The Cereal Baker

Strawberry Shortcake Bark

2012-02-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, strawberry shortcake is something most people associate with summer, but I don't believe in seasonal desserts. As long as you can find the ingredients (and are willing to pay the price for out of season fruit, etc.), you should just make whatever you want year-round. Of course, I didn't make make an actually strawberry shortcake, but the sentiment remains the same.

Strawberry Shortcake Bark

Ingredients

1oz dried strawberries
4 store bought individual sponge cakes
12oz white chocolate chips

Directions

Prep baking sheet with wax.
Coarsely chop strawberries, and either food process or hand demolish the cakes until they are crumbs.
Melt the chocolate chips and spread out on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle strawberries evenly over the chocolate, then cover the rest of the chocolate with the cake crumbs, pressing down when you are done.
Put in fridge until set, and then break into "reasonably-sized" pieces.

I really enjoyed getting that summer flavor of the strawberries and cake with the heartier background of the white chocolate. Another dessert in bark form for the win!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Fudge

2012-02-10T16:27:00.003-05:00

Do you ever sometimes think, “Man, I want to make something that promotes both gross negligence of my nutritional health and my laziness.”? That wasn’t my initial reasoning for making this fudge, but it will be from now on. I even added an extra step. The original recipe, which you can find all over the Internet, just called for two ingredients, but I had some chocolate cake lying around, so I thought, "Meh, why not?"

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Fudge

For the full it's-so-good-you'll-eat-it-until-you-yack recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Nerds

2012-02-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

Do you struggle with keeping your Nerds in one place? I know I do. After eating a box of them, a couple always seem to wind up in my pocket. So I've figured a way for those little bits of rainbow goodness to stay in once place (and make them even worse for you!). Cover them in chocolate, duh!

Chocolate Covered Nerds

Ingredients

bark of your choice (my preference was the white, but if you are looking to cut the sweetness of the Nerds, go with the regular chocolate)
Nerds (I used Rainbow Nerds)

Directions

Melt the bark.
Stir in Nerds.
Drop spoonfuls of Nerds/chocolate mix onto a wax-covered baking sheet.
Chill in freezer until set.

I just used bark because it's usually what I use to cover things in chocolate, but using chocolate chips would work just as well. Chocolate chips would give you a higher chocolate-to-Nerds ratio as they have a thicker consistency than bark when melted. This would certainly increase your chocolate options. Oh, I bet peanut butter chips would be great with Nerds. Project!

Buffalo Chicken Dip Truffles

2012-01-29T15:12:00.001-05:00

Are you just about ready for some football? I know it’s a week away, but I’m sure you are already trawling the Internet Web Connection looking for the perfect Super Bowl party appetizer. Well, look no more my friend; I have just what you need: Buffalo Chicken Dip Truffles. It has all the qualities of the awesome dip you know and love, but now it's easily portable, mess-free, and covered in chocolate!

Buffalo Chicken Dip Truffles

For the full recipe that's sure to make this coming Sunday truly super, visit Foodbeast.

Funfetti Fudge

2012-01-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

I love all things cake, so when I saw this recipe, I had high hopes. Fudge that tastes like Funfetti cake? Sign. Me. Up.

Funfetti Fudge

Ingredients

1 bag white chocolate chips
7oz sweetened condensed milk
1.5t vanilla extract
1/4t almond extract
3/4c rainbow sprinkles, divided

Directions

Prep 8x8 pan with wax paper.
Mix chips and milk into a bowl and microwave 2-3 min until the chocolate is almost melted.
Stir in extracts and then a generous 1/2c of sprinkles.
Pour goo into the pan, smooth it out, and top it with the rest of the sprinkles.
Put in fridge, chill to set, and cut into small squares.

Colorful? For sure. Tasty? Word. Cake-like? Not really. It just tasted like good vanilla fudge with crunchy sprinkles in it. I liked the flavor and the consistency, so while it's not Funfetti, I still consider it a success.

Cheetos Marshmallow Treats

2012-01-23T00:44:00.002-05:00

So there I was sitting on the couch thinking about Cheetos, like ya do, and it came to me: Cheetos. Marshmallow. Treats. Just like Rice Krispies Treats, but on crack—cheesy, crunchy, neon orange crack.

Cheetos Marshmallow Treats

For the easy, cheesy recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Pecan Spinwheels Truffles

2012-01-18T14:03:00.003-05:00

Food processors change lives. If you don't have one, go out and buy one. Get one for me while you're at it because, man, I am in need. However, I made do with my hands and a spoon with my most recent addition to my growing list of Little Debbie truffles.

Pecan Spinwheels Truffles

Ingredients

1 box (8 spinwheels) Pecan Spinwheels
4 oz cream cheese, softened
white chocolate bark

Directions

Crumble spinwheels in food processor.
Add cream cheese to crumbs and process until combined
Scoop into 2t balls and put in fridge to set.
Melt bark; coat truffles; return to fridge to harden chocolate shell.

They definitely fall more in line with the Honey Buns than with the Oatmeal Creme Pies: more savory than sweet, which can be a good thing...if you're not me. Regardless, my new group of taste testers seemed to enjoy them as did my other, which works fine for me. I may have to make the Star Crunch or Oatmeal Creme Pie ones again though because dude.

Cinnamon Bun Bark

2012-01-14T14:22:00.002-05:00

Those folks who make Cookie Dough Bites are on to something with their newest creation: Cinnamon Bun Bites. I don’t think I agree that they taste “fresh from the oven,” but I’m sure we can all agree that they taste good. They taste so good, in fact, that they were the inspiration for my latest candy bark creation: Cinnamon Bun Bark. Yum!

Cinnamon Bun Bark

For the full sweet and sticky recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Skittles Chocolate Cookies

2012-01-09T20:02:00.001-05:00

Just so we are clear, these are chocolate cookies with Skittles, not cookies with Chocolate Skittles (Blech!).

I know what you're thinking, "Really, Becky? Chocolate cookies and Skittles?" But one day I was like, "Man, I could really go for Skittles. Man, I could really go for some chocolate cookies." I didn't think a handful of Skittles and couple of chocolate cookies were going to cut it, so I combined them. I've made a few different chocolate cookie recipes, but I used my favorite base for this cookie, which I'll share again here.

Skittles Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

1c butter, room temp
1 1/2c sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
2c flour
1/2c cocoa powder
1t baking soda
1/4t salt
1c white chocolate chips
2/3-1c Skittles

Directions

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.
In separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture until fully incorporated.
Fold in chips and Skittles.
Refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours. (I cut down the chilling time by sticking the dough in the freezer for an hour or so).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll into balls or scoop with an your 2t cookie scoop and drop on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.

Be warned: the Skittles get all melty and when they are on the edge of the cookie they seep out and create a sharp sugar knife that will slice your mouth up.

They were just alright, I think. Next time I'm craving both, I'll probably just keep them separate.

Chocolate Covered Pizza Rolls

2012-01-05T23:37:00.001-05:00

Did you make a resolution to eat healthier in 2012? Not me. In fact, I've resolved to eat equally as much, if not more, ridiculously-bad-for-you goodies as I ate last year. And I started with these scrumptious, chocolate-covered puffs of "pizza in a golden crust" (Totino's words, not mine).

Chocolate Covered Pizza Rolls

For the full recipe that's as easy as (pizza) pie, visit Foodbeast.

Bacon Pancake Truffles

2011-12-26T13:33:00.000-05:00

The days of cutting up pancakes, dousing them in maple syrup, and then chewing them all on your own are over. Why go through all that effort when the food processor can mush all of it into one easily digestible (and tasty!) goo? Of course, more effort is added in when you mix it with candied bacon (duh, I mean you've met me, right?), scoop it into balls, and coat it in chocolate. But those are the sacrifices you should be willing to make to experience this fabulous, not just for breakfast, truffle.

Bacon Pancake Truffles

For all of the gooey details, visit Foodbeast.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Balls

2011-12-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

So a cake ball is, traditionally, crumbled up cake mixed with frosting, right? Sure that gives you great options for certain specially cake balls: German Chocolate, Hummingbird, etc. But what about those cakes that have no frosting to call their own? I decided to give one of those cakes a cake ball shout-out, and it turned out even better than expected.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Balls

Ingredients

1/4c butter
1c brown sugar
20oz pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved
6oz maraschino cherries without stems, drained
1 box yellow cake mix
oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F, drop butter in 9x13 pan and melt in oven.
Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter.
Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar, place a cherry in center of each pineapple slice, and arrange remaining cherries around slices.
Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. (Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 cup.)
Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
Bake 42 to 48 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and let the cake cool completely.
Crumble cake, pineapple, cherries and brown sugar goo into a food processor and mix until combined.
Scoop into balls using your 2t cookie scoop and put in the fridge to chill.
Melt your white chocolate bark and coat your cake balls; return to fridge to set.

The fruit and the melt-y brown sugar made for a great binder for the cake. I didn't add any extra liquid. Using the food processor was a good idea as it distributed the cherries and pineapple throughout the mixture. I might prefer this cake in ball form: it was a lot less messy and easier to eat this way. And, man, it was good.

Mudslide Cookies

2011-12-21T00:19:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a Mudslide at TGIFriday's? It’s a chocolate-y, milkshake-y cocktail of vodka, Bailey’s, Kahlua, ice cream, and awesomeness. Sometimes you might go to Friday’s just to have one and sometimes you just aren’t super motivated. For those times, I suggest snagging a bottle of TGIFriday's Mudslide mix (just add ice…and lots of Hershey’s syrup) from your local package store. And, if you have to have some left over, make these cookies!

I got the base recipe from How Sweet Eats and traded the Bailey’s in the original recipe for Mudslide mix. And I added a super important step: dunk the dough in more mudslide before you bake it!

