Crispy Topped Brown Sugar Bars—Baking Chez Moi—Tuesdays With Dorie

I missed the last TWD post.  It was two weeks ago.  I actually just forgot about it until late the day it should have been posted.  Good thing we have a rewind week next week—I plan to make up the lemon madeleines I missed.  Dare I try to make them gluten free?

Anyway, today we get to tell you about the Crispy Topped Brown Sugar Bars in Baking Chez Moi (pages 324-325).  These were a fun, simple treat to make for my family.  First off all, they are topped with some caramelized Rice Krispies cereal.  While I think I made them just a tad crispy, I still think those are really fun.  Dorie mentioned they would be great as a crisp topping for ice cream and I agree.  They couldn’t be easier to make.  Put some sugar in a skillet, let it begin to color, add the cereal, stir it until the cereal is all coated in the caramelizing sugar and let it cook another minute or two.  Spread it on a sheet to cool.

 

I love that for these bars, she talked about a lot of different toppings you could use, including granola, coconut, caramel popcorn, nuts, endless options.  I might need to play with this recipe some more.

The boys mentioned that even the cookie layer on the bottom was a bit crispy, so I will just make sure to not bake them quite as much next time (I only baked them for 16 minutes when the recipe suggested 22).  I used milk chocolate just to please the boys, but would love to make these with a bittersweet chocolate as Dorie suggested. 

Chocolate is spread on the hot-out-of-the-oven bars and it melts pretty quickly and is spread evenly.  Then the Krispies are added and pressed into the top.  Cool and cut into squares.  Love trying new recipes!

 

Candied Date Crispies, Almost Like Aunt Helga’s

It’s time for a sweet, healthy treat!  Remember in August when I posted my last Secret Recipe Club post?  And I got to cook and bake deliciousness from Shelby’s blog, The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch?

One of the things I made and posted about were her Aunt Helga's Candied Date Balls.  As much as I really did stick with the recipe, I did change it up enough that if you want her recipe, check it out, but here’s the recipe as I made it.  I swapped out the sugar and used a less amount of coconut sugar and some honey.  I also used coconut instead of butter and I used organic brown rice crispy cereal. 

These were a perfect treat for me for a good week or two when I’d just need a little something sweet.  I rolled some of them in chopped walnuts, some in unsweetened coconut and then of course, I had to add chocolate to the mix with some of them.

Candied Date Crispies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Shelby, The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch

1/2 lb. (8 ounces) dates, pitted and finely chopped

scant 1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 tablespoons raw honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cups organic brown rice crispy cereal (or crisp rice cereal of your choice)

finely chopped walnuts

shredded unsweetened coconut

2-4 tablespoons Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips (optional)

Simmer coconut oil, sugar, honey and dates in a saucepan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until dates have softened.  Remove from heat and stir in the cereal. Roll in to walnut sized balls.  Roll balls in finely chopped walnuts or coconut.  If desired, added some chocolate chips to some of the date mixture.  Since it is still warm, the chocolate melts and that is okay.  Then roll in nuts or coconut.  Set on baking sheet lined with waxed paper to firm and cool.  This made 6 walnut balls, 6 coconut balls and 5 with chocolate. 

Thank you to Shelby’s Aunt Helga for these yummy treats.

Lime Macadamia Coconut Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with White Chocolate

I know I just posted some Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix as my last post.  I loved that stuff.  I can’t stop thinking of new flavors to try as well.  So here’s another, and it’s a mouthful—to say and eat!  If you like the combination of lime and coconut (and I had to throw in some macadamia nuts just because I had some) along with the perfect pairing of white chocolate, you’ll like this.  One thing I like about this snack mix is that you really can add or leave out anything you’d like.  I put in lots of nuts, but if you don’t like a certain one, leave it out.  The mix will still be delicious, especially if you’re putting in things you like. 

Lime Coconut Macadamia Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with White Chocolate, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of half a lime

3 cups Quaker Oat Squares Cereal

1  1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

zest of 1 lime

2 ounces of white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Mix together in a small saucepan the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt.  Heat over medium-low until sugar is dissolved and the mixture just barely comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and whisk in the lime juice.

Put the cereal, oats, pecans, almonds, coconut, and macadamia nuts in a rimmed baking sheet and mix together. Stir in the lime zest.  Drizzle the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let baking sheet sit on wire rack until cool, then mix in the chopped white chocolate.  Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

I have a Coconut Lime Granola that I’ve made that is one of my granolas.  This snack mix is now right up there as one of my favorites, too.  Try it.  You could substitude Chex for the Oat Squares cereal, but the Quaker cereal has more of a crunch and a bit of sweetness to it that is really good.

