Sprinkle on the Love

 

February 2023 Issue
by Lindsay Gifford
Recipes, Photography and Information provided by Wilton Industries

“Life is better with sprinkles!” Who says that? I say that. If you’re looking for a smattering of happiness when you dive into dessert, just add sprinkles. Trying to dress up your next confection for a party? Just add sprinkles—colorful, fun-filled, happy sprinkles! This all coming from the adult(ish) who still makes her own birthday cheesecake dyed with a big colorful swirl! It’s a proven theory that food tastes better when it looks delicious, and making food awe-inspiring is the name of the game at one of the best-known decorating and bakeware companies in the U.S.—Wilton.

Their mission: “Inspiring the joy of baking and decorating in everyone, everywhere, every day!” Their incredible variety of decorating and baking supplies opens up a colorful world of imagination when it comes to the kitchen. The Wilton team of bakers has been empowering creativity since 1929, nearly 100 years. From milestone celebrations to Saturday morning baking with mom, the Wilton team strives to be your trusted guide, your secret ingredient, your Johnny-on-the-spot for tips, tricks and solutions to ignite your most creative self and help your baking shine.

From quality bakeware to curated decorating kits, Wilton’s products are designed to provide the tools you need to make baking and decorating fun and easy. No matter where you are in your baking skills, Wilton is here to help you bake your world happy.

Enter the extraordinary world of baking Wilton has created at www.wilton.com. You will be inspired by the large collection of recipes, decorating projects, how-to’s and reference guides. There is something for everyone—from beginner to advanced. So this year, whether you’re baking a sweet something for your Valentine, or celebrating “Galentine’s Day” with your girls, (I hope you’ll do both!) sprinkle on a little love with Wilton’s dazzling decorations.

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Easy Strawberry Pretzel Dessert
Servings: 12

Pretzel Layer:
2 cups Pretzels, finely crushed
1/4 cup (11/2 sticks) Butter, melted
3 Tbsps Sugar

Cream Cheese Layer:
2 pkgs (8 oz each) Cream cheese, softened
Pinch of salt
1 pkg (10 oz) Wilton Whipped Icing Mix

Strawberry Gelatin Layer:
1 pkg (3 oz) Strawberry flavored gelatin
16 oz fresh Strawberries, thinly sliced

Tools:
Decorating bag & 1M Tip

Pretzel Crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 13-inch pan with vegetable pan spray. In a large bowl, combine the pretzel crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Mix together until all the pretzel crumbs are coated with butter. Press the pretzel mixture into an even layer on the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let the crust cool completely in the pan before adding second layer.

Cream Cheese Layer: In a large bowl, prepare the whipped icing mix according to the package instructions. Measure out 2 cups prepared whipped icing and place in the refrigerator. (We’ll use this later to decorate.) In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Beat the remaining whipped icing into the cream cheese until fully combined. Spread the cream cheese layer evenly over cooled pretzel crust, taking care to spread completely to the edges of the pan. Place it in the refrigerator to chill while making the final layer.

Strawberry Layer: In a large bowl, prepare the strawberry gelatin mix according to speed set package directions. Stir the strawberry slices into the slightly thickened gelatin. Carefully pour the gelatin mixture over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours (overnight is best).

Decorate: Once the strawberry layer is set, you can decorate the top with the reserved whipped icing. Prepare a decorating bag with tip 1M and the reserved whipped icing. Pipe rosettes or stars on top of your dessert. If desired, top your rosettes with any remaining pretzels or strawberry slices. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Notes:
1) To store: This recipes is best enjoyed the day after it’s made. It will need at least 4 hours to set up, but longer is better. You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep crust from softening.

2) To prevent the gelatin from spreading, spread the cream cheese layer all the way to the crust’s edge. This should help prevent the gelatin from seeping into the crust.

3) If you can’t find fresh strawberries, you can use frozen strawberries. Just be sure to defrost and drain them first.

4) You can also add other fruits along with the strawberries to pump up the flavor. Try blueberries, peaches or raspberries!

5) For best crust results, use small, salted pretzels (either sticks or twists). Smaller pretzels are easier to crush and measure.