Mudslide Cookies

For the full booze-filled recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Sour Gummy Worms

2011-12-17T20:55:00.002-05:00

Sour gummies are where it's at. Hand me a bag of Gummi Bears, and I'll pass it along (or soak them in vodka). Hand me a bag of Sour Gummy Worms (or Sour Patch Kids, holla!), and I am all over it. I like the sour tarty-ness that makes your face pucker. Plus, the flavors of sour gummy worms (underneath the sour sugar) are totally better.

We all know how I like to make already good things even better. I didn't wrap the worms in bacon this time (project!), but I did wrap them in something almost as good: chocolate.

Chocolate Covered Sour Gummy Worms

Choose your weapon: regular or white chocolate bark or both. Melt it down, dip the worms, chill to set.

You still get some of the sourness, but it's cut by the sweetness of the chocolate (but not so much so that it's overly sweet...at least according to my taste buds).

Bacon and Eggnog Cookies:The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2011

2011-12-12T16:46:00.000-05:00

Christmas and cookies, as Cal Naughton would say, go together like Chinese food and chocolate pudding. So imagine my delight when I stumbled across a blog post inviting me to join in on The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap of 2011. Here's the deal: I signed up to send one dozen cookies to three fellow food bloggers. And as I sent mine out, one dozen cookies from three other food bloggers (three dozen total) would be sent my way.

I knew I wanted to bake something traditional, but with a twist. My train of thought went a little something like this: Christmas-y, Christmas-y. What's Christmas-y? Fruit cake...mint...eggnog...eggnog! Alright, booze in a cookie is a good start but what goes with eggnog besides nothing? Hmmm, eggnog. What is nog? Wait...nog...egg. What goes with eggs? Bacon!!! So Bacon and Eggnog Cookies were born.

The base recipe is Mrs. Field's Eggnog Cookies; I just added a little bit of awesome (i.e., candied bacon).

Bacon and Eggnog Cookies

For the detailed recipe, visit Foodbeast.com.

Thanks so much to Sylvia, Marie, and Callye for the fabulous cookies you guys sent!

Lofthouse Cookie Truffle Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-12-08T15:45:00.001-05:00

Why do people feel offended for me when I tell them I’m baking my own birthday cupcakes? I like to bake, and this way I know I’m getting something good. And these cupcakes are good, I mean like I-just-touched-a-Backstreet-Boy good. (I don’t know from experience, but I’m sure it’s pretty amazing. And just a heads up, I’m still interested if any of you want to help me work that out.)

As you may well know, I enjoy many things. I also enjoy putting together the things I enjoy to create an even MORE enjoyable thing. Two of my favorite sweets are red velvet cake and Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies. So what could be better than sticking one in the other?

Lofthouse Cookie Truffle Red Velvet Cupcakes

For details on how to make the Best. Birthday. Cupcakes. Ever. Visit Foodbeast.

Lofthouse Cookie Truffles

2011-12-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

Best. Store. Bought. Frosted. Sugar. Cookie. Ever.

Ever.

I love everything about these cookies: the soft, cloud-like texture; the dense and creamy pile of whipped bliss on top; sprinkles! If you haven't tried one, stop reading this post now, go to your nearest grocery, purchase and consume immediately.

My ultimate plan for these truffles (sans the chocolate coating) is even more awesome, but these, being ridiculously tasty on their own, deserved a separate post. As the frosting helps to bind the crumbs already, the ratios are different than previous truffle recipes.

Lofthouse Cookie Truffles

Ingredients

10 Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies
2oz cream cheese, softened
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Turn cookies into crumbs in the food processor.
Add cream cheese and pulse until combined (this may take a little finagling).
Melt chocolate; coat truffles; chill to set.

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. If you like these truffles, which you will, you are going to love what I'm going to do with the rest of them. Stay tuned.

Honey Bun Truffles

2011-12-03T15:09:00.001-05:00

I wasn't a huge fan of Honey Buns growing up. I mean if you gave me one, I'd eat it, but I don't think I would have chosen it otherwise. I also tried a deep-fried honey bun at the fair last year; I wasn't impressed. Regardless, they were next on my list of Little Debbie truffles, so I was happy to give them another chance.

The recipe again is similar to the previous ones: just the treat and cream cheese rolled in a ball and covered in chocolate. But I figure you are looking for something more detailed than that, so here you go...

Honey Bun Truffles

Ingredients

1pkg (6 indiv. wrapped) Honey Buns
4oz cream cheese, softened
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Break apart Honey Buns into food processor and pulse until crumby.
Add cream cheese to crumbs and pulse until combined.
Scoop into balls and stick in fridge to set.
Melt chocolate and coat truffles.
Return to fridge to set.

I thought these were a bit savory. Maybe with the stickiness of the Honey Bun, the cream cheese wasn't needed. They were definitely much better cold. My favorites are still the Oatmeal Cream Pie and the Star Crunch truffles, but if Honey Buns top your Little Debbie list, I say give this recipe a try.

Fruity Candy Bark

2011-11-29T22:13:00.001-05:00

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas fast approaching, most people are probably taking a break from consuming indulgent and decadent foods. I’m not most people.

Basically, I united my favorite fruity candies, with a little help from my trusty sidekick, white chocolate, into one saccharin-licious superpower of a dessert (so dubbed Diabetes Bark by my taste testers).

Fruity Candy Bark

For the complete sugar-filled recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Soft Pretzels

2011-11-25T15:45:00.001-05:00

Oh my gosh, I forgot how much I HEART soft pretzels. My Grandpa Walter and I used to holler at them all the time for an after-school snack. (He also had a drawer FULL of fun-sized Snickers and there was always Breyer's Strawberry ice cream in the freezer and 7-Up in the fridge). Good times.

To ready the pretzels for coating, you just follow the directions on the box. I put them in the oven because I had the time, but I'm sure they would be just as good in the microwave. Don't forget the salt!!!

Chocolate Covered Soft Pretzels

Ingredients

6 soft pretzels, baked and cooled
chocolate baking bark

Directions

Chop up or rip up the salted soft pretzels.
Melt the bark and coat your pretzel bits.
Stick in the fridge to set.

You can see from the picture that I tried out both the white and regular chocolate bark. Well dudes, don't waste your time with the white chocolate. I don't know about everybody else, but I thought the milk chocolate was the clear winner. Tasted like a chocolate-covered, salty Krispy Kreme donut. Yum!

Bacon Cheddar Apple Crisp

2011-11-21T13:56:00.001-05:00

So you probably already have a good idea of what you are cooking for Thanksgiving. I’m going to assume your menu looks a little something like this: bacon-wrapped turkey, bacon mashed potatoes, bacon green bean casserole, bacon pumpkin pie.

So dinner is covered. But what about breakfast? I suggest that you start Thanksgiving morning off with a healthy serving of bacon cheddar apple crisp. I know what you’re thinking, “Bacon? For breakfast? Get outta town!“ But I hear people do it all the time, and the time for you is now (or, more accurately, Thursday morning).

Bacon Cheddar Apple Crisp

To get the recipe for a breakfast that will cause you to count your blessings, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Kickin' Cheddar Ritz Bits

2011-11-19T10:28:00.001-05:00

The world should be covered in chocolate and hot sauce. Separately or together, either way works for me. Although these bits of chocolate-covered buttery goodness aren't dipped in Frank's (ooo, project!), they still give you that little extra kick in the mouth (hence the name) that I know you are craving.

The original plan for this recipe (and I use that term extremely loosely) was to go to the grocery and stare at the cheese and peanut butter Ritz Bits to see which one wanted to be covered in chocolate more. But when I saw these Kickin' Cheddar Ritz Bits, those other two were quickly forgotten.

Chocolate Covered Kickin' Cheddar Ritz Bits

Ingredients

1 box Kickin' Cheddar Ritz Bits
chocolate or white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Melt chocolate.
Coat bits.
Chill until set.

If you are looking for a more prominent chocolate flavor, go with the regular chocolate. If you want the cheese and spice to shine, stick with the white. If you are looking for something that is just plain good, both or either will do the job admirably.

Bacon Pumpkin Pie Truffles

2011-11-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means it’s time to decide how to most efficiently and taste-ily gain 5 pounds in one day. Well, I've got a solution for you: bite-sized balls of chocolate-coated, bacon-laden, pumpkin pie.

Basically, it’s a cake ball, but with pie, so I was hesitant to call them truffles. However, I was feeling a bit hoity-toity this morning, so why not?

Feel free to use your favorite pumpkin pie recipe to make these truffles, I just used the recipe on the back of a can of Libby's pumpkin.

Bacon Pumpkin Pie Truffles

For the full recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Nabisco Cookie White Chocolate Bark

2011-11-11T10:14:00.001-05:00

Version 1 of this cookie bark was for chocolate lovers: milk choc. chips with Chips Ahoy!, Oreos and Nutter Butters. Version 2.0 is for those of us that enjoy vanilla.

I made this white chocolate bark for a beer tasting. I wanted to create a dessert that would still be strong enough to stand on its own but not so strong that it overwhelms the palate and affects the flavor of the beer.

Nabisco Cookie White Chocolate Bark

Ingredients

12oz white chocolate chips
1 Teddy Graham GO PAK
1box (2.125oz) Barnum's Animal Crackers
1 to 1.5 cups mini Nilla wafers

Directions

Prep a baking sheet with wax paper.
Break up the Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers and, mini Nilla wafers in to small pieces (but not crumbs) and combine in a bowl.
Melt the chips and spread the white chocolate out over the wax paper.
Sprinkle the cookies pieces over the white chocolate and press them down in to make sure they stick.
Set in the freezer until firm, then break into chunks.

I preferred v. 2.0 of the bark. It's tasty and the flavors are there, but it is definitely not as intense at the chocolate version. And that means it's easy to eat more of it. I'll leave it up to you decide whether or not that's a good thing.

