Tag Archives: chocolate

Food

Fancy Schmancy Snickerdoodles

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My friends Julie & Betty want to help you out this holiday season with some semi homemade cookies that will surely get you, and anyone else you may share them with, into the spirit.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles 

Sounds fancy, right? Fancy, yes. Lots of work, no.

First, you need to procure some Betty Crocker Snickerdoodle mix. I found mine at Target, but I’m sure a lot of places have it as a seasonal item. If you see it, pick it up because I understand it can be hard to come by.

Ingredients:

1 pouch Betty Crocker snickerdoodle cookie mix
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon water
1 egg
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Open cookie mix.
Set aside cinnamon sugar packet.

Add water, egg and cookie mix to cream cheese mixture.
Stir until soft dough forms.
Add in cranberries and white chocolate chips.


Cover & refrigerate 30 minutes.

After that horrible 30 minutes is over, drop rounded spoonfuls of dough into cinnamon sugar.
(You need to ask Santa for this cookie scoop. Perfect, uniform cookies every time.)
Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.

Place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake a 375º for 8-9 minutes until edges are set.
Cool one minute then transfer to cooling rack.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen.

They are to-die-for. Guaranteed to make back injuries feel a little bit better. True story.

These can be baked up in a jiffy and are perfect holiday treats for the special people in your life. Package up a half dozen or a dozen, attach a little festive handwritten note and deliver cinnamon sugary happiness.

 You could change it up and do dark chocolate chips and chopped dried cherries or keep the white chocolate chips and sub dried blueberries. Adding some orange zest would also be a nice touch to the cranberry variety. Or what about some fresh lemon zest to the blueberry ones?

OK, go. Log off now and get the goods to make these.

Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!

Fiestas & Fetes, Food

Squirrels & Coconuts

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Spent some more time on Polyvore to get inspired for Elliott’s {Outdoorsy/Nature Girl} party in May…

E's 6th

Lots of clear glass containers filled with all sorts of goodness from gummy caterpillars to froggy yo-yos to Arnold Palmers.

Loving the turquoise & orange combo.

The {wedding} sign will obviously read something more like {Party this way!} or {A Woodsy Welcome!}. I just loved the organic, handmade feel of it.

Spray painted pine cones. Pin The Fairy on The Flower. Live owls.

Getting excited with a couple other goodies up my sleeve that I will share soon!

*****

Do you munch on Luna bars? I love them for mornings when it’s a little too hectic to prepare steel cut oats or pull the blender out for a smoothie. My faves are Lemon Zest and Chocolate Peppermint Stick, BUT…..there is a new kid on the block and she is swiftly taking the lead…

Chocolate. Dipped. Coconut.

In case you haven’t noticed, I am coocoo for coconut!

If you also adore this fruit and in need of an occasional quick breakfast or snack, you must pick a couple of these up.

*****

Happy soon-to-be Friday….we’re almost there!

 

Food

Snap {Crack}le Pop

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I needed a little dessert to whip up for this evening.

But I’m afraid to use any eggs…

{more than half a billion huevos have been recalled!}

Then I remembered this little tasty morsel from one of my fave blogs, Cookie Mondays.

I think it’s hilarious that this is referred to as crispy crack.

I agree…these ingredients should’ve never been introduced.

We had a good thing with butter, marshmallows and rice krispies!

Um, and then add peanut butter, chocolate AND a SKOR bar?

Yes, it’s like a drug, for sure.

But a legal drug.

Rice krispie treats taken up a few notches.

Chocolatey Fluffernutter Rice Krispie Treats…

Betcha can’t eat just one.

Food, Friends

Bundt Love

My friend, Sharon, passed along this Chocolate Chip Pudding Cake recipe, however, I don’t own a bundt pan.

Enter my other friend, Lisa…I borrowed her bundt pan and promised to bring some cake to the next park playdate…

Well,

…there’s none left!

We had another impromptu neighborhood get together last night and this cake was that talk of the block!