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Vegan Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Servings: 12 cupcakes

2/3 cup Almond milk
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 1/2 cups Cake flour, sifted
3/4 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Salt
Vegan spreadable butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Vegan egg
Lemon zest, finely grated
1/4 cup solid Vegetable shortening
2 cups Confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Rose Icing Color, 1 oz. (pink food coloring)

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners. In small bowl, combine 2/3 cup almond milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and allow to curdle. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, beat 5 tablespoons vegan buttery spread and granulated sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg substitute and 1 tablespoon zest; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating well after each addition. Divide batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan 5 minutes. Remove to cooling grid to cool completely.

Icing: In large bowl beat 1/4 cup vegan buttery spread, shortening, 11/2 teaspoons zest and 11/2 tablespoons juice with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. If icing appears dry, gradually add 2 tablespoons milk; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Tint icing with rose icing color, if desired.

 

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Blueberry Cookies with Lemon-Rosemary Glaze
Servings: 10 cookies

Cookies:
1 2/3 cups All-purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, softened
2/3 cup Light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Egg
2 Tbsps Milk
1 tsp Wilton Imitation Clear Vanilla Extract
1 cup Blueberries

Glaze:
1 cup Confectioners’ sugar
5 tsps fresh Lemon juice
1 tsp fresh Rosemary, minced
1/4 tsp fresh Lemon zest

Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cookie pans with parchment paper. In medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, and continue to beat until mixture is pale, about 1-2 more minutes. Add milk and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat until well-combined. Fold in blueberries. Dough will be very soft. Drop cookies by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared pan, leaving 3 inches between each. Flatten cookies slightly. Bake 17-19 minutes or until centers of cookies are semi-firm to the touch. Cool cookies on pan on cooling grid 2 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling grid; cool completely.

To Prepare Glaze: In medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, rosemary and lemon zest. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

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Vanilla Glazed Baked Cake Donuts
Servings: 12 donuts

Donuts:
2 cups Cake flour, sifted
3/4 cup Sugar
2 tsps Baking powder
1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsps Butter, melted
Non-stick vegetable pan spray

Glaze:
1 cup Confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsps Milk
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Decorations:
Red Sparkle Gel
Pink Sparkle Gel
Red Icing Pouch with Tips
Pink Icing Pouch with Tips
Red Jumbo Nonpareils
Pink Jumbo Nonpareils
White Sugar Pearls
6-Cell Nonpareils
6-Cell Jimmies
4-Cell Gold and White Sprinkles Mix
Gel Food Colors (Pink color used)

Tools:
2 (6-cavity) Donut Pans
Non-stick Cooling Rack

Bake Donuts: Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray donut pans with non-stick spray. In large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs and butter. Beat until just combined. Fill each pan cavity approximately 2/3 full. Bake 7-9 minutes or until the tops of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan 4-5 minutes before removing.

Make Glaze: In small bowl, stir together sugar, milk and vanilla extract until sugar is completely dissolved. Divide into three equal portions. Using Pink gel color, tint one portion light pink and one portion medium pink. Leave the remaining portion white.

Decorate Donuts: Dip donuts into white, light pink or medium pink glaze. Top as desired with red and pink sparkle gels, nonpareils, sugar pearls and jimmies. Using red and pink icing pouches, pipe stars and rosettes on donuts, as desired.

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No Bake Cookie Truffles
Servings: 3 dozen

1 pkg (14.3 oz) Chocolate sandwich cookies
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream cheese, softened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 pkg (12 oz each) Light Cocoa Candy
Melts, divided
Assorted Wilton sprinkles, for garnish
Parchment paper

Using a food processor, process sandwich cookies until they are fine crumbs. Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract, pulse until combined. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt 1 cup Candy Melts according to package directions. Pour melted candy into food processor with the cookie mixture; pulse until combined. Refrigerate mixture 30 minutes, or until firm enough to scoop and roll into balls. Scoop mixture into rounded tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. Arrange truffles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes or until very firm. In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt remaining light cocoa Candy Melts according to package directions. Dip cookie truffles in melted candy and place back on the parchment lined baking sheet. Immediately add sprinkles, if using. Store cookie truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator once candy is set.

Notes:
1) To make vanilla cookie truffles, use vanilla sandwich cookies in place of chocolate and White Candy Melts in place of Light Cocoa.
2) Wilton Jimmies Sprinkles can be mixed into the vanilla sandwich cookie filling for a fun surprise. After adding melted Candy Melts to the truffle filling, fold in 2 tablespoons of jimmies.

