She gets her culinary inspiration by travelling abroad, and learning new culinary techniques.
Make mini meatballs for your crostinis. Then top the crostini with a bit of tomato sauce, and place your mini meatball on top of it.
Serve them immediately, your guests will love to eat them warm.
12 Guacamole Crostini Cracker Recipe Ideas
Guacamole crostini crackers are one of the most popular appetizers you can make your guests.
Make your guacamole, and smear on the crostini using the back of a spoon. You can top the guacamole crostini with:
Cajun shrimp
Pistachios, fresh cilantro
Pineapple pieces
Salami
Caramelized mushrooms and fresh oregano leaves
Sliced radishes
Feta cheese and diced tomatoes
Halved cherry tomatoes
Smoked salmon
Fresh mozzarella
Prosciutto
Pomegranate seeds
If you don’t have the exact ingredients listed above, try mixing them up with your own flavors using different jellies, jams, cheeses, meat, and herbs.
You can come with a ton of different recipes on your own like you might love!
How to make thick salted caramel sauce for ice cream, topping desserts, macarons or in lattes.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Active Time5 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: topping
Yield: 2cups
Materials
1cupsugargranulated
1/2cupwater
1/4cupbutterunsalted
1/2cupheavy cream
1/2tbspvanilla extract
1tspsalt
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, place granulated sugar and water over medium heat. Let the sugar completely dissolve by stirring it with a whisk. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add butter and let the mixture boil by itself. Do not stir.
Let the mixture boil on low heat for 15-20 minutes until it becomes a golden-amber color. Let it thicken. Tilt the caramel in the saucepan to see if it's thick and caramelized.
Remove the pan from heat when it's finished thickening. Add the heavy cream very slowly. Let it stream into the saucepan and whisk vigorously. It will bubble and could splash on you. Be sure to stand back as you add it, and wear an oven mitt to protect yourself from potential splashes. Whisk until fully combined.
Add salt and vanilla extract. Let it cool to room temperature. Extra caramel sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
How do you make caramel from scratch
Making caramel from scratch involves cooking granulated sugar and water together in a saucepan for a couple of minutes. Then you add butter and let it cook until it turns an amber color. Let it thicken up, finish the caramel by adding heavy cream, vanilla extract and/or salt depending on which flavor of caramel you are making.
Which sugar is best for caramel
Granulated sugar is the best for making caramel because it caramelizes well, and it will turn light amber then golden-amber when it’s finished. The more you cook your caramel sauce the darker it will become. There is a thin edge between burnt and finished though, so be sure to watch your caramel sauce throughout the cooking process.
Why is salted caramel so good
Salted caramel combines the best of 2 competing flavors – saltiness and sugary. The mixture of the two creates a flavor so shocking that it melts in your mouth and gives your mouth this unbelievable taste of caramel like you’ve never had before.
How do you know when your caramel sauce is done
Your caramel sauce is done when the viscosity of your sauce is thick when you tilt your saucepan, and the color is golden to amber.
What flavor goes with caramel
Caramel goes with flavors like chocolate, apples, pears, vanilla, butterscotch, popcorn, cream cheese, pecans, and hazelnuts.
Do you stir sugar when making caramel
No, you do not stir sugar when making caramel. This will cause the sugar to crystallize creating clumps that you may not be able to get out of your caramel sauce. You’ll only be tilting the saucepan near the end of the cooking process to check the thickness of the caramel.
Why is salt added to caramel
Salt acts as a stabilizer so it preserves your caramel for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If you’re making salted caramel sauce, more salt is added than regular caramel sauce to give it a more salty & sugary taste.
How to make hazelnut sauce for ice cream, topping or filling cakes and pastries, or in your coffee.
Course: Dessert
Keyword: topping
Yield: 0.7cups
Materials
Roasted Hazelnut Praline Paste
35gwater
100gsugargranulated
100groasted hazelnutspeeled
saltpinch
Hazelnut Sauce
200ghazelnut praline paste
80gheavy cream
Instructions
Praline Paste
Roasted ~100 g of hazelnuts at 360 °F for 15 minutes. Let the nuts cool to room temperature. Remove the skins by rubbing the cooled down nuts in your hands until most of the skins have come off. Remove as much of the skins as possible off of the hazelnuts.
