Office Snack Gourmet are recipes designed to turn even the most disgusting of office snacks into delicious gourmet meals. Since a lot of these ingredients are laying around a typical office (or vending machine), there's no better time to get creative, save money, and still treat yourself to something special! I suggest investing in a really great porcelain plate and some stellar silver to complete the experience.
Truffled Berry Praline Purses
Ingredients
2 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1 Fruit Roll-Up
1 pack Potato Chips
Remove Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from packaging and knead into balls. Crush potato chips into fine powder. Unroll Fruit Roll Up and cut in half. Place one Reese's ball in center of one half Fruit Roll Up. Sprinkle small amount of potato chip powder on top of Reese's ball. Fold up corners of Fruit Roll Up to meet in center and form dumpling shape. Repeat as necessary. Enjoy.
Cheddar Dusted Popcorn
Ingredients
1 bag popcorn (butter flavor)
1 bag Cheese Puffs
2 spoons water
Open bag of Cheese Puffs slightly along top to let air escape. Crumple bag with Cheese Puffs inside, until contents are reduced to a fine powder.
Open popcorn bag. Add Cheese Puff powder and two small spoonfuls of water. Close popcorn bag and shake vigorously to coat. Open. Enjoy.
Tom Khaa Ramen
Ingredients
1 cup Instant Shrimp Ramen
Hot water
1 Mounds bar (or 3 Mini Mounds bars)
5 tsp ketchup (or 5 ind ketchup packets)
Prepare ramen as per package directions. Meanwhile, peel off outer chocolate layer of Mounds bar(s) and reserve chocolate for use in mocha nougat recipe.
Keep one coconut filling to the side. Combine remaining coconut filling with 1tsp ketchup. Add 1 spoon hot water and stir until well combined. Add mixture to ramen when ready.
Stir in remaining 4tsp/packets of ketchup. Roll remaining coconut filling into a ball. Place on top of soup for decoration. Eat.
Mocha Nougat Fondant
Ingredients
Leftover Mounds chocolate layers (from Tom Khaa recipe)
1 packet instant coffee (or 1tbsp)
1 Snickers bar (or 2 mini Snickers bars)
1 packet instant hot chocolate mix (with or without marshmellows)
Hot water
Combine leftover Mounds chocolate layers with Nescafe and hot chocolate mix. Add hot water until a thickish paste forms.
Cut Snickers bar(s) into even slices. Dip slices into chocolate paste. Plate in an interesting way. Cover with remaining hot chocolate mix.
3 Cheese Chilequiles
Ingredients
1 pack cheese sandwich crackers
1 pack Doritos
1 pack Cheese Puffs
1 half can (or mini can) V8
5 tsp ketchup (or 5 ind ketchup packets)
Open cheese sandwich crackers and lie cheese-filling side up. Crush Cheese Puffs using popcorn recipe technique. Combine 5 tsp ketchup with 1/8th cup of Cheese Puff powder. Mix well. Let sit. Cover crackers with a layer of Dorito chips. Spread ketchup-cheese puff mixture evenly over the Doritos. Pour V8 over the entire plate. Microwave on high for approximately 1min. Remove from microwave. Top with remaining Cheese Puff powder. Serve.
Twinkie Napoleon
Ingredients
1 pack potato chips
1 Twinkie
Cut open Twinkie and remove inside cream filling. Reserve. Knead each Twinkie cake slice until it forms a doughy ball. Divide into 2. Roll out one dough ball into a thin layer. Crush all but a few potato chips into fine powder. Cover first Twinkie dough layer with a fine layer of crushed potato chip. Repeat and layer on top of each other to form a layer-cake until Twinkie dough runs out. Cut layers into 2 even rectangular pieces. Take reserved Twinkie cream and cover one side with a thin layer of cream. Top with other cut side so a layered cake is formed. Cover with remaining cream. Top with whole potato chip. Serve immediately.
Homestyle Mafe Veggie Burger
Ingredients
1 pack peanuts (1/4 cup)
1 pack potato chips
1 pack Cheese Puffs
1/4 can (or 1/2 mini can) V8
3 tsp ketchup (or 3 ind ketchup packets)
Crush peanuts, chips and Cheese Puffs together. Add ketchup. Mix to form a paste. Add in V8 until mixture is moist, but not runny. Press mixture into bottom of a microwave safe cup (mixture should fill roughly 1/4 of the cup). Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from microwave and let cool. Invert from cup onto plate. Serve with condiment of choice.
Wildberry Taiwanese Bubble Tea Spritzer
Ingredients
1 cup brewed hot black tea
Mixed berry flavored fruit snacks
1 can ginger ale
Brew hot tea. While steeping add a handful of fruit snacks. Let sit for 10 minutes. Remove tea bag. Add ice. Top with ginger ale. Stir. Drink.
Office Snack Gourmet is the brainchild of Emilie Baltz, a foodie-turned designer-turned-foodie. She splits her time, and meals, between food photography and brand strategy, and often raids office pantries for lunch-time ingredients. See more at emiliebaltz.com and at forkanddesign.com. All photos by Emilie Baltz.
Comment on this Post
Oh, Emilie, this is the funniest most delicious article ever! And if I ever get a job in an office again I'll must try these. Especially the ones that use peanut butter cups!
If one could bit into heaven, it would, without a doubt, be named Mocha Nougat Fondant. Delicious!
So beautiful Emilie!! Almost makes me want to work in an office again!!
How can I resist the temptation to say "good-bye" to years of healthy eating? These look simply scrumpcious!
Hey Emily. You seen this one? http://www.fancyfastfood.com/post/106981817/mcsteak-potatoes-fancy-big-mac-by-erik-of
gross but great photos!!!
While not particularly healthy, I give you props for being creative!
Well done, and fabulous fun!!! And, what do you do in your spare time??
Very clever Emile... I love the photos set up like an addition problem. Kind of like Ikea furniture directions. It feels like the show CHOPPED if it were done solely w/ the lunchroom vending machines.
I used to *love* those multicoloured fruit roll-ups. Wow.
Fantastic. the photography is great. The ramen bowl... has anyone tried it? Sounds ....um... interesting...