For tea lovers, when it comes to enjoying a fresh tea, honey is one of the most common methods to sweeten your steaming cup of beverage bliss. However, the sticky sweetness is a magnet for messiness, which is why there are plenty of gadgets, kitchen tools, and decorative items that have evolved over the years for tea drinkers. If you’re unfamiliar with all that is available to you, consider the following ways to sweeten your tea with honey.

Honey Pots with Stirrers

When you’re entertaining family and friends with biscuits and a spot of tea, possessing a small honey pot with stirrer comes in handy. Honey pots not only cut down on the amount of mess made, but also add a decorative touch to your teatime spread. Oftentimes, these convenient containers are in the shape of a beehive, but not always. Creative honey pot designers have included Winnie the Pooh, Dutch windmills, and Easter eggs shapes.

Shatterproof Containers

If you’d like to lessen your chances of having a sticky mishap during teatime, avoid honey containers made out of glass and opt for shatterproof vessels. For example, Granja San Francisco Honey comes in a shatterproof beehive-shaped container, which conveniently pours from the bottom – no drips or leftover stickiness. This particular brand of premium honey is made and packaged in Spain. The bottle shown is of Granja San Francisco Rosemary and Lavender Honey, which has the added flavors of rosemary and lavender nectars.

Honey Sticks

Forgo the honey pot and the stirrer for honey sticks – perfect for individual use. Simply open the straw and stir the honey into your cup of tea. Today, honey sticks also come in a variety of flavors, including peach, amaretto, cinnamon, lemon, and mint. The compact size of the honey stick also makes an excellent travel companion for when you need an on-the-go sweetener.

Easy-to-Pour Bottles

Usually made out of plastic, choose easy-to-pour bottles that use a squeeze or squirt action to deliver a blast of honey to your cups of tea.

Honey Spoons

When you’d like the honey to simply drip or ooze into your cup, a honey spoon offers a unique (crooked) design comprised of stainless steel that balances on the edge of your teacup. There is another type of honey spoon to consider, as seen in the Tupelo Honey Flavoring Spoons – comprised of pure sweet honey that dissolves in about one minute from the end of a wooden stick.

Honey Dippers

Generally made out of wood and shaped like a beehive at the end of a long stick, a honey dipper is an inexpensive way to easily transfer honey from a jar to a cup. Some selections have been known to cost only $1.99.

Rice Krispies Squares are one of those classic desserts that simply never gets old. Whenever a batch of these delicious marshmallow inspired treats hits the table, people of all ages go positively wild. And the best part is, they only take a moment or two to make!

Courtesy of Michael Kwan

The Things You’ll Need:

3 tablespoons of butter (melted)

6 cups of Rice Krispies®

4 cups of small marshmallows

The Steps to Prep:

1. Melt the butter.
2. Stir in marshmallows until they too are melted.
3. Stir in the cereal until it is completely covered with a thin layer of the marshmallow mixture.
4. Line a pan with waxed paper and cover with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Spread mixture into pan and flatten.
6. Leave to cool, then cut into whatever shape you want (typically…squares!)

This recipe is amazingly easy to modify as well.  Add in chocolate chips, dried fruit, coat with chocolate, or drizzle with icing for something different.

Great for picnics, wonderful for birthday parties, the Rice Krispies Square is sure to have your back at all times.

Note: RICE KRISPIES TREATS® is a registered trademark of Kellogg NA Co. for cereal-based snack food.

April 23-25, 2010 

photo courtesy of bitzcelt

The festival will be held at Lakeside Park at 631 Sycamore St. in downtown Celebration. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, April 24; noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, April 25. Admission to the festival is free, with tickets for the Never-Ending Pie Buffet priced at ($10 adults, $5 ages 65 and up, and $5 ages 6-12.)

A national pastime will attract national attention as contestants from across North America sift through their most treasured recipes in hope of finding one that leads to an award-winning pie. Perhaps it’s a family favorite that’s won praise for generations or a new creation that’s pleased a friend, but dedicated pie makers — from contestants with decades of blue ribbons to a new generation who are warmed up and ready to enter the competition — will be rolling out fresh dough and carefully measuring ingredients as they prepare for the three-day APC/ Crisco® 2010 National Pie Championships® April 23-25.

The competition heats up at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate as Commercial, Professional, Amateur and Junior Chef pie makers test their tasty creations in a variety of categories.   Last year, more than 170 judges graded pies created by 138 bakers who entered 465 commercial, 130 professional and 266 amateur pies.   Emile Henry USA, makers of the finest quality ceramic bake ware and gourmet cooking products, has returned for 2010 as the “Official Pie Dish” of the National Pie Championships.   Each junior, amateur and professional competitor receives an Emile Henry ceramic pie dish, valued at $45 each.   For 2010, Best of Show winners in the amateur and professional divisions will each win $5,000, a new Sears Kenmore range and a Crisco® gift basket, while the top winner in the Junior Chef division receive a $2000 Crisco college scholarship and a Crisco® gift basket.  First place ribbons and bragging rights will be awarded to Commercial Division winners.

To enter, APC members pay $15 per pie entry for amateurs and $20 per pie entry for professionals.  Non-members pay $35 per pie entry for either category.  Junior entries are free.

This year’s contestants will whip, puree and roll their way to victory in a wide range of categories: Amateurs are judged in 15 categories including Apple, Citrus, Crisco® Classic Cherry, Crisco® Classic Chocolate, Cream, Cream Cheese, Custard, Fruit/Berry, Nut, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, Open, Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board, Splenda, and Sweet Potato. First place winners in each category receive $200 cash and a Crisco® gift basket, second place winners receive $150 cash and third place winners take home $100 cash.

