Back to School Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers

 

 

 

 These "smart cookies" make a great lunch box treat or after school snack for your favorite students and teachers or goodies for a back to school PARTY!

 They are SUPER simple & the only ingredients you need are graham crackers & white chocolate!

Melt, dip & decorate for a perfect A+! That's it! :)

 I put some on top of cupcakes for an extra special treat! If I use them as cupcake toppers again, I will make them half the size. I had to stack up extra frosting in the back to hold them up. :)

Back To School Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers

ingredients

• Graham crackers, cut into rectangles to resemble pieces of paper. My graham crackers were square so I just used a knife to cut 1/4 of them off to make a rectangle.

• White chocolate or vanilla candy coating, like Candiquik

• Red, blue & black candy melts OR oil based or powdered food colorings to color your white Candiquik those colors

1. Melt white Candiquik in a small bowl & dip trimmed graham crackers in it, coating completely. Place dipped graham crackers on wax or parchment paper to set up. (I always melt my Candiquik and candy melts in the microwave at half power. Watch it closely & stir often as it melts.)

2. Melt blue candy melts & place in a piping bag with a Wilton tip 1 or 2. Or you could use a sandwich bag and just snip a tiny hole in the corner of it. I only had dark blue candy melts so I used mostly white & added a few pieces of blue to make light blue. Pipe lines on the white dipped graham crackers.

3. Melt red candy melts & place in a piping bag with Wilton tip 1 or 2. Pipe the ruled edge on the graham cracker & an A+.

4. Melt black candy melts & place in a piping bag with Wilton tip 1 or 2. Pipe 3 black dots for holes.

peppermint bark snowflakes party!

 It's Christmas time & we all need quick tips for homemade holiday goodies and gifts that are simple yet impressive. This one hits all the marks.

 The hardest part of these no bake treats is tying the bows for the packaging. And who doesn't love the Christmas classic of peppermint bark with milk chocolate, white chocolate & CANDY CANES?!

 These would be great little treats for teachers, neighbors and friends. You could also tie one onto a package or add a few to your Christmas cookie platters.

I bought my silicone molds at etsy.com last year. The person I bought them from is no longer on etsy but THIS is the exact same mold. I bought an extra one & I'M SHARING! See giveaway below!

To crush the candy canes I placed them in a ziploc bag and smashed them with the handle of a big knife. Then I sifted out the candy cane dust & gave the big pieces another whack. I sprinkled each snowflake with some bigger pieces & some candy cane dust.

 Be careful with the peppermint oil, mine is VERY strong & you don't want to over do it! I bought mine at Baker's C&C, which is a local cake decorating store, but it may be available at a grocery store. Add ONE drop at a time & taste test before adding another drop.

Peppermint Bark Snowflakes
inspired by Baked By Rachel's 2010 blog post
 makes 6 peppermint snowflakes

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped Candiquik Vanilla Candy Coating
6-8 drops peppermint OIL (not extract)
6-8 mini candy canes, crushed

1. Melt milk chocolate chips. I use a small plastic bowl in the microwave.  On medium power, cook for 1 minute & stir, repeat at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Stir in 3-4 drops of peppermint oil, to taste.

2. Spoon melted milk chocolate into each mold to completely cover the bottom, 2-4 teaspoons, depending on how thick you want your bark. If needed, use the tip of a knife to spread it around a bit to make sure all of the edges & corners are covered with chocolate. Allow chocolate to set. You can move the mold on a cookie sheet into the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to speed up the process.

4. Melt white candy coating in a plastic bowl in the microwave. On medium power, cook for 1 minutes & stir. Repeat at 30 second intervals until melted & smooth. Stir in 3-4 drops of peppermint oil, to taste.

5. Spoon 2-4 teaspoons melted candy coating into each mold over the set milk chocolate. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Allow chocolate to set. You can move it to the refrigerator to speed up the process.

