Swirled Edible Bowls Food

CHURRO BOWLS

Steps:

• Bring the milk, butter, vanilla, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the dough comes together and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip. Invert two 6-cup muffin tins, spray generously with cooking spray and dust with some flour. Pipe the dough in a spiral to form a bowl around every other cup (you should have 3 bowls on one tin and 3 bowls on the other). Transfer the tins to the freezer and freeze until completely solid, about 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Mix the remaining sugar and the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Pour 3 inches of oil in a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pot and heat to 350 degrees F. Remove the bowls from the freezer and release them from the tins using a butter knife. Fry the bowls 3 at a time, making sure they sink to the bottom and fill up with oil when they rise, until nicely browned and crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip them over with a slotted spoon and fry the rim of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel-lined plate to catch the excess oil. Roll the bowls in the cinnamon-sugar while they are still warm. Return to the plate to cool. Heat the oil back to 350 degrees F and repeat with the remaining bowls. Serve warm with your choice of filling.

CHOCOLATE EASTER BOWLS

Steps:

• Cut out eight 8-inch circles of parchment paper. Line a baking sheet with the circles. Blow up 8 small balloons.
• Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over the simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and let the chocolate cool slightly. Dip a balloon into the chocolate so it covers the bottom and reaches 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides. Immediately place the balloon chocolate-side down onto one of the parchment circles. Repeat with the remaining balloons and chocolate. Let cool completely to set up, at least 1 hour. Pop the balloons with a pin and gently peel away any balloon pieces that adhere to the chocolate.
• Fill the chocolate bowls with the Coconut Easter Grass and decorate with Easter egg candies.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a mesh rack on top, if available.
• Put the coconut in a shallow bowl. While tossing with a large spoon, add the green and yellow food coloring drop by drop until the desired color is reached. A little more green than yellow makes a pretty grass color. Add a few tablespoons water to moisten the mixture and help disperse the color evenly. If the color is too dark, add additional water, as needed, to dilute to the desired color. Drain the coconut in a sieve or strainer.
• Spread the coconut in an even layer on the rack, or directly on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven until dry, 10 to 15 minutes. The coconut grass can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• Note: Food coloring can be messy and stain your skin. To prevent this, wear latex gloves. You can also tint the coconut in a large resealable plastic bag, shaking it to color the coconut evenly.

EDIBLE CHOCOLATE BOWL

Steps:

• Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Continue heating the chocolate for 10 seconds at a time until completely melted; be careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Let it cool slightly; the heat can pop the balloons.
• Blow up 2 latex balloons to 4 to 6 inches in diameter and tie. Carefully dip each balloon in the chocolate. Rotate and slightly tilt each balloon, allowing the chocolate to go up the sides. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate up the sides.
• Cool the balloons in the refrigerator tie-side down in a glass bowl or muffin tin for 5 minutes to set. Carefully snip the ties off with scissors to remove the balloons. The balloons should separate from the chocolate. If the balloons are still stuck to the chocolate, carefully peel off.
• If you'd like the bowls to sit flat for serving, add a dollop of melted chocolate, about 1/2 tablespoon, to the center of the bottom of the bowls and place on a piece of parchment paper. Let set in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

EDIBLE GIFT BOXES

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium, and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increase the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters themselves as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 4 even pieces (about 11 ounces). Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out into a square about 1/4-inch thick and chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, measure and cut 6 panels for a box: two 4- by 4-inch squares for the top and bottom, two 4- by 2-inch rectangles for the long sides and two 3 3/4- by 2-inch rectangles for the slightly shorter sides. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, cover and refrigerate. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. If you find you can't get all the box parts from a piece then gather the scraps, reroll and cut panels from that.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets on a cooling rack, about 30 minutes. Nice, straight sides make the boxes easier to assemble, so after cooling, use a fine kitchen rasp to file the edges until squared and straight.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Remove 2 cups to thicken and transfer the rest into an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed on to the surface of the icing.
• Thicken the royal icing: Thicken the 2 cups of the royal icing by beating in tablespoons of extra confectioners' sugar until the mixture is the consistency of caulk. Fit a pastry bag with a medium round tip and fill it with the thickened icing.
• Build the boxes: Put a 4- by 4-inch panel flat-side up on a work surface and pipe the thickened icing around the perimeter. Push a long edge of a 4- by 2-inch side panel into the icing on any side you'd like (make sure the golden top is facing out). You can use a can to help prop the panel up. Push the other 4- by 2-inch side panel directly opposite of the first. Now do the same with the remaining 3 3/4-inch by 2-inch side panels. Pipe more thickened royal icing up the 4 corners to help the side panels adhere to one another. Then pipe some around the top perimeter of the box. Let the boxes dry for 24 hours before adding the decorations.
• When dry, use a paring knife to trim off excess overflowing icing so the outside of the box has a clean finish.
• Decorate: Fit small round tips into piping bags. Divide the remaining royal icing into batches and color as desired. Fill bags with icing and pipe neat lines along the seams of the box first. Then go back and pipe little dots along the piped lines to create more interest. At this point, you can decorate the box and lid however you want. Do some pencil sketches on paper first to get an idea of what you might like. Then go for it.
• Let the icing dry thoroughly for at least 24 hours. Fill with treats of your choosing, tie with a ribbon and present.