Recipes
Cinnabutter Trail Mix
Calling all peanut butter lovers! This hodge-podge of textures is great recipe for you. It's salty, sweet, crunchy, and nutty - just what you want in a snack. What makes our trail mix so special is the peanut butter fudge mixture that brings it all together. To make it warm and fragrant we added our Cinnamon Toast Spice. It has all of our cinnamons plus a dash of nutmeg making every crunchy bite memorable. This is perfect for that weekend hike or for movie night. It also makes a great gift for your fellow peanut butter lover.
Learn moreCaribbean Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Pineapple upside down cake has been a cherished dessert for generations, with fond memories going back before the 1950's. We decided it was about time to give the recipe a bit of a facelift while still keeping true to the its roots. What we ended up with is a cake that's fruity, bold, and more flavorful than ever. A melody of allspice and bay leaves give this upside down cake a vibrant Caribbean flair, although the true star of the show here is long pepper. The pine cone-shaped spice is gingery and has notes of cardamom and black pepper. This flavor in the gooey caramel at the bottom layer of this cake is simply other-worldly. Buttery, fluffy, fruity, spicey — this is everything you'd want wrapped up in one drool-worthy dessert!
Learn moreGalaxy Pops
While ice pops are a classic, summertime staple; these are simply out of this world. They naturally get their starry night color from Butterfly Pea Flowers. This recipe was inspired by our Butterfly Pea Flower Horchata. Horchata is a Mexican rice milk beverage that is traditionally flavored with cinnamon. We made these pops a little richer using sweetened condensed milk to add creaminess. Additionally, we took some of the rice pudding base and pureed butterfly pea flowers that have a slight green tea flavor. A galaxy-like effect was created by pouring the creamy white horchata mix on top of the beautiful, deep blue, butterfly base. These pops easily freeze in Dixie cups as a mold. For the green Martian pops, we used some basil and lime juice. Treat yourself to one of each! They're sure to be the star of your hot summer day.To make this a completely vegan/dairy-free recipe, substitute cream of coconut for the sweetened condensed milk in the horchata mix.
Learn moreMayan Cocoa Frozen Custard
Frozen custard is luscious, silky, and decadent. When it melts, its creamy richness cools you off as you enjoy the explosion of chocolate flavor. In this recipe, we used our Mayan Cocoa which not only makes a tasty drinking chocolate but also a seasoned custard with warm spices like true cinnamon, allspice and ancho chile flake for a kick. To transport us to a chocoholic's paradise, we melted dark chocolate and swirled cherries into the custard to give brightness. Making ice cream is an experience, and this one will make you guilty of constantly taste testing. Give this base a quick spin in an ice cream machine and enjoy it with a sprinkle of toasted White Sesame Seed.
Learn moreGrandma's Lemon Wedges
You can never have too many lemon bar recipes, but this one is the only one that you need. This was my Grandma's recipe, and the stains on the recipe card are a testament to how often it's been made. Most lemon bars are made too sweet to cut the tartness of the lemon, but the addition of the glaze in this recipe balances out the sweet and tart lemon flavor perfectly. Sometimes I add poppy seeds to the shortbread crust or sprinkle sumac on top just for fun. These can be made in a square pan and cut into bars, but look pretty cut in wedges too. Make these and I'm sure that they will disappear as quickly as they always did in our home.
Learn moreButterfly Horchata
Aguas frescas vendors line parks in Mexico with their rainbow of brightly colored beverages. Of them all, horchata is my favorite. A creamy rice and almond blended brew with wisps of mild and exotic flavor from true cinnamon. Refreshing and sweet, horchata cuts the heat from popular Mexican street food and makes a perfect pitcher for any backyard BBQ. This season, we've given it a festive color boost with ice cubes made with butterfly pea flowers. Start a day ahead to make the ice and soak the ingredients for the horchata. The next day blend it up and you're good to go! As the ice cubes, melt they'll turn your horchata a sweet lavender color. True cinnamon might be thought of as more powerful or better than cassia cinnamon, which isn't the case. Of the two, cassia actually has stronger and spicier flavors whereas true cinnamon is more mild and less heat-forward. True cinnamon's soft bark makes it quick and easy to grind at home but also makes it more evanescent. Having fresh sticks and only grinding when need makes all the difference!
Learn moreRas El Hanout Cherry Pie
It pays to think outside the π because some unexpected combinations just work! Our house blended Ras El Hanout is a beautifully eccentric medley and it plays delightfully in fruit desserts. This rustic recipe doesn't require a pre-cook of the filling. Just toss the filling ingredients together ahead of time to allow the juice from the cherries to infuse with the Ras El Hanout, allowing the flavors to truly blossom. Vodka in the pie dough? Believe it or not, adding vodka helps the pie become more pliable and workable without becoming tougher. Unlike water, vodka doesn't encourage the formation of gluten so the crust stays flakey and light. As lovers of spice we've used a heavy hand on the flavor here, so enjoy!
Learn moreLimón-Chile Spiced Fruit
Our Limón-Chile seasoning deserved to be celebrated in its simplest form. With fruit! This seasoning goes great with summer flavors so taking advantage of fruit at its peak was a no brainer. This platter is full of color, flavors and texture. If you look closely at our Limón-Chile you’ll see the gradients of different shades of red peppers. It’s tart and salty making it a perfect compliment for sweet and juicy produce. We’re a long way from the streets of Mexico where you see venders pushing around fruit carts and showering the fruit with chiles and lime, but this platter is sure to add some spice to your fiesta.
Learn morePasilla Oaxaca Black Bean Dip
We know it's wrong to have a favorite child, but Pasilla Oaxaca reigns as our favorite chile. Don't tell the others. They are great in their own ways, but Pasilla Oaxaca has it all. Piquant and smoky, without being too much of either, these chiles can be used in soups and stews, sauces and more. If you've never used them, this dip is a fantastic introduction. Pasilla Oaxaca chiles are dried smoked chilaca peppers. They have more heat than their ancho pepper siblings, but less than chipotle, they are smoky and have a great depth of flavor. Just pop one of these in while the beans are cooking, then blend it all up for this creamy dip. Tasty hot or cold, this dip is delicious.
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