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar over low – medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and begins boiling. Stop stirring the saucepan and let it boil on its own. Turn down the heat and let it boil on low (1-2).
The sugar will go through transformations as it becomes caramel. The sugar will begin to form crystals and be completely dry in the saucepan.
The sugar crystals will begin to melt and become a golden brown color. When it's turning a bit darker of a color, it's time to take it off the heat. You don't want to burn the caramel sauce.
Get a baking pan ready with a silicone baking mat lining it. Once your caramel sauce is finished, remove it from heat. Mix the sauce to make the crystals melt all the way through if there's any left in the pot. Pour the hazelnuts and salt into your caramel sauce and mix until they are fully covered.
Pour the hazelnut and caramel sauce onto the silicone baking mat. Let it cool to room temperature, it will solidify.
Break the caramel into smaller pieces. Place them into a food processor. It will be LOUD. Prepare yourself! It's best to do this step with ear protection. Blend on low, then on high. Scrape the sides down and blend until it becomes a paste (a couple of minutes).
Hazelnut Sauce
Place your hazelnut paste (it should be about 200 g) into a heat proof bowl.
Heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it just before it comes to a boil.
Remove the cream from heat and pour into the hazelnut paste. Mix until full combined. Let it cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge for an hour until it thickens.
Store it in the fridge for 1 week or freeze and keep it for 1 month.
What is praline paste made of
Praline paste is made of caramel (sugar and water) and roasted hazelnuts, then it’s blended into a paste.
What does praline mean
Praline means to cover hazelnuts in caramel sauce.
Can you freeze praline paste
Yes, you can freeze praline paste and thaw it in a couple of hours at room temperature.
What to do with leftover praline paste
You can make a praline base for a cake by easily adding 60g praline paste, 35g melted dark chocolate, and 35g of rice krispies. Place the base in a springform pan using the back of a spoon to push it into place. Put it in the freezer for 1 hour to let it solidify.
Place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a spatula until it turns into a golden amber color.
Slowly stream the heavy cream into the saucepan and whisk vigorously. The caramel with bubble and potentially splash you. Be careful to stand back as you add the cream and stir until fully combined.
Add milk, salt and vanilla bean paste to the saucepan. Let it heat until just before it starts boiling (1-2 bubbles).
While you're waiting for your cream to heat up, in a separate large bowl, place egg yolks, egg and cornstarch. Whisk them together.
Temper the eggs by adding the hot cream VERY SLOWLY and whisking vigorously. Do not cook the eggs. Try adding just a small amount ~1 tbsp cream mixture at a time until you feel comfortable adding more. This way, you won't cook your eggs.
Place the egg/cream mixture back into the saucepan by straining it through a sieve into the saucepan. This will take out any pieces of egg that may have cooked, leaving you with a smooth mixture. Heat the mixture on medium heat.
Whisk the custard while it's heating. You'll know when it's thickened. It will be very difficult to stir the pot, you'll see how thick your custard is when you're stirring it. Once you're happy with the thickness, remove the saucepan from the heat. Add butter and mix until the butter is fully melted and combined into the custard.
Chill the custard by putting it in a fresh bowl and adding plastic wrap directly to the custard to prevent it from making a skin. Chill for 2-3 hours until cold. Then it's ready to use!
You can make mouthwatering, chef worthy sandwich platters for your next party.
Preparing sandwiches for a party should be done in the morning on the day of the party, so that they can stay as fresh as possible. The bread will become soggy if sandwiches are prepared the day before.
You can pick 3-4 different types of sandwiches so you’ll have a variety for guests to choose from.
It’s best to prepare 1 sandwich per person attending your party.
Each sandwich you prepare can be cut into 4 triangles, 3 rectangles, or 2 circles so they are individually portioned and small in size.
Using a variety of types of bread will give your guests an eye-catching sandwich platter. Try using mini buns, crostini’s, open faced sandwiches, or different types of bread together.
Sandwiches can be prepared on sour dough, French bread, croissants, pumpernickel, multigrain, whole wheat, rye, or white bread.
Softened cream cheese is beat together using a hand mixer with mayo, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, dill, chives, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Each side of bread is coated in herbed cream cheese, and then slices of cucumber are placed on top.
herbed cream cheese
cucumber slices
Pesto Mozzarella
Pesto mozzarella sandwiches are caprese sandwiches with a few added veggies.
