Bites from other Blogs

The first week in May is marked by two occasions for celebration, the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo. Both events have their own traditions and plenty of food associated with them. Here is just a small sampling of ideas to kick off your own Derby or Cinco de Mayo planning:

• You can kick off race day with some Kentucky Derby horse head cookies, thanks to Bake at 350‘s cookie tutorial. The cute cookies are frosted with royal icing and look almost too good to eat! They’re a lot of fun to decorate, too, and if you are a serious race fan you might just want to check out the official Kentucky Derby site to see what all the entered horses look like so that you can customize you cookies to match your top picks.
• Mint Juleps are cocktails made with bourbon, simple syrup and mint that are a Derby tradition and have been for decades. Lemons for Lulu took those flavors and turned them in to Mint Julep Fudge, a chocolaty treat that would fit in at any Derby viewing party. The indulgent fudge is actually made with mint baking chips – a chopped up version of the chocolate after-dinner mint you might have gotten in restaurants as a kid – which gives the candy a terrific base mint flavor. It is spiked with just a splash of bourbon to give it a subtle kick.
• Melanie Makes‘ Key Lime Curd Stuffed Corona Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream are a mouthful both to name and to eat, as there are quite a few components to these cupcakes! The buttery cupcakes are made with a generous amount of Corona beer, which is an ingredient perfect for Cinco de Mayo celebrations that you don’t find in cupcakes very often. You get just enough beer flavor to compliment the tart lime curd filling. It is topped off with a fluffy coconut buttercream that adds a tropical flavor and makes the cupcake feel like it is perfect for enjoying poolside.
• Milkshakes are always an easy dessert to whip up when you want something sweet and cool, and Half Baked Harvest blended up a batch of Churro Milkshakes with Dulce de Leche that are sure to hit the spot for Cinco de Mayo. The milkshakes start with a vanilla ice cream base to which whole churros are added. Churros – and you can start with homemade churros or storebought churros for this recipe – blend surprisingly well and add a flavor that you can’t quite capture by adding cinnamon alone. The milkshakes also have vanilla, rum and dulce de leche incorporated into them. Serve these with a side of crispy churros for dipping.