Super easy Tinto De Verano red wine popsicles made with your favorite red wine, lemon lime soda, and a homemade lime simple syrup. Delicious, boozy treats perfect for a grown-up summer.
Well, we made it. A whole month of nerdy recipes and Nerd Month is finally coming to a close with a show that is very dear to my black heart, Black Books .
Black Books (available on Hulu and Netflix) is an earlier effort from the creator of the IT Crowd (which also got the Nerd Month treatment in the form of Sea Parks Mashed Potatoes) . It’s just as funny but with slightly worse people.
Main character Bernard Black (possibly one of my favorite characters ever) is terrible, misanthropic, bitter, mean, and owns/lives above a book shop where he never seems to actually sell any books.
He is also quite fond of the drink and on one hot day, comes up with the best possible way of enjoying one.
Would that we all could be as brilliant as Bernard Black, (we can’t) but we can booze like him. Wine Lolly, anyone?
Coming up with these red wine popsicles was actually a ton of fun because I’m not a huge drinker of red wine and had no idea how to make it into a palatable popsicle. When I came across the Tinto De Verano cocktail, an easy mix of Spanish red wine and lime soda, I knew it would make the perfect summery popsicle.
I made a batch and while it was a good cocktail, the frozen popsicles were a little bland. So for round two, I added a lime simple syrup to the mix, and that did the trick.
You still have the deep richness of the red wine (use whatever type you like best), but the tartness of the lime and sugar sweet of the syrup make the popsicles so much tastier. If you are looking for a boozy frozen summer treat, it doesn’t get much better than this.
I think even Bernard Black would approve.
Going into summer without a popsicle mold? This is the one * I bought recently and am very happy with. The plastic base feels high quality and I’ve had no trouble with the lid catching on the sticks when you go to remove it, which seems to be a problem with a ton of models. I’ll report back next summer on the mold’s longevity, but so far, I love it!
Ingredients
Lime Simple Syrup*
- ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 cup filtered water
- ▢ Juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
Tinto De Verano
- ▢ 1 1/4 cups red wine
- ▢ 1 1/4 cups lemon-lime soda
Instructions
Lime Simple Syrup
- In a small pot, combine sugar and water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves completely.
- Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Set aside to cool slightly.
Mix
- In a large liquid measuring cup, combine wine and soda. Add cooled lime syrup and stir.
- Divide liquid between popsicle mold slots, leaving a little room at the top for popsicles to expand.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Run popsicle mold under warm water and gently remove popsicles. Wrap individually in wax paper and store in an air-tight container.
- Serve with a napkin and enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional Information
Smokey bacon and tart apples make this Dutch Apple Baby pancake the perfect breakfast for a lazy weekend morning.
We’ve reached the penultimate recipe for Nerd Month ( more on Nerd Month here ) and we’re doing one for Bob’s Burgers !
Bob’s Burgers is a bit of an odd duck. I resisted the show for the longest time because animated comedies (with the exception of Archer ) have historically not been my thing. But I kept hearing good things, so I finally watched the show when it came to Netflix and found that all the critical praise was completely valid.
This is one of the funniest, sweetest family sitcoms on television.
It’s not crass or crude like you might expect from an adult animated comedy (not a bad thing, just not usually my comedy jam). It’s a show about a struggling middle-class family full weirdos who love each other. There are great burger puns and the characters are some of the most relatable you’ll find on television .
Ummm, maybe a little too relatable, as the other day I realized that oldest daughter Tina’s frequent moan of distress is one I’ve made over things on this very blog many times…
Anyway, during their season four Christmas episode, the family takes a trip to a diner where everyone is just crazy over the diner’s Dutch Babies.
Fox via Tumblr
I had never even heard of the things before, so I was instantly intrigued. Fast forward to today, and I present to you a BACON Dutch Apple Baby.
Oh yeah. This baby got an bacon upgrade.
I’m so sorry for that pun.
(I’m not really that sorry.)
This recipe is for you heroes who insist on dipping your bacon in syrup to the disgust of everyone around you at the breakfast table. I’m one of you, I love you, and I think you are really going to like this recipe.
It’s a traditional Dutch Apple Baby with its classic custard base and tart apple filling made even better by replacing the butter in the recipe with bacon drippings and adding chopped bacon over the apples before pouring in the batter.
As you get that dramatic Dutch Baby puffing up of the pancake, the apples and especially the bacon rise with it, forming a slightly crisp top layer, so you end up with a breakfast dish that is savory and sweet and smokey, with tart apples and salty bacon in every bite.
It’s one of those recipes that you take a bite of it and go, Hmmm. That’s good. Then you take another and another and another and before you know it, it’s completely gone and you’re crying because you never want to eat anything but Bacon Dutch Apple Babies for the rest of your life.
Oh, and if that all sounds disgusting to you, you can totally just use butter, omit the bacon pieces, and eat your bacon on the side. It’s still delicious, and we can still be buddies (just not bacon buddies). 😉
This dish makes two really filling servings for big eaters, or three to four smaller servings.
Ingredients
Bacon & Cinnamon Apples
- ▢ 4 slices bacon
- ▢ 1 large Granny Smith apple
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25 g) granulated sugar divided
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- ▢ Butter*
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 38 g) brown sugar
Pancake Batter
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons ( 53 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/2 cup milk whole or 2%
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 large eggs
Instructions
Cook Bacon
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cook bacon (using your preferred method) until crisp. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-covered plate and reserve the grease.
Prepare the Apples
- Peel apple and cut it into 1/4-inch thick slices and cut the slices into thirds. Set aside.