 

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix Recipe

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Almonds

Of the four different things I took to my book group a few days ago, this was definitely the biggest hit and I promised the ladies I get it on my blog.  It is similar to making a mix with Chex cereal, but with Quaker Oat Squares Cereal.  It’s sweet and crunchy and tastes great. 

I’d bought a box of Quaker Oat Squares and the boys weren’t really eating like I thought they would, so I searched online for ideas of what to do with it and found this idea (I changed it quite a bit) on a Taste of Home Community forum. 

Try it—I can’t wait to make it again.  You could totally play with flavors and mix-ins.

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Almonds, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried tart cherries (you could also use dried cranberries)

3 cups Quaker Oat Squares Cereal

1  1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup pecans (or any nut you’d like)

1/2 cup almonds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Mix together in a small saucepan the coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Heat over medium-low until sugar is dissolved and the mixture just barely comes to a boil. 

Put the cereal, oats, pecans and almonds in a rimmed baking sheet and mix together.  Drizzle the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let baking sheet sit on wire rack until cool, then mix in the dried cherries.  Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Note—I thought it would be better to spray cooking spray on the baking sheet or use a silpat, but it didn’t stick as much as I thought it would, so it’s not necessary, but would make for easier clean up.

Candy Cane Oreo White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s Rice Krispies Treats—12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Candy Cane Oreo White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s Rice Krispies Treats

Wow—Now THAT’S a recipe title.  I didn’t want to shorten it or leave anything out.  They could easily just be called Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats or Candy Cane Rice Krispies Treats, but they deserve all the recognition from each addition.  Finish reading this and drooling a little, then run (or drive, I’ll allow that) to your nearest Target and find the new, limited edition Candy Cane Oreos and White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s, grab a box of Rice Krispies Cereal and some Kraft marshmallows (although if you’re like me, those are things I always have in the pantry).  Better yet, look to see if Target has the new Kraft Peppermint Mallows, which is what I used.  These treats are super kicked up for the holidays and are so good!

The Candy Cane Oreos are one of their best limited editions yet.  They have that Girl Scouts’ Thin Mints taste, but in Oreo form.  They are good.  My kids really like them.  And they are somewhat picky and often don’t like the “new” flavors of things.   One wouldn’t even try them at first, but after doing so, is hooked.

I really like the White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s, too.  They are strong, but not as much as a candy cane and have that great hint of white chocolate.  The peppermint flavor is the dominate flavor.  I kind of wish it wasn’t quite so strong, but I still love these!  They are easy to snitch a few here and there when they are hiding in your baking closet in an open bag.  (So I’ve heard.)  I don’t have as much of a problem doing that with cookies, but I’m glad I bought two bags of the cookies, because my kids keep snitching those.  And I’ll be back to Target soon for more of the M&M’s before they’re gone!  Run!  How many agree that M&M’s should come permanently in “plain” White Chocolate M&M’s flavor?  Maybe we should all start a petition on their Facebook page or something.  My only wish would be that they just come in regular “plain” M&M’s size.  I kind of think all the new, limited edition, different flavors should just be the regular “plain” size, but they make them a little bigger, I guess so you aren’t confused. ;)

Anyway, these Rice Krispies Treats were delicious!  I made some and took them to a baby shower I attended.  Felt a little bad that it was a shower for a baby boy, but I think they made up for that in flavor and were accepted just fine.  These treats definitely put me in more of a holiday mood. 

Perfect for the 8th week of The 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  So nice of her to head up the group and keep it running smoothly each week!

Candy Cane Oreo White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s Rice Krispies Treats, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

10 ounce bag of Kraft Jet Puffed Peppermint Mallows (regular mini marshmallows would work, too)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

15 Candy Cane Oreo Cookies, chopped

about 1 cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s

Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil (nonstick is my favorite!), spray lightly with cooking spray.  Chop the Oreo Cookies, set aside.  Put the marshmallows and butter in a large microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for about 40 seconds.  Stir.  Microwave again for 30 seconds.  Stir until butter is mixed in with the melted marshmallows.  (You CAN also do this in a large saucepan, but it takes longer.)

