A&E, Around SCAD, Columns, Lifestyle, SCAD
A&E, Around SCAD, Columns, Lifestyle, SCAD

Dorm Dining: Studio Valentines Day Party

Written by Grace Baines

It’s February in Savannah which means everything must be dyed pink and chocolate flavored. Want to get in on the fun but find yourself too busy with midterms to actually go out? Luckily everyone in your studio probably feels the same way. So instead of planning a date, why not throw a “end of midterms/ too busy for holidays” studio party? A potluck feast tends to bring some life back into those tired students bodies. So deep breathes everyone, you’re almost done with midterms if you’re not already, and in the meantime here’s three sugary treats to chow down on to keep that creative buzz going.

Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients and Tools

  • 3 tablespoons of Butter
  • 4 cups of mini-marshmallows
  • 6 cups of Rice Krispies
  • Large Sauce Pan
  • Spatula
  • Brownie Tray and Baker’s Joy

Preparation

  1. In the saucepan, melt the butter over a simmering heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted and smooth. For fun colored treats add a little bit of food dye and stir until well mixed.
  2. While over low heat to keep the marshmallows soft, add rice krispies and stir until well mixed. Remove from heat.
  3. Grease Brownie tray with Bakers Joy and spread the rice krispy treats into the pan. Cool in fridge for two hours.

 

Nutella Cheesecake Filled Cookie Cups

Tools

  • Cupcake Tray
  • Bakers Joy
  • 3 Mixing Bowls
  • Large stirring spoons

Ingredients for the Cookie CupsDSCN0019

  • ¾ cup soft butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup baking cocoa (I recommend Hershey)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 ¾ tsp cornstarch

Ingredients for the Nutella Cheese Cake

  • 1 Package of Philadelphia Cream cheese (it’s easier to work with at room temp.)
  • 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾-1 cup Nutella
  • Optional fresh raspberries.

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
  2. Grease your cupcake tray and set off to the side.
  3. In one mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until smooth. Add the vanilla and egg and continue to cream.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda) together. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until you have the cookie dough.
  5. Make balls of dough about golf ball-sized. Press them into the cupcake tins and then work the dough up the sides so that you form a cup. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes.
  6. While the cups cook use the last mixing bowl to make the filling. Cream the creamed cheese, Nutella, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
  7. Check on your cookie cups, they have a bad habit of puffing into the middle. If they do, pull them out and use a fork to gently “de-poof” them back into their intended shape. Let them cook until it smells like chocolate heaven and they seem dry.
  8. Pull the cookie cups out of the oven and make sure you turn it off. Let them cool until they are safe to handle and then gently remove them from the tins.
  9. Using two spoons, fill the cups with the filling making a little pile above the top of the cup. Add optional raspberries to the top and refrigerate for a few hours.

 

Personal Apple Pies

Ingredients and Tools

  • 4 Sweet apples
  • 3 Sour Apples
  • Cookie Tray
  • 2 boxes of Pillsbury Premade Crusts
  • Cutting Board
  • Circle Cookie Cutter
  • Paring Knife

Preparation

  1. Begin preheating the oven to 350 F on the bake option. Make sure your oven is clean before heating to avoid cross-contamination on flavors and a potential fire. Move the racks of your oven to the lower 1/3 part.
  2. Wash the apples and remove the stickers. Core the apples and use the potato peeler to peel the skins off the apple.
  3. Cut the apple pieces into slices, the smaller the better. Pour them into your bowl.
  4. Combine the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and salt with the apples and stir until well mixed. Put off to the side.
  5. Unroll the crusts and create pairs. Using the cookie cutter, cut the same amount of circles in each pair. One grouping will be the tops of the crusts and the others will be the bottoms.
  6. Grease the cookie tray and place the bottoms on it, not touching.
  7. Using a spoon scoop about 1 ½ tablespoon of the filling into the middle of the crust.
  8. Cover with the top crust and press the edges together with a fork.
  9. Place the tray into the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes. The crust should be golden and flaky but not browned.
  10. Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
TOP