A Tasty Halloween Recipe With Torani

Halloween is just around the corner and preparations should be in full swing.  Torani syrup can make it more special by making them a part of your delicious party foods like sugar cookies shaped like tombstones flavored with gingerbread syrup, or cupcakes with raspberry syrup topped with red colored butter cream.  You can also try out this easy Vanilla Ice Pop which you can dye with red food coloring for that Halloween feel.

credits: Simple Suppers

Fruity Vanilla Yogurt Ice Pops with Torani Syrup

1 cup plain yogurt

2 -3 tsp Vanilla Torani syrup (can use the sugar-free variety)

½ cup fruit of choice, sliced (can use strawberry or raspberry to give it a reddish tint)

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Pulse until the fruit is chopped up to your liking or just whiz everything to make it like a smoothie. The size of the fruit on your ice pop will depend on how much you pulse it.  You may like your smoothie chunky or smooth.  Another option is to add sliced fruit pieces at after blending it smooth so you will get pieces of fruit in you ice pop.

To make it look more like Halloween food, you can add a few drops of red food coloring to deepen the red color from the strawberry or the raspberry.  You can tell your kids that these are bloody yogurt pops for additional scary points.

Pour the blended mixture into ice pop molds and freeze.  You can look for Halloween-themed ice pops for a more thematic food presentation which the kids will enjoy for sure. Just remember that when your want your Halloween menu to be a hit, here are some suggestions:

• Go for colors that are closely related to Halloween.

Igf you want insteant visual appeal for your treats, go for orange, yellow, red, and black – those colors are related to Halloween more than any other colors!

• Make sure your menu includes a lot of sweets.

Halloween is the time for a lot of people (even adults to indulge in their sweet tooth. It doesn’t mean that you can only go with candy to give away for trick or treaters, though. There are cakes, donuts, ice cream, and other sweet concoctions you might want to explore.

• Know who’s eating your food.

If you are preparing for a party with lots of adults, then you may want to add more “solid” elements to your menu, not only candies and sweets. Of course, when there are more children involved, you need to up the ante when it comes to preparing anything sugary, or you might have a disappointed crowd.

• Make your menu fun!

But in the end, it really doesn’t matter if you have an adult crowd or kiddie guests waiting to try your Halloween treats. What’s more important is that you need to inject a lot of fun in your preparations. Halloween is one of those quirky holidays when everyone is allowed to let their hair down and act all in the spirit of fun. So, you don’t need to be all serious. Just go with the flow and all out, and anyone will surely enjoy the food you prepared with Torani syrups!

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Vanilla's Not That Vanilla

Vanilla is one of the more popular flavors when it comes to syrups that are being added to coffee.  We usually hear about it being added to desserts like cakes and pastries.  It’s sweet flavor and scent is the perfect ingredient in this type of cuisine because it enhances that sweetness and the smell of the food. It is common to see Vanilla Torani syrups in coffee shops as it makes their sweet coffee-based concoctions even sweeter.

Most people do not know what a vanilla exactly is.  For them it is a kind of a flavor that is usually white in color and comes in bottles.  For most of us, we associate vanilla with being bland and boring, so much so that we describe someone who is not that exciting as “vanilla.” The immaculately white flavor of things like vanilla ice cream leads us to believe that since it doesn’t have an attention grabbing color, and its flavor is more on the tame side, anything that’s playing on the safe side is vanilla – from the goody-two-shoes friend to the yawn-inducing décor of a minimalist place, for example. But then, vanilla can also be unique in its delicateness, something that is not amiss among the millions of vanilla lovers all over the world. 

credits: Mobile Cuisine

Nowadays, bakers, even the home-based ones, are becoming more aware of the difference in flavor that comes from the real vanilla bean. Vanilla actually comes from an orchid with the genus Vanilla.  It usually comes from the tropical parts of the world where the weather is conducive for the orchid to bear flowers. Popular places where this can be found are Mexico, Tahiti, Madagascar and in Central and South America.   The fruits are dried and this is where the flavors can be extracted.  One recipe that is famous is Vanilla latté wherein milk is added to espresso and a few pumps of vanilla syrup are added to flavor it.

Other famous recipes are not complete without vanilla are Crème Patisserie or Pastry cream as well as pound cakes.  Here is a step-by-step recipe in making Crème Patisserie:

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups milk

3 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

1/8 cup flour

2 tbsp and 2 tsp cornstarch

2 shots Torani syrup

First, warm the milk over low heat, but only up to the point that it is hot to steam. While waiting for the milk, mix egg yolks, cornstarch, flour, and sugar until you get a smooth mixture.

Add half of the "steaming" milk to the mixture while still whisking it. Then, combine the mixture to the remaining milk in the saucepan, keep on stirring for a couple of minutes until the temperature reads 170F and the consistency is thick.  After removing from heat, add the Torani syrup and chill before using it to fill empty pastry. 

These recipes derive its sweetness and scent from the vanilla syrup.  Adding Vanilla Torani syrup would certainly make these more special. Now, do you still think vanilla’s that boring? Vanilla can be fun and exciting after all!

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Squash It for Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner and for sure, parents are already getting stressed on what costume to get for their kid’s annual trick or treat fair.  For those who do not have kids yet, they are stressing out over the Halloween party that they are organizing.  The great news is that drinks would not be a problem as Torani syrup is there to help out in making it more special.

Halloween preparations can be quite stressful especially when you are not so sure on what to do and where to get the much needed supplies. First things first:  aside from the spooky stuff, Halloween is often associated with pumpkin and squash, not just for making jack o’ lanterns but also for the food and drinks.  It is during this time that we get our fill of pumpkin pies, mashed pumpkins, pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin and all kinds of drinks with pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice syrup.  Instead of laboring over the stove for hours, you can get help from flavorings like syrups to make your pumpkin or squash-based food and drinks more flavorful.