6. Remove the snowflakes from the silicone mold. They come out very easy by bending the silicone mold and peeling it away from the peppermint snowflake.

 7. Wrap them up in cellophane bags, tie with a ribbon & give them to your favorite people!

 P.S. be careful melting chocolate & candy coating in the microwave. If you over cook it you'll have to toss it & start over.

**GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED**

To celebrate CHRISTMAS, SNOWFLAKES & PEPPERMINT I'm giving away a silicone snowflake mold and a 16 ounce package of Vanilla Candiquik to one lucky winner. Giveaway closes Wednesday, December 12!

To enter all you need to do is STEP 1. "Like" Sprinkle Some Sunshine on FACEBOOK AND STEP 2. Come back to this blog post and leave a comment telling me what your favorite HOLIDAY TREAT is. If you already like Sprinkle Some Sunshine on FB then just leave your holiday treat comment here! To leave a comment click below where it says "1 comment" (or whatever number ) & a comment box will pop up. A random winner will be selected and notified 12/12/12.

no-bake oatmeal cookies and cookbook talk party!

 
As much as I love the thousands of food blogs & online recipe sights, there is nothing like cracking open a new AMAZINGLY written, published & printed cookbook! I'm a cookbook junkie! I love to read them like novels, cover to cover. I also love my local library. They have a great selection of cookbooks, almost always have the newest releases & anything on the best sellers lists. I almost always have a cookbook on hold at the library & I currently have 4 cookbooks checked out, 1 overdue.

Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito is one of my current favorites! The subtitle is "Classic American Desserts Reinvented", which is right up my alley. I LOVE Classic Desserts! What's more classic than peanut butter, chocolate & oats?

When I begin reading a new cookbook I get a piece of paper to use as a bookmark. As I read the book, I write down the recipes that I want to make. I gathered a long list from this book, which explains why it is past due.

The first recipe I made from this book is the classic No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies, page 185. I grew up on these & often came home from school to find a batch of them on the kitchen counter. My mom is THE expert on these sweet treats!

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
makes 48 cookies (recipe can be halved)

ingredients

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

1. Line counter top area with waxed paper or parchment paper.

2. Cut the softened butter into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, cocoa & butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.

4. Bring mixture to a boil, stop stirring, and boil for a full 90 seconds. Don't overcook or cookies will be overly dry & crumbly.

 5. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter, oats & vanilla. Quickly stir until the mixture is combined.

6. Use a small scoop or a tablespoon to drop the no-bake cookies on to the waxed paper.  If you do this very quickly the cookies will spread a bit on the wax paper while the mixture is still hot, which most people prefer. I took my time, snapping a picture, so my cookies didn't spread since they set up very quickly. Allow to cool. Can be stored in tightly sealed container for 3 days.

 P.S. My mom sometimes did this & so do I: Make the exact recipe MINUS the cocoa powder for a yummy No-Bake PEANUT BUTTER cookie treat!

 Next on the list is this GORGEOUS Mississippi Mud Pie, page 156.

peanut butter sandwich treat party & giveaway!

Raise your hand if you're sad that summer is winding down & back to school is getting close. I honestly LIVE for Summer. I barely survive Winter every year & I really need to live somewhere that has a longer Summer season (like Southern California)! Very few people love Summer best of all the seasons but I definitely DO love Summer best!

We had so much fun on our summer trip to Southern California & had some EXTREMELY yummy treats. One of them being this amazing peanut butter sandwich from Disneyland. And you guessed it, I came home & re-created it just for you...well...and me! Here is a pic of the one I ate at Disneyland. Graham cracker, peanut butter & chocolate PERFECTION!

 

Peanut Butter Sandwich Treat

makes 6 treats

6 graham crackers

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate for dipping (I used chocolate Candiquik today) but you could also use the chocolate chip/shortening combo in the pb balls recipe linked above.

1.  Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar & vanilla with a fork in a bowl & stick it in the freezer to firm up a bit.