It's a Candy Bar...Made of Candy Bars

2011-11-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

Halloween is over, and according to a number of sources, the question you should be asking yourself now is "What should I do with my leftover Halloween candy?" Or more accurately for me, "What should I do with the mass amounts of discounted Halloween candy I purchased on November 1?" The answer lies in this meta-candy bar.

The ingredients and directions for this layered bar are quite simple, yet they result in one ridiculously amazing dessert. It's just a layering of Kit Kats, Snickers, and Reese's Cups. Yes, three of your favorite candies melted together to form one giant mass of all of your childhood dreams coming true.

Do you see the layers? Do you?

The Meta-Candy Bar

For the for all of the melty details, visit Foodbeast.

Nutty Bar Truffles

2011-11-04T11:58:00.000-04:00

My mom used to pack Nutty Bars in my brother's lunch like every day. I had no interest in them back then. Now those days of PB being merely a sandwich spread are behind me, and my future is filled with peanut butter wishes and crispy wafer dreams.

I had taken a break from Little Debbie truffles to try my hand at a few other recipes, so I thought it was time for a reprise.

Side note: I could have sworn these things were called Nutty Buddy bars, but when I searched "Nutty Buddy" to snag the above link, Google threw out a bunch of web sites about jock straps. Yikes.

(I apologize for the blurry image. Don't look at it too long; it might make you feel gross.)

Nutty Bar Truffles

Ingredients

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 BIG PACK of Nutty Bars
chocolate baking bark

Directions

Pulverize 6 two-packs of Nutty Bars in a food processor.
Add in cream cheese and pulse until combined.
Remove cream cheese mixture from food processor and pulverize an addition 3 two-packs of Nutty Bars.
Fold the Nutty Bar crumbs into the cream cheese concoction.
Scoop into balls and chill while you are melting your baking bark.
Coat the truffles and chill to set.

Aaaaaaamazing! Stirring in the extra crumbs at the end was a great way to retain the crispy texture of the Nutty Bars in the truffles. Theses tasty treats are definitely getting me excited about getting back into the Little Debbie swing of things.

Chocolate Covered Mellowcreme Pumpkins

2011-10-31T09:06:00.001-04:00

Mellowcreme pumpkin get significantly less love than candycorn. People put candy corn in everything: popcorn, Rice Krispies treats, candybark. And what do the pumpkins get? Oh,here, let me put you on top of a cupcake for someone to just remove and forgetabout. That's rough.

So what's the deal with this mellowcreme aversion? I'veheard it's because the pumpkins are too sugary. Say what? Too sugary? There isno such thing. And people who think otherwise are a bunch of Hallo-weenies. (Andthe hits keep coming.)

So today, I thought I'd give candy corn a much needed breakand put candy pumpkins in the spotlight.

Chocolate-covered Mellowcreme Pumpkins

For the bone-chilling details, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

2011-10-29T07:30:00.000-04:00

In my quest for the ultimate soft and chewy sugar cookie, I stumbled upon a Martha Stewart recipe for sugar cookies that added cocoa powder. They looked big and chewy, so I thought I might as well try them out.

The only thing I changed was to add the step of rolling the cookies in sugar before baking. I mean, come on Martha, they are sugar cookies.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2c flour
1/2c unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1t baking powder
1/2t salt
8T unsalted butter, softened
1/2c sugar
1/2c shortening
1 egg
1 1/2t vanilla
1/2c sugar for rolling

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 and parchment up your baking sheets.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Then, mix in shortening. Add egg and vanilla; mix until creamy.
Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Using a 1.5T scoop out 2 scoops and smash them together in a ball and roll in sugar.
Place dough onto baking sheets and give each cookie a little smash-y smash.
Bake until edges are firm, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

What can I say? These were giant, chocolate, sugar cookies. They were good, but not enough to justify bodily harm to a friend or relative.

Pig Pickin' Cake Balls

2011-10-27T10:28:00.002-04:00

If you're not from the south, you may not be familiar with the concept of a Pig Pickin'. Basically, you get up at early-thirty, slap an entire pig on a smoker, cook it for hours and hours, cover it in BBQ sauce and chow down. Yes, it's looking at you when you are tearing apart its tasty, tasty flesh, and, yes, it is judging you.

There are several other traditions that go along with the pig at a Pig Pickin': hushpuppies, cornhole (which is not as dirty as it sounds; it is just a bean bag tossin' game) and Pig Pickin' cake.

For our church's annual Pig Pickin' (how many times can I say Pig Pickin' in this post?), I wanted to make a traditional Pig Pickin' cake, but in cake ball form. Making cake balls for this particular occasion just seemed to make sense: they would make less of a mess and create more servings than just slicing up a regular cake.

I snagged this recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor. She calls it a Finger Lickin' Good Cake, but that's just one of its many names.

Pig Pickin' Cake Balls

Ingredients

Cake

1pkg yellow cake mix
11oz mandarin oranges undrained
8T butter, melted
1/4c vegetable oil
4 eggs
juice drained from 8oz can crushed pineapple (reserved from crushed pineapple used for frosting)

Frosting

12oz Cool Hwhip, thawed (heads up, regular-sized Cool Hwhip is 8oz)
3.4oz pistachio instant pudding mix
8oz crushed pineapple, drained
1 and 1/2c shredded coconut (the recipe calls for unsweetened, yea...right.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350; grease and flour 9x13 pan.
Add all cake ingredients except pineapple juice together in electric mix. Beat 30 on low to combine and then 2 min on med.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
Cool completely and then crumble into a big bowl.
Drizzle cake crumbs with reserved pineapple juice.
Then combine frosting ingredients until pudding mix has dissolved.
Mix the frosting into the cake crumbs until it's just one big sticky, gooey mess of awesome.
Scoop the goop into 2t balls and put them in the fridge to chill.
Melt your white chocolate bark, coat the cake balls and put them back in the fridge to set.

These Pig Pickin' cake balls were finger lickin' good.

I counted 8 (cough, cough, Pig Pickin'), I mean, 9 times.

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

2011-10-24T12:48:00.001-04:00

It's that time of year when the leaves are changing, the air is crisper and absolutely everything you eat either has an apple or a pumpkin in it. This week's recipe is no different...well, it's a little different.

I'm sure you've seen recipes for “pumpkin pie brownies” floating around the Internet—brownies topped with a pumpkin layer or blondies with pumpkin puree in them, right? Lamesauce. When I say pumpkin pie brownies, I mean brownies crammed full of an entire pumpkin pie.

The original recipe for these brownies is from the Cake Mix Doctor and calls for a pecan pie. Been there, done that. They were amazing, but it was time to branch out. Or vine out, I suppose.

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

For the full fall-tastic recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate-Covered Better Cheddars

2011-10-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

Hurray! I found a box of Better Cheddars at the K-roger! I'm telling you, they are so much better (ha! get it?) than Cheez-its. Maybe it's the slightly larger size, thinner wafer or round shape. Regardless, if I had a go-to cheese cracker, Better Cheddars would be it for me.

Anycracker, by now you should be able to do this blindfolded with one arm tied behind your back.

Chocolate Covered Better Cheddars

Melt the bark, coat the BCs and chill to set. And then exclaim over and over again how these are much tastier than those other chocolate-covered cheese crackers.

Sugar Cookie Rice Krispies Treats

2011-10-20T10:44:00.003-04:00

I was inspired to try this out by the number of different recipes out there that flavor desserts using cake mix. I knew I wanted to make some sort of Rice Krispies treat, but I didn't have any cake mix on hand. I did, however, have a pouch of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix.

Basically, I just followed a general Rice Krispies Treat recipe and added sprinkles and cookie mix.

Sugar Cookie Rice Krispies Treats

Ingredients

2T butter, divided
4c mini marshmallows
6c Rice Krispies
1c Sugar cookie mix, divided and sifted
1/4c sprinkles (or one regular-size bottle)

Directions

Grease a 9x13 pan and ready your strip of non-stick foil.
Melt 1T butter over medium heat and 1T of butter in the microwave.
Combine 6c cereal, sprinkles, microwaved butter and 1/3c of cookie mix.
Add mallows to stove-top melted butter and stir until melted.
Stir 1/3c of cookie mix into melted mallows, then pour in the cereal and mix.
Pour mallow-cereal mixture into prepared pan and smash down using the non-stick foil.
Sprinkle the final 1/3c of cookie mix on top of the treats and let cool.

I liked these better than the ones with cake mix. If you are looking for a strong sugar cookie flavor without going through the trials and tribulations of baking, these are a more than suitable alternative.

Triple Double Truffles

2011-10-17T19:20:00.001-04:00

Aren’t you jealous of the guys over at the Foodbeast HQ? You should be. They get to try out all kinds of awesome up-and-coming food products way before you or me: Honey BBQ Cheese Puffs, Triple Double Oreo cookies, Fiery Fusion Doritos AND Cheetos!

In the meantime, I get to read about how great these things taste and then twiddle my thumbs for a month or so. But I am twiddling no more: the grocery finally started carrying Triple Double Oreo cookies!

And since I can’t let anything just be itself, I turned the first package I purchased (sans one for a taste test) into truffles.

Triple Double Truffles!!

For the triple-tasty, double-y awesome details, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Fruit by the Foot®

2011-10-13T19:00:00.002-04:00

The Gushers turned out so well that I went back to the fruit snack section of the grocery store to see was else was just begging to be covered in chocolate. The Fruit by the Foot® basically jumped off of the shelf and into my basket.

Confession: I used to eat Fruit by the Foot with the paper still on it when I was but a young one. Weird? Definitely. Do I still do it? No. But I'm sure I do a number of other really bizarre things to make up for it.

