Happy Birthday, Daniel Radcliffe!! Daniel turns 23 today!! And to celebrate, BNP is making Pumpkin Pasties! But first, one of my FAVORITE Daniel Radcliffe clips. This one comes from the Graham Norton Show, when Daniel shows his love for Tom Lehrer and the infamous Elements song (which, by the way, I can sing too!!)

Now on to the Pumpkin Pasties…

Procedures:

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Pulse about 15 times until the mixture resembles a coarse yellow meal, with no white powdery bits remaining.

2. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of cold water over the mixture. Toss the mixture together with a spatula until it starts clumping together. If it’s too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time (better to wet than too dry). Gather the dough into a ball and pat it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Combine the pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. Use a saucer to cut out 6 inch circles.

4. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each circle of dough. Moisten the edges with water, fold the dough over the filling, and crimp with a fork to seal the edges. Cut slits to make vents. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes or until browned.

Recipe provided by The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.

The pumpkin pasties made their first debut in Chapter 6 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but have made several other appearances throughout the series. They are by far one of my favorite treats due to the pumpkin spiced filling wrapped in the light and flaky pastry crust. Enjoy!

“Actually I’m highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook.” – Hermione Granger

With the introduction of Dobby the house elf, the flying Ford Anglia, and of course, the deadly Basilisk, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has Harry and his friends taking on a new set of dangerous adventures that sets the tone for the rest of the future editions. It is my second favorite in the series, with the first being Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie is when Harry and Ron find out that the porthole to Platform 9 3/4 has been sealed (by Dobby, of course!),  thus missing the  Hogwarts Express. They are  ultimately forced to take the bewitched Ford Anglia and find themselves searching for the train to Hogwarts. To their unfortunate discovery, the train they thought was near, was actually behind them.

Now on to the treats…

BUTTER BEER! The first time I went down to Universal Studios to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, my first mission on my list was to taste the Butterbeer. It was an amazing combination of cream soda and butter flavoring….and obviously, delicious! This recipe is an oldie, but goodie, by the ever so talented Darla@Bakingdom and has been on my page before, but I thought it deserved a second post in honor of the countdown.

Ingredients:

FOR THE BUTTERBEER:

• 6 12-ounce bottles chilled cream soda, substitute diet cream soda for a still yummy sugar-free version
• 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) imitation butter flavor, or 2 tablespoons clarified butter (instructions linked above **clarified butter does not always blend well with the cold beverage, see info above**)
• OPTIONAL – 1 ounce light rum, per serving, for adults only

FOR THE FOAM:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons sugar, or splenda for sugar free version
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons imitation butter (if using clarified butter, double the amount to 3 teaspoons, or 1 tablespoon)

To make the butterbeer: Set out 6 16-ounce glasses. Place 1/2 teaspoon of imitation butter (or 1 teaspoon clarified butter) in each glass. Pour 12 ounces of butterbeer into each glass, over the butter. Lightly stir, if necessary.
To make the foam: In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the heavy cream on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and continue whipping until very soft peaks begin to form, another 3-4 minutes (if you need to whip more or less, then be sure to do so, the times can vary quite a bit based on environment). Stir in the vanilla and imitation butter (or clarified butter), then whip for another 30 seconds or so, until soft peaks form.

Spoon a generous portion of foam on top of each glass of butterbeer, mixing gently, if desired (or spoon the foam into the bottom of the glass and pour the butterbeer over the top). Serve immediately.

Recipe by Bakingdom.

…And PUMPKIN JUICE!!!

This recipe was created when the final film was coming out in theaters. Notice the picture of Harry and Voldermort in the background? The hubster and I went to a week long, 8 film viewing in theaters leading up to the final film and this was part of our care package.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of pumpkin, chopped up into chunks (I used canned pumpkin pie filling for taste and texture)
• 2 cups of apple juice
• ½ cup of pineapple juice
• 1 teaspoon of honey (more or less to your liking)
• Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg and/or Allspice (all ground, to taste)

Directions:

• Step 1: Juice the pumpkin pieces by squeezing through a cheesecloth or using a juicer if you have one.Step 2: Pour the pumpkin juice, apple juice and pineapple juice into a blender.Step 3: Add the honey (we recommend you start with 1 teaspoon, as you can add some later!) to the juices and blend thoroughly.Step 4: Add your spices (to taste). This might take some experimentation to get right.Step 5: Chill your pumpkin juice or serve iced and enjoy!

“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” ~Albus Dumbledore

If you have been following along at all here at Bake No Prisoners, you know that I am obsessed with all things Harry Potter, so I thought it would be only fitting that we have a countdown to Harry Potter’s (and J.K. Rowling’s) birthday on July 31st.  Being the major Potterhead that I am, I will be posting my favorite Potter treats each day, for the next 10 days, leading up to a massive birthday cake on the 31st.

I will also be posting some of my favorite quotes and clips from all 8 books/movies, starting with the first movie, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, when Harry meets Ron and Hermione for the first time.

I love the part when the trolly pulls up and Harry buys “the lot” to make Ron feel better about his soggy lunch. So in honor of the trolly scene, I decided to make a few of the trolly treats that Harry and Ron enjoy in the film!

If you watch the clip carefully, you can see the Acid Pops on the trolly in the background. These are nothing but round lollipops dipped in warm honey and then rolled in Pop Rocks.

The licorice wands above are Milk Chocolate Twizzlers dipped in melted white chocolate candies and then rolled in gold and silver sprinkles.

These licorice wands made a fun and exciting activity for the 2 AWESOME muggle kids I watch over the summer!

As it turns out, HP treats are just as tasty as muggle treats!

We also found neon Twizzlers (I love NEON!) and tried different sprinkles to give the wands some variety just like in Ollivander’s Wand Shop!

And finally, to make our chocolate frogs a bit more brillant, we used the leftover melted white chocolate candies in the frog mold, added peppermint flavoring, and then sprinkled them with hot pink sugar crystals.

Enjoy!!

“Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed – or worse, expelled.” ~Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.