Kaleidoscope Butterflies – Summer Solstice SALE!

 

Look at the beautiful things that you can make with this mold!
Kaleidoscope Butterfly Molds on sale until July 4th, 2016.

What says summer better than butterflies?

You can order from my website: http://zandapanda.com/products.asp

Want to save more?  Join my Mailing List!

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie – The Dragon Hunt!

Dragon Hunt Stoneware Serving Tray

Dragon Hunt Serving Tray from ZANDA PANDA

Something new!  The Dragon Hunt serving tray tells a story – but you make the myth!  Horsemen and hounds are running in circles searching for the dragon, while it peacefully naps in the cool depths of a tranquil lake.  Perhaps they should let sleeping Dragons lie?

Care to share a story?  What happens next?  Fun conversation piece at your next party.  Or a great gift for the Game of Thrones,  Hobbit, or Dragon fan in your life!

Hand built stoneware serving tray with layered food-safe celadon glaze.  Oven, microwave and dishwasher safe, or hand wash.  Can be used as a cheese plate, dessert tray, for hors d’oeuvres, or just to display as a work of art!

See more at my Etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/224369220/let-sleeping-dragons-lie-dragon-hunt?ref=listing-shop-header-0

 

Sweets for the Sweet – Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sweets for the Sweet!

Favorite Baking Molds for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day Baking Molds from ZANDA PANDA!

 

You can find these molds on the ZANDA PANDA website:

Silicone Heart Cake/Cookie/Chocolate/Craft Mold

Handmade Stoneware Valentine Heart Cookie Molds

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Elsa’s Braid & Frozen Snowflake Cookies – New ZP Cookie Molds!

New Christmas Cookie Molds from ZANDA PANDA

New designs for the winter holidays!

From top left:  Snowman,  Present,  Frozen Snowflake,  Elsa Cookie (Frozen Snowflake surrounded by braid border),  Cute Reindeer.

Bored with your same old Christmas cookie cutters?  Need something tasty for a Frozen party?  Looking for a stocking stuffer for your favorite baker?  Gotcha covered 🙂

Four of the designs above double as ornaments when hung by their red satin cords.  The cords can easily be removed when making cookies or creating holiday crafts.

These handcrafted cookie molds can be used for molding cookie dough, fondant, pound cake and slices of bread for tea sandwiches.  The molds can also be used for making crafts like cast paper for scrapbooking, salt dough and polymer clay for sculpture or to create holiday ornaments.

Each mold is individually handmade in my studio in Connecticut from my original sculpture. The clay molds are then high fired twice to create food-safe, dishwasher safe, stoneware molds that will last for generations.  Directions and a recipe for molded cookies are included.

• See these Christmas / Winter-themed cookie molds and other designs by visiting my Etsy Shop!
• Watch a video on using my stoneware cookie molds.
• Find a holiday cookie recipe designed especially for molded cookies (they won’t flatten out when baking).

Have a wonderful holiday!

Sandy

New Halloween Cookie Mold Design

 

Halloween Owl Stoneware Cookie Mold from ZANDA PANDA

 

I have a new cookie mold design for you.  This one’s for Halloween – or anytime for owl aficionados 🙂

It’s cute because it has a heart-shaped tummy, and adorable owl cookies tell your favorite Trick or Treaters how much you love them 🙂

For info on using the mold for cookies, and to see more Halloween designs, visit http://zandapanda.com/HalloweenStonewareCookieMolds.asp  There’s a tutorial and a video on how to use my stoneware cookie molds.  And a recipe that’s perfect for Halloween treats.

You can order your wise and lovable owl mold from my Etsy page:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/205955390/halloween-owl-cookie-mold-for-halloween?

 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Bakes with Dragons – Handmade Pie Plate/Casserole/Serving Dish

Hi!

I’m currently mired in the middle of making sculpture for some upcoming shows and commissions, but I wanted to pop in a pic of a piece I made several months ago.

This is a handbuilt, food-safe stoneware pie plate/casserole/serving dish with a pair of dragons on each handle.  Oven, dishwasher and microwave safe.  Perfect for a Game of  Thrones season finale party, a Smaug-y pot luck or just to make any occasion special.

You can find it on my Etsy shop.  It’s available in several colors, or ask me about a custom order!

Dragon Pie Plate/Casserole/Serveware by Zanda Panda

 

Check out my Etsy shop for more handmade bakeware, serveware and cookie molds!

 

It’s a Small World After All – On Brazilian Bakers and Star Trek Universal Translators

It’s a Small World After All

On Brazilian Bakers and
Star Trek Universal Translators

I recently received an e-mail from Brazil which was written in Portuguese.  Although I couldn’t read it, I was able to figure out that it was about my Kaleidoscope Heart and Butterfly Molds.  Since I don’t speak Portuguese, I went straight to Google Translate.   After several pleasant e-mails back and forth, I’d met Brazilian Baker Marilucy Ruppel and happily sent her molds off to her.

Here are some of the lovely cakes she’s made with her ZANDA PANDA Molds

You can see more of her beautiful creations on her website  and her Facebook page and contact her at: marilucyruppel@hotmail.com

I’m still a little amazed at how easy it was to connect with her, to talk about the molds and send them out to her.  But it will be even easier next time, since amazing new devices and apps like World Lens and the Sigmo Voice Translator are well on their way to making Star Trek‘s Universal Translator a reality.  I LOVE today’s technology!


