Disney Recipes at Home

Like everyone else, we’ve been dealing with canceled trips, changed plans, and the probable cancellation of most summer activities due to the current COVID-19 situation. A bright spot in the midst of all of this is that Disney Parks is releasing the recipes for some of our favorite treats and you can make them at home! If your family is anything like ours, you’ve been spending WAYYYY more time in the kitchen over the last couple of months and these recipes are a great way to get the kids involved in the cooking and get a little bit of Disney magic at home. All recipes are courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog.

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup

This soup is quite possibly the best thing on the menu at Le Cellier Steakhouse at EPCOT. In fact, our recommendation for a date night dinner is to get two orders of the soup, split an entree, and get two desserts!

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups milk
• 1 pound white cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup warm Canadian golden lager or any pale lager-style beer
• Chopped scallions or chives, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a 4- or 5-quart Dutch oven, cook bacon, stirring, over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
2. Add red onion, celery, and butter and sauté until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes over medium heat.  Whisk in chicken stock and bring to boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after milk is added.
5. Remove from heat and add cheese, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Blend with an immersion blender until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. Stir in warm beer.  If the soup is too thick, thin with some warm milk.
6. Serve the soup hot, garnished with chopped scallions or chives.

Disney Parks Churro Bites

Churros are one of our family’s FAVORITE Disney treats though we will always maintain that the Disneyland ones are FAR superior to any of the ones at Walt Disney World. I’m excited to try out these churro bites and see how they compare to the ones at Disneyland!

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups vegetable or canola oil
• ½ cup sugar

Instructions

1. Combine water, butter, salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in 1 ½-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring pot to a rolling boil.
2. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add flour and stir vigorously until mix forms a ball. Remove from heat and let rest for 5-7 min.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir until combined. Set aside.
5. Using caution, heat oil in medium skillet or 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat or until temperature reaches 350˚.
6. Spoon dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 1-inch strip of dough over saucepan, cut with knife, and drop into hot oil. Repeat until churro bites fill saucepan with room to fry.
7. Fry churro bites until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon or mesh spider strainer.
8. Drain churro bites on a paper towel.
9. Mix sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl. Toss in churro bites until coated. Place on serving plate and serve with favorite dipping sauce.

Tonga Toast

Mmmmm…. Tonga Toast. We’ve had this several times from Kona Cafe but you can also get it at the quick-service Cap’t Cooks for a bit less money- both at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

SUGAR-CINNAMON

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

BATTER

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

TONGA TOAST

• 1 quart canola oil, for frying
• 1 loaf sourdough bread (uncut, 12 inches long)
• 2 large bananas, peeled

Directions:

FOR SUGAR-CINNAMON:

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl (large enough to roll toast) with a fork until thoroughly blended.  Set aside.

FOR BATTER:

Whip eggs in medium bowl (large enough to dip toast) until well beaten. Add milk, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix well and set aside.

FOR TONGA TOAST:

1. Using caution, preheat oil to 350°F in a large pot or a deep fryer. (If using a large pot, use a candy thermometer to make certain the oil does not get any hotter or it will burn.)
2. Slice the bread into four three-inch-thick slices.
3. Cut each banana in half crosswise, then each piece lengthwise.
4. Place a bread slice flat on the counter and tear out just enough from the middle (do not tear all the way through) to stuff half a banana into; repeat with each bread slice.
5. Dip stuffed bread into batter, covering both sides, allowing excess batter to drip off bread and place carefully into hot oil.
6. Cook 4-5 minutes until golden brown. If needed, turn toast over after 2 minutes and cook for another 2 minutes on other side. Remove and drain excess oil.
7. Roll toast in cinnamon-sugar. Repeat for each piece of toast.

Simple At-Home Grey Stuff Recipe

Try the grey stuff… it’s delicious- and it really is! The cookies and cream mousse is great on the Master’s Cupcake at Be Our Guest (Magic Kingdom) and on the Grey Stuff Gâteau at Red Rose Taverne (Disneyland).

Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cold whole milk
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 15 chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1 (8 ounce) container whipped topping, thawed
• 3 tablespoons instant chocolate pudding mix
• 12 scalloped sugar cookies
• Edible sugar pearls

Directions:

1. Pour milk into a large mixing bowl. Add instant vanilla pudding mix and whisk for 2 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, until firm.
2. Place chocolate sandwich cookies in a food processor and pulse until puréed.
3. Fold puréed cookies into pudding mix. Stir until fully mixed.
4. Add whipped topping and instant chocolate pudding.  Stir until fully mixed.
5. Place in refrigerator and chill for one hour.
6. Spoon grey stuff into a piping bag fitted with the desired tip. Pipe grey stuff onto cookies. Top with sugar pearls.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Milk Shake

This one is a cult classic from 50’s Prime Time Café at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s a must-get for our family when we dine there!

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons jelly (strawberry or grape)
• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add additional peanut butter or jelly to taste.

Cook’s Notes: Two cups sliced strawberries can be substituted for jelly.

Mickey Mouse-shaped Beignets

The first time we had Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets was at Cafe Orleans at Disneyland and OH. MY. GOSH. are they delicious! Now you can also get them at Port Orleans French Quarter if you’re visiting WDW.

10 large Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets or 2 dozen small beignets

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105°)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Combine sugar, shortening, salt, heavy cream, egg, flour and boiling water in a large bowl; stir in yeast mixture. With the dough hook attachment of an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the dough just until combined and smooth. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.
3. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness and cut individual beignets with a Mickey Mouse-shaped cutter or cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch squares. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free area, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Using caution, heat 3 inches of vegetable oil to 350°F in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Fry beignets until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, turning as soon as they brown on one side. Remove with tongs and place on paper towels to drain.  Dust warm beignets with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

“Dole Whip”

Dole whip is another one of our Disney family faves and while you can get it throughout many of the parks, our favorite place to get it at WDW is the Pineapple Lanai at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

Ingredients:

• Big scoop of vanilla ice cream
• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• 2 cups frozen pineapple

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Make a swirl. Enjoy!

While this recipe does make a “Dole Whip” like treat, it is not the same as the Dole Whip that you can buy at the parks. Dole Whip served in Disney parks is actually vegan AND gluten-free so it does not contain the dairy from vanilla ice cream. If you want to make REAL Disney Dole Whip at home, look no further- you can buy the mix on Amazon! And it’s super easy to make; you just add cold water but you will need an ice cream maker (this is the ice cream maker we have at home and LOVE).

Note: Most recipes have been converted from a larger quantity in the restaurant kitchens. The flavor profiles may vary from the restaurant’s version. As a reminder, while preparing these recipes, please supervise children who are helping or nearby.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve tried any of these recipes! What Disney Parks recipe would you most like to get your hands on?? 

Sharing is caring!!