Peanut Butter Cup S'mores

This is a summer flashback recipe, so I'm posting it in honor of the sunny days that await us. We were making S'mores at our family reunion this past summer and Korry's aunt Sue got the idea to stick a peanut butter cup in the middle. It was magical.

Graham Crackers

Marshmallows

Reeces Peanut Butter Cups

A roaring fire.

Marshmallow on stick. Hold just in the right spot. Once marshmallow is brown, place on graham cracker and top with peanut butter cup

Mini Cinnamon Bundt Cakes

My darling friend Jenny gave me a mini-bundt pan for my birthday. I've been having fun adapting down recipes for full size bundt cakes. This recipe will work big or small. 1 yellow cake mix
1 small vanilla pudding
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c.water
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
powdered sugar and milk for glaze

Mix cake mix, pudding, oil, water and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time until smooth. In a separate bowl mix cinnamon and sugar. Pour half of batter in a greased bundt pan (or in mini bundt pans). Sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over the top of the batter. Pour the rest of the batter on top of the cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and then invert cake onto a serving dish. Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 T. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir until mixture forms a smooth glaze (may need to add a little more milk if it's too thick). Drizzle over cake.

White Chocolate Snack Mix

This is a recipe that I just made up on the spot with some leftover white chocolate I had melted for another recipe. It was crunchy, sweet, and creamy. A definite keeper.

white chocolate or almond bark (1 - 2 cups melted)

marshmallows (1-2 cups)

rice krispies (1-2 cups)

dry roasted peanuts (1-2 cups)

Melt chocolate in microwave for about 1 minute, then stir until smooth. If it needs more time, microwave in 10 second increments until melted. Pour in desired amount of the rest of the ingredients and stir until everything is lightly coated with the chocolate. Place by tablespoons onto parchment paper, or in to cupcake liners. Allow to cool and harden.

***I used the dipping chocolate that looks like little white disks (you can find them at craft stores, Walmart, and at WinCo grocery store in the bulk food section). This would also be really good with milk chocolate.

*** IDEA: It is also fun to pour the mixture out on to a cookie sheet, allow it to cool, then break into pieces and place in a clear baggie tied with a ribbon to give as a gift.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Pumpkins & Bats

This year I found pretzels that were shaped like pumpkins and bats at Sam's Club. I got an idea to dip them in white chocolate, then sprinkle them with colored sugar. I served them in a snack dish at our Halloween party, but also stuck a few in the top of my homemade brownies.

Pumpkin shaped pretzels

White Chocolate Chips OR Almond Bark

Orange and Purple sanding sugar

Green licorice pieces

Melt chocolate in microwave for one minute. Stir until smooth. Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and then lay it on waxed or parchment paper. Quickly sprinkle with sanding sugar before the chocolate sets. For the pumpkin, stick a small piece of green candy (I used green licorice) on top to resemble a stem.

**If you don't have pumpkin shaped pretzels, you can still make these with regular pretzels. Just turn them sideways and they look like a little pumpkin!

Chocolate Pudding Ghost Cups

My mom brought the cute little ghost cups to our Halloween party for the grand kids. Shhh... don't tell, but I hid two of these puppies in the back of the fridge and ate them secretly throughout the rest of the week.

Place crushed Oreos in the bottom of a cup. Fill rest of cup with pudding mixture made from 1 large pkg. Chocolate Fudge Pudding mixed (prepared according to pkg. directions) with one medium container Cool Whip (reserve some of the Cool Whip to dollop on top). Add another layer of crushed Oreos, then a dollop of whipped cream. Place two small chocolate chip "eyes" on top as a finishing touch to resemble little ghosts.

One Batch Mini Cupcakes

I've made cupcakes twice in the last couple of weeks. Once for a baptism and once for a work party. This is a delicious recipe that is super easy to make. I was able to make two batches of cupcakes (one chocolate, one vanilla) but by topping them creatively, it made 4 different types of cupcake: Lemon, Cookies & Cream, Peanut Butter, and Strawberry.



Basic Cupcake Recipe:
1 box cake mix (any flavor)
1 cup buttermilk
vegetable oil (the amount suggested on box)
4 large eggs

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until moistened (about 30 seconds) then increase the speed and beat 2 minutes longer. Place cupcake liners in tin(this recipe will make just under 2 dozen). Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. (If you make mini-cupcakes, decrease baking time and remove when cakes are lightly golden brown). Cool cupcakes and frost.