Stir the cereal in to the marshmallow mixture.  When it is all combined, fold in the cookies, then the M&M’s.   Spread the mixture evenly into the baking pan.  I like to tamp it down with a potato masher sprayed lightly with cooking spray to get it even, then I don’t have to have sticky hands. ;)  Let sit on the counter for about an hour to firm up.  Remove from the pan using the foil edges and peel off the foil.  Set on a cutting board and cut into desired sized bars. 

While I think, “Hey, at least wait for Thanksgiving to come and let’s enjoy that before Christmas is here.”  I also know it will be here (and gone) before we know it.  Start making treats—it will get you right in the spirit of it all, at least it has for me.

Corn Flakes Chivda (Savory Snack Mix)—Secret Recipe Club

Corn Flakes Chivda

It’s October Secret Recipe Club time!

Betcha when Trisha from My Hobbie Lobbie sees the little thumbnail with this photo and title, she’ll know instantly it’s a recipe from her blog! ;)  I had the pleasure of having Trisha’s blog this month.  Trisha’s lives in India and while she has a wide array of things to choose from on her blog, including many American recipes/foods, I wanted to pick something new-to-me and native to India, or at least foreign to America to make. 

After much scouring of her blog, I was torn—Trisha seems to like Nigella Lawson recipes, who is a great chef from London who has had a show on the Food Network and who I’ve always liked.  After seeing a few of her recipes at My Hobbie Lobbie, I decided to try one of her cookies Trisha has posted.

Well, those cookies, Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made after seeing Trisha’s post for them were made here and I LOVE them.  I couldn’t find, after looking on Nigella's website, any negative comments about these.  In fact, all of them that I read were in great praise of how wonderful the cookies are.  I will be posting about them soon!

But before I found and made those cookies, I was preparing to make the Corn Flakes Chivda (Savory Snack Mix) that Trisha posted.  She said it is her husband’s favorite snack.  I like that it seemed different with a mix of spicy, savory and sweet and I love snack mixes. 

I like that at the bottom of the recipe Trisha posted she said, “Please note, snacks like this should be tweaked to your liking.  Feel free to play around with the dry fruits and nuts added as well as the spice, sugar and salt levels.  After you make this once, you’ll have a better idea of what you’d like to do the next time.”

Ahhh, an invitation to do whatever I want with a recipe! ;)  But I actually was intrigued by her recipe and tried to stay true to it as much as I could.  I actually tried to find chana dal (dalia), which are a roasted, split garbanzo beans, more available in India and I couldn’t find them and the price through Amazon was just too much, especially if I didn’t know if we’d even like them.  So instead of using those in this recipe, I used sunflower seeds.  I also couldn’t find curry leaves and was a little confused about the green chilies she has in the recipe.  Are they fresh ones, dried ones and what kind?  So instead of that, I used some ground red pepper.

I prepped all the ingredients, including getting some raw cashews and raw peanuts for this snack mix. 

All set.  This snack mix is made in a large skillet with a few of the ingredients added at a time.  The nuts needed roasting (though you can use nuts that are already roasted and then just not roast them in the pan as long) and the mustard seeds needed to toast and pop.  It was a really fun thing to watch.

Ready for some spices and the corn flakes.

  After a short time with the rest of the ingredients, a little sugar for some sweetness was added.  I must say, the way I made it, it is just a little spicy for me, but not so much so that I couldn’t keep snacking on it.  I really like it.  One of my boys, Taylor, kept snacking on it, too.  I plan to make it again and tone down the spice just a little and I think it will make a great snack time and again.

Corn Flakes Chivda, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Trisha at My Hobbie Lobbie

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 tablespoons canola oil

pinch of ground red pepper (or to taste)

pinch of curry powder (or to taste)

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/3 to 1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons raisins (about 20 raisins)

salt, to taste

1 teaspoon tumeric powder

3/4 teaspoon chili powder (or to taste)

2 cups corn flakes cereal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the mustard seeds and stir them around a bit.  Don’t let it get too hot, but when you start hearing them pop, lower the heat to about medium-low.  Add the pinch of ground red pepper and the pinch of curry powder.  Add the peanuts and cashews and let them roast in the pan, stirring it often so they don’t burn.  When they are beginning to brown (3-5 minutes), add the sunflower seeds and stir it around some more until they are toasty as well.  Then add the raisins and stir the mixture in the skillet for about 30 seconds. 