Credits: Chicago Now

Torani has several flavors of syrups that you can get to help out in your Halloween preparations.  First up is the pumpkin spice syrup which can be added to coffee or your pumpkin pie.  It can also be added to crème brulee to go with the Halloween theme. 

Here is a recipe to make your pumpkin pie that much special with the special participation of Torani syrups:

• Make sure that you have prepared a pie crust already. This recipe is good to fill a medium sized crust, which usually measures 9 inches in diameter and an inch and a half deep. Give your pie more texture with a layer of crushed pecans to line the bottom of the crust.  

For the filling:

a pound of pumpkin flesh, cut into inch-wide chunks

2 eggs and 1 egg yolk

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp ginger

½ cup brown sugar

10 fl oz double cream

• Steam the pumpkin flesh and put in a sieve to drain out any excess water. Press lightly.
• Whisk eggs with extra yolk in a large bowl. Make sure the egg is whisked thoroughly so that it will not have any chance of getting actually cooked.
• Add spices, sugar, and cream into the bowl. Mix before simmering into a pan.
• Add 2 shots of Torani pumpkin spice syrup and continue mixing until everything is combined thoroughly.
• Add pumpkin flesh and simmer for an additional minute.
• Pour filling into pastry crust and bake at 350F (make sure the oven has been preheated) for 40 minutes.
• Remove pie from the oven if the edges are already puffed and the center is still slightly soft.
• Chill and serve!

Torani syrup is truly versatile as it can be used in preparation of both drinks and food.  This will surely make your party more special and “spooktacular.” 

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Should You Buy Your Own Espresso Machine?

Espresso machines are considered to be a luxury by some, especially those fully automatic ones that cost more than a months’ worth of rent.  But if you are like some other people who value their coffee to the point that they are spending a lot of money in search for that perfect cup of coffee from various coffee shops, then it might be worth buying one and making that perfect cup at home.  After all, there’s something just fulfilling about making the perfect cup of espresso with your own efforts. Moreover, you get to save on a lot of effort as you don’t need to get out of the house just to get a great cup of espresso. Why venture out doors when you can make one yourself in the comforts of home? Besides, with an espresso machine at home, you can even have the freedom to choose which Torani syrup you can add.

If you are the type of person who goes out of his way to buy a tall cup of coffee from the neighborhood coffee shop, then you should consider buying one.  Economically, it will be the cheaper alternative than spending for a cup of coffee every day from the corner coffee shop. You can save on gas as well as you’ll spare yourself from driving to the nearest coffee place.  However, you would have to shell out quite a sum of money at the beginning but your return on investment would be worth it. Aside from saving money, a bag of high quality coffee beans can go a long way.  You can even invite your friends to have coffee in your place and show off your machine and espresso making skills.

Choosing from the models of espresso machines available in the market may be a task, as there are many models with various features and capacities. What you should be mindful is the price of these different models. You wouldn’t want to overspend on a model that has all the bells and whistles when all you actually need is something straightforward. You may end up not using all the features of a high-priced model, which will just make your investment on such a machine pointless.

You can learn how to make those coffee-based espresso concoctions that coffee shops sell.  With all the ingredients on-hand, you can easily make them at home at a fraction of the cost of what you usually spend for it.  The variety of Torani syrup flavors make this all possible. Unless you’re some Hollywood big shot or CEO of a company, you may really want to develop a passion for making espresso so that your machine can really be put to use. Otherwise, you may only be spending a lot of money on something that will just be a showpiece on your kitchen.

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Should You Go for Coffee or Beer?

A lot of people consider coffee as a pick-me-up drink. A really hot coffee, paired with a few pumps of vanilla or chocolate Torani syrup, can really perk anyone up.  This is why a carafe of coffee is a common fixture in meeting rooms where the people can freely have their cup while the discussion is going on.  For people starting their day at the office, getting a cup of joe is necessary, or they might not survive the work day at all.  Even those who are in the graveyard shift need their coffee fix or they run the risk of dozing off while on the job.

They say that the caffeine in coffee is one of the most effective beverages to keep people awake. Not only that, there are also people who claim that coffee helps them let their creative juices flow.  The brain activity jumpstarts once they get a sip of the hot beverage and feeling it flow down their throats after tasting the bitter taste of the beverage. You feel refreshed and focused after drinking but the reality is that caffeine helps in tricking the brain into thinking that you still have energy by blocking the adenosine from the receptors. 

However, there are reports saying that beer is actually more helpful if you want to bring out your creative side. Who would have thought that the beverage that most people consider to be relaxing and would be their favorite drink if they want to unwind can also be something that would perk up one’s creative spirits? According to studies, beer is better if you want to unleash your creative side. Moreover, the studies claim that beer is actually more effective in making its drinkers creative. Beer is supposed to be better than coffee, even with Torani syrups, in helping drinkers conquering creative problem solving tasks as the brain is more open to ideas.

The thing is, drinking too much beer can also cause adverse health problems, so it is important to be drinking beer in moderation, just like being moderate when drinking coffee. Beer still has significant amounts of alcohol. So drinking too much of it can brings various problems from a beer belly to something more serious like liver and kidney problems. Thus, while drinking beer is good for letting those creative juices flow, it is also advised to drink it in moderation.

The bottom line is that if you want to get creative, then beer should be your drink of choice.  However, moderate drinking is advised or you won’t be able to finish the task.  You might get drunk rather than creative, which defeats the entire purpose! Just drink to a point when you feel more carefree and comfortable to share more ideas. On the other hand, to be able to be more focused and be better when planning for the idea to come to life, then a cup of black coffee with Torani syrup would be in order. At least, with coffee, you are sure to not get drunk!

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