You can use fresh mozzarella for this creamy sandwich, and fresh pesto spread on each side of bread to make this delicious sandwich.
Arugula is added to pesto mozzarella sandwiches for an earthy toned sandwich.
Pesto mozzarella sandwiches are best served on focaccia bread.
Chicken salad sandwiches are made by mixing together mayo, sour cream, parsley, green onions, tarragon, fresh dill weed, fresh lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
Chicken salad is spread onto the bread in a thick layer, along with a few cucumber slices.
Cubed chicken, raisins, and toasted sliced almonds are mixed into sour cream mixture to full coat the chicken to made the chicken salad base.
Another slice of bread is placed on top, and a toothpick is placed into the center of the sandwich to hold it together.
Assemble the sandwich by spreading a thin layer of herbed cream cheese on one slice of bread, and top with smoked salmon, red onions, alfalfa sprouts, fresh dill weed, capers, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
chicken
cucumber
raisins
toasted sliced almonds
mayo
sour cream
parsley
green onions
tarragon
fresh dill weed
fresh lemon juice
garlic powder
salt and pepper
Avocado and Cucumber
Avocado sandwiches can be served with garlic mayo, hummus, or balsamic reduction.
You can add a few greens such as red leaf lettuce or sprouts to your avocado sandwich.
garlic mayo or hummus
lettuce
sprouts
feta
cilantro
balsamic reduction
Tuna Salad
Tuna salad sandwiches are a favorite sandwich for many with its creamy and crunchy texture.
Tuna salad sandwiches are made by mixing together mayo, Dijon mustard, green relish, fresh lemon juice and pepper.
Add drained tuna and chopped celery to the mayo base and mix well.
Spread tuna salad on top of one slice and bread, and add the other piece of bread on top.
drained tuna
mayo
Dijon mustard
green relish
lemon juice
pepper
chopped celery
Jalapeno Havarti and Sundried Tomato
Jalapeno Havarti cheese sandwiches are spicy sandwiches made with chipotle mayo to give it a bit of a kick.
You can even add a few slices of pickled jalapenos in your sandwich if desired.
Jalapeno Havarti and sundried tomato sandwiches are best served on sourdough bread.
jalapeno Havarti
sundried tomatoes (julienned)
dill pickles (sliced thin)
sprouts
avocado slices
red onions
garlic mayo or chipotle mayo
Strawberry, Basil and Cream Cheese
Strawberry sandwiches have a light fruity flavor to them with a bit of earthy tones from the basil leaves.
Strawberry sandwiches are typically made on white bread.
Strawberry jam is spread over one slice of bread, and softened cream cheese is spread on the other side.
Strawberry slices are layered on top of the cream cheese slice of bread, along with a few fresh basil leaves.
The other slice of bread is placed on top, and is ready to serve.
You can use a cookie cutter to cut a heart out of one slice of bread, and have a strawberry poking through the window for an extra special treat for guests.
strawberry slices
basil leaves
cream cheese
strawberry jam
Mediterranean
Mediterranean sandwiches are filled with savory tzatziki sauce and feta cheese.
Mediterranean sandwiches are filled with juicy tomato and cucumber.
Feta and tzatziki sandwiches are best prepared on focaccia bread.
The best way to serve focaccia bread is by serving it with olive oil and balsamic reduction.
Appetizer
Slice focaccia bread widthwise making it about 2 cm in thickness for each slice using a serrated knife.
Arrange the sliced focaccia bread on a serving plate.
Take a large dinner plate or serving plate and place a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on it, so it covers the plate.
Add balsamic reduction to the olive oil sparingly. Do not mix.
Serve the sliced focaccia bread by dipping the bread in the olive oil and balsamic reduction mixture.
Enjoy!
Sandwich
Slice focaccia bread 1-2 cm in thickness using a serrated knife.
Toast focaccia bread for 2 min.
Remove focaccia bread from the toaster and add your condiments to each side of the bread.
Add in your meat, cheese, and vegetables.
Serve your focaccia bread sandwich with a toothpick pierced all the way through the sandwich so it stays together for you.
Enjoy!
Bruschetta
Dice 1 tomato into small cubes.