Next add the salt, tumeric, and chili powder and stir well to coat everything.  Add the corn flakes and carefully stir well to coat them with the spice mix.  Remove the skillet from the heat.  Let it cool slightly (just a couple minutes), then sprinkle the sugar over it and toss it gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.  Let it cool completely and store in an air tight container, if you didn’t eat it all in one sitting and there is some left. ;)

Thanks, Trisha, for the fun snack recipe and I’m glad I got to bake from your blog this month!

Cool Mint Oreo Cocoa Krispies Treats

Almost have nothing to say about these latest Rice Krispies Treats creation of mine—because the pictures do all the talking.  If you like Oreo cookies and particularly the Mint Filled Oreos, you’ll really like these Cool Mint Oreo Cocoa Krispies Treat!

I was inspired by a couple of things in my pantry.  One was a bag of yet another Kraft marshmallows I’d found recently—chocolate mint.

I like them.  They aren’t too chocolate minty, but were perfect for making these treats.  My family must have liked the mallows, too—as I only had half a bag left because they thought they’d be perfect in their chocolate mint hot cocoa recently.  So I made these Rice Krispies Treats with only half a bag of the chocolate mint ones and a whole bag of regular mini marshmallows.  I also had some Cocoa Krispies cereal, so I used those, but regular Rice Krispies would be great, too!

So, besides having the chocolate mint marshmallows, I also just happened to have some Cool Mint Oreo cookies, too.  I’m working on using things in my pantry!  (Oh, I’ve still got lots of sweet goodies in my baking pantry, so stay tuned!)  I’d bought the Oreos for just such a treat as these—and then, once again, my family started eating the cookies.  So these treats actually don’t have as many cookies as I would have liked to put in them, but still plenty and if you make these—put as many Oreos as you’d like!

Cool Mint Oreo Cocoa Krispies Treats, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

10.5 ounce bag of regular mini marshmallows

4 ounces (1/2 a bag) Chocolate Mint Marshmallows (if you can’t find them, just use more mini marshmallows)

7  1/2 cups, (310 grams) Cocoa Krispies cereal (regular Rice Krispies would be fine, too)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

16 Cool Mint Oreo cookies (or more, if desired), roughly chopped

Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine all the marshmallows and the butter.  Microwave in 30 second intervals until all melted.  (It only takes a minute to a minute and a half.)  Stir with a wooden spoon.  Add the cereal and stir together until combined.   Fold in the cookies.  Spread the mixture evenly in the pan and press down evenly.  (I use a flat potato masher that is lightly sprayed with cooking spray—it works perfectly!)  Let set at room temperature for an hour or two.  Remove from pan with foil edges.  Peel off foil and cut into desired size pieces on a cutting board.

 If you like chocolate mint things, you’re really like these.  The mint flavor isn’t too strong and perfectly sweet!

Christmas Treats—Bugles Santa Hats and Cookies and Cream Chex Snack Mix

Y’all ready for the big day?  Ready or not, here it comes!  I think we’re about as ready as we’re going to be here.  I’ve just about made all the goodies I can and happily given most of them away.  What you see in the picture above here is some Cookies and Cream Chex Snack Mix I made and some cute Santa Hats made with Bugles.  Are you familiar with Bugles?

You know, those crispy corn snacks that look like, well, bugles.

Dip them in red candy melts with a marshmallow on top and some white candy sprinkles around the rim and you have a Santa Hat!  Bummer that I didn’t really take any more photos than the one at the top there and almost forgot that one.  (*Note, after dipping them in the red melts individually, tap the extra coating off and set them on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Let dry (or chill for a few minutes).  Then dip the tip of the “hat” in a little bit of the red candy melt and push a mini marshmallow into the top.  Let the tops dry before dipping the bottom into the red and then dunking each into some tiny white sprinkles.  I also think (if you can’t find the white sprinkles), use some white candy melts to dip them in and that would be fine.  Lay them on a baking sheet to set.)

I saw the cute idea on Studio 5, a local noonday news show that is always full of lots of crafty and foodie ideas.  You can see the short video here of the gal who talked about them, as well as some other cute, simple ideas for some holiday treats you can make and/or easily include kids helping with making for some fun activities.

And the Chex Mix Muddy Buddies, also known to some as Puppy Chow—there are now many flavors/recipes of that addicting stuff available.  Well, I also happened to notice at the grocery store a limited edition Chex Mix Cookies & Cream.  A small bag of it was $2.50, which I thought was a little pricy.  So I actually bought a bag of it and took it home and cloned it, which isn’t really all that difficult to do. 