Professional bakers enter pies in nine categories: Apple, Citrus, Crisco® Classic Chocolate, Crisco® Classic Cherry, Fruit/Berry, Cream, Nut and Open and new for the 2010 competition — Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board.  First place winners in each category receive $200 cash and a Crisco gift basket.

Junior Chefs who are in high school and between the ages 14 to 17 can test their pie-making skills with entries in Apple, Cream, Fruit/Berry or Open categories.  Three first place winners will receive a $100 gift certificate to Emile Henry USA, a $100 gift certificate to Cuisipro USA, a source for popular professional chef tools, as well as a Crisco® gift basket.

Commercial bakers competed in categories including Apple, Blueberry, Fruit/Berry, Open Cream, Citrus, Open, Nut and Chocolate, and Raisin, sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board.

The APC is now accepting registrations for the upcoming championships. Participants are encouraged to join the American Pie Council prior to registration in order to receive discounted entry fees.

Ten minutes from Celebration, the host hotel Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate is offering a special $129 per night room rate for those attending or participating in the pie championship or pie festival. To book the American Pie Council special rate, call 800-843-6664 and identify yourself as associated with the APC.  For more information, visit the Front Porch Celebration Community Web Site at www.celebration.fl.us; or the American Pie Council®, www.piecouncil.org

Crisco®  is a registered trademark of The J. M. Smucker Company.  For more information, visit www.crisco.com.

The American Pie Council® is the only organization committed to maintaining America’s pie heritage, passing on the tradition of pie-making and promoting America’s love affair with pie. The APC offers personal, professional and commercial memberships. For more information, please visit www.piecouncil.org.

As one of the most popular beverages in the world, tea comes in a variety of flavors and origins – from soothing chamomile to the antioxidant power of green tea. What many people don’t know is that cooking with tea is not a new concept. In fact, the ancient Chinese stuffed fish with dried pungent oolong leaves before steaming, boiled eggs with tea leaf water, and added tea leaves to their fires when smoking duck. If you’re looking for creative ways to incorporate tea into the way you prepare food, consider the following suggestions:

As a Dessert

From shortbread cookies to tea biscuits, green tea has found a place in many recipes for desserts. For instance, green tea powder (called matcha) is an ingredient used in a range of Japanese-style sweets. Some bakers and chocolate makers will incorporate green tea into their recipes. One example is the Organic Chocolate Green Tea Bar – filled with a creamy green tea center and wrapped in a blanket of dark chocolate. Other ways to use tea as a dessert ingredient includes Earl Grey Muffins, Spiced Chai Cookies, and Green Tea Sorbet.

As a Marinade

Leftover tea makes a decent marinade for dishes with meat. Marinade your chicken breasts with tea possessing a distinct flavor, such as Earl Grey, to create an aromatic dish. Some vegetarians have even marinated their tofu in tea before serving. It’s also suggested to explore the aromatic distinction of East Indian teas, which offer hints of cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and lemongrass.

As a Meat Tenderizer

Avoid tough cuts of meat by using tea as a tenderizer. Experiment with different flavors, such as rooibos tea – also known as ‘red’ tea.

As a Spicy Rub or Coating

If you grind tea leaves (such as oolong) in a pepper mill and combine with white pepper, you can create a savory rub for pork chops and steak – perfect for enhancing Asian-style dishes. Coat your meat, fish, or poultry with dried tea leaves to create a crunchy texture and appealing flavor. Poultry and seafood usually respond well to smoked teas.

As a Rice Enhancer

Don’t have aromatic rice to serve as a side dish? Create your own by adding a bit of tea (like Jasmine) to create varying levels of flavor and fragrances. Since tea is an edible leaf, you may also add to rice to produce interesting dishes. For example, some teas possess an earthy taste comparable to spinach.

There can be no more flavourful combination worthy of tickling your taste-buds than the classic pairing of peanut butter and chocolate. It is, in a word, perfection, and the very thought of such a wonderful partnership is enough to make your mouth water with anticipation.

So how can we get this delightful culinary treat on the go, short of grabbing a spoonful of peanut butter, slathering it in chocolate sauce and running out the door? Why, with the compactness of a cookie of course! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies – the salvation of any desperate sweet tooth. This handy little recipe, compliments of Easy-Cookies.com.

The Things You’ll Need:

Courtesy of SanFranAnnie

1/2 cup butter (softened or melted)
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup peanut butter (the creamier, the better)
2 eggs and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (but nobody will scold you if you throw in a bit extra)

The Things You’ll Need to Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Mix together butter, both sugars, salt and peanut butter (mmm!)
3. Add in the eggs (beaten), vanilla, flour and baking soda.
4. (The best part!) Add in the chocolate chips.
5. Roll the dough into generous dollops and place onto a greased cookie sheet, making sure to space them evenly apart.
6. Flatten, either with the palm of your hand, a spoon, or the bottom of a glass.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Hey presto! Allow to cool, and you’re done!  Easy as pie, but delicious like a cookie!

Last night, the winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest was revealed on The Oprah Show. Sue Compton is taking home the Grand Prize of $1 MILLION! Congratulations, Ms. Compton! Now, let’s see the recipe!

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

photo courtesy of pillsbury.com

INGREDIENTS
- 1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1/3 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Hershey’s® semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
- 1/4 cup Smucker’s® Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
- 1 1/2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
- 24 fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool completely in pan, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth.

4. Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides.

5. In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.

6. Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry. Store in freezer; let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Makes: 24 tartlets
Prep. Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes.