Peanut Butter Cup Krispies

Peanut Butter Cup Krispies are like a regular rice crispy treat but on steroids.

 Made with peanut butter, chocolate rice cereal, and peanut butter cups. 

 These will be a hit at any holiday pot-luck! You might want to make two pans!

Peanut Butter Cup Krispies

1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

Scant 6 cups chocolate rice cereal

2 cups chopped Peanut Butter Cups

Combine peanut butter, sugar, and corn syrup in large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal; stir until thoroughly coated. Mix in 1/2 cup of the peanut butter cups. Press into bottom of a greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish (or 9 x 9 if you want a thicker bar). Topped with remaining peanut butter cups.  Cool and cut into bars.

Texas Sheet Cake

This recipe has been in my family for forever.  I can remember my mom making this cake and bringing it into my 4th grade classroom to celebrate my birthday.  That was back in the day when homemade treats were allowed. This cake is perfect if you need to feed a lot of people. You can also bake it in rounds to built a layer cake, pouring a little bit of frosting between each layer, then letting the frosting on top drizzle down the layers.  MMMmmm!

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

4 tablespoon cocoa

1 cup water

1/2 cup sour milk*

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs, beaten

Sift flour and sugar together. Set aside. Bring butter, cocoa, and water to a boil in a small saucepan.  Boil until butter melts.  Remove from stove and allow to cool. Make sour milk*, and add baking soda to the milk.  Stir until soda dissolves. Add salt, eggs, and vanilla . Add to cocoa mixture. Now add cocoa mixture to the flour/sugar. Mix well.  Pour into a greased jelly-roll pan.  Bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  While the cake bakes make the frosting (recipe below).

Frost cake the second it comes out of the oven.  

*to make 1/2 sour milk, measure one tablespoon white vinegar and enough milk to equal 1/2 cup.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3 tablespoons cocoa

6 tablespoons milk 

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Boil butter, cocoa, and milk until dissolved.  Beat in powdered sugar, and vanilla. Stir in nuts (optional).

Sift flour.

 and sugar together. Set aside

Bring butter,

cocoa, and water to a boil in a small saucepan.

Boil until butter melts.  Remove from stove and allow to cool.

Make sour milk*, and add baking soda to the milk.  Stir until soda dissolves.

Add salt, eggs,

 and vanilla.

Add to cocoa mixture. 

Now add cocoa mixture to the flour/sugar. Mix well.

Pour into a greased jelly-roll pan.  Bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  While the cake bakes make the frosting by

Boiling the butter, cocoa, and milk until dissolved.

Beat in powdered sugar, and vanilla. Stir in nuts.

Frost cake the second it comes out of the oven.

This cake is good eaten warm or room temperature.

Hogs and Kisses - REPOST!

 Remember these Hogs and Kisses Cookies?  These were one of the first recipe I posted 5 years ago!  I thought it was time to give them a little make-over and a few other ingredients you can use to make the hogs.

HOGS AND KISSES COOKIES

1-3/4 c flour
1/2 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c shortening
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs milk
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
Chocolate Kisses
1/2 batch of butter-cream frosting (also found below)

red food coloring

Ingredients for hogs:

eyes- mini m&m's, mini chocolate chips, or raisins

nose- large marshmallow (white or pink), butterscotch, peanut butter, or white chocolate chips

ears- small conversation hearts or strawberry wafer cookies.

Combine all the ingredients, except the candy in a big mixing bowl until dough forms. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a candy kiss; press down firmly until the cookie cracks around the edge.

For the hogs: Do not top with a candy kiss, leave these plain. Cool completely then frost with a little bit of frosting tinted pink. Add two mini M&M's, mini chocolate chips, or raisins for the eyes. For the nose: a marshmallow cut in half with two peanut butter or butterscotch or white chocolate chips for nostrils. And the ears are two conversation hearts or wafer cookies cut into triangles.