2. Melt chocolate (Candiquik melts beautifully in the microwave) & brush one side of the graham crackers with melted chocolate using a pastry brush. 

3. Scoop peanut butter mixture on top of chocolate side of the graham crackers. I used about 2 tablespoons of pb mixture per cracker. Spread pb evenly to edges of cracker.

4. Place crackers in freezer for a bit to firm up the pb.

 

5. Reheat the chocolate if needed. Dip the pb graham crackers into chocolate. I set them in the bowl of melted chocolate, one at a time, & spooned the melted chocolate over the top. Then lift the cracker out of chocolate with a fork & tapped the fork on the side of the bowl so extra chocolate drips off into the bowl. 

6. Place on waxed paper or parchment paper & allow chocolate to set up. I drizzled extra melted chocolate over the top. Store in refrigerator & serve very cold.

 

Giveaway is closed! Congrats to Leah!! The cute Minnie apron is on it's way to you!

 AND...to celebrate SUMMER I'm sharing this adorable Polka Dot Minnie Mouse Apron (pic below is from www.disneystore.com). It's adult size & super playful & fun!

To enter all you need to do is 1. "Like" Sprinkle Some Sunshine on FACEBOOK and 2. Come back to this blog post & leave a comment telling me where your very favorite vacation ever was OR where your dream vacation would be. If you already like Sprinkle Some Sunshine on FB then just leave your vacation comment here! To leave a comment click below where it says "1 comment" (or whatever number) & a comment box will pop up. A random winner will be selected Sunday night, 8/19/12 and notified. Please leave your email address or someway to contact you.

 

mini no bake nutella cheesecakes party!

My Nutella obsessed teenager, Monica, has been creating up a storm in the kitchen! She recently made homemade Nutella ice cream (to die for) & now she has made these gorgeous No Bake Nutella Cheesecakes! If you haven’t tried Nutella it’s a chocolate hazelnut spread that is DELICIOUS served on pancakes, crepes, rice krispies treats, ice cream, fresh strawberries, or straight out of the jar on a spoon. 

This is a recipe she discovered & created & I happily devoured! It’s light & airy & thick & creamy & chocolatey! The no-bake makes it a PERFECT Summer treat. Another benefit is that it was twice as good the 2^nd day! Make-ahead AND no-bake…what are you waiting for?

Mini No Bake Nutella Cheesecakes

Recipe Source:  My Baking Addiction

ingredients:

12 Oreo Cookies (she used Kroger brand with chocolate cream)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (feel free to use light)

2/3 cup Nutella

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 container (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed (feel free to use light Cool Whip OR whip up your own heavy cream, as shown HERE)

Optional for garnishing: additional Cool Whip, chopped hazelnuts, chocolate chips, additional crushed Oreos

directions:

1. For crust: crush cookies in a food processor or in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Stir together in a small bowl with the melted butter.

2. Divide crust into 4 individual serving glasses. You could also make this in a 9” pie pan.  Press crust lightly into the bottom of the dish(es). Set aside.

3. For filling: Beat softened cream cheese & nutella with an electric mixer until very smooth. Add vanilla & mix until combined. 

4. With a rubber spatula, fold the Cool Whip into the Nutella/cream cheese mixture until well blended. This takes awhile so just keep folding.

5. Pipe the filling from a piping bag or spoon it into the glasses on top of the crust.

6. Refrigerate until ready to serve or garnish as desired with optional garnishments. Monica piped extra Cool Whip on top & sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 P.S. My daughter used 4 10 oz. martini glasses & they were large desserts. You could easily use smaller serving dishes & make this into 6 servings. They stay perfect in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you use homemade whipped cream that is not stabilized (instead of Cool Whip), the cream will deflate & they should not be stored in the fridge more than 1 day.

She had some extra cheesecake filling that she piped between two mini 'nilla wafers & rolled the sides in chopped hazelnuts. Mmmmmmm!!!