Add a tablespoon of diced onion. Be sure to make them very small.
Add 3-4 tablespoons of freshly made pesto.
Mix together the tomato, onion and pesto until it’s all combined.
Slice focaccia bread using a serrated knife into pieces that are ~1 cm in thickness.
Cut the focaccia bread in half so it’s in more of a serving size piece.
Top the focaccia bread with the tomato mixture.
Add a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese to the top of the tomato mixture.
Toast bruschetta for 2 min.
Place bruschetta on a serving plate.
Add a touch of balsamic reduction to the bruschetta.
Enjoy!
Using balsamic reduction for your appetizers is preferred over balsamic vinegar.
Balsamic reduction is more of a sweet and savory flavor, and has a thick viscosity to it, whereas balsamic vinegar is a bit harsh to eat on it’s own due to it’s acidity.
Balsamic vinegar is typically used in combination with other ingredients to bring down it’s harshness.
By using balsamic reduction you can use it as a garnish, dipping sauce, glaze, or salad dressing, due to it’s ease of taste. You can get a ton of different flavors including garlic, strawberry, peach, fig, raspberry, pomegranate, pear, etc.
High tea cookies are small, with a hint of citrus, herb, spiced or buttery flavors.
High tea cookies are light, crumbly, and melt in your mouth when you eat them alongside your hot tea.
What high tea cookies can you make for afternoon tea
macadamia nut white chocolate chip cookies
lemon shortbread
plain shortbread
lavender shortbread
earl grey shortbread
chai shortbread
cranberry orange almond shortbread
chocolate dipped shortbread
orange slice tea cookies
macarons
raspberry almond thumbprint cookies
sugar cookies
madeleines
oatmeal raisin cookies
peanut butter cookies
matcha cookies
How many different types of cookies should you bake for high tea
You only need 1-2 different types of cookies for high tea.
Depending on how many how many desserts your preparing, you can easily go with just 1 type of cookie.
Usually there is an array of desserts including 4-5 different types of desserts included in afternoon tea.
Cookies are only 1 of the desserts that you could serve for afternoon tea.
What other sweets are served with afternoon tea
Some other sweets that are served with afternoon tea are breads, muffins, crumpets, scones, pastries, bars, and cakes.
Where are high tea cookies placed on the serving platter
High tea cookies are placed on the top tier of a 3 tier serving platter. They are included in the sweets part of the high tea. The sweets portion of high tea is usually eaten last in high tea.
What should you wear when going for high tea
High tea in North America is semi-formal. Wear something nice, but not overdone. Consider wearing a long casual dress, dress pants, blouse, heels, boots, flats, or sandles.
How to host a high tea party
Set a date and send out your invites.
Gather china plates, tea cups, saucers, tea pots (several depending on number of teas you plan on serving), linen – tablecloth and napkins, serving platters – 3 tiers.
Decide on your menu.
Bake cookies, scones, breads, crumpets, cakes, etc. the day before your party.
Set your tables with tablecloths, napkins, side plates, salt and pepper shakers.
Create your sandwiches as close to the serving time as possible. Place in the refrigerator with cling wrap over them until you’re ready to serve them.
Boil the kettle or hot water right before your guests come over.
Place cream and sugar out for your guests.
Place all of the sandwiches on the bottom tier of your serving platter. Next, place breads, crumpets and scones on the second tier. Put your tea time sweets on the top tier.
Make tea for your guests.
Enjoy!
High tea cookies are a delight for your guests.
They should be made a bit on the smaller side so they are bite sized.
You don’t want to bake too big of cookies, otherwise they won’t fit on your platter.
Typically high tea cookies are small enough just to have a taste.
You don’t want your guests becoming too full on anything because there is an array of baked goods to eat.
Begin eating with the finger sandwiches, and pinwheels first on the bottom tier of your platter. You can drink your tea at any time when it’s brewed to your strength and liking.
How to serve afternoon tea
Serve your afternoon tea foods on a 3 tier platter. Your tea time sweets will go on the very top tier of the platter. Scones and breads will go on the second tier. Finally, tea time sandwiches will go on the bottom tier.
Serve your tea in an elegant tea pot with specialty tea cups if you have them. Typically tea cups will have a cup and saucer for the tea cup to sit on. Don’t forget to put out cream and sugar for your guests tea.