Frosting:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
2 Tbs cream cheese, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla (preferably clear)

4 cups powdered sugar

2-3+ Tbs Whipping Cream (or milk)*

Beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla, powdered sugar, and cream.  Whip until frosting reaches a light and airy texture (5 minutes)

*Add more cream to if frosting is too thick.  If frosting is too thin, just add more powdered sugar, until you reach the consistency you're looking for.

Mint Oreo Magic Bars

As promised, here is a Sugar Sunday / Dessert recipe in all its glory.  This is a tasty one. 

Oreos, mint, chocolate, more chocolate, and pretzels-  drizzled with creamy sweet sugary sweetened condensed milk.  Come to Mama!

Mint Oreo Magic Bars

1 stick of butter

2 sleeves worth (about 24 cookies) of chocolate sandwich cookies

1/2 cup mint chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or chunks

1/4 roughly chopped pretzels

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in an 8x8" baking dish.  While butter is melting, crush cookies into fine crumbs.  Sprinkle cookie crumbs on top of melted butter.  Top with chips and pretzels.  Drizzle entire can of sweetened condensed milk over everything.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until milk is slightly browned.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.  

Notes: To speed up the cooling process put the pan into your freezer.

STEP-BY STEP

 Melt butter in 8x8 baking dish

 Crush cookies into fine crumbs.  (You can use a rolling pin, but I find a blender or food processor is much easier.)

 Sprinkle crumbs over melted butter.

 Now for the delicious toppings:  Mint Chocolate Chips

 Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

 Chunks of Milk chocolate

 White Chocolate Chips

 and pretzel pieces.

 Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over everything. 

 It should be a white milky lake once you're done.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until milk slightly starts to brown.

 Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Balls

These chocolate covered cherry cake balls just scream "I love you".

These are a decadent treat - chocolate cake and cherry frosting balls with a yummy sweet maraschino cherry center, double-dipped in chocolate.

These do take some time to make, but, as with everything I make, they are super easy!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Balls

1 box Devil's Food chocolate cake mix 

4 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 cup hot water

1 tub cherry or strawberry frosting

1 (10 oz) jar maraschino cherries

1 (24 oz) brick almond bark, divided 

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, oil, and water together 30 seconds on low-speed, and then 1 minute on high, until completely combined.  Pour into a greased 9x13" baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out clean).

Cool completely.  

Once cool, crumble cake into a large bowl.  Mix with 2/3 -3/4 of the tub of frosting.  You want the cake and frosting mixture to be moist and able to stick together when formed into balls, but not super moist it's crumbly and falling apart.  Start with 2/3 and add more if necessary.  Form cake mixture into 1 inch balls.  Make an indent in the center of each ball with your thumb.  Insert a cherry.  Cover up cherry and roll ball smooth.  Place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.  

Once the balls are ready, in a medium bowl, melt half the almond bark according to package directions.  Dip cake balls into chocolate covering completely.  Tap off extra chocolate and allow to set on a clean sheet of parchment paper.  Once chocolate has set, melt remaining almond bark and repeat.  Double-dipping each ball.  Top with sprinkles or drizzle with left-over chocolate, if desired.

Notes:  This is a great way to use up leftover cake.  Instead of baking the cake and adding the frosting, just dump the remaining frosted cake into a large bowl, and stir until it comes together.  

Step-By Step:

 Once the cake has cooled, crumble into a large bowl.  Mix crumbs with  2/3 -3/4 tub of frosting.  You want the mixture to be able to stick together when formed into a ball, but not too moist it's falling apart, or too dry it crumbles.

 Now for the yummy part-

 Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough (you can make these smaller if you'd like)

 Use your thumb to make an indent in the center.

 Insert a cherry,

 then close back up and roll smooth.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Freeze balls for at least 1 hour.

 Once balls are ready, melt almond bark (I used white and dark).

 Dip balls, covering completely.  Use a fork to tap off excess -

 Place on a sheet of parchment paper to until set.  Once set, dip them a second time.