May 1, 2020 Back Home

6 Cat-Themed Recipes Anyone Can Make

Got a lot of time on your hands? Maybe you’re throwing your cat a quinceañera or maybe you’re just looking for a fun way to stay occupied. Either way, cooking is a great way to pass the time and hone your skills in the kitchen.

These cat-themed recipes are great for parties or just making your art projects a little more edible, and it doesn’t take a chef to make these delicious treats.

6 Cat Cooking Creations You Can Make at Home

1. Berry Hand Pies

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pie crust
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups mixed fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Coarse sugar to garnish

Directions:

Begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, mix together the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Mix to combine and mash up the berries into smaller pieces with a fork.

Roll out your pie dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 20-24 shapes. Set half of the cut pie pieces to the side. Brush the border of the remaining pieces with egg wash. Then spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the berry pie filling into the center of each. Top them with the remaining pie dough pieces. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork to seal.

Place the pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake 20-22 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

2. Fluffy Cat Buns

Ingredients:

• Strong white bread flour 25g, plus extra for dusting
• Water 100ml
• Whole milk 125ml, plus extra for brushing
• Unsalted butter 30g
• Oil for oiling
• Caster or granulated sugar 10g
• Salt 1 tsp
• Large egg 1
• Strong white bread flour 350g
• Fast-action dried yeast 7g
• Egg 1, lightly beaten, for brushing
• Brown food dye
• Vodka
• Black edible pen or black royal icing to decorate

Directions:

To make the tangzhong paste, use a whisk to mix the flour and water together in a pan until smooth. Place the pan over a low-medium heat and stir until thickened to a pudding-like consistency. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

For the dough, prep by warming the milk slightly (not hot) in the microwave then melt the butter. Then lightly oil a large bowl and grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set them to the side.

In a bowl or mixer add milk, butter, egg, sugar and salt. Add the chilled tangzhong and combine. Add flour and yeast to the mixture and combine into a dough. Knead dough for 10-15 minutes. Dough will be sticky to start but don’t add flour, it will become less sticky as you knead.

Place the dough in the oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour.) Empty it onto a lightly floured surface and form into 9 small balls. Shape them by tucking the dough under to create a smooth surface. Use leftover dough for the ears and paws. Brush on a little milk to help them stick. Shape a tail for one of the buns – this will look like the cat has turned around. Work fast to avoid the dough forming a skin.

Place the dough balls in the prepared baking pan. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until roughly doubled in size – this will take less time than the first rise. Dough should nearly double in size and spring back halfway when lightly pressed with a finger.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush egg wash onto the buns just before baking. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cover the buns with foil after 5–10 minutes, just to prevent them browning too much. Mix a little brown food dye with a tiny bit of vodka to paint colored patches onto the buns. After they’ve cooled, draw the faces and other details with black edible pen or royal icing.

3. Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Premade soft sugar cookies (or make your own)
• White and chocolate candy melts
• Black ball decorator candies
• Pink triangle decorator candies
• Black licorice (cut into tiny whisker pieces)
• Tootsie Rolls and caramels (for calico cats)
• Ice cream

Directions:

Cut the tops off of soft sugar cookies with a small round cookie cutter to make the ears.

Decorate: to make calico cats, flatten pieces of Tootsie Rolls and caramels. Place in random areas on cookie cat faces to make your desired calico design. Melt small amounts of white and chocolate candy wafers in the microwave. Using a toothpick, attach the eyes and noses with tiny dabs of the melted candy wafers. Dip the bottoms of the licorice whiskers in the candy melts and attach to the sides of the faces.

Unwrap a box of ice cream and cut it into 1/2-inch thick slices. Use a cookie cutter the same size as your cookies to cut round ice cream slices. Use the same method to cut the top to make the ears. Sandwich your ice cream between two cat cookies and freeze until you’re ready to enjoy!

4. Mini Cat Pizzas

Ingredients

• Sliced bread
• Pizza sauce
• Shredded cheese
• Spaghetti noodles
• Black olives

Directions:

Use a bear shaped cookie cutter to cut the shape out of a slice of bread, or cut out a circle shape and use a smaller circle to cut a small crescent off the top to make the ears. Use a knife to trim the shape as needed. Toast the bread for one minute on each side. Spoon sauce onto the bread and sprinkle with cheese – add any additional toppings you like at this time. Toast until the cheese has melted and browns slightly around the edges. Cut a small circle out of a black olive to use as the nose. Fry dry spaghetti noodles in a pan and cut them into small pieces for the whiskers, stick these into the pizza on either side of the nose.

5. Kitty Cat Donuts

Ingredients:

• Premade donuts (or make your own)
• Almonds
• White chocolate for melting
• Chocolate decoration marker or small tube of frosting

Directions:

Press two almonds in each donut to make the ears (you can make a small hole first with the end of a teaspoon). Melt the white chocolate and dip each donut in until it’s half covered. Place them on a plate in the fridge with the chocolate covered side up to harden for 10 to 20 minutes. Use a chocolate decoration marker or a small tube of icing to draw the eyes, nose and whiskers.

6. Cat Cake Pops

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix (plus ingredients required for cake)
• ½ of a container (16 oz) cream cheese frosting
• Lollipop sticks
• 2 packages Chocolate Coating or 2 cups melted chocolate
• Assorted decorating sprinkles: heart and triangle shaped
• Cake writing icing (white)

Directions:

Prepare and bake the cake mix as directed on box; cool completely. Crumble cake into a large bowl and mix in the frosting. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls, place on a baking sheet in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Melt the coating or chocolate. Insert a lollipop stick into each cake ball and dip cake pops. To decorate cats, press a heart-shaped sprinkle on as the nose and 2 triangular sprinkles as the ears before the coating hardens. Once dry, draw on eyes, mouth and whiskers with white writing icing.

Savory or sweet, there’s a cat recipe for whatever your tastes are. Whether you make one of these recipes or a cat recipe of your own, we want to see! Post the results on social media and tag us @worldsbestcatlitter or in the comments below.