I wasn’t quite exactly right on with the Chex Mix in the bag, but I actually liked mine a little better.  I made a big old batch of it and bagged it up with those little Bugles Santa Hats and gave the ladies at church a little Christmas treat last Sunday.

Cookies and Cream Chex Snack Mix, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

9 cups of Corn Chex Cereal

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 8 Oreo Cookies, ground into crumbs

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Have the cereal ready in a large bowl.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter together until smooth.  Melt in 30 second increments, stirring each time.  Stir in the vanilla.  Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir to coat evenly.  Sprinkle in the cookie crumbs and stir to coat evenly.  Sprinkle in the powdered sugar a little at a time, coating the top cereal, then stirring, adding more, and stirring gently until it is all coated in powdered sugar.

Spread the snack mix on a baking sheet and let it cool completely.  Try not to eat too much all at once! ;)

TWD Rewind—Cocoa Crispy Peanut Grabbers (Granola Grabbers)

For Tuesdays With Dorie this week, we could chose any recipe we wanted from the book as a rewind to either something we missed in the past or any recipe we really loved and wanted to make again.  While flipping through the cookie section, I found a couple of the recipes I hadn’t made yet, so I decided that I would make one of them.  I would still like to eventually try to complete every recipe in the book.

One of the cookies I missed was Dorie’s Granola Grabbers (pages 82-83).  I love granola.  I eat homemade granola almost every day.  However, I was currently almost out and when looking in my cupboard, I saw that I had recently gotten two boxes of Cocoa Krispies and decided I’d try the cookies, but use the Krispies instead.  So, needless to say, I ended up making a lot of changes to the recipe because I also altered the amounts of sugar and flour a bit and omitted some of the other ingredients in Dorie’s recipe.  

Cocoa Crispy Peanut Grabbers, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Dorie Greenspan

3 cups Cocoa Krispies (I’m sure Rice Krispies would be great, too!)

3/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (regular ones would be fine, too)

1/3 cup wheat germ

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, minus 2 tablespoons

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1  1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Combine in a medium sized bowl the Cocoa Krispies, peanuts and oats.  In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, wheat germ and salt. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another minute or two.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.  Stir in the cereal, peanuts, oat mixture.  Scoop out rounded tablespoon of dough and form them into balls with your hands.  Space them 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Press each ball of dough down slightly.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for a couple minutes.  Move cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 

I thought these turned out really well (I was a little worried with all the changes I made!)  The cookies are crispy but slightly chewy and have great texture with the cocoa cereal, wheat germ and oats, not to mention the peanuts giving them a great chocolate/peanut flavor. 

This is it, Friends.  One more week of TWD and our last recipe will also be a cookie, hosted by none other than Dorie herself!  I wonder what everyone else made for TWD Rewind week this week?

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Rice Krispies Treats

I recently decided to play around with one of my favorite quick treats—the Rice Krispies.  I had seen some Rice Krispies Treats with hot cocoa on Cookies and Cups and decided to play around with that.  I didn’t have Cocoa Krispies, which is what she used, so I kind of just made up my own and came up with these Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Rice Krispies Treats.  I love how easy these no bake treats are. 

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Rice Krispies Treats, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! adapted from Cookies and Cups

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

5 tablespoons butter

1 (10.5 ounce) bag of mini marshmallows

3 cups French Vanilla Snowman Marshmallows (or just more minis)

8 tablespoons hot cocoa mix (I used milk chocolate flavored)

Ganache--

1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy cream

Line a 9x9 inch square pan (or for thinner treats a 9x13 pan) with tin foil.  Spray with cooking spray. 

In a large saucepan, start melting the butter.  Add the 10.5 ounce bag of mini marshmallows and the hot cocoa mix.  Cook over low heat and stir with wooden spoon until melted.  Remove from heat and add the six cups of cereal.  Press into the pan evenly.

Put the one cup of milk chocolate chips into a medium sized microwave safe bowl.  Heat the cream in a smaller glass bowl in the microwave until bubbling.  Pour the cream over the chocolate.  Let sit for about one minute.  Starting in the center of the bowl, start slowly whisking until the chocolate and cream melt together and is smooth and shiny. 

Pour the ganache over the Rice Krispies Treats.  While the ganache is still wet, line the entire surface of the treats with the snowman shaped marshmallows.  Let sit for about an hour.  Remove from pan using the foil edges.  Peel off the foil and cut into desire sized bars on a cutting board.  Keep stored in an airtight container. 