I had grands plans to coat the Fruit by the Foot in long-ish strands, stand it on its side, and curl it up while it hardened. That did not happen. Did you know that they basically cut all Fruit by the Foot in half now? Sure that's all cute with the patterns and the peeling, but when you're trying to cover it in hot, melt-y chocolate, there are issues.

Chocolate Covered Fruit by the Foot

Choose your baking bark (I used both white and milk) and Fruit by the Foot flavor (variety pack, baby) and go for it!

Here are some tips: Unfurl the snacks and rip of chunks with the paper still intact. Keeping the paper on lessens the probability that the fruit strip with stretch instead of tear. Also, try to use only pieces that are not already falling apart. The heat of the chocolate will melt the Fruit by the Foot, and the places where it is scored in the middle will start to separate.

I managed to get the hang of it quickly, so there were relatively few fallen soldiers. Oh my golly Pete, these were great! Both of the chocolates paired well with the all of the flavors in the variety pack.They were crispy, chewy, chocolate-y and fruity all at the same time.

Despite the difficulties that I encountered, chocolate-covered Fruit by the Foot was definitely worth the effort.

Nabisco Cookie Chocolate Bark

2011-10-10T13:24:00.001-04:00

As you might have noticed, I have an innate desire to takeawesome things and figure out how to make them even more awesome. Do you knowwhat’s awesome (besides me, bacon, and basically everything else that I’vepreviously declared as such)? Nabisco.And do you know how many amazing cookies/crackers/etc. this company makes?Three…at least in relation to today’s recipe.

To find the details on how these three cookies crumbled, visit Foodbeast.

Caramel and Kit Kat® Layered Candy Bar

2011-10-08T14:50:00.001-04:00

As you can see from the title, there is no concise way to accurately describe this four-layered bar of pure awesomeness. This is especially true because they are even more amazing than the title suggests. It's a Kit Kat® crust, with a peanut butter nougat layer, topped with caramel and then dark chocolate. Again, awesome...well until you get to the dark chocolate part. As you have probably guessed already, I happily ate the bottom three layers and tossed the top.

You might remember I made something similar several weeks ago. I had a birthday treat request to make them again but with a few adjustments.

Caramel and Kit Kat Layered Candy Bar

Crust

2 bags (10.78oz each) snack-sized Kit Kat bars
8T butter

Filling

1/3c light corn syrup
3T butter, softened
3T peanut butter
1 1/2T water
1 1/4t vanilla
Dash salt
3 1/2c powdered sugar

Caramel Layer

1 bag (14 oz) caramels, unwrapped (Do things like this really need to be said?)
2T water

Topping

1 bag (12oz) dark chocolate chips

Directions

Line 9x13 pan with non-stick foil.
Pulverize Kit Kat bars in food processor
Melt butter and immediately pour over Kit Kat crumbs and stir until the chocolate starts getting all melty.
Smash Kit Kat mix into foil-lined pan and stick it in the fridge to chill.
Beat all filling ingredients, except powdered sugar, on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until well blended. Press filling over cookie base. Refrigerate while preparing caramel layer.
In saucepan, heat caramels and 2T water over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Spread evenly over filling. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until caramel layer is firm.
Melt chocolate chips. Spread evenly over caramel layer. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is set. Cut and serve.

This recipe is like so many that I enjoy in that is easily alterable. You can choose to include whatever kind of nuts you prefer in the caramel, or, as was the case here, no nuts at all. And the melted chocolate on top can be any kind you desire.

The Kit Kat crust was pure genius; it was so tasty and a heck of a lot easier to make than I had anticipated. I think these were even more popular than the original version. I sure liked them better.

Almond Joy® Brownies

2011-10-06T14:24:00.002-04:00

You know what's awesome? Well, according to me, lots of stuff, but this time I was specifically thinking about candy. Candy is awesome, particularly candy bars. I enjoy using them as inspiration for creations, whether I merely imitate the flavors or straight up chop them up and mix them in.

This time around, I was just looking to evoke the essence of an Almond Joy®, plus I had a brownie mix, coconut and almonds on hand.

Almond Joy Brownies

Ingredients

box of your favorite brownie mix (and eggs, oil and water as directed)
2c sweetened shredded coconut
10oz sweetened condensed milk
1c sliced almonds
1/4t almond extract

Directions

Mix brownie batter as directed. Add almond extract to batter.
Combine condensed milk and coconut, then add to brownie batter.
Pour batter into your preferred, greased brownie baking pan.
Top with almonds and bake as directed (although with all goo inside the brownie it may take longer for them to fully bake).
Let cool completely. (Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiting is the hardest part!) Cut and serve.

Good times! These brownies were dense, gooey squares of almond-y joy! And the almonds (which I totally didn't pick off and eat by themselves) got all toasty and crunchy in the oven. Yum!

Candied Bacon Cayenne Snickerdoodles

2011-10-02T16:09:00.002-04:00

Do you sit around with your friends and have conversations about bacon? I do. And it was during one of these riveting chats that I realized I couldn't remember the last time I had baked something with the beloved pig byproduct. Now that's shameful.

I already had plans to bake some Cayenne Snickerdoodles (using an ATK recipe and adding cayenne) and decided that they would be a perfect vehicle in which to house the hog.

Bacon makes everything better. But what makes bacon better? Brown sugar. So it was only natural for these cookies to evolve into the awesomeness that I'm about to lay before you.

Candied Bacon Cayenne Snickerdoodles

For the full ham-tastic recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Sausage Bites

2011-09-30T20:44:00.003-04:00

Sausage bites covered in chocolate have been on the agenda for a hot minute. But other things just seemed to pop up that interested me more, so they had been put on the back burner...until now.

Not much to say regarding these bite-sized bits of meat. So I'll just get to it.

Chocolate Covered Sausage Bites

Melt, coat, chill; you know the drill. (Do you like what I did there?)

Here's the verdict: stick with milk chocolate baking bark. I was told that it holds up better against the strong flavor of the sausage when compared to the white chocolate.

I say I was told this because I didn't actually try any. Well, that's kind of true and kind of not. I ate the chocolate off of the sausage (that's what she said) and tossed the meat itself. Yes, I'm a terrible and wasteful person. Judge me; I deserve it.

Movie Theater Cookies

2011-09-28T08:59:00.000-04:00

These cookies originally promoted my search for what eventually morphed into Cracker Jack cookies. But I was still curious as to how these cookies would turn out. I mean I love cookies, and I love Kettle Corn. This recipe is originally from Blue Bonnets and Brownies.

Movie Theater Cookies
makes approximately 18 large cookies

Ingredients

2c flour
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
3/4c butter
1c brown sugar
1/2c sugar
1T vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1c Raisinets (I used 1/2c milk and 1/2c dark)
1c Kettle Corn

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F and prep baking sheets with parchment.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt.
Melt butter. Cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and melted butter. Beat in the vanilla, whole egg, and egg yolk. Continue beating until batter is light and creamy.
Add in flour mixture, mixing after each addition.
Pop popcorn and allow to cool. Pick out any visible burnt pieces and kernels. Using your clean and dry hands, knead popcorn through them so that popped kernels become smaller, breaking away from the main kernel so that they’re smaller and more easily combined into a cookie.
Add 1c Raisinets and 1c popcorn bits to the dough, stirring by hand.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter onto baking sheets. These cookies spread a LOT. They need to have at least 3″ of space between each ball of dough.
Bake for 17 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

While others certainly enjoyed these cookies, and I did consume a couple myself, I wasn't really feelin' it. Mix-ins, I think, should enhance the taste, not detract from it. And, in my opinion, both the texture and the flavor of the popcorn take away from the awesomeness of the cookie itself.

Dark Chocolate Mint Tim Tam Truffles

2011-09-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

Did you know that people eat dark chocolate on purpose? I'm sure you did. In fact, you are probably one of them. Why?

If you ever happen to run into me on the street, I'd be more than happy to show you my hoppy beer/dry wine/dark chocolate face. It's not pretty, which is saying a lot considering how ridiculously good looking I am.

I've probably mentioned this before, but I take requests for friends' birthdays. This month, the birthday boy mentioned his love of Tim Tams, which I have procured before but are not currently available around here. Fortunately, my friend's birthday coincided with workshops at my office, and a very generous client who was attending the workshops schlepped a few packages of Dark Chocolate Mint Tim Tam biscuits over from Australia.

For the full, dark-as-my-heart chocolate truffle recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzels

2011-09-24T12:39:00.001-04:00

The terrible, terrible memories of the chocolate-covered green olives are slowly being replaced with new memories of other, significantly tastier chocolate covered treats. For example, these pretzels.

Pretzels are among the more tame and common items that one can cover in chocolate. However, within the pretzel family there are a variety of species that often get overlooked, but are just as, if not more so, tasty when dipped in the melted awesomeness that is baking bark. I've started with Honey Mustard and Onion Pieces, one of my favorite flavors.

Chocolate Covered Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzels

Say it with me now: melt your baking bark, coat the pretzel pieces, chill to set.

There's not much to say except these were great. Confession (brace yourselves):While the white chocolate was good, it got a little lost amongst the other strong flavors, so the milk chocolate coating is the clear winner this time around. I know, right!?!

REESE’S® Peanut Butter Cups® Cupcakes

2011-09-19T17:02:00.001-04:00

WARNING: If you are allergic to peanuts, do not, I repeat, DO NOT read this recipe. These cupcakes contain so much peanut butter that even skimming the ingredients list will be cause enough to whip out your EpiPen.

If you are not allergic to peanuts; however, then read and make this recipe immediately because, if you rely on the testimony of one of my taste testers, this will be the best thing you have eaten in a month. In the spirit of full disclose, most of my taste testers were poorly-fed and very drunk grad students.

I snagged the cake recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor, the frosting from How to Eat a Cupcake and the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures from Kroger!

