Cake Pops for Mom!!

I made some cake pops using the strawberry cake recipe I shared in the previous post and they tasted like a heavenly experience, I highly recommend it. I also made a classic at home, chocolate cake pops... scrumptious and yummy too! I used pink and white chocolate colors, kept it simple but elegant to make these, special cake pops, for moms. I hope to inspire you to make some today or anytime soon.

I dedicated these cake pops to my mom and my three precious daughters. Thanks to them, I feel I am the happiest daughter / mom in the world. May the Lord continue to less them. I would also like to congratulate all my readers moms who celebrate Mother's Day today.

Make, Enjoy, Pin and Share :)

To make the pops no exact recipe, you can use any cake recipe and frosting of your preference.

What you need: 

Rice with Cod Fish/ Arroz con Bacalao

Today, I'm excited to share a long-awaited recipe: Arroz con bacalao, a delightful rice dish featuring codfish. This particular recipe, a type of "Locrios," has become a cherished favorite for both my husband and me. The key to this dish is finding a quality salted codfish fillet, which I recently discovered at my local supermarket. What sets this fillet apart is its lack of fishy odor during cooking, its exceptional taste, and its ease of preparation.

Receta de Locrio de Bacalao en español, aquí.

Before cooking, I recommend soaking the codfish fillet overnight and changing the water twice. This process effectively hydrates and desalinates the fish, ensuring a milder flavor and eliminating the need for rapid boiling to remove excess salt. By taking this step, we can avoid any overpowering fishy odors that may not be to everyone's liking.

This time I use jasmine rice, but you can use any rice of your choice. I hope you can prepare and enjoy this dish soon.

Arroz con Bacalao (Cod Fish Locrio) 

 Ingredients:
2 pounds cod fish fillet (1 kilo)
2 pounds of jasmine rice or regular rice
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons tomato paste or ½ cup tomato sauce
juice of one bitter orange or 2  Tablespoons vinegar
1 ½ Tablespoon crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

For Seasoning:
1 onion
1 green or red pepper
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 cube of chicken (optional)
1 envelope of seasoning with achiote (annatto) and saffron

Instructions:

1. Rinse cod fish fillets and allow them to soak in water overnight. Change the water twice during this soaking time. Before cooking, drain off the water, and cut the fillet into two-inch pieces.

2. In a food processor or blender mix the seasoning ingredients: onion, pepper, cilantro, chicken bouillon, and seasoning with achiote, process with little water to achieve desired puree consistency.

3. In a pot pour the oil, when hot, add the seasoning, tomato paste, and bitter orange juice. Bring to a boil, add the cod fish, cover, and cook for five minutes over low heat. After the five minutes have gone by, remove fish from the pot leaving as much sauce as possible in the pot. Reserve.

4. In the boiling cod sauce pour the garlic, bay leaf, rice, and enough water to almost cover it, about 6 cups of water, check for salt, and add ground black pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes stirring frequently to avoid rice sticking in the bottom of the pot. Cook until the water has reduced.

5. Add the reserved cod with sauce to rice, mix carefully so as not to disrupt the cod, and leave it as whole chunks if possible. Cover and continue to cook over low heat until the rice is thoroughly cooked, about 15 to 30 minutes, or until the rice is firm but fluffy and soft inside. Serve with a salad and/or fried ripe plantains (yellow ones) or fried plantains (tostones).

Yield: 8 Servings.

Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. - 1 Chronicles 22:13

Decorated Cookies: Blue Hearts with White Border

I recently made these beautifully decorated cookies for my daughters and nieces, and I must say, they are my favorite creations so far this year. The combination of my favorite color and the resemblance to jasperware, which I adore, make these cookies extra special to me. I am eager to continue practicing and perfecting the lace technique I used on the edges, and I plan to create more cookies like these in the future. With Mother's Day approaching, I believe these cookies would make lovely and thoughtful gifts to show appreciation and love.

Galletas Decoradas en español.

Below are the recipes for the cookie dough and icing I used to create these delightful cookies Blue Heart Decorated Cookies with White Border:

Sugar Cookie Dough: This easy-to-prepare and workable dough recipe is perfect for creating beautifully decorated cookies.

Royal Icing: This versatile icing is used to fill and make the edges of the cookies. For more information on how to make this recipe and the ideal consistency for decorating cookies, please refer to the instructions.

Adaptation: For the cookies I made, I used 1½ cups of powdered sugar and ¼ cup of granulated sugar, resulting in a perfectly textured cookie.

Tips for outlining and filling cookies:

When outlining and filling (flooding) cookies, it's best to work with only four to six cookies at a time. The number of cookies you handle should depend on how long it takes you to outline them. If you work slowly, outline only four at a time; if you work quickly, outline six cookies. Proceed to fill each cookie until it is completely covered. The filling can be done using tips #2, #3, or #4, depending on the consistency of the icing. For instance, when working a ¼ inch from the edge of the cookie and there is no need to be overly precise, I used tip #4 to outline and flood all the cookies at once.

If you have good control of getting the right consistency in royal icing, you can outline and flood with the same tip size. This is how I prefer to make my cookies to avoid the outline from showing on the final product.

The tips I used to fill are #4 for the blue and #00 for the white border. I think the cookies came out pretty cute besides great tasting.

You might be interested in the following recipes for cookie dough:

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Dough

Gingerbread Cookie Dough

Chocolate Chip Decorated Cookie Dough

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ~ Luke 6:45.