Tag Archives: candy

Christmas Bark!

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So I have been so busy with Holiday stuff I have been neglecting the blog some… so I am so sorry! I am going to do my best to post a few over the next couple days. Most of them will be holiday ideas.

This recipe I found on …. you guessed it… PINTEREST! Seriously, I might go broke or save money with all my pins!

Anyway, I made this great Halloween Bark back in October and thought, why not try a Christmas one. It is so simple and even the Non-baker types can make this with NO issues!

Christmas Bark

adapted from Cooking with K

32 Oz. Almond Bark Vanilla (2 Packages)
1 Box of Kellogg’s Crispix Cereal
4 cups Christmas shaped pretzels (or really any small ones will do!)
2 16oz. Bags of M&M’S (any variety will work-Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies, or Peanut Chocolate Candies, or Plain Chocolate Candies- I used Peanut  Butter and Pretzel) in Christmas Colors

Holiday Sprinkles **Optional

In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave for 2-4 minutes at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. While it is melting you can mi In a large bowl, mix the cereal, pretzels, and M&Ms (you should steal an M&M or two to make sure they are good enough to serve!)

Pour melted chocolate over the cereal mixture. Using a large spatula to fold all together. Try not to mash the cereal too much while doing this.

Once all the mixture is coated completely with the chocolate, pour out onto a table lined with waxed paper (I used baking trays lined with wax paper and set it outside because it cooled REALLY fast!).

Shake some holiday sprinkles on them for extra color!

Once cooled, break up into pieces and store in an air tight container-Ziplocks work well!

Christmas Bark!

Mae’s Got This is not responsible for any diets this recipe might ruin. ENJOY!!!

Halloween Party 2011 Part 1

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I decided to break this into two parts…  so be on the look out for the other part coming tomorrow.

We have a good group of parents that has formed a very loose ‘playgroup’. Mostly, we all just get together periodically and do things locally.  Tomorrow is our Halloween Party! It is going to be a great today Munchkin and I made some treats to take.

I had found a ton of great ideas on Pinterest… and settled on two fun snacks!

The first we found here.

Witches Hats!

Here is what you need:

  • 1 bag of Hershey’s Kisses (unwrapped)
  • 2 packages of Keebler’s Fudge Stripes cookies
  • a tube of Wilton Orange Icing/Vanilla Icing with Orange food coloring*
* If you use the vanilla icing then a piping bag and a small tip come in handy
How to make them:
Turn the cookies upside down.  Pipe a small circle of icing around the ring of the cookie. Push the Hershey’s Kiss  onto the cookie. Then allow the icing to harden. Cover the cookies and keep airtight until serving.
Munchkin had a BLAST putting the Kisses on the hats we made for the party!
Not too shabby for our first attempt. :)

Witches Hats

Our second treat was another Pinterest find from here .
Halloween White Chocolate Bark
14 whole Halloween Oreos, broken up
1 1/2 cups pretzels – any shape, broken into pieces
16 ounces white bakers chocolate/ white chocolate melts
1 cup candy corn
brown and orange colored sprinkles (any Halloween mix will do!)Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn onto the prepared cookie sheet in a 9×13 shape.

This is yummy even before the chocolate!

Place almond bark in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly. It may seem like it’s not enough but just try to evenly spread it.

White Chocolate Covered

The ratio of chocolate to toppings will be off if you add more almond bark/white chocolate. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the almond bark/white chocolate while it is still wet.

Ready too harden!

 Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces – it’s really rich. Makes around 20-24 pieces. Store in air tight container.
I’ll take a picture tomorrow of the final product! I will also post some of the crafts we end up doing too. Fall is such a fun time! :) Enjoy!!!

Mmmm… Homemade Marshmallows!

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I love to cook and bake, but candy making isn’t something I usually dabble in.  There is a science to it. You can’t just add what sounds good, you must cook things for an exact amount of time to a certain degree. I am not good with exact. This time I was successful!