For all of the hive-producing, throat-closing details, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Andy Capp's Hot Fries

2011-09-15T20:28:00.001-04:00

Andy Capp is a character from a British comic strip. I don't know why he has his own fries. I also don't know why I sometimes think he is the same person as Andy Griffith.

While these questions of who he is and how his fries came to be his may, from time to time, plague my mind, I didn't let that stop me from covering said fries in chocolate.

Not much else to say as is usually the case with most of my chocolate covered creations, so as Michael Bolton would say "Boys, let's get to it."

Chocolate Covered Andy Capp's Hot Fries

I'll just give you the Cliff Notes. Characters: Hot Fries (yes, they are HOT!) and baking bark. Plot: Melt bark. Coat fries. Chill until set. Major themes: Tastiness. Awesomeness. And the incompatibility of military heroism and love. Oh wait...this is baking, not Othello. Meh, two out of three ain't bad.

Both types of bark are great, as always; each type of chocolate bring a different flavor to and out of the hot fries. If you are looking for an alternative to these for people who are not so much into the cheez-i-ness, Hot Fries are the way to go.

Chips Ahoy!® Truffles

2011-09-10T17:27:00.000-04:00

Why mess with a good thing? I'll tell you why: because you can turn it into a great thing! Here's a better question: Why settle for merely good?

Cookies in general are good, but pulverizing them, mixing them with cream cheese and coating them in chocolate = GREAT!

This time around I used Chips Ahoy! Real Chocolate Chips Cookies (original). I was hoping the truffles would remain the same color as the cookie in its intact form, but upon crushing and cream cheesing, the chocolate chips darkened the entire mix. Meh, still tasted flippin' fantastic.

Chips Ahoy! Truffles

To find out exactly how the cookie crumbles, visit Foodbeast!

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

2011-09-09T00:12:00.000-04:00

I like layered desserts. It's like several different awesome things that all come together to create an even more awesome thing. This particular awesome, layered dessert was passed along to me by Kyle's mother. Thanks, Judy!

Here's the general idea: a pretzel layer, a cream cheese/Cool Hwhip layer, and then a strawberries/jell-o layer. Aaaaaand I've pretty much told you the entire recipe right there, but, in case you were curious, I'll hit you up with the specifics.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Ingredients

2c pretzels, crushed
3/4c butter, melted
3T sugar
8oz cream cheese, softened
12oz Cool Whip (TRICKERY! A regular tubs is only 8oz., so be sure you buy two!)
1/2c sugar
6oz strawberry jello
2c boiling water
16oz frozen strawberries, sliced

Directions

Mix together first three ingredients (pretzels, butter and 3T sugar) and press evenly into 9x13 glass pan.
Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees F and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, add boiling water to Jell-o powder and stir until dissolved. Then add frozen strawberries to Jell-o mixture and let them melt all up in there.
Cream together cream cheese, Cool Whip and 1/2c sugar until smooth. Spread over cooled pretzel crust and stick that baby in the freezer for like 15 minutes or until that layer is set.
Wait a while longer until the Jell-o and strawberries get kind of gunky and thick and then spread that on top of everything.
Put it into the fridge until the Jell-o layer has solidified.

So you really, really need to wait until the crust is cool, the cream cheese layer is solid and the Jell-o is starting to solidify. If the Jell-o is still warm and/or the cream cheese isn't set, the results are disastrous. The cream cheese will chunk and rise through the Jell-o and the Jell-o and strawberries will sneak underneath the cream cheese. If this happens it looks a mess and it doesn't hold together very well. That's why I suggest making the Jell-o early on so it has time to do it's thing.

But if you do it right (patience is definitely a virtue in this situation), this is a great late summer dessert. It still has a lingering summer feel with the strawberries, but it starts to bring in the heavier fall dessert-y type situations when you hit the cream cheese layer.

Cracker Jack® Cookies

2011-09-04T15:27:00.000-04:00

When I first came across a recipe titled Crackerjack Cookies, I thought "Cracker Jacks in a cookie? What a great idea!" So I read through the recipe: butter, flour, both kinds of sugar...

Wait...

Guess what ingredient these cookies lacked. Yup, Cracker Jacks. Apparently the name of the recipe is in reference to a slang term similar to "jimdandy" (which will be added to my vocabulary immediately).

So I put that recipe in my back pocket and decided that if I wanted something done, I was going to have to do it myself. Although doing it myself basically entailed making Alton Brown's The Chewy recipe and replacing the chocolate chips with crushed up caramel popcorn and peanuts.

For the entire jimdandy recipe, visit Foodbeast.com.

Chocolate-Covered Honey BBQ Cheetos Puffs

2011-09-02T13:54:00.017-04:00

And she's back! One week of a hot chocolate-covered mess was all I needed to get my head back in the game. (I still gag just a little when I think about those green olives.)

When Foodbeast featured Honey BBQ Cheetos Puffs as a new product, I knew I had to cover them in chocolate as soon as humanly possible. But at first it seemed like it wasn't in the cards. For months I scoured the snack aisle at the grocery only to be disappointed over and over again. While I was in Colorado I found a bag, but didn't figure they would travel well on my trek home.

So last week, during my shopping exploits, I noticed that they were everywhere. Done and done.

(See what I did there with the fancy placement?)

Chocolate Covered Honey BBQ Cheetos Puffs

Ingredients: puffs and baking bark.

Directions: melt bark, dip puffs, chill to set.

How could these not be anything other than awesome? (I ask that of myself everyday.) Both the white and regular chocolate bark paired well with the flavor of the puffs. I didn't have a preference, meaning you should try both.

Lemon Cake Balls

2011-08-30T22:42:00.000-04:00

Hurray for cake balls and pancakes, but boo to friends leaving the country. (Don't worry, this was on a volunteer basis, she isn't being deported.) My buddy Ashlee is heading to Argentina next week for a hot minute. So we had a proper send off with pancakes for dinner and a healthy helping of Lemon Cake Balls to go with them.

Before we move on to the cake balls, you should be happy to know that Ashlee thought to bring fruit for the pancakes (because you know it didn't cross my mind), so her friends had more to choose from for mix-ins than cereal and candy.

Anysugarygoodness, let's get to it.

Lemon Cake Balls

Ingredients

1box Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
necessary eggs, oil and water to bake cake
8oz buttercream frosting (from a can, suckas)
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Bake cake as directed.
Let cool completely and then crumble into big bowl.
Combine frosting with cake until it's a gooey mess.
Scoop into balls (2t cookie scoop) and chill in freezer.
Meanwhile melt chocolate bark.
Coat cake balls with bark and return to freezer to set.

I actually think this combination of lemon cake and buttercream frosting is a much better pairing than lemon cake and lemon frosting, which I have tried before and found a bit tart and overwhelming. Something to consider for my next lemon cake ball request: white cake and lemon frosting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cupcakes

2011-08-28T15:16:00.000-04:00

One thing people love almost as much as bacon is peanut butter. This was news to me, as, growing up, I was never a huge fan. Sure an occasional PB& J and BBQ chip sandwich (don't look at me like that) would cross my lips, but Peanut Butter desserts were out of the question...until recently.

Now, whenever I get the hankering to make a peanut butter-based dessert, I try to think of ways to cram in as much peanut butter as possible without just giving someone a jar and a spoon. And with this recipe, I think I'm on my way: a chocolate peanut butter cupcake filled with a peanut butter truffle, topped with a peanut butter frosting and Reese's Pieces. Yup, that'll do.

For all the decadent details, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate-Covered Green Olives

2011-08-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

I bet you are thinking, "EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!" Well, you are right. So very right.

Chocolate-covered Green Olives

Pimento-filled green olives and baking bark are your ingredients. The directions get a little complicated at the end, so I'll list them here:

Drain and dry olives.
Melt baking bark.
Coat olives with chocolate.
Let set in freezer.
Try one and make a face/cringe/spit it out.
Share them with your friends without telling them what it is.
Warm your cold, black heart with their facial expressions when they realize what you've just done to them.

Kids, don't try this at home. Just say "No" to chocolate-covered green olives. Only you can prevent chocolate-covered green olives. I could go on, but I'll just sum it up for you in three words: Worst. Creation. Ever.

That being said, I am so going to try black olives soon.

Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Bars

2011-08-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

As promised, this week’s treats are shaped like squares: chocolate-y, caramel-y, peanut-butter-y squares of awesomeness, to be more specific.

My preference is to try to share recipes with you guys that I feel are, for the most part, my creation, or recipes to which I have made significant changes. However, sometimes I find an already amazing recipe that is just screaming “MAKE ME! MAKE ME NOW!” These bars are one of those recipes. And you need to know about them, like, yesterday.

I snagged this recipe from the Betty Crocker web site. And the only change I made was to use, with my apologies to Betty, Pillsbury Refrigerated Peanut Butter Cookie Dough instead of making the base from a BC Peanut Butter Cookie Mix.

For the full recipe of these hip-to-be-square sweets, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Pop Tart Mini Crisps

2011-08-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

Deceived! I purchased a box of Pop Tart Mini Crisps with the idea that they would be much more mini and much less crisps. They don't even have any fruit filling in them! They are just "strawberry-flavored."

Regardless, I knew that they would taste good covered in chocolate, so I pressed on, cursing Kelloggs along the way.

Chocolate Covered Pop Tart Mini Crisps

Ingredients and directions: I would tell you to make an educated guess, but you people concern me, so I'll lay it out for you, just in case. Melt baking bark of choice. Dip crisps in chocolate. Refrigerate until set.

I originally had plans to only cover them in milk chocolate. However, as they are not actually miniature Pop Tarts, they weren't as covered in white chocolate as I would have hoped, so I decided to use both kinds of baking bark. And I'm glad I did!