 

You could easily use the regular mini marshmallows for the top, but I found these French Vanilla Snowman marshmallows and thought they would be fun.  The ganache is the star of the show for these.  Kevin said the treats are a bit thick and he would have liked them thinner, which is why I also suggested a 9x13 inch pan.  Actually, my husband and sons are rather boring in the Rice Krispies Treats department.  They said they would really rather just have the plain ol’ Rice Krispies Treats.  Sigh.  They will still get eaten, I’m sure.

These treats will be linked up over at Lisa’s Sweets for a Saturday #5.  Check out the hundreds of other links to other goodies she’s got over on her blog!  Thanks, Lisa!

Crunchy Nut Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I’ve done it again.  I saw another cookie on another blog and just had to make it.  I’m kind of a sucker that way.  I get pulled in by how good something looks and I’ve just got to have it. ;)  Baking Blonde had been one of my favorite blogs back when I first started in the baking and blogging world.  Then she quit for a while—like a good year or two. :(  She was always making and posting such great looking cookies and things.  Many of which I had to make myself.  I have always liked the recipes I’ve made from Baking Blonde.  Well, she’s back!  She recently started blogging yummy things again and when she most recently posted some Peanut Butter Snack Cookies, I loved the look of them and that she just took things from her pantry that needed to be used up and put them in a peanut butter cookie.  I would totally use her recipe again for all kinds of peanut butter cookie mix-ins.  I used a few different things that I had in my pantry and these Crunchy Nut Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies are delicious!

I wanted to use some cereal that I’d gotten that the boys decided they don’t like eating in a bowl with milk.  (Though I think it’s really good, I just never have a bowl of cereal for breakfast).  Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cereal is just what it says—crunchy and nutty. 

Crunchy Nut Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies, all credit for these goes to Baking Blonde the only thing I did different was add other mix-ins

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Adam’s No Stir Peanut Butter) (128 grams)

1 cup brown sugar (220 grams)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon milk

2 cups all purpose flour (240 grams)

1/2 cup quick cooking oats (40 grams)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 1/3-1/2 cup—(that’s all I had left) peanut butter chips (83 grams)

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 ounces)

1 cup Crunchy Nut Cereal (54 grams)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter.  Once combined, beat in the sugar until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla and beat until smooth and well  blended.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture and mix until almost combined.  Fold in the oats and mix-ins just until combined.  Chill the dough at least 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop walnut sized balls of dough on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes (I then pressed down each cookie with the back of a spatula and baked 2 more minutes.)  Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

I think even if you baked these just as plain peanut butter cookies, they’d still make a great cookie, you could even do the traditional criss cross look with a fork.  But these are great cookies with the added milk chocolate chips and the crunch and flavor from the cereal!  Thanks, BB!

Here’s a couple photos of Sam and Taylor having fun with the ol’ baking soda and water goo that we made yesterday.

Not nearly as fun for me to clean up as it was fun for them to play in!  Yep, I think I should win Mom of the Year for this one. ;)

Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies—Rocky Road Rice Krispies Treats

Here we are again with more goodies for your baking and sharing this Christmas.  I’m sharing two treats with you today.  The Rocky Road Rice Krispies Treats are something I just came up with on a whim a few days ago.  I’m not sure why, but I have a thing for Rice Krispies Treats.  I like that they are so easy, no-bake and you can play with the flavors and have lots of different treats in no time.  Something earlier in the week made me think of rocky road and I decided to see what I could do with Rice Krispies.

I made one recipe of regular Rice Krispies treats and left it sitting in a bowl, while I made another batch of Cocoa Krispies treats.  I sprayed a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, then for fun took handfuls of each Krispies and laid them in a checkered pattern in the pan.

After I had one layer done, I then sprinkled about 2 cups of mini marshmallows over the layer and about one cup of toasted, chopped walnuts.  There’s quite the debate over which nut is traditionally used with rocky road, but I chose walnuts.   Almonds are a contender as well as peanuts.  I then poured a quick ganache over the marshmallows and nuts (I used one cup of chocolate chips and poured half a cup of hot cream over the chips, let it sit for a minute, then whisked it until it was smooth.)

After the marshmallows, nuts and ganache were nestled in the middle, I used the rest of the Rice Krispies and again layered them in a checker-like pattern, but putting Cocoa Krispies on top of the Rice Krispies until it was all used up.  I then pressed it all together and flattened it out evenly.