For your guests, have some china plates for them to eat off of. If you don’t have any, try a small side plate to catch any crumbs for your guest. You can include some salt and pepper shakers as well, just in case your guests need them.
How to eat afternoon tea
Next, eat the second tier. The second tier will be composed of scones, crumpets, and breads.
The final tier to eat will be the tea time sweets. The tea time sweets will consist of pastries, tarts, cookies, cakes, bars.
What do British people eat with their tea
Tea time is favorite tradition for British families. Afternoon tea is a staple in most English households. British people eat crumpets, scones, pastries, cakes, biscuits and finger sandwiches with their tea.
What is the history of high tea
The concept of afternoon tea was introduced back in the 1840’s when the Duchess of Bedford requested tea, bread, butter and cake usually around 9 pm.
After the Duchess introduced its concept, it became much more popular among the wealthy when they could display their best china and linen for their tea time.
More recently, it has become a specialty occasion for people in North America to go for high tea.
Pain au chocolat translated means bread of chocolate or chocolate bread.
Can you freeze Pain au Chocolat?
Before baking your pain au chocolat, you can prep them by rolling them out, adding chocolate, and rolling them up. Let them sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Now you can freeze your pain au chocolat. They will freeze well for up to 1 month. You can have your pain au chocolat frozen, and unthaw them when needed. Place your frozen pain au chocolat in the fridge to thaw. Once they are fully thawed, you’re ready to egg wash them and bake in the oven. Alternatively, you can freeze the croissant dough, and then unfreeze your dough and continue making your pain au chocolat.
How to make chocolate croissants with Nutella?
Chocolate croissants are made with croissant dough and semi-sweet chocolate for the center filling typically. You can use Nutella as a filling, but don’t be too heavy on the filling. If you overfill them, you’ll have a huge mess to clean on your baking pan.
Use Puff pastry, frozen croissant dough, or fresh croissant dough.
Roll out your dough until it’s about 1/2 cm in thickness.
Cut into pieces that are 2” x 5” rectangles.
Roll your pieces a bit thinner to stretch out the dough a bit more to lengthen it.
Fill one 2” edge of the dough with a heaping spoon of Nutella.
Roll the dough gently and place on a baking sheet with the seam down.
Let your chocolate croissant rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
Let your chocolate croissant rise for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Mix together 1 egg and a couple of tablespoons of milk.
Brush the egg mixture onto your pain au chocolat
Bake in the oven for your required time.
Remove once fully cooked and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Dust lightly with powdered sugar using a sifter.
Pain au Chocolat vs Croissant
Pain au Chocolat is the chocolate version of the croissant. Croissant dough uses butter to laminate the dough and have 81 layers of butter in total. Using croissant dough, the dough is rolled out until about 1/2 cm thick. Once it’s all rolled out, it’s cut into rectangular pieces. Then, it’s thinned and stretched a bit. Semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate pieces are added to the narrow end of the rectangle. The rectangle is rolled up, given an egg wash, and baked.
Pain au Chocolat vs Chocolatine
Pain au chocolat is actually the same as a chocolatine. Depending on which area you are in France, they will call the dessert a Pain au chocolat, or a chocolatine.
How to make vegetarian butternut squash curry with coconut milk
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Active Time30 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Keyword: dinner, vegetarian
Yield: 6Servings
Materials
2cupsbutternut squashcubed
1small oniondiced
1tbspolive oilextra virgin
1tbspgingergrated
2tbspred curry paste
1/2tbspyellow curry powder
1cancoconut milk
3/4cupchicken broth
2tspsugargranulated
2cupsfresh spinach
handfulcilantrochopped
handfulcashews
2cupsbasmati ricecooked
Instructions
Sauté onions over medium heat with olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add butternut squash and ginger. Stir to coat the mixture.
Add the red curry paste and yellow curry powder. Stir to coat all of the butternut squash. Cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Add chicken broth, coconut milk and sugar to the mixture. Simmer the squash on medium heat until it's fully cooked throughout ~15-20 min. Pierce with a fork to check doneness.
Finally, add the spinach and stir until it's wilted and combined in the sauce.
Remove the curry from the heat source. Serve curry over freshly cooked rice. Top with cilantro and cashews.
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