Peanut Butter Rice Krispies

This is one of our favorite treats!  But I'm a little partial to peanut butter and chocolate.  Yummy!  My mouth is watering as I type.  Every time I make these, they are gone as fast as I can cut them.  
So go ahead an make them, you won't be disappointed.  :)    

  Peanut Butter Rice Krispies
1 cup Karo Syrup 1 cup Peanut Butter 1 cup sugar About 6 cups Rice Krispies (Give or take, it's up to you.  I personally like them a little gooey.) 2 cups of chocolate chips ( any combination: milk, semi-sweet, butterscotch, etc.)
Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan.  Add the Karo syrup, peanut butter and sugar.  Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 1 minute.  Take away from the heat and add the rice krispies.  Transfer to the pan.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or a double boiler and spread over the rice krispie treats.  Let sit until chocolate hardens.  Cut and enjoy!

 

 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I love peanut butter and chocolate!  Mmmm!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  A few days ago, I wanted to make a special treat.  I remember my cousin making a delicious cake she found on Pinterest: Peanut Butter Sheet Cake.  It was seriously so good!  

  So I decided to use the sheet cake recipe to make cupcakes.  I felt as if the batter was a bit too thin, so I added a 1/2 cup more flour than the recipe called for.  For the frosting, I used a recipe from Bakerella.  She made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes that looked amazing.  I only used the frosting recipe. So here is what I did for my Peanut Butter Cupcakes.  Even my husband, who isn't a cupcake fan, couldn't stop eating them!

  Peanut Butter Cupcakes   Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake pan with liners.   Mix in pan and bring to a boil:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter

Mix together the following and add to the above mixture:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp soda

Mix and add to the above mixture:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla

 After mixing, pour batter into cupcake pan filling each liner about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Let cool before frosting.   Frostings
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
2 Tablespoons milk   For chocolate frosting, beat 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Slowly add 2 cups confectioner's sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Add 1 Tablespoon milk and mix until creamy and smooth. More milk may be added to make frosting creamy.   For peanut butter frosting, beat 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup peanut butter until creamy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Slowly add 2 cups confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Add 1 Tablespoon milk and mix until creamy and smooth.  More milk may be added to make frosting creamy.   Add frosting to decorating bag, filling one half with chocolate frosting and the other half with peanut butter frosting.  Frost cupcakes and top with a chocolate bar!   Enjoy! 

Nutella Cookies

Nutella Cookies

Cream Together...

1/2 c butter

1/2 c Nutella

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

Add...

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in...

2 1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c mini resses pieces

Bake 350' for 12 min

Easy FUDGE made from DoTerra Essential Oils

I recently had a DoTerra Essential Oils Party.    For the refreshment table, I wanted everything to have some oils in it.  I tried one of the DoTerra Fudge Recipes I found. It was complicated and did not set up right.   I decided to try something different and it worked great!!    

EASY DoTerra Essential Oils FUDGE

Ingredients:

1 Bag White Chocolate Chips (12 oz)

1 Can Vanilla Frosting (16oz)

13 drops of DoTerra Essential Oils

Food Coloring (if you would like)

Directions:

Spray a 7x7 or 8x8 pan with cooking spray.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  When you can stir it smooth, add the Frosting and stir again until smooth.  Then add the DoTerra Essential Oils and stir.  Spread in the greased pan and chill. 

Notes:

The flavors I made for the party was Peppermint Chocolate, Slim and Sassy, Lemon, Wild Orange and On Guard.

For the Peppermint Chocolate, I used Regular Milk Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Frosting. 

There are several other Doterra Recipes that I have for you, so stay tuned!!  

Chocolate Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars

I love Peanut Butter and Chocolate!

If you are LOVER of these ingredients you definitely need to try this one out!!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients

10 Squares of Chocolate Graham Crackers, Crumbled

2 Cups Peanut Butter

3/4 Cup Butter (room temperature)

4 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Cups Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Cream together the Peanut Butter, Butter and Vanilla until soft and smooth.

2. Add the Powdered Sugar and blend well, then add the Graham Crackers and mix.

4. Spread in a 9x13 inch pan.

5. Melt the Chocolate Chips and spread over the top of the Peanut Butter mixture.

Refrigerate until firm, then cut into bars and serve. 

    

       

No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup Milk
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups Rolled Oats

Directions

 Mix sugar, margarine, and milk in a large pot and bring to a full, rolling boil over med heat.
Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until peanut butter is melted, then stir in the oats. 

By spoonfuls drop the cookies onto waxed paper and let cool.

 

If Sugar-Free is your thing, try our Sugar Free Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies!

April Fool's Day Cupcakes

I was recently going through some of the pictures on my computer, and I found these pictures that I took of some cupcakes that I made for my family for April Fool's Day.  

