Hibiscus Recipes: Mocktail, Empanadas, Wings

Spring is almost here and what better way to celebrate than by testing out some new sweet and savoury dishes. With the warmer weather, Canadians are more willing to try out new recipes, using fresh, seasonal ingredients to elevate each dish.

What makes these recipes so bright? It’s Hibiscus, KitchenAid’s 2023 Colour of the Year, a vivid lush fuchsia hue that is bound to stand out on your countertop, and in your cooking.

Hibiscus demands attention when it’s seen, and this extraordinary hue shows that colour goes well beyond what you see, but what you feel, and can taste.

Available for small appliances, including the iconic Artisan Stand Mixer and K400 Blender, Hibiscus serves as an invitation to spark creativity in the kitchen.

Get inspired with a sweet and flavourful Hibiscus Sangria Mocktail. The perfect sparkling beverage to celebrate Spring!
Take your creativity to a new level and channel your inner maker with the Hibiscus Empanadas and a little help from the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer.
Try out the showstopping Hibiscus Glazed Chicken Wings – powered by the KitchenAid 400 Blender.

Hibiscus Sangria Mocktail

Overnight recipe. Makes 4 servings.

Equipment

KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Shave Ice attachment

Ingredients

12 blackberries
12 jarred mandarin orange segments
6 green grapes, sliced in half
Approx. 2 cups (16 oz., 473 ml.) sugar-free or unsweetened cranberry juice
2 cans Italian sparkling orange drink
3 cups (24 oz., 709 ml) white grape juice
⅛ cup (7g) dried hibiscus flowers

Garnish

lemon slices
green apple slices

Preparation

Freeze Pucks

Fill each freeze mold with 3 blackberries, 3 orange segments, and 3 grape halves. Pour the cranberry juice up to the fill line and freeze for 8 hours.
In a pitcher, add 3 cups (24 oz., 709 ml) of white grape juice and ⅛ cup (7g) of dried hibiscus flower. Cover with plastic wrap and let cold brew in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
When ready for assembling, remove the cold brew hibiscus grape juice and strain.
Insert the fine blade into the detachable ice cup and lock the housing of the Shave Ice attachment to your Stand Mixer using the direction booklet.
Remove your molds from the freezer and pop out the cranberry ice puck. Add the ice puck to the shaved ice cup with the X grooves facing up. Drop down the ice-cup pusher.
Turn on your machine to the highest speed and shave the cranberry ice into a large glass tumbler.
Pour ¾ cup (6 oz., 177 ml) hibiscus grape juice over the ice. Top off with Italian sparkling orange soda.
Garnish with apple and lemon.

Tips

Do not use sweetened cranberry juice or juice with sugar added. It will not freeze well enough.
The combination of white grape juice and acidic cranberry juice replaces Spanish wine in this refreshing mocktail sangria. There are also alcohol-free wines available. Please use whatever you prefer.
This slushy is best enjoyed with a straw.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 8 oz.
Calories: 242
Sugar: 56 g
Sodium: 17 mg
Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 60 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 2 g
Potassium: 443 mg
Calcium: 52 mg
Iron: 1 mg
Vit D: 0 mg

Hibiscus Raspberry Galette

Ready in 4 hours. Makes 1 galette 8 slices.

Equipment

KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Pastry beater

Ingredients

Galette Dough

1 ½ cups (225g) all-purpose flour
1 stick (112g) cold unsalted butter cube
¾ tsp. (6g) salt
5 ½ Tbsp. (80g) ice cold water
1 Tbsp. (13g) sugar
1 egg, beaten (for brushing the crust)
1 Tbsp. (13g) demerara sugar (for sprinkling on the crust)

Almond Powder

1 Tbsp. (11g) ground almonds or almond meal
1 Tbsp. (13g) sugar
2 Tbsp. (18g) flour
1 Tbsp. (6g) pulverized amaretti cookies (about 3)

Raspberry Filling

1 ¼ lb. (600g) ripe raspberries
¾ cup (174g) sugar
2 Tbsp. (18g) flour
Zest of 1 small orange
½ tsp (3g) salt

Hibiscus Glaze

chopped raspberries
½ cup (108g) sugar
splash of water
¼ cup (14g) dried hibiscus flowers

Preparation

Make Dough

Add flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a Stand Mixer with a pastry beater attachment.
Turn on to speed 1 and add the cubed butter. Turn to speed 3 and mix for 30 seconds.
Add water and mix for 20 seconds on speed 3.
Transfer your dough to a surface and knead it quickly into a ball.
Flatten the dough into a round disc and then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours until hard.

Make Almond Powder

Fill a small plastic bag and place the amaretti cookies inside and crush them.
Add flour, sugar, and ground almond to the bag. Shake the bag to mix.