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And for those of you reading who do speak Portuguese, here is Google’s translated version. I’m sure it’s not a perfect translation, but for me, it made bridging the language barrier… a  piece of cake 😉

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É um pequeno mundo depois de tudo

Em Bakers Brasileiros e Star Trek Universal Tradutores 

Eu recebi recentemente um e-mail do Brasil , que foi escrito em Português . Embora eu não pudesse lê-lo , eu era capaz de descobrir o que era o meu coração Caleidoscópio e Moldes Borboleta . Desde que eu não falo Português, fui direto para o Google Translate . Depois de várias agradáveis ​​e-mails e para trás, que eu conheci no Brasil Baker Marilucy Ruppel e felizmente enviou seus moldes fora dela.

Aqui estão alguns dos bolos linda que ela fez com os moldes  ZANDA PANDA 

 Você pode ver mais de suas belas criações em seu site e sua página no Facebook e contatá-la em : marilucyruppel@hotmail.com

Eu ainda estou um pouco surpreso com o quão fácil era para se conectar com ela, para falar sobre os moldes e enviá-los para ela. Mas será ainda mais fácil da próxima vez, desde novos dispositivos e aplicativos incríveis , como Lens Mundial eo Sigmo Voice Translator estão bem no seu caminho para tornar tradutor de Star Trek Universal uma realidade. O amor de hoje a tecnologia!

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Summer Sculpting – Bronze Horses and Bakeware

I’ve been busy this summer being a bronze sculptor…
and planning new cookie mold designs!

Just in case you wondered where I’ve been this summer… I occasionally sculpt things other than cookie molds 🙂

.My bronze sculpture of  Three Horses (above) will be at Art Essex Gallery in Essex, CT until September 21st, and at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY from October 1-25th 2013.  Stop by and have a look if you’re in the area.

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Now for a ZANDA PANDA update:

I’ll have two upcoming posts soon about a baker from Brazil and a Big Sister/dog bakery owner in Wisconsin that are baking wonderful things with ZANDA PANDA bakeware.  And perhaps a guest post on a wonderful vegan cookie mold dough recipe.

Also, I’m hoping to have some new cookie mold designs in time for the fall and winter holiday seasons.

Keep an eye out for updates, and (if you haven’t already) – sign up for ZANDA PANDA’s Favorite People E-mail List to get exclusive discounts this holiday season!

Thanks for reading!

Sandy

 

Chipotle-Almond Butterflies, Baby goats and Apple Blossoms – It Finally Feels Like Spring!

Baby Goats, Chipotle-Almond Butterflies and Apple Blossoms…Spring!

Chipotle-Honey Goat Cheese and Almond Butterflies Made with ZANDA PANDA’s Kaleidoscope Butterfly Mold. Teacup and saucer courtesy RiRi’s Pottery Haus

It’s finally feeling like spring and that called for a trip to Beltane Farm to see the baby goats and get some goat cheese and milk.   They’re hosting cheese tastings every Sunday through the month of May.
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Cheese Tasting at Beltane Farm

It was wonderful tasting the different varieties of goat cheese.  It was hard to decide which were our favorites.  Here, we’re tasting chèvre with chives, dill, Herbes de Provence or chipotle-honey.

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My favorite Baby Goat

Seeing the baby goats and other animals was even more fun than the cheese tasting.  I think this little guy was definitely the cutest of the bunch.  The new kids will be kept for the herd, or sold either as milk producers, or as all natural lawn mowers.

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Armando the Adorable

I think his name should be Armando…He’ll be going to a neighboring farm and it’ll be his job to mow the lawn.  I think Nick’s favorite animal may have been Nestor, the guard donkey.

Chipotle-Honey Goat cheese and Almond Butterflies

Chipotle-Honey Goat Cheese and Almond Butterflies made with ZANDA PANDA’s Kaleidoscope Butterfly Mold. Teacup and saucer courtesy RiRi’s Pottery Haus

This couldn’t be simpler.  Mix the Chipotle-Honey Goat Cheese with ground nuts and make butterflies.  Chill and pop on a cracker.

I love the earthy, ‘all natural’ look the little specks of ground nuts gave the butterflies.  I made them with both walnuts and almonds.  I preferred almonds, the color was richer and I think the flavor complimented the smokey, spicy cheese better as well.  Figs or grapes would be lovely served alongside the butterflies.

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Grind your favorite nuts in a food processor, then mix with your favorite goat cheese.

Making Cheesy, Nutty Butterflies.  Put them in the freezer for a bit so they’ll pop out of the mold.

Press the mixture into the the butterfly shapes of a Kaleidoscope Butterfly Mold.  After you’ve molded your butterflies, put them in the freezer for a bit so they’ll pop out of the mold.  I put these on round Breton Mini crackers; they’re small, so you see mostly butterfly.  Pepperridge Farms make a butterfly shaped cracker that looks very cute with these, too.
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Chipotle-Honey Goat Cheese and Almond Butterflies made with ZANDA PANDA’s Kaleidoscope Butterfly Mold. Teacup and saucer courtesy RiRi’s Pottery Haus

More ideas for spring:  A Butterfly Tea Party, using the ZP Kaleidoscope Butterfly Mold.

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Oh yes, and apple blossoms!

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Enjoy your spring!

Coming Attractions! Heart Healthy Chocolate Blast Brownie Recipe – No refined sugar or flour!

Coming Soon!
Heart Healthy Chocolate Blast Brownie Recipe

No refined sugar or flour!

Heart Healthy Chocolate Blast Brownies – no refined sugar or flour!

If you know me, you’ll know that I’m a sculptor – who also loves baking dessert.  I have some deadlines looming for sculptural work, so I haven’t had a chance to post lately.  But here’s a coming attraction.

I’ve been experimenting with heart healthy recipes, gluten free baking and recipes that don’t use refined sugar or flour, but still taste amazing.  I have one that I’ll share soon, it’s pictured above and it’s amazing 🙂

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