When I made these, I had my youngest son at home with me during the day along with my two daughters (one being only 2 months old).  I miss those days when my kids were young and spent time with me before starting Kindergarten.  The time just passes way too fast!  They loved making these and showing them to my boys who attended school.  They couldn't wait for them to come home!

The cupcakes were rather time consuming, but lots of fun!  We made spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, and corn.  Sorry about the poor quality of pictures, but you will get the point.  :)

Items needed:

Cupcakes

Frosting

Skittles

Starbursts

Caramel

Ferrero Rocher Chocolates Balls

Strawberry Jam

Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes

I added a little bit a yellow food coloring to the frosting and piped it out to make the noodles.  Place the Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Balls on top of the noodles to make the meatball.  Mix some of the jam with water and pour on top of the meatball.  You could sprinkle white chocolate shavings on top for cheese if you so desire.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Frost cupcakes to look like mashed potatoes.  Place a starburst in the middle of the potatoes for the butter.  Pour caramel on top for the gravy.

Peas and Carrots

Frost cupcake.  Take green skittles for the peas and cut up orange starbursts into quarters for the carrots and place onto the cupcake. 

Corn

Frost cupcake.  Place yellow skittles onto the cupcake.  If desired, you can place a yellow starburst on as well for butter.

Some of my kids were hesitant to eat the cupcakes because they thought they were the real thing!  But once they got brave enough to try them, they said they were really good!

In fact, they still talk about those cupcakes today, and I made them years ago!

Mock Thin Mints

I had a craving for Girl Scouts Cookies and came up with a plan to make some with my boys. These were so easy and yummy! Great for a quick fix!
Mock Thin Mints 1 package of Chocolate Graham Crackers 3-4 squares of Melting Chocolate 1-2 drops of Peppermint Oil
Break all the Graham Crackers into the desired size. Melt the Chocolate. (We did it in a glass bowl in the microwave at 1 minute intervals.)  Once melted, add the Peppermint Oil. Stir well. Dip the crackers in the chocolate making sure the cracker is covered with chocolate. Let cool on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Enjoy!

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

 

I absolutely love this mix and I begged for this recipe a few years ago and finally got it from my Hubby's Aunt. I have been making SO many batches of Hot Cocoa for the kiddos and also adding it to other recipes to enhance them too. Check them out too and enjoy a hot cup while you are at it! 

Warning: This recipe makes ALOT of Hot Cocoa Mix, so be ready to mix some up and share with all your neighbors and friends!

Hot Chocolate Bars

Cinnamon Sticks with Hot Cocoa

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Hot Cocoa Mix

1 box of Powered Milk 8Qt size (I use Morning Moo from Walmart)

1 lbs Jar Coffee Mate Powder (any flavor that you like)

1 lbs Powder Sugar

1 1/2 lbs. (6 cups) Chocolate Drink Powder (ie. Nestle Quick, Ovaltine)

8 oz (1 container) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

opt. Miniature Marshmallows

Mix well! Store in an air tight container.

 (If you have a flour sifter that would be primo to use to mix it together and avoid any clumps)

1/4 cup = 1 packet of instant hot chocolate

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Once a week I get in the cookie making mode and crave the aroma that fills my home when I bake fresh cookies. I have my go-to recipes that are always great, but I also love to experiment.  For Christmas I made a whole bunch of Homemade Hot Chocolate (recipe on the way in a later post). I still have a whole bunch left, so I decided to add it to some cookies along with chocolate chunks, and mini marshmallows, which you are now able to find in some grocery stores. If you can't find them locally, you can get them on Amazon. I provided a link below for connivence.

These turned out very soft and chewy, a new recipe to add to my go-to list! 

Hot Chocolate Cookies

1 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup White Sugar

2/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

3 cups Flour

1 cup Homemade Hot Chocolate or

(4 packages instant cocoa (don’t use sugar free))

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips 

1 cup Mini Marshmallow Bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, hot cocoa mix, baking soda and baking powder. Add in flour mixture to butter mixture until well combined. Fold in mallow bits and chocolate chips.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the dough and shape into a ball. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 9 – 11 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

Chocolate Caramel Pretzels

I love Valentine's Day!  I especially love the colors of Valentine's Day.  Reds and Pinks!

Sunday afternoon we were all in the mood for some sweet treats.  So I whipped out the pretzels, rolos and M&M's.  They were a big hit!  If you have never had these, then you are missing out!  They are the perfect blend of salty and sweet, crunchy and smooth.

The recipe is really easy and my kids (and husband) loved making them!

Chocolate Caramel Pretzels

Bag of Pretzels

Bag of Rolos

Bag of M&M's

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread Pretzels on a cookie sheet.  Unwrap Rolos and place one on each Pretzel.  Bake for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Just until the Rolos become soft.  Remove from oven and place one M&M on each Rolo.  Allow to cool.  You can speed up the cooling process by placing in the freezer.

