STAR WARS DAY IS UPON US!
A genius came up with the idea to celebrate anything and everything Star Wars on May 4th and call it Star Wars Day – probably because of the catchy phrase “May the 4th be with you”.
Although it’s hard to tell who and when invented the holiday, did you know Margaret Thatcher helped popularize this? When she was elected Prime Minister in 1979 her party ran a newspaper ad with the words “May the fourth be with you, Maggie”.
It is a day of lightsabers, back-to-back series viewing and movie marathons, and of course, LOTS of Star Wars Day themed parties and FOOD. Which is why I have a couple of treats for you!
No, not those! To encompass the Star Wars world in one post or recipe would be naive and disrespectful to the saga. But I CAN show you two recipes that unite both the old and the new Star Wars.
FIRST: commemorating the classic Star Wars and inspired by the teacher of teachers, the ever-wise-and-cute little Jedi master, Yoda:
Yoda Matcha Croissants!
Yup, these are green croissants, with matcha in its dough, shaped to look like Master Yoda. Delicious they are, believe me.
Made from scratch and with lots of love, these are bound to get everyone drooling if you make them for your Star Wars Day party! Plus, if you’re a galactic geek, you’ll appreciate all the Star Wars puns all over the video!
Yoda Matcha Croissants
Equipment
- Lightsaber roller (or a regular one)
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Ruler
- Icing spatula
- Pizza Cutter
- Brush
- The Force (or patience/time, either way!)
Ingredients
- 3 and ½ cups of all purpose flour plus more as needed for kneading
- 5 tsps of Matcha powder
- 1 and ½ tbsps of active dry yeast (about 0.7 oz)
- 5 tsps of sugar
- 1 tbsp of salt
- ¼ cup of warm water
- 1 and ⅓ cups of lukewarm whole milk
- ¼ cup of vegetable oil
- 14 oz of unsalted butter (almost 4 sticks)
- 1 cup of chocolate chips (adding them is optional, but you’ll need a few for the face features
- 1 cup of white chocolate chips, melted and formed into small balls (or use white candy melt)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk and green food coloring
- ½ tbsp of milk
- Green coloring
Instructions
- Butter a large bowl and set it aside.
- Stir yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl. Let the yeast react with the sugar until its foamy. Rest it for five minutes.
- Add salt and the remaning sugar with the lukewarm milk. Mix them well.
- Put all-purpose flour in the Yoda color batch of powder into a mixing bowl. Then, add the now foamy yeast mixture, the milk, and some vegetable oil.
- Mix at low-speed until the dough comes together.
- Narrow the dough with a bit of flour and then turn it inside the buttered bowl, so it gets a little of it.
- Cover the dough with a plastic wrap twice, and transfer to a warm environment. Let it grow for two to three hours. It will grow up to triple its size.
- Take the dough and turn it out onto a lighly floured surface and flatten it with your roller of choice.
- Roll the dough until you get a 8 by 12 inches rectangle. Fold it in thirds like a letter and return it to the bowl. Cover it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for twelve hours or overnight. Until it doubles its size.
- After the dough grew for a second time, make your butter package. Place ¼ cup of flour and your sticks of cold butter in smalls chunks into a clean mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until it's well combined.
- Take your dough and roll it until you get a 11 by 16 inches rectangle.
- Spread the butter package on top with an icing spatula, until covering ⅔ of the dough rectangle.
- Fold your rectangle in thirds and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it inside the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes, so the butter chills.
- Take your dough and roll it until you get a 20 by 9 inches rectangle. Fold it again and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let it refrigerate for 2 and a half hours.
- For third and definitive turn, roll your dough to get a 20 by 9 inches rectangle.
- Fold the dough into quarters. First, bring the each side to the middle and then fold them on top of each other. You will end with four layers. Wrap it in plastic and put in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Finally, it's time to roll the dough into croissants! So, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it a bit, to cut it in a half.
- Take the first half and extend it into a 11 by 18 inches rectangle. Remove the excesses with a pizza cutter.
- Croissants are made with isosceles triangles. Ours will have a 3.5 inches base. Make small marks with a ruler to guide you. You will get 8 triangles, for 1 croissant each.
- Make a small slit in the middle of the base. Fold it and stretch the edges slightly outward. They will be Yoda's pointy ears! Add the chocolate chips on top of the triangle.
- Roll the triangle until it gets the croissant shape, with the pointy ears tucked at each side.
- Repeat the process until you get all your croissants. You can place half of your croissants in separate baking trays, lined with parchment paper.
- Cover the croissants with plastic wrap and let them stay in a warm place for 90 to 120 minutes.
- Once they are bigger, brush them with the egg wash dyed with green food coloring.
- Put them inside a preheated oven to 400 °F for 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, take dough leftovers to make Yoda's little nose. Cut small rectangles and roll them. Bake these small rolls for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 °F.
- Let the croissants and Yoda noses cool.
- To make Yoda's eyes, take white chocolate balls and paint the pupils with melted dark chocolate. Use melted chocolate to paste the eyes and the nose. Draw a small chocolate smile with a thin brush.
- There you go, my dearest Padawan! The sweetest Yoda ever!
Video
Notes
To showcase the most recent Star Wars saga, I paid homage to everyone’s new favorite droid: BB-8! How?
With BB-8 Carrot Cake Pops!
Maybe it’s its shape or its sweetness, but BB-8 does a delicious job transformed into cakepops. These ARE the droids you are looking for! Watch how to make them:
Hope you enjoy you Star Wars Day celebration, with friends or with all your Star Wars figurines and memorabilia, and that you try these treats!
But hey, don’t get cocky kids! Just remember… the Force will be with you, always.
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