Basic Buttercream Frosting Recipe
1 stick butter
1-2 T. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar

Mix butter, milk and vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. If it doesn't seem thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk in small increments (1 tsp. at a time, mixing well between to check consistency).

Lemon Cupcakes (use white or lemon cake mix for the cupcakes):

Add 1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring and a few drops of yellow food coloring to the frosting. Top with sprinkles.

Cookies & Cream (use chocolate cake mix for the cupcakes):

Frost cupcakes with regular white buttercream. Crush 1-2 oreos and sprinkle on top. Place 1/4 of an Oreo on each cupcake (cut them in fourths with a serrated knife).

Strawberry Cupcakes (use white or yellow cake mix for the cupcakes):

Add 1/2 tsp. strawberry flavoring and 2-3 drops red or pink food coloring to the frosting (I've also mixed in strawberry jam when I don't have strawberry flavoring). Top each cupcake with a sliced strawberry or a small chocolate dipped strawberry.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes (use chocolate cake mix for the cupcakes)

Mix 3-4 T. cocoa powder into the buttercream frosting recipe to turn it chocolate. It will get a little thick with that extra powder, so you may need to add a bit more milk to smooth it out a bit. Cut a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup in fourths and stick one fourth in each cupcake.

To frost the cupcakes:

Place the frosting in a sturdy ziploc bag and snip off a corner. Squeeze the frosting on top and swirl to finish.

Waffle Bar

The new "thing" at Korry's catered company parties last year were "Waffle Bars". You make your own waffle in one of those commercial flip-over waffle irons and then top it to your hearts content. This is not your average breakfast waffle, but an amazing dessert that is trendy and DIVINE! Of course you could use packaged waffle mix, but I'm sharing my best homemade version here with lots of topping ideas.
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2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 c. milk
6 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
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Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt & baking powder). Separate eggs, saving egg whites in a separate bowl. Add egg yolks, milk, and vegetable oil to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened (don't over mix). Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in to the batter. Bake in waffle iron.
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Topping Ideas:
Sliced strawberries
Sliced bananas
Fresh blueberries
Fresh raspberries
Whipped Cream
Whipped Cinnamon Butter
Hot Fudge Sauce
Hot Caramel Sauce
Nutella
Cinnamon Sugar
Mini Chocolate Chips

Santa Pancakes

We made these on Christmas Eve morning. The kids loved them! You can use any pancake recipe or mix. But hey....make them from scratch...you know you want to (my buttermilk pancake recipe is included below)!

As you pour the pancake batter onto the hot pan, pour it into a teardrop shape instead of a circle. This gives you the right shape to create the Santa face.

Pancake batter
strawberry or raspberry jam (or fresh strawberries/raspberries)
can of whipping cream
mini chocolate chips

Bake pancakes in teardrop shapes. To decorate, cover the top of the teardrop with jam to resemble a hat. Using whipped cream, make a mustache and beard. Decorate both the beard and the hat, ending with a dollop of whipped cream on the top of the hat. Add chocolate chip eyes. Serve warm!

Delicious Scratch Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1 beaten egg
1 c. buttermilk
2 T. oil

Mix all dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg and oil. Stir until just mixed (over-mixing will cause toughness). Batter will be lumpy. If batter is too thick, add more buttermilk to thin.

***My favorite "mix" to use when I'm in a hurry is the Cracker Barrel Pancake Mix or Hungry Jack Traditional Pancake Mix.

TWIZZ THE SEASON

I made these cupcakes for Kaycie's "ELF" party on Saturday night. The little heads are just mini cupcakes turned sideways. The scarves are sour fruit rolls, the eyes are mini chocolate chips and the noses are orange Tic Tac's. They were almost too cute to eat.
Here's another cute idea. Frost cupcakes. Cut the shape of a Christmas light out of a 3x5 note card. Lay it over the top of the frosted cupcake and sprinkle colored sugar on heavily. Remove the template and you have a little Christmas light. The "cord" is made with green gumdrops and green Sour Straw candies.
I'm giving these to my visiting teachers. They are so EASY to make. All you need is a bag of Twizzlers, a bag of Jolly Ranchers and some scrapbook paper. Cut a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper in half (this makes a 6 x 12). Then cut a coordinating piece of paper to go on top (cut it 4x12). Wrap the paper around the licorice and tape on back, attach a label (I made these on my computer) and tie it up with a raffia bow.