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Bourbon Bread Pudding with Boozy Caramel Sauce
Serves: 8-10

Bread Pudding:
1 1/4 cups Milk
1/4 cup Heavy whipping cream
5 Eggs
1/2 cup Light brown sugar, firmly-packed
3 Tbsps bourbon
2 tsps Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Pecans, chopped
12 large Croissants, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 18 cups cubed)

Sauce:
3-4 Tbsps Bourbon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Tbsps Heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup Light brown sugar, firmly-packed

Bread Pudding: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 9x13 inch pan with vegetable pan spray. In large bowl, whisk together milk, cream, eggs, brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla and salt. Add cubed croissants and pecans; toss until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sauce: In small saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter and bourbon. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Cook 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir in cream and salt. Serve sauce warm with bread pudding. 

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Shaggy Heart Valentine’s Day Cake

Favorite cake mix or recipe
Rose Icing Color
Christmas Red Icing Color
Orange Icing Color
Teal Icing Color
Sky Blue Icing Color
Violet Icing Color
Creamy White Decorator Icing – 4 lb. Tub (2 tubs needed)

Supplies:
13 in. Angled Spatula
9 in. Heart Pan
11 Disposable Decorating Bags
Large Cake Leveler
11 Specialty Decorating Tip 233

Bake Cake:
Prepare cake batter following recipe instructions. Bake and cool as one cake layer. While cooling, tint 3½ cups icing light pink using Rose icing color. Slice cake into 2 equal layers, using the cake leveler. Fill and crumb coat with light pink icing. Reserve remaining light pink icing.

Tint Icing:
Create color combinations using the following 11 color combinations with 1/2 cup of white icing.
1) Reserved Light Pink Icing
2) Dark Pink: Tint with Christmas Red and touch of Rose
3) Teal: Tint with Teal
4) Light Coral: Tint with Orange and Rose
5) Dark Coral: Tint with Orange and Rose
6) Light Blue: Tint with Sky Blue
7) Dark Blue: Tint with Sky Blue
8) Medium Pink: Tint with Rose
9) Light Purple: Tint with Violet
10) Dark Purple: Tint with Violet
12) Reserve Remaining White Icing

Decorating: Prepare 11 decorating bags, each with a 233 tip. Fill separately with each color. Cover the cake alternating colors, using pull-out grass technique. Squeeze bag to form grass. Pull up and away when icing strand is long enough (about 1/2 inch) stop pressure and pull tip away. Grass will be neatly formed only if you stop squeezing before you pull tip away. To see a video on this technique, visit the Pink Facebook page!

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Homemade Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Servings: 12 bars

Brownie Layer:
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
11/2 tsps Vanilla extract
1 tsp Red food coloring
1 tsp White vinegar
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 cup All-purpose flour
3/4 cup semi-sweet Chocolate chunks, divided

Cream Cheese Swirls:
1/4 cup Sugar
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream cheese, softened
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare 9 x 9 in. square pan with vegetable pan spray. Make brownie layer. Combine butter and 1/4 cup chocolate chunks into a medium bowl and heat for 30 second intervals until evenly melted. Stir between each interval. Add vegetable oil and 1 cup granulated sugar to the mixture and stir thoroughly. Now, add cocoa powder, 11/2 teaspoons vanilla, food coloring, vinegar and salt, stirring mixture after the addition of each separate ingredient. When ingredients are fully combined, alternately stir in eggs and flour, beginning and ending with flour. Next, fold in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chunks. Reserve 1/4 cup of the batter to use later for topping and pour remaining batter in the pan.

Make cheesecake mixture. In a separate bowl, beat softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Next, beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, then add 1 egg and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth. Combine brownie and cream cheese. Drop cream cheese mixture by 1/4 cupfuls on top of brownie mixture, then top with remaining brownie batter by tablespoon drops. Use a spatula to swirl batters together. Bake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool completely on a cooling grid before cutting.

Notes:
1) Make sure cream cheese is at room temperature. Using room temperature cream cheese blends better and creates a smoother cheesecake. If your cream cheese is too cold, it can lead to a lumpy cheesecake.

2) The amount of red food coloring can be reduced or left out completely. However, this will result in less of a red color to your red velvet cheesecake.