Make Filling

Wash the raspberries. Cut them into chunks. Add all the ingredients for the raspberry filling in a bowl and toss. Set aside.

Assemble The Galette

Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take your cooled dough out of the refrigerator. Form the dough into a circle.
Lightly flour your work surface and roll your dough out with a rolling pin to ⅛ inch thick, about 12 inches. Fix any cracks by pinching them along the way.
Carefully transfer the dough by wrapping it around your rolling pin onto your prepared baking sheet.
Create a 10-inch circle by sprinkling the almond powder in the center of your galette dough. You will have a 2-inch border of plain dough.
Once again, toss to coat the raspberries in the bowl before use. Top the almond powder with the raspberry filling also leaving a 2-inch border of dough.
Take the border dough and fold it over the raspberries to create the galette crust. Use the parchment to help fold it over.
If the dough has gotten too warm at this point you can pop it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. You want it nice and cold when it goes into the oven for this step will help the dough keep its shape.
Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the crust with a beaten egg to promote browning. Then sprinkle the edges with sanding sugar (optional).
Bake the galette for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Turn the galette at the halfway mark. Keep a watchful eye on the crust so it doesn’t get too brown.
For the glaze, put the raspberries, sugar, dried hibiscus flowers, and a splash of water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat. Simmer until the raspberries have released their juices and the syrup is dark pink and fragrant from the hibiscus, about 5 minutes. The amount you have will depend on how juicy your raspberries are. It should be the consistency of syrup or warm jam. Strain into a bowl.
Brush all the glaze over the raspberries in your hot galette. Let it cool for 15 minutes and serve while still warm.

Tips

Make sure to select the reddest raspberries.
Keep moving your dough while rolling it out to avoid it sticking to the table. Start in the center and work your way out towards the edges.
Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
You can use frozen raspberries if you can’t find fresh but fresh is superior.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 385
Sugar: 40 g
Sodium: 451 mg
Fat: 15 g
Carbohydrates: 67 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 4 g
Cholesterol: 40 mg
Potassium: 273 mg
Calcium: 82 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Vit D: 0 mcg

Hibiscus Glazed Chicken Wings

Ready in 2 hours. Makes approximately 8 servings.

Equipment

KitchenAid Stand Blender

Ingredients

Hibiscus BBQ Sauce

1 cup (57g) dried hibiscus flowers, tightly packed
2 dried guajillo peppers
2 dried ancho peppers
- See the tips section of the recipe for various pepper substitutions
1 Tbsp. (17g) chipotle pepper in adobo
2 ½ cups (560g) water, boiling
4 Tbsp. (23g) oil, divided
½ cup (65g) white onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup (339g) agave nectar
½ cup (96g) red wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp. (6g) kosher salt
1 tsp. (2g) ground black pepper
1 tsp. (2g) dry mustard powder

Chicken Wings

3 lbs. (1361g) chicken wings
1 Tbsp. (12g) Kosher salt
½ Tbsp. (3g) ground black pepper
½ cup (78g) flour
Oil spray

Preparation

Make The BBQ Sauce

Remove the stem and seeds from the dried chiles and place them in a medium-sized bowl, add hibiscus flowers. Bring water to a boil and add water to the bowl, submerging the chiles and hibiscus. Stir, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let soak for 20 min.
While waiting, sauté the onion and garlic in 2 Tbsp. (16g) of oil in a deep-sided saucepan. Sauté on medium-high for about 10 minutes until starting to caramelize. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Combine the water, hibiscus flowers, chilis, sautéed onions, and garlic in your Stand Blender. Make sure the lid is on tightly and turn to speed 5. Puree for 1 minute until smooth. Add in the chipotles in adobo. Puree for another 30 seconds on speed 8.
Strain the hibiscus chili puree into a bowl. Discard the solids. Set the heat to medium-high and add the remaining oil to the saucepan used for the onions and garlic. Pour the hibiscus chili liquid into the pan.
Stir the puree well and then add the remaining ingredients to the pan.
Stir until the sauce reaches a low boil then lower to a simmer, stirring constantly until thickened and darker in color. This takes about another 20 minutes.

Make The Wings

Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Prep the chicken wings if separating into flats and drumettes. Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper.
Set the flour in a small bowl and roll each wing in the flour tapping off excess. Set each wing on a parchment-lined sheet tray with a baking rack inserted.
Lightly spray oil on all of the wings right before you put it in the oven.
Bake the wings for 40 minutes in the middle of the oven. Flip the wings at the 20-minute mark and give them a good mist of oil again.
At the 40-minute mark, lift the rack to the top position in your oven and set the oven to broil on high. Make sure all the flats have the thicker part of the skin facing up. Broil the wings for 5 minutes to get some nice brown and crispy marks. Optional: You can flip once again and broil for another 5 minutes if you really enjoy crispy wings.
Transfer the wings to a bowl and immediately toss in the sauce.