See that layer for marshmallows in the middle.  THAT is what I’m talkin’ about!  I almost wish I’d have doubled the amount of ganache, but this was still good!

I love that Rice Krispies Treats set up perfectly within an hour or so and slice nicely.  You can make each piece whatever size you’d like.  I put some pieces in cellophane bags and gave some of these away to some neighbors.  They are perfect for stacking up and aren’t too sticky that they stick together.

  

I know, you’re wondering why one neighbor got more than the others.  I went with the number of people in their families for each one.  Now this was like using double the ingredients than you would in making regular Rice Krispies Treats, and I did that because I had three bags of marshmallows in the pantry and two big boxes of cereal, but you could easily just make the one layer and top it with the marshmallows, nuts and ganache if you’d like. (They would not stack if you did that, but would still be great given away on a cookie plate/tray.  I think I’ll try that another time and use double the amount of ganache or you could even just drizzle melted chocolate over the marshmallows and nuts.  So versatile!  Have fun with cereal! ;)

Keep that baking and candy making going, this is week 10!  Check out everyone else’s goodies on the links below.

Ghostly Cocoa Puffs Cupcakes

I was recently lucky enough to be asked to come up with a fun Halloween treat idea for Betty Crocker using Big G (General Mills) cereals.  While for some reason I’ve been thinking of ways to make a healthy treat and haven’t quite solidified anything yet, I did make some fun, yummy, spooky (ha) cupcakes that I wanted to share with you.

 

BOO!  Ahhh!

These little ghosts could not have been more simple to make.  First, I used a Betty Crocker French vanilla white cake mix.  I’d never used the French vanilla cake mix before and thought it tasted great.  I was making mini cupcakes for a baby shower I made some treats for, so I used half of the batter for 24 mini cupcakes and made nine regular cupcakes with the rest.  You can adjust what size and how many cupcakes to make for your needs. 

Next I melted some white vanilla almond bark, then with a spoon spread little ghost bodies on a wax paper lined baking sheet.

Before each ghost hardened, I made their eyes with Cocoa Puffs cereal.  (I tried a mouth on a few of them, but liked them better without.)  Aren’t they cute?  (I like my ghosst and all Halloween things cute rather than scary.)

Cupcakes, done.  Ghosts, done.  Frosting, coming up.  I was in the mood for chocolate, but of course, you can use any frosting you’d like. 

I recently received The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook so I skimmed the book and decided to make their chocolate buttercream recipe.  I halved the recipe.  You can find the recipe all over the internet.

I frosted the nine regular sized cupcakes and one mini one with the chocolate frosting.  I also took some of the Cocoa Puffs cereal and put them in a plastic zip top bag and crushed them with a rolling pin.  After frosting the cupcakes generously, I dipped each one in the crushed cereal, then stuck one of the ghosts in the top.   How fun would these cupcakes be for a preschool or class party or even just your own little trick-or-treaters?

Come on, you know you want one of these!  Besides being cute as can be, they were pretty tasty!  Bwahahahaha.  Scare up some Ghostly Cocoa Puff Cupcakes for your little trick-or-treaters.

Ghostly Cocoa Puffs Cucpakes

1 box Betty Crocker cake mix, made according to directions for cupcakes (your choice)

Favorite frosting of your choice

4 ounces vanilla almond bark, melted

1 ½ cups Cocoa Puffs Cereal, crushed (minus enough for ghost eyes)

Make the cake mix according to the directions on the package for cupcakes. Bake and cool on a wire rack. While the cupcakes are baking, melt the almond bark in a microwave safe dish in 30 second intervals. Once melted and smooth, spoon melted almond bark onto a wax paper lined baking sheets and swirl it into ghost shapes. Put two Cocoa Puffs on the ghosts as eyes before it hardens. Put the baking sheet with the ghosts into the refrigerator or freezer to harden. Put the remaining Cocoa Puffs cereal in a plastic zip top bag, seal it and crush them with a hard object, such as a rolling pin. Pour the crush cereal into a bowl.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost them generously. Dip each frosted cupcake into the crushed cereal and coat it generously. Place one of the ghosts upright down into each cupcake. Serve.

Note: *I was invited by General Mills to participate with other bloggers in creating a fun recipe idea for Halloween using select Big G cereals.  I am being compensated with a $50 gift card.