- Combine 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar, the cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease into an 6x6-inch baking dish. All bacon is different, so if your bacon didn’t render enough grease, you can make up the difference with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and add apple slices, spreading them evenly over the brown sugar.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar mixture over the apples and place dish in the oven until apples are slightly cooked and mixture is bubbly at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Prepare the Batter
- While your apples cook, make the batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
- Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each. After the final egg, beat for 2 minutes, until mixture is foamy and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Chop bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Once apples are done, sprinkle bacon over the top and then pour in pancake batter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake has puffed up considerably and is golden and set in the center.
- The pancake will begin to deflate almost as soon as it comes out of the oven. This is completely normal. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a little maple syrup if desired and serve.
Notes
Nutritional Information Recipe Adapted From: TheKitchn
My favorite flaky, delicious buttermilk pie crust (made with a food processor). This is seriously the easiest pie dough you will ever make or work with!
Hey, it’s a Saturday. What’s a Baking Mischief recipe doing in your feed!? Welcome to Simple Saturdays!
I have a ton of foundation recipes or simple tips and tricks I have been wanting to add to the blog but just haven’t been able to fit into the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.
I’ve simply published a couple of them backdated in the feed so I can link to them in recipes, but adding another posting day to the schedule seemed like the best compromise to make sure they are seen (and can therefore be of use), so every other Saturday, we’ll have a simple recipe, trick, or maybe a round up I’ve been dying to do.
And if you have any requests for posts or something you would like to see, shoot me an email ! I want to post the things that are going to best help you!
Okay, table setting aside. On to the recipe: My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust! You’ve seen this recipe before. I used it for my Green Eggs and Ham Mini Quiche , my Easy Beef Pasties , and it will show up again in a recipe this Friday, but I know pie crust can be intimidating for a lot of people (it certainly was for me), so I wanted to do a step by step walk through.
I LOVE this pie crust for these reasons, in this order:
- It’s SO delicious and flaky. It’s an all butter crust, and nothing beats the rich taste of pure butter in pie crust.
- It’s incredibly easy to work with when rolling out and shaping.
- It’s the easiest thing in the world to make. Seriously. I have pictures to prove it.
This method uses a food processor. You CAN make this dough with a pastry cutter * and a bowl–that’s how I make most of my other pie crusts to ensure a nice and flaky finished product, but this dough produces such a flaky crust that making it in the food processor doesn’t seem to affect it at all. So for the convenience, if at all possible, I say use a food processor!
If you don’t own one, this is the food processor I have *, and I love it.
This recipe makes about 24 ounces of dough. That’s enough for two 9-inch crusts. A half batch will make a single 9-inch crust or two 6-inch pie crusts for mini pies. If you have a small food processor, I recommend making only a half batch at a time, as the 5-cup models will have trouble processing this amount of dough.
And now how to make the easiest buttermilk pie crust in the world:
Dump all the dry ingredients in your food processor.
Add chilled butter and pulse until butter is about the size of a pea.
Drizzle in buttermilk…
…and pulse until mixture just begins to clump together.
You know it’s done and has enough liquid if it holds its shape when pressed together.
Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of the mixture onto the wrap.
Press tightly into a disk (if you are going to make full, round crusts, make your disk as circular as possible since it will make rolling easier later–these were destined to become mini pie crusts so I didn’t bother) and repeat with the other half of the crumbs. Store in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to two days before using.
Roll out, shape, and make into something delicious like:
- Easy Dutch Apple Pie
- Game of Thrones Frey Pie
- Pie Crust Pizza Tarts
- Individual Chicken Pot Pies
- Mini Dutch Apple Galette
P.S. If you have any leftover scraps of pie dough, check out this post on What to Do With Leftover Pie Dough .
Ingredients
Full Batch (9-inch Double Crust)
- ▢ 1 cup ( 8 oz, 2 sticks) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- ▢ 2 1/2 cups ( 300 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 13 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 to 2/3 cup buttermilk*
Half Batch (9-inch Single Crust or 6-inch Double Crust)
- ▢ 8 tablespoons ( 4 oz, 1 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- ▢ 1 1/4 cups ( 150 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 to 1/3 cup buttermilk
Quarter Batch (6-inch Single Crust)
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- ▢ 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 75 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons buttermilk
Instructions
- Before you begin measuring everything out, place the cubed butter in the freezer to chill.
- Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, and pour into the food processor. Add butter and pulse until butter is cut into the flour, but still has visible chunks no larger than a pea.
- While pulsing, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the buttermilk (1/4 for half batch, 2 tablespoons for a quarter batch) and continue to pulse until the buttermilk is incorporated into the dough. At this point, your dough should look like rough crumbs and just hold its shape if squeezed together. If the dough does not, add a a little more buttermilk, a teaspoon at a time.
- Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of your dough crumbs onto the sheet. (If you are making only a single crust, do not divide dough.) Gather the edges and press tightly together to form a 1-inch thick disk. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 24.
Notes
Nutritional Information Recipe Adapted From: B.Britnell Make-ahead Instructions: This dough does very well when made ahead of time. Simply store as shown, in the refrigerator, and use within 48 hours or freeze. Freezer Instructions: Freeze plastic-wrapped dough in a freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months. To use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Tinto De Verano Red Wine Popsicles
Ingredients
Lime Simple Syrup*
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup filtered water
- Juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
Tinto De Verano
- 1 1/4 cups red wine
- 1 1/4 cups lemon-lime soda
Instructions
Lime Simple Syrup
- In a small pot, combine sugar and water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves completely.
- Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Set aside to cool slightly.
Mix
- In a large liquid measuring cup, combine wine and soda. Add cooled lime syrup and stir.
- Divide liquid between popsicle mold slots, leaving a little room at the top for popsicles to expand.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Run popsicle mold under warm water and gently remove popsicles. Wrap individually in wax paper and store in an air-tight container.
- Serve with a napkin and enjoy!