Tips

If you have a convection oven, use the convection setting.
Enjoy your wings with sliced carrots, celery, and your favorite ranch. Mix a little hibiscus BBQ sauce in with your ranch for a unique pink color.
If you cannot find guajillo or ancho peppers, you can use any dried peppers that are available to you as long as the heat level is on the lower end. Ancho and guajillo peppers are considered more earthy and mildly sweet instead of hot. You can also substitute with 1 Tbsp. (12g) of paprika mixed with 1 sauteed red bell pepper, however, this will greatly alter the flavor of the original recipe.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4 wings with sauce
Calories: 560
Sugar:19 g
Sodium: 1492 mg
Fat: 33 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates:31 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 31 g
Cholesterol: 188 mg
Potassium: 508 mg
Calcium: 35 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Vit D: 0 mcg

Hibiscus Empanadas

Ready in 2 hours. Makes 12 empanadas.

Equipment

KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Pastry Beater

Ingredients

Empanada Dough (12)

2½ cups (370g) all-purpose flour
½ tsp. (3g) salt
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg, beaten
⅓ cup (78g) of ice water
1 egg, beaten (egg wash only)

Hibiscus Filling

4 strips (22g) raw thick bacon, diced
½ cup (65g) yellow onion, minced
2 cups (277g) butternut squash, small diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
¼ cup (72g) queso fresco, crumbled
½ cup (30g) dried hibiscus flowers, chopped
4 Tbsp. (60g) adobo sauce from canned chipotle
2 Tbsp. (22g) currants
1 tsp. (6g) salt
Pinch of pepper

Preparation

Make The Filling

Boil 2 cups (473g) of water. Add ½ cup (30g) of dried hibiscus flowers and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 2 hours.
Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until caramelized. Remove bacon. Discard all but 1 tbsp (12g) of bacon grease and add the onion to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook the onion for 2 minutes until translucent.
Add butternut squash and poblano to the pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender. Stir occasionally so it browns on all sides.
Keep the steeping liquid to the side and add the hydrated and chopped hibiscus flowers, currants, salt, and pepper to the butternut squash. Mix to combine. Add adobo sauce and a generous drizzle of hibiscus water. Mix to combine and remove from heat.
Once the mixture has cooled a bit, add crumbled queso and bacon. Set aside while you make the dough.

Make The Dough

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a Stand Mixer fitted with a Pastry Beater. Turn on speed 1 for 10 seconds just to mix.
Add the cubed butter and mix on speed 2 for one minute.
In a small bowl, mix the egg and ice water. Add to the flour mixture. Mix on speed 2 until the liquid is incorporated into the dough (it will look sandy and/or shaggy), about 1 minute or less. If it looks too dry, you can add 1 additional tbsp (14g) of water.
Place a 24-inch piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Dump the dough onto the surface and briefly knead it into a ball. Flatten the dough into a rectangle.
Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Dust a surface and a rolling pin with flour. Take each ball and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into approximately 6-inch rounds. Use more flour as needed for sticking.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Lay them on a parchment-lined sheet tray and cover them tightly with plastic wrap while you work.

Assemble The Empanadas

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place approximately 2 heaped Tbsp. (40g) of filling in the center of each dough round. Fold the dough over and press gently to seal.
Press and crimp or use the tines of a fork to press and seal the empanada edges. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Brush empanadas with the beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Tips

You can use a 5-inch cookie cutter to make crimping easier. This will give you a perfectly round shape. Match the ends of the dough when you fold it over and go slowly to crimp the edge all the way around. This takes practice.
Make a chimichurri hibiscus dip for your empanadas. Use 1 Tbsp. (17g) cooking oil, 1 cup (60g) dried hibiscus flowers, ½ chopped onion, 3 destemmed and deseeded red Fresno peppers, 2 tsp. (g) red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp. (20g) honey, 1 Tbsp. (17g) olive oil, and ½ tsp. (3g) salt. At this point, you should have 1 cup (60g) of hibiscus flowers hydrated from the filling note in step 1. Add the cooking oil to a large sauté pan. Sauté onions, garlic, and fresnos and cook on medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the flowers from the liquid and set them aside. Add flowers to the pan and sauté for 1 more minute. Add the mix to a KitchenAid^® Stand Blender. Add the vinegar, honey, and salt. Make sure the blender is covered and set the blender to speed 8 and press the on button. Puree for 1 minute. Add hibiscus water to thin it out so that it can be blended easier. Pour into a bowl and add 1 Tbsp. (17g) of olive oil. Taste the chimichurri to adjust any salt or sweetness. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 empanada with 2 tbsp sauce
Calories: 279
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 559 mg
Fat: 17 g
Saturated Fat: 9 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 6 g
Cholesterol: 55 mg
Potassium: 167 mg
Calcium: 57 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Vit D: 0 mcg