I had several friends test them and they all agreed that the store-bought marshmallows had NOTHING on these. It isn’t that I am that good at candy making. I honestly believe it is all in the vanilla. They tasted real! Nothing fake about them.

Now before I get to the  recipe, I must admit when I made them  I put chocolate chips and graham cracker dust on top. I would use mini chips next time, though the large ones work fine. I also could envision these being AMAZING dipped in chocolate then dusted in graham cracker crumbs.  Or even dipped in colored white chocolate and sprinkles for a party! Really there are a million things you could do with them!

**Please note that you need a candy thermometer for these!**

S'more Anyone?

Homemade Marshmallows

adapted from Feast STL

  • confectioners’ sugar, as needed
  • ¾ cup cold water, divided
  • 3 Tbsp gelatin powder (3 packets)
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/8 cup light corn syrup
  • ¼ tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp of Vanilla (pure is the best!)

Directions:

 Grease a 9×13-inch cake pan and fit the bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Pour ½ cup cold water in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk, and sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water. Let the gelatin sit and “bloom” for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla and remaining ¼ cup water in a medium saucepan. Boil until the mixture reaches 240°F, using a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature, and is at the “soft ball” stage.

With the stand mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the bloomed gelatin. Once all the hot liquid is added, gradually increase the mixer speed to high.

Continue mixing at high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has tripled in volume.

Using an oiled rubber spatula, transfer marshmallow mixture to the prepared pan. Smooth the surface using the spatula or an oiled sheet of plastic wrap. Let cool overnight.  This is the stickiest stuff I have EVER touched!

Lightly dust a workspace with confectioners’ sugar. Invert the set marshmallow onto the powdered surface. If it sticks, use an oiled butter knife or spatula to help it come loose. Dust a pizza cutter with confectioners’ sugar, and cut the marshmallow into bite-sized squares. Dust with additional confectioners’ sugar, and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Halloween Candy for a Great Cause

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I just looked at the calendar today and realized Halloween is right around the corner! I knew it was close, and I used to be able to tell how near a holiday was by the items in stores. However, since Halloween stuff has been out for a couple of months I totally just glance over that section in stores now.

I want to give you an option for all that extra candy. We plan on taking Munchkin and Peanut trick-or-treating. It is fun to see the kids all dressed up and since we go with friends it makes for a great night. Last year I think we only took Munchkin to about 20 houses one block in our neighborhood. I couldn’t believe all the candy she received! We allowed her to pick 10 pieces and the rest we sent to daddy’s work (ok after Rand McNally and I took about 5 of our favorites!). This year we are going to do something different.

For those of you who don’t know Rand McNally is in the Army Reserves. After spending about 5 years active duty he made the switch. During his 5 years he spent 15 months deployed to Iraq. So when I stumbled upon this program it instantly became something I wanted to do with the girls extra candy.

This year instead of sending the extra candy to work with Daddy we are going to take part in The Halloween Candy Buy Back program! It is a brilliant program that saves kids from excessive candy that can harm their teeth, parents from excessive calories, and give men and women in harm’s way something special!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Take your kiddos trick-or-treating… get lots of candy!
  2. Locate a participating dentist near you who will “buy” back kids’ Halloween candy (search is in the top right corner)
  3. Some of the things the Dentist might use to “Buy”  the candy include cash, coupons, toothbrushes, lots more!
  4. Then the Dentist will send the  candy to Operation Gratitude or other Military support groups
  5. Finally, the candy will be sent to Operation Gratitude to U.S. Military deployed in harm’s way
What an awesome program right? It is important for children to learn about giving back to their community. This is a great opportunity for that! Plus, let’s be honest nobody needs hundreds of pieces of candy! Please consider this program this year. I look forward to hearing about your experience and plan to share about what Munchkin and Peanut get from our local dentist after Halloween. Be safe… and get LOTS of Candy!