Fast and easy!  Isn't that what we all love!  Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Bars

The other day I had a house full of my kids and neighbor kids. They were starting to search my cupboards for snacks so I quickly pulled this recipe out to make for them which is fast and easy. These Hot Chocolate Bars have a soft, thick sugar cookie crust that you smother with hot chocolate homemade frosting that melts into the cookie. Then I topped it off with miniature marshmallows for the perfect look for the kiddos. 

Hot Chocolate Bars

Sugar cookie crust:

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1 cup Granulated Sugar

1 Egg

1 Egg White

1 Tbsp Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 Butter a 13″ x 9″ baking dish, set aside. In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended. Slowly add dry mixture and stir until well combine. With buttered hands, gently press (so gently almost patting) mixture into buttered baking dish. Prepare Hot Chocolate Frosting. 

Bake 16 – 19 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden. When warm, smother the frosting onto the cookie crust. Sprinkle mini marshmallows on top of the frosting. Cut into squares, and enjoy while still warm. 

Hot Chocolate Frosting:

1/4 cup Softened Butter

2 cups Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix or 1 cup Powered Sugar + 4 bags instant cocoa mix

2-3 Tbsp Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip together butter and Hot chocolate mix.  Slowly add milk and vanilla until fluffy.

Cinnamon Sticks

For Breakfast, my sons love to dip buttered toast into Hot Cocoa. Lately I have been experimenting with a recipe that Brooke gave me a few years back of her Best Pizza Dough Recipe.  It is SO easy to make and is SO yummy. It makes great Monkey Bread, Stromboli, Bread Sticks, and (not to mention) Pizza! I absolutely love Cinnamon Bread Sticks and thought that would be fabulous to dip into Hot Cocoa as well. So if you missed Brooke's Best Pizza Dough Recipe here it is, just modified to make a crispy cinnamon coating on top as well. Let us know what you think!

Cinnamon Sticks Recipe

Ingredients:

1 envelope of Dry Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

3/4 Cup Warm Water

1 3/4 Cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and water. Let sit for 6-8 minutes.

2.  Combine Flour and Salt in a separate bowl.

3. Mix water and flour mixture together and knead for about 2-3 minutes (I just use my Kitchenaide).

4. Roll out on a floured or greased surface and spread out on a greased pizza pan.  

5. Coat the top of the dough with the cinnamon coating (below).

6. Cook in a preheated oven (475F) for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Coating

1/2 stick Soften Butter

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1 Tbs. Brown Sugar

1 Tbs. Light Corn Syrup or Maple Syrup

Homemade Peppermint Oreos

Who doesn't love a good cookie? Yesterday my daughter and I decided to make some cookies.  She is three years old and loves to make cookies for her 5 older brothers.  Everyday I ask her what she wants to do and she always says, "Make cookies for the boys!"  Funny girl!

So we decided to use the bag of peppermint baking chips that I had in my freezer.  This is what we came up with...

They are so yummy and not too "pepperminty".  My husband isn't a fan of peppermint, but I am!  So this was just the right balance.  I didn't use any peppermint extract, just the baking chips.

If you remember, I posted a recipe for Homemade Oreos earlier this year.  This is a fun and easy twist on that recipe.

To tell you the truth, I didn't have a cake mix that I used for my original homemade oreos, so I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and added 6 TBS of Cocoa Powder and eliminated the chocolate chips.

This is the recipe that I used for the filling.

Filling:

1 - 8 ounce package of softened Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Shortening

Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla 

1 cup of peppermint baking chips

Mix together Cream Cheese and Shortening until smooth.  Add powdered sugar  and vanilla until you reach a spreading consistency.  Mix in about 3/4 cup of peppermint chips.  You may add food coloring if desired.  Put in between 2 cooled cookies.  Use the rest of the baking chips to roll around the cookies. Enjoy!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

My son and I share a birthday, along with Bridget's son. It is definitely a busy day!  

I picked up some Sonic meals and ate lunch with him in the cafeteria.  Then me and my two girls (ages 3 and 1) rushed to Wal-mart to pick up some M&M's to make some cookies to take to his class at the end of the day.  (The schools here are very picky about birthday treats.  You are not allowed to bring anything with frosting.  However, they allowed homemade M&M cookies.) They were a big hit!  I should have made more because the kids kept asking for seconds.  :)

  I asked my son what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday celebration with the family.  He didn't want a cake, but homemade Oreo cookies with Oreo ice cream.  So that's what he got!  And they were so good!  My sister-in-law gave me this recipe years ago and they are yummy and easy!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

1 Devils  Cake Mix

1 Cup Shortening

2 Eggs

Beat together until well mixed.  make into small balls and put on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake.