It’s the easiest thing to throw together and you can mix and match cake mixes and pudding flavors any way you like:

Chocolate cake mix with chocolate pudding

Chocolate cake mix with vanilla pudding

White/Yellow cake mix with vanilla pudding

Marble cake with chocolate pudding

OR

Banana cake mix with vanilla pudding

That’s the combo I chose and it did NOT disappoint!

Then add in a 12 ounce bag of mini semi-sweet morsels and it’s off the charts!

Here is the recipe courtesy of Sharon:

12 oz bag MINI morsels
1 Box Yellow cake mix (chocolate if you are a TOTAL chocolate lover)
1 Box small vanilla (chocolate if you are going crazy) pudding
1 3/4 c. milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350
Mix all ingredients
Pour into greased and floured BUNDT pan (save some of your cake mix to flour)

Bake 50-55 minutes… DO NOT OVERBAKE…. cool at least 15 minutes….

You can frost it with chocolate frosting if you like….

I splurged and used Holden’s whole milk, but lowfat or skim works just fine, too. Also, if you’re concerned about sugar, you can use sugar free pudding, as well. I didn’t! I also did not frost it ~ honestly, it doesn’t need it, but if you want to live on the edge, GO FOR IT!

So, reach into your cupboard and pull out your Bundt pan (or borrow one from a friend!) and make this. Hurry…the weekend isn’t over yet. You can always start your diet tomorrow, right?

Thanks again, Sharon! This one’s a keeper!

Food

I Don’t Recommend Making This

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Yesterday I kept Elliott home from school. She woke up with a cough. It was cold. It was raining. It was windy.

Pros and Cons of being “stuck” at home on a rainy day with a coughing kid:

~Pros~

Plan Holden’s party

Clean

Organize

Straighten up

Make soup

Fold and put away laundry

Do more laundry

Make the guest bed for Uncle Rodney this weekend

Write thank you notes

Less likely to spend money (unless I shop on-line, which I don’t do much)

Have a Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake while one kid is napping

~Cons~

Have a Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake while one kid is napping!

Why did I do that? Why did I pull out the Dreyer’s Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Vanilla Bean Light Ice Cream, lowfat milk, TJ’s Organic Midnight Moo Chocolate Syrup and the jar of peanut butter???

Why did I throw it all in the blender with some crushed ice???

Why did it seem like a good idea at the time???

Because it looked like this:

I don’t need to be eating this…a rice cake maybe? Some water? But not this.

So, I don’t recommend making this. It’s NOT good. Who likes chocolate and peanut butter together? Who likes ice cream? Who likes milkshakes?

Today is a new day! I will put on my NB’s this evening and do a little run…I am going to run AWAY from Milkshake Land!

Food

Intervention

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I am whipping up a couple batches of Puppy Chow for Jay’s co-workers and the neighbors.

This stuff is addicting!

You may see me on the A&E show “Intervention” because of it.

You can find the recipe for this drug here.

This is what you’ll need:

chowstuff

It’s super quick and easy, but sometimes a bit messy with the powdered sugar. I just get a paper Trader Joe’s bag, dump the powdered sugar in there, add the coated Crispix and shake! Then I spread onto a cookie sheet to dry a bit before bagging it up.

chowbefore

One 12 oz. box of Crispix only makes 5 little snack-size bags (with a little leftover for the cook and her assistant!) The recipe says 9 cups, but I go ahead and use the whole 12 oz. box (about 12 cups) so it isn’t quite so powdered sugary! Also, I melt the peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in a sauce pan over the stove instead of in the microwave. Less chance of burning or heating the chocolate too fast. This will make it seize up and get grainy – Blech! But I’m sure if you follow the directions and decide to use the micro, it’ll be just fine!

Found some cute snowflake bags at Dollar Tree ~ 25 cellophane bags for a buck! Cheap!

chowafter

Your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors (and anyone else) will LOVE you!

Happy Chowing!