Hedgehogs: Many Ways

Typical Pomeranian AND hedgehog sleeping pose.

Anyone who knows me is aware of my obsession with hedgehogs. I think it originated when someone once called my first Pomeranian (my breed of choice--I am on my fourth and fifth Poms right now) "a little hedgehog," and it henceforth became my favorite creature of nature (after Pomeranians, of course).

Hedgehogs have been domesticated to be indoor pets for some time now, although it is not an animal native to North America. I think if I had land and a happy little hollowed-out log on the property, I'd get a gaggle of hedgehogs to make their home there, to keep the bug population down, and to just plain be adorable when people came around.

In the meantime, I've satisfied my love for hedgehogs with making food that looks like hedgehogs, having perfected Flo Braker's hedgehog truffle, the hedgehog cookie (both decorated and shaped like one), and the hedgehog mini-cake, which used an individual egg cakelette pan and Hershey's swirled chocolate chips. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the one picture I had of those hedgehog mini-cakes, and Hershey's no longer makes those swirled chocolate chips. So it really was a one-of-a-kind! Most of the rest of my hedgehog food art over the years is pictured here, including one nonfood item, the hedgehog pompom, discovered on Pinterest and executed by my mother-in-law during her visit here over Christmas. He'll make an adorable Christmas ornament for next year!

But my two favorite "hedgehogs" of all time are my Pomeranian and Pomapoo. They puff up with happiness upon seeing you, and they often turn upside down and stick their feet in the air, usually while sleeping, much like a real hedgehog. And I'll take mounds of fur over prickly points any day!

I've shared the recipe for my shaped hedgehog cookie here, which is the spotlight at my new Facebook page. My catering business is going through a rebranding (new year, new name!), and so of course, I celebrated with hedgehogs. This blog will officially be moving over to my new site, Spoonfoolery. You'll be able to shop online for jams, sauces, granola, and other shelf-stable sweet stuff, as well as catch up on food news and new recipes at the blog link there. Thank you for being a fan, and I hope you'll continue your readership!