These mini Pop Tart fake outs are tasty in and of themselves. Covering them in chocolate just gave them an additional layer of crispiness and sweetness, which, good times, I am right? Yes, I am.

Cotton Candy Cake Balls

2011-08-13T23:05:00.000-04:00

Forget making the trek to the ballpark (LAME!) or county fair to get your cotton candy fix because I am bringing it to you with these super sugary, super sweet and super awesome cake balls!

These were so friggin' good that, regardless of their shape, I couldn't not post the recipe right away. Maybe I should consider changing the name of my blog to Ball-Shaped and Chocolate Covered Treats with Some Other Good Stuff Thrown In. I have grand plans to share something shaped like a square next week.

Anyroundthings...I was inspired by the Cake Mix Doctor's Cotton Candy Cupcakes. I used her base cake recipe and pulled together the frosting from a number of different sources, switching up a few ingredients and, of course, the directions.

For the complete, cavity-filled recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

2011-08-10T14:08:00.000-04:00

I've never been huge on certain types of chocolate: chocolate chips, M&Ms, Hershey's kisses and bars. So growing up, I was all about some sugar cookies. But I also love cookies that are soft and chewy, which is not always what you associate with a sugar cookie. Those Lofthouse cookies are my favorite packaged sugar cookie (especially with the frosting on top!!!!). I've tried a couple copycat recipes, and I'm sure I'll try a few more. This time around, however, I wanted to try something that was closer to a typical sugar cookie. This recipe is from Baking Illustrated.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2c (10oz) flour
1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1c (7oz) sugar, plus 1/2c for rolling dough
1T brown sugar
1 egg
1.5t vanilla

Directions

Prep baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
Cream the butter, sugar, and the brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined.
Scoop cookies using 1.5T cookie scoop and roll in additional 1/2c of sugar.
Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in the remaining sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about 3/4 inch thick.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes.

Eh. If you are looking for a nice sugar cookie recipe, this is definitely a winner. But if you are looking for a ridiculously thick and chewy sugar cookie, I would advise either not smashing the cookie down before baking or using a different recipe.

Marshmallow Cereal Bites

2011-08-07T23:32:00.003-04:00

A majority of the recipes I like to make often have me shaping things into balls; ergo, they usually have the word “balls” in the name. Although it always leads to a number of wonderfully inappropriate jokes, at times I feel the need to switch things up and keep you on your toes. So “bites” it is.

The ingredients (sans the chocolate bark) and the first few steps parallel your typical Rice Krispies Treats recipe, but after you stir the cereal in with the marshmallows, things get a little interesting (and irritating). Visit Foodbeast, to find out how.

Chocolate-Covered Gushers

2011-08-05T19:13:00.000-04:00

[Insert your own joke about how you like your "gushers" (Mom, please don't Google it.) covered in chocolate here.] Are you ready now? Let's move on.

When Fruit Gushers first came out, they were sooooo much cooler than just regular fruit snacks. However, I was always afraid that I would sqoooosh them in my lunch bag and the goo in the middle would go everywhere and then I would open up the pouch they were in and it would be a mess. But my mom never actually bought them for us, so crisis averted.

Even though the novelty of Gushers has worn off (I prefer my Sharks fruit snacks, thank you very much), they make a good chocolate-covered treat.

Chocolate-Covered Gushers

Ingredients

1pkg Strawberry Gushers (feel free to use the flavor of your choice)
baking bark (I used one bar of white and one bar of chocolate to cover them all)

Directions

Open the individual packets of Gushers and separate each snack as they are most likely stuck together. (Consider the ones that are oozing significantly fallen soldiers and do with them what you will.)
Freeze the Gushers for 5 to 7 minutes just to firm them up a bit.
Meanwhile melt the baking bark and coat the Gushers.
Stick them back in the freezer to set.

Yum! Yum! Yum! These were small and fun (like me!), and all of the different textures (crunchy, sticky then gooey...also like me!) played off of each other well.

It was difficult for me to get a consensus on which was better: white or chocolate. I liked the white chocolate better (shocker!), but again some other taste-testers were adamant that the chocolate was the superior coating. I guess you'll just have to try both.

Caramel Tim Tam Truffles

2011-08-03T16:07:00.000-04:00

If Freud were alive and read my blog, he'd probably be eager to have a chat with me about the shape of most of the desserts that I create. These are no exception.

I made Chocolate Tim Tam Truffles a while ago, but I had saved a couple packages of Tim Tams with caramel in the middle for a later date and time. (I also busted out my box of frozen Thin Mints and made more truffles with those last week).

The recipe and directions are the same as before, but it's easy to repeat, so I will include it here again.

Caramel Tim Tam Truffles

Ingredients

2pkgs Caramel Tim Tam
8oz cream cheese
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Pulverize cookies in a food processor.
Soften cream cheese and add to crushed cookies. Process until fully combined.
If you haven't yet acquired a 2t cookie scoop, put your creamy cookie mix in the fridge and go buy one.
Use your potentially brand new 2t cookie scoop to portion out the truffles and roll them in to balls.
Put your truffles in the freezer to chill, meanwhile melt your baking bark.
Coat the truffles and put them in the fridge or freezer until set.

You could definitely taste the caramel in these truffles. Last time I thought that maybe the ratio of cream cheese to cookie was too high, but I tend to think otherwise now.

Target stopped selling Tim Tams, so I will have to wait for them to show up again and stock up. I suggest you do the same.

Chocolate-Covered Corn Dogs

2011-07-30T14:08:00.000-04:00

We live within walking distance of a grocery store. Not that I actually walk there (last time I was mauled by fire ants), but it being in close proximity to my house, I’m there several times a week.

And regardless of what’s on my list, there are always four aisles that I’m going to visit (unless I really have to pee): baking, chips/snacks, frozen snacks, and ice cream. The first three aisles are for you; the last one is for me.

While trawling the frozen snacks aisle earlier this week, my ever-wandering eye landed upon a gold mine—a mini, oblong, pig-filled gold mine.

Mini corn dogs!! Perfect for covering in chocolate! Although, I feel that way about pretty much everything, don’t I?

For all the corny details (ow ow!), visit Foodbeast.

Car-Baked Sugar Cookies

2011-07-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

It's hot in NC and it's been hot and it will continue to be hot for, well, a hot minute. Fortunately, this is something that I'm used to as I'm hot every day, regardless of the weather. OW!

Anyfullofmyself, this past weekend was particularly toasty, which lent itself perfectly to baking cookies in the car. I know I've done this before, but with a dough that I made from scratch. This time I just went to the store and snagged a package of Pillsbury ready-to-bake sugar cookies. No need to be fancy when you are having fun.

Car-Baked Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1pkg Pillsbury Ready to Bake Sugar Cookies
sugar for rolling, optional
sprinkles for fun, NOT optional!

Directions

Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment.
Put your favorite pre-made, pre-sliced/squared, cookie dough on said sheets.
SMASH the cookies relatively flat so they bake evenly and thoroughly. I used the bottom of a buttered/sugared glass. (And I rolled my cookies in sugar first).
Top them with sprinkles, if that's how you roll and throw those bad boys into the car, on the dash (on top of a towel and not touching anything in the car).
Let them hang out for several hours. (My cookies were out there for 5 hours).

BLAMO! Car-baked cookies. They don't get brown like they do in the oven, so you have to kind of feel things out. Get in the car, door closed, and check on them after a few hours. But don't do that often or the heat from the car will be lost and it will take even longer for them to bake.

If you have somewhere to be that requires you to drive, this isn't going to work out well if you only have one car. Having no plans for Kyle's car to move anytime this summer, I was able to run some errands while the cookies baked.

The cookies were light and flaky, kind of like pie crust. I think rolling the cookies in sugar added to that pastry-like consistency and flavor. It's something to try for the novelty, but these in particular aren't anything spectacular.

Chocolate-covered Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips

2011-07-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Sometimes people need a hint of lime in their life. And sometimes they need that hint of lime to be covered in chocolate.

I had been thinking about adding tortilla chips on to my growing list of chocolate-covered concoctions, but I thought they might be a little blah. So when I went to visit the Lays web site for inspiration, I realized that I had options.

Hint of lime tortilla chips, duh! They are perfect for summer and a great way to add just a little zing to the chip hiding beneath the chocolate.

Here's the quicky (typo and it stays) and dirty version: Melt baking bark of choice (I used both), coat chips and chill until set.

Guess which I liked better! Aside from my bias towards all things white chocolate, I really do think the lime and the white chocolate were a better pairing. I have friends who would disagree, so as LeVar Burton would say, "...you don't have to take my word for it."

Pretzel and Potato Chip Blondies

2011-07-24T21:31:00.000-04:00

Due to a recent super-fun hairstyle change, a few people now refer to me as “Blondie.” This new nickname has only furthered circulating rumors that I am obsessed with baking: they greet me “Hey, Blondie!” and I think “Ooo blondies!” (Maybe if I go back to my original color, people will call me Brownie. Yes, these are the things I think about.)

Anydyejob, this inspired me to locate a faboosh blondie recipe tout de suite (that means right quick!). One easy Google search later and TA DAH: Smitten Kitchen’s “Infinitely Adaptable Blondies.” With my love of all things modifiable, you know I couldn’t pass this up.

And, of course, because my mom dropped me on my head when I was but a babe (I’m still a babe, just in a different way. OW!), I couldn’t resist adapting these blondies in a way near and dear to my heart: hello, pretzels and potato chips!

Oh! AND I used my off-the-chain Edge Brownie Pan. A+!

To get the sweet and salty details, visit Foodbeast!

Chocolate-Covered Pickled Jalapeños

2011-07-20T11:27:00.001-04:00

If you don't have a jar of pickled jalapeños just sitting in your house, you should buy one, just in case the desire to cover them in chocolate (or include them any dessert you are making) should strike.