Filling:

1 - 8 ounce package of Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Shortening

Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla 

Mix together Cream Cheese and Shortening until smooth.  Add powdered sugar until you reach a spreading consistency.  Put in between 2 cooled cookies.  Enjoy!

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

 My husband is allergic to pretty much everything!  So I am always looking for new meals and dessert to make.  I recently tried these Peanut Butter Cookies and he absolutely LOVES them so I thought I would share them with you.   Sugar-Free Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies   Ingredients: 2 Cups Splenda 1 Stick Butter 1/2 Cup Milk 1 Cup Peanut Butter 1 tsp Vanilla 3 Cups Oats Wax Paper   Directions: In a saucepan, boil the splenda, butter and milk.  Boil for 1 minute then add the peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal.  When all mixed together, drop the mixture on wax paper until they are cooled and hardened.     ENJOY!   

 

Summer Snack- Chocolate Covered Bananas

I am always looking for kid-friendly recipes that my children can help me make.  This one was a lot of fun for my kids and they loved them!

Chocolate Covered Bananas!

I got this recipe out of the July 2012 Friend  Magazine.  It was super easy.  You can find the recipe HERE.

Instead of using chocolate chips, I used the Wilton Chocolate Melts. You can find these melts at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby or Amazon (see link below).  I also didn't have any popsicle sticks, so I just used plastic knifes.  I just cut the knife part off, so it was just the handle.

 

Homemade Citrus Bliss Ice Cream

My mom makes the BEST Homemade Ice Cream! Here is one of the freshest recipes perfect for the Summer! I was lucky to take a picture of it before it was all gobbled up!

CITRUS BLISS ICE CREAM

4 Oranges (juiced)

2 Lemons (juiced)

1 Orange Rind Grated

4 C Sugar 

2 Qts Milk

Pour all the ingredients in the ice cream container. 

Freeze upon the directions of the machine, when it starts to slow down from being frozen, add 1 pint Whipping Cream. Continue to freeze until desired frozen consistency. 

Notes: My mom makes Ice Cream several times a year for our local  Schnepf Farms  Festivals like chocolate chip, peach, strawberry, and pumpkin. We also make ice cream through out the year for family get-togethers with our fresh goat and cow milk. With these raw milks you do not have to add whipping cream. Also, for this particular recipe you do not have to use the listed citrus. You can use Tangerines, Grapefruits, Tangelos, Limes, or any other fresh citrus. Feel free to mix it up and create your lovely desert.

If you do not have Whipping Cream on hand, compensate with extra milk. There are many different sizes of ice cream makers. For this particular recipe you will need an ice cream maker 3 quart or larger.

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Chocolate Cake Balls

This past month, my third son had his 10th birthday.  When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he responded that he wanted Chocolate Cake Balls!  Yummy!  A few years ago he wanted Lemon Cake Balls and they were delicious!

 I love making cake balls because they are so easy to serve.  There is no cutting the cake, just pick up the cake ball, put it in a bowl and add ice cream.  And they would be even easier to serve if you add sticks to them!

This is how we make our cake balls:

Pick out your favorite cake and bake it according to the directions on the box.  I baked mine in a 9x13 inch pan. 

After it is out of the oven and cooled, take the entire cake and put it in a bowl with a tub of frosting.  (For these cake balls, we used devil's food cake and chocolate frosting.)  Now mix the cake and frosting until the mixture becomes creamy.  I know it sounds weird, but trust me...

Now form the mixture into balls, put on wax paper or a well greased pan and freeze for a few hours. You could place the mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to make it easier to form into balls.

Dip the frozen cake balls in melted chocolate and allow the chocolate to harden.  And enjoy!

These are so rich and moist and creamy with the frosting mixed into the cake.  It's the ultimate cake ball!

Tres Leches Cupcakes

I love a rich, moist cupcake!  If you are the same way, then this is the recipe for you...

Tres Leche Cupcakes

Ingredients: 
1 box of white cake mix with oil, eggs and water
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 box of small vanilla pudding
1 small tub of Cool Whip

1 box of White cake mix: mix additional ingredients according to box directions and bake.  I did not use cupcake liners.  You aren't going to need them. I just baked them right in the tin, but make sure to spray the tin with cooking spray.

After the cupcakes have cooled slightly, carefully remove them from the tin.  Arrange them on serving tray or individual plates and poke holes into the cupcakes.  Mix 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 can of evaporated milk together.  Pour about half the mixture over all the cupcakes.  Wait a few minutes for the cupcakes to soak up the milk and then pour the rest over the cupcakes.  This will make them gooey and moist.  You will definitely have to eat these babies with a fork!

Now for the frosting:  Mix one small box of vanilla pudding with 1 cup of milk.  Stir for a few minutes until pudding becomes smooth.  Fold in a small tub of cool whip into the pudding.  Top each cupcake with the pudding frosting.

Enjoy!

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