I had to go to the store to purchase the jar of jalapeños as well as the baking bark. Fortunately, the K-roger is super close. I probably shop there at minimum three times a week, and sometimes as often as three time as day. (Helpful hint: making lists is the key to not forgetting things on said list).

As per usual the ingredients and directions are easier than Sunday morning, unless you are making these on Sunday morning, then they are equally easy.

Chocolate-covered Pickled Jalapeños

Ingredients

1 jar pickled jalapeños
chocolate and white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Drain and thoroughly dry jalapeños.
Melt bark, and coat pickled pieces of spicy perfection.
Let chill and then consume with a glass of water nearby.

I think I like the white chocolate better. It had a cleaner flavor than the regular chocolate, which muddled the pickled-ness just a tad.

I was on a pickled jalapeño kick. But now, with both of the japaleño-heavy recipes out of the way, I am ready to continue to branch out.

Bacon and Pickled Jalapeño Rice Krispies Treats

2011-07-17T15:42:00.000-04:00

Pop quiz you Hot Shot! What makes everything better?

A. Bacon

B. Pickled Jalapeños

C. Herpes

D. A and B!

Here’s a hint: It’s not just A or B, and, no matter what your girlfriend might have told you, it’s definitely not C.

Are you ready to take the tried and true “let’s add bacon to stuff” fad to the next level? Well, you don’t really have a choice because I’m about to bring you to it and take you through it with these Rice Krispies Treats with bacon AND pickled jalapeños.

To find out how it's done, visit Foodbeast.

Oatmeal Creme Pie Truffles

2011-07-12T18:47:00.000-04:00

I've added another obsession to my steadily growing list of crazy: turning cookies into truffles. Let's revisit the past, shall we? Oreos (with bacon, duh!), Thin Mints, Samoas, Tim Tams, most recently Star Crunch and NOW... Oatmeal Creme Pies!!! I might just go through the entire Little Debbie catalog.

But for now, let's focus on the awesome that is Oatmeal Creme Pie Truffles.

Oatmeal Creme Pie Truffles

Ingredients

4oz cream cheese, softened
1pkg Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Pulverize the pies in a food processor until crumby (crumby in a good way, that is).
Add cream cheese and combine until blended.
Using your 2t cookie scoop, create balls of pie/cheese goo and set on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet.
Put in freezer to harden.
Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate bark, and coat those tasty bites of greatness. Then stick them back in the freezer to solidify the chocolate.

These were easier to make than the Star Crunch truffles, as they were already a pretty soft cookie. And, oh man, were they good. I'll have to do a back-to-back taste test to see which one I prefer (this or the Star Crunch), but right now they are neck and neck.

Dirt Bark

2011-07-09T15:59:00.000-04:00

Sounds suspect, doesn’t it? Quell your fears! This treat contains neither dirt nor bark; however, it does contain worms.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Dirt Cake, in which no actual cake is involved. It’s basically a lot of dairy (cream cheese, butter, milk, pudding, and Cool Hwhip) layered with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.

Dirt Bark is just like that, only in chocolate bark form.

For the full (and fabulous) recipe, visit Foodbeast.

Chocolate Covered Cheez-It Crackers

2011-07-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

Once more with feeling! I can't get enough of covering things with chocolate. It brings joy to my life and my belly (most of the time).

I've always been more of a Better Cheddar fan myself, but they are hard to come by these days, so I figured Cheez-It crackers would do the job just fine. And they did.

Chocolate-covered Cheez-It Crackers: Melt the bark, covered the crackers, chill, consume.

Easy is as easy does. (I really desired to say something here like "Sounds like my college roommate!" but that is just such a lie. I blame my roommates for not being who-ers.)

Although they were quite tasteful (as my buddy Lyssa would say), I think I would try to get a thinner chocolate coating on the Cheez-Its next time around.

Star Crunch Truffles

2011-06-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

If you know what I’m talking about when I say Star Crunch, I can guarantee that you are now filled with nostalgia and hunger. If you aren’t familiar with Star Crunch cookies, I beg you to read on and please do NOT look up the definition on Urban Dictionary or you may never consume a Little Debbie Snack again. Yikes.

This is how Little Debbie describes Star Crunch® Cosmic Snacks: A chewy cookie topped with caramel and crisp rice then covered in a layer of fudge. What’s not to like?!?

If you are familiar with Oreo truffles, this is basically the same concept…only more awesome because that’s how I roll.

To see how it's done, visit Foodbeast!

Chocolate Covered Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos

2011-06-27T20:39:00.000-04:00

Second verse, slightly different than the first! We all know that chocolate-covered Cheetos work. WOOOOOORK!! So now it is time to branch out.

See the little flecks all over the uncovered bits of Cheetos? That's the jalapeno. (I have to pronounce it "jah-lah-peh-no" when I write it to make sure I spell it right.)

Here are the completely unnecessary directions: Melt baking bark. Dip cheesy, spicy Cheetos in said chocolate and let chill.

These were good and had a nice kick to them, but for some reason, I still think the original flavor comes out on top. Now I'm hunting for the new Cheetos Honey BBQ Puffs, although I'm not sure how the chocolate will fare with the puffy-holeyness (not to be confused with holiness, although Cheetos are a little like manna from Heaven). I'll be sure to let you know.

Cool Whip Funfetti Whoopie Pies

2011-06-23T11:53:00.000-04:00

“You can’t have a pie [whoopie or otherwise] without Cool Hwhip.” –Stewie Griffin

Have you been contemplating trying out a Whoopie Pie recipe only to be overwhelmed by the number of ingredients and the work involved? I have a solution and it looks a little something like this...

So here are your options:

A. Come visit me, and I shall bake some for you! Or save the gas money and…

B. Follow this quick and easy recipe.

Bunny trail: I tried to combine “quick and easy” to form a new word, but all I came up with was “queasy” and “easick.” Yea, not what I’m going for. Anypie…

This recipe only has 6 ingredients: Funfetti cake mix, Cool Whip, eggs, nonpareils sprinkles, more cake mix and…more Cool Whip. I suppose that’s technically 4 ingredients, but the “more” cake mix and Cool Whip are kind of a separate entity.

Check out the full recipe on Foodbeast to see how it's done.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake Balls

2011-06-20T10:20:00.001-04:00

Hurray for baking buddies! My friend Robin and I scheduled a play date so that she could experience cake ball making firsthand. Cake balls can be a chore, so I was grateful for the help.

Like I mentioned in my Creamsicle cake ball post, summertime lends itself to fruitier flavor combos and these cake balls are no exception. Does a tall cold glass of strawberry lemonade on a hot summer day sound good to you? These are just like that, but better because it's cake.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake Balls

Ingredients

1box Strawberry cake mix (eggs, oil and water to go with)
1pkg sugar-free strawberry jello
1 cup boiling water
8oz can lemon frosting
white chocolate baking bark

Directions

Bake cake as directed.
Let the cake cool for a bit and then jab it a bunch with toothpicks or a fork or whatever you might have on hand.
Mix jello with 1c of boiling water until dissolved and pour over cake.
Let cake finish cooling and then chill in fridge for a few hours.
Crumble up cake into an XL bowl and mix in the frosting.
Scoop into balls and let chill.
Melt the chocolate; coat the balls; chill until hardened.

I think these actually tasted better the next day after the flavors had some time to become besties. The strawberry was sweet, the lemon was tart and the overall result was very refreshing.

Chocolate Covered Wasabi Peas

2011-06-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

Looking for a delicious way to clear your sinuses? One handful of these chocolate-covered veggies will open up those airways while satisfying your sweet tooth.

Chocolate-Covered Wasabi Peas

Ingredients

wasabi peas
baking bark

Directions

Melt the chocolate bark.
Coat peas and chill. (Again, these are best when served cold.)

I really like these! While the flavors are all still there, the chocolate really tempers the WHOOOOOOO (and the raising of the eyebrows) of the wasabi. This makes for a surprisingly pleasant treat!

Remember the "Waaaasuuuuuuup" Bud Light commercial from back in the day when they go to the Sushi place and the waiter offers them wasabi? Or wasaaaaaaaaaabi, as it were. Good times. (Don't try and stop yourself from looking it up. You know you want to.)

Nutella Buckeye Balls

2011-06-16T20:22:00.000-04:00

While I’m all for bucking trends and thinking outside the box, I know a good thing when I see it. So when I saw two posts featuring Nutella on Foodbeast this week, I felt inspired to join in on the awesome.

My favorite Nutella recipe is pretty straightforward: Open jar. Consume. (Spoon optional). However, I wanted to bring you a treat with a little more class and a little less shame. So Nutella Buckeyes it is.

Basically, I took an already amazing Buckeye Balls recipe and substituted Nutella for the Peanut Butter.

For the full recipe, check out my post on Foodbeast!

Chocolate Covered Honey BBQ Fritos

2011-06-11T16:34:00.000-04:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaawesoooooooooooome!! Honey? BBQ? Chocolate? What's not to like? And putting them together only makes them pack an even better punch of tasty goodness.

The recipe, as always is two ingredients and three steps. Let's check it out.

Chocolate Covered Honey BBQ Fritos

Ingredients

Honey BBQ Fritos
Baking bark (your choice, but I enjoyed them both)

Directions

Melt the bark.
Dip the chips.
So just chill 'til the next episode...or 'til hardened.

I really enjoy this combo (not to be confused with Combos). If you are waffling between Honey BBQ and Original Fritos, stick with these babies.

Bonus: the spiral allows for a higher chocolate-to-chip ratio if you are into that kind of thing...and I am!

Helpful tip: Store all of your chocolate-covered [insert bizarre thing here] in the fridge. It may just be me, but I think they are much better when they are chilled.

Irish Car Bomb Cake Balls 2: The Secret of the Booze

2011-06-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, these sound vaguely familiar to you. As well they should: they've been on my blog before.

So you may be thinking, “Yea, yea. Been there. Done that.” Well, let me put it in perspective for you. You know how much you love yourself some KFC Original Recipe? Well, remember when they came out with extra-crispy? Yea, it’s like that.

I didn’t want to be the only one to benefit from the improvements in both the execution and the result of this recipe, so you can read all about the new developments on Foodbeast.com.

Andes Mints Chocolate Cookies

2011-06-06T10:20:00.000-04:00

The original name for these cookies? Andes Mints Doodles. Uh, no thanks. This may come as a surprise to my readers, but I don't eat doodles—cookies, cheese or otherwise, so concessions had to be made.

I snagged this recipe from Tootsie.com, the official site of Andes Mints as well as a number of other tasty treats. The recipe looked good to me, so I didn't make any changes, save for the considerable improvement to the name.

Andes Mints Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4c flour
3/4c cocoa, sifted
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/2c shortening
1/2c butter, softened
3/4c sugar
3/4c dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs, beaten
2t. vanilla
1pkg Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
1 c powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep cookie sheets with parchment.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside.
With a hand held or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until creamy. Add the sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated.
Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Fold in Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips.
Scoop cookies using your 1 1/2T cookie scoop and roll them into balls.
Roll the balls in the powdered sugar to fully cover ball. Flatten the balls gently into ½” thick disks and place about 2” apart, spacing them evenly on the baking sheets.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies set 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove from sheet and move to wire rack to cool completely.

I don't know if the powdered sugar is necessary. I would skip that step if I made these again.

Despite the lame name, these cookies were great! If you've already eaten the Thin Mints that you tried so hard to save in the freezer (I hid mine in the back), I suggest making these as your chocolately-minty cookie substitute.

Creamsicle Cake Balls

2011-06-04T17:57:00.001-04:00

Hurray for balls of cake! Variety is the spice of life and with so many cake and frosting flavors to mix and match, cake balls give my life a nice, spicy kick. This time around I was feeling a little fruity (when is that not the case though?), so I thought I'd bust out a creamsicle-based cake ball.

What's the difference between a creamsicle and a dreamsicle? From what I've read on the always accurate and factual Internet, one has a center of ice milk and the other has ice cream (and I think one is orange flavored ice, while the other is sherbet). Which is which? Beats me! But does it matter? Nope! These are going to taste just awesome whatever you call them.

Creamsicle Cake Balls

Ingredients

Duncan Hines Supreme Orange cake mix (and the required eggs and oil)
Orange juice
white icing
white chocolate bark

Directions

Bake cake as directed, substituting orange juice for the required amount of water.
Let cake cool completely and then crumble up into the largest bowl in your house.
Mix in a can of white frosting.
Using your fabulous 2t cookie scoop, measure and round cake into balls and let chill in fridge.
Meanwhile, melt the baking bark and dip the cake balls in it to coat, then throw them back into the fridge to harden.

While cake balls definitely can be on the heavy/decadent side, these were quite refreshing. They are both creamy and dreamy...and orange-y! I think coating them in regular chocolate bark could be really good as well.

Snap Into a Chocolate-Covered Slim Jim!

2011-06-02T08:56:00.004-04:00

I remember when wrestling story lines meant something, brother! I’m talking Wrestlemania V. (I know what you’re thinking, but I already checked. It’s not on Netflix). The Mega Powers had split up and were going head-to-head in the main event to settle their feud over Miss Elizabeth. I guess that was before they invented the concept of “Bros before Hos.”

In the end, Hulk Hogan's Big Boot defeated Macho Man’s Savage Elbow securing Hogan the WWF Championship yet again. (I was 6 at the time, and a professed Hulk-a-maniac, so to me it was awesome. Don’t act like you didn’t love it, too.)

You all know why two of the best dressed men in wrestling are on my mind: Macho Man Randy Savage has gone up to that big wrestling ring in the sky. But his legend lives on, certainly as a great performer, but more recently as the spokesman for Slim Jim, the smoked snack stick. So in memory of one of wrestling’s greats, I bought a pack of Slim Jim snack sticks…and promptly covered them in chocolate. Can you dig it?

For all the spicy, chewy, chocolately details, visit Foodbeast.com.

Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites with Raspberry Jam

2011-05-31T10:28:00.000-04:00

I thought about gussying up the title to say "Raspberry Sauce," but you know I don't like to lie to you. It's jam.

My super tall friends Ricky and Julie are going to have a super tall baby soon! (Yes, I am excited for them. It's not my baby.) So a couple of us got together to throw them a shower. I quickly demanded that I handle the desserts. Julie has a particular affinity towards dark chocolate so when I found this recipe, I knew that it would be a winner.

Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites

adapted from The Craving Chronicles

Ingredients

1/2c butter
1 heaping c sugar
2 large eggs
a little less than 3/4c 100% dark cocoa (I used Hershey’s Special Dark), sifted
1/2t salt
1/2t baking powder
1/2T vanilla extract
3/4c flour
1c dark chocolate chips
1/2c raspberry jam

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini-muffin pan.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat (or in the microwave) then remove from heat.
Add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the butter mixture to the heat briefly, just until it’s hot, but not bubbling.
In a smaller bowl, crack 2 eggs and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla till smooth.
Stir the hot butter mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.
Stir in the flour and chocolate chunks (or chips) until just combined.
Fill your 2t cookie scoop generously and distribute the batter into the mini-muffin pan (You should get one and half pans worth).
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with some moist crumbs but no loose batter. Cool completely on a rack before removing.
Heat up the jam and drizzle it over the brownies and tell everyone it's a coulis.

They were crunchy on the outside and dense and gooey on the inside. Had a bit of trouble getting them out of the tin as the tops wants to break, but managed to avoid that by scooping around the sides. The sweetness/tartness of the raspberry jam was a nice addition to the richness of the chocolate. I'm not big on dark chocolate, but I thought they were pretty okay. Julie definitely liked them. The batter was good, too!

If you're reading this Grandma McKay, I totally discovered that by scooping out some batter with a clean spoon that I did not reuse. (Well, so much for not lying to you...)

Chocolate Covered Combos

2011-05-28T13:53:00.000-04:00

This is the fist time that I've ever actually purchased a bag of Combos. I wouldn't otherwise eat these things. Although I do enjoy a good pretzel, I'm not big on cheese. However, I AM big on things covered in chocolate.

So as you might have guessed, I went with the cheese-filled Combos: not as tame as peanut butter, yet not as crazy as pizza. (Although both might be attempted in the future).

Again, it's pretty darn simple. The only thing that changes in any of these recipes is what is being coated. But let's go through the motions anyway (sounds a lot like last night...).

Chocolate-Covered Combos

Ingredients

a bag of combos (you have a variety to choose from)
chocolate baking bark

Directions

Melt the bark.
Coat the combos.
Chill out!

These were well received. Chocolate covered pretzels are always a winner; the cheese just gave it a little extra je ne sais quoi. (Yes, I looked up how to spell that.)

Twinkie and Rice Krispies Treat Sushi

2011-05-26T11:05:00.000-04:00

I have a friend that takes that “Liq-uor? I don’t even know her” joke to the extreme. So if I were to tell him that I was making Twinkie sushi, I would have heard “Sushi? I don’t even know she.” Amusing but, let’s not lie, lame. Aaaanyways…

When putting together this dessert, I wanted to be true to the spirit of sushi and use the freshest ingredients available. And by “freshest” I mean dope because there is nothing fresh about Twinkies, Rice Krispies Treats and Fruit by the Foot.

Fun fact: the shelf-life for a Twinkie is 25 days, not years, as some might think.

It’s been done before, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome to try on your own. To check out the different varieties of sushi that I concocted, visit Foodbeast!

Speaking of Foodbeast (one of my favorite foodie sites), I am now a part of their Contributing Recipe Team. I'm super excited to be teaming up with the guys! If you head over there to see my full recipes, which I'll be submitting on a regular basis, be sure to check it out the rest of the site (their videos, in particular, are always entertaining).

Tim Tam Truffles

2011-05-24T15:13:00.002-04:00

Have you ever seen that movie The Boyfriend School with Steve Guttenberg? He pretends to be Lobo from New Zealand to get this girl to like him. Anykiwi...

The Gutte, and this movie in particular, are on my mind because these truffles were inspired by Australian/New Zealand cookies: Tim Tams. From Wikipedia, my ultimate source of the truth: A Tim Tam is composed of two layers of chocolate malted biscuit, separated by a light chocolate cream filling, and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate.

Although the Pepperidge Farm version of Australia's favorite cookie may not be as fabulous as the real deal, they will do in a pinch. (Going to my local Target to pick up a bag is a lot less time consuming than flying Down Under.) FYI, Target is THE only place that will give you the hook up and good luck even finding them there.

Tim Tam Truffles

Ingredients

2 packages Tim Tams (I used chocolate creme, but caramel is also an option)
8oz cream cheese, softened
white baking bark

Directions

Throw those cookies in the food processor and pulverize them into a fine crumb.
Either by hand or continuing with the food processor, combine the cream cheese with the cookie crumbs.
Scoop into balls using your handy-dandy 2t cookie scoop and stick them in the fridge to chill.
Melt your baking bark, coat the truffles and stick them back in the fridge to harden.

Two packages of Tim Tams pretty much equaled 3 cups of crumbs (the amount called for in the original Oreo truffle recipe). So that worked out quite nicely.

While I thought the cream cheese was a little overpowering, everyone else REALLY enjoyed these truffles. According to my trusted taste-testers, they are right up there with the Irish Car Bomb Cake Balls. However, I think next time (when I try this out with the caramel-filled Tim Tams) I will work out a higher ratio of crumb to cream cheese.