White Chocolate Popcorn

White Chocolate Popcorn is just heaven to eat and a fun treat to have on hand for a holiday snack.

You will die when you see how easy this is to make! 

You will need:

popcorn kernels

marshmallows

M&M's 

white chocolate

 Pop about 1/2 cup kernels of popcorn.  Use your amazing popcorn popper that your cousin bought you for your wedding gift.  This Sunbeam appliance will.not.die.  We use this at least 3-4 times weekly for 9 years now and it just keeps popping! 

Dump all the popcorn into a large pan and look for any un popped kernels. 

Sneaky three right here.  

 In a large bowl - mix 1/2 bag of mar mars (as we call them around here) and a 1/2 bag of M&M's
Add popcorn and mix together....

 

In a microwavable dish, melt 1/2 bag of white chocolate chips or white almond bark.  Stir every 30 seconds until melted.

 I like Nestle...but the almond bark is good also. 

 When chocolate is melted - pour over popcorn mixture, stir well and make sure everything is evenly coated with chocolate.  Put into parchment paper covered cookie sheet to set.   About 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!
Linking up to Coastal Charm

Witch Finger Cookies

Witch Finger Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup whole almonds
• 1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel

Directions

1. Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the gel to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.

 These are so realistic looking they are a little awkward to eat.  Until you taste one - then my boys couldn't stop.  They are yummy but you might have to close your eyes to get over the fact they are SO realistic looking!

I made these for several Halloween parties last year - easy and so much fun to bring!
Linking to Show and Tell Saturday!

Dan's Favorite Lemonade Cake

I kid you not...when you take your first bite of this, your taste buds will be very confused.  And then they will be sent straight to heaven.  Especially if you have it on a hot summer night.  The combination of sweet and tart is amazing.  

This is a Olsen family favorite!

Dan's Favorite Lemonade Cake

1 1/2  pkgs Keebler Pecan Sandies

1/2 - 1 stick butter

 Put cookies and softened butter in KitchenAid mixer.  Mix well until cookies are crushed and ingredients are well blended.  You don't want this too buttery OR too dry.

Pat into bottom of 9 x 13 pyrex dish.   Use fingertips to spread evenly and press down gently.

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

1 can pink lemonade concentrate

Mix together in a KitchenAid Mixer or large bowl by hand.  Pour over top of cookie crust mixture and spread evenly.  

Freeze to harden, at least one hour.

Set out a few minutes prior to serving so that it's easy to cut.  

Serve and enjoy! 

Linking to:

Just A Girl

Fingerprints on the Fridge

 Somewhat Simple

It's A HodgePodge Life 
Big Bear's Wife

Eclair Cake

I made this Eclair Cake for my dad and Dan for Father's Day.  
It's a fairly simple and inexpensive to make.  
I haven't met a boy (young or old) who doesn't love it!

You will need:

31/2 cups milk

2 small packages french vanilla instant pudding

1 (8 oz) container of cool whip

1 box graham crackers (I use HoneyMaid)

1 can chocolate frosting (not the whipped kind)

Mix milk and pudding until thick.  Add cool whip and mix well.  

Spray 9x13 pan with Pam.  Line bottom of pan with graham crackers.

Pour 1/2 of pudding mixture on top of graham crackers and and spread evenly.  Then layer again adding 2nd layer of crackers. Pour the remainder of pudding on top and spread evenly. Add 3rd and final layer of graham crackers.

Place in fridge for 2-3 hours to let it all soak together.  Then frost cake with chocolate.  Let sit for at least another hour in fridge after frosting to let it all soak together again. 

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Bars

One of the easiest sweet treats to make is a rice krispy treat. The basic recipe has only three ingredients - marshmallows, rice krispies and butter.  

These rice krispies are topped with a layer of peanut butter and a layer of chocolate, giving them a rich peanut butter cup flavor that is a great contrast for the sweet, crunchy base. The peanut butter layer is slightly crumbly, similar to the interior of a peanut butter cup.. The topping is a chocolate ganache, made with semisweet chocolate and butter.

The only time consuming piece of this snack is that you need to let the layers set up one by one. Even so, you can probably get it done start to finish in an hour - and the hands-on time is probably about 5-10 minutes. They’re a great treat to make with kids and are probably just as likely to be a hit with adults.  All the men I had try them gobbled them up!  (ok, Dan and my dad...but you get the idea...)

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Bars

2 tsp butter

5 oz marshmallows (1/2 large bag)

3 cups Rice Krispies/puffed rice cereal

Peanut Butter Filling
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (natural or regular)
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp milk

Chocolate Topping
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup semisweet/dark chocolate chips

Lightly grease a 9×9-inch pan.
In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine butter and marshmallows. Heat until butter is melted and marshmallows are soft. Stir to combine. Fold in rice cereal with a spatula, then pour mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Allow to cool and set at room temperature.

For the peanut butter layer, combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. The consistency should be like frosting. If it is too crumbly (consistency may vary slightly by type of peanut butter used), add an additional tablespoon or two of milk until filling is spreadable. Spread onto cereal layer.

For the chocolate topping, melt chocolate chips and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over peanut butter layer and, using an offset spatula or regular spatula, spread chocolate to cover entire surface. Let chocolate set up at room temperature before slicing.

 Makes 20 rectangular candy bars.

Oreo Cookie Lollipops

OREO COOKIE LOLLIPOPS

I make these now and then for fun treats - they make cute simple gifts.  

I seriously love cute and simple!

So we came up with these, too bad I got instructions on HOW to do them after I started, but it turned out to be pretty easy and they looked CUTE if I say so myself!

First you will need Double Stuff Oreos, white chocolate chips, lollipop sticks, cellophane treat bags, sprinkles, tags and ribbons (if gifting them.) I bought everything in one quick trip to Wal-Mart.

HINT! I did this backwards!! Melt your chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds till completely melted. Dab a tip of your lollipop stick into the chocolate before sticking it into the Oreo ever so slowly and gently! The chocolate on the tip acts as a glue to keep the cookie on the stick!

Re-heat your chocolate if necessary for a few seconds. Dip cookie thoroughly in chocolate coating both sides. I used a spoon to help pour extra where the stick meets the cookie. Place to harden on wax or parchment lined cookie sheet. I would do 3-4 cookies, then sprinkle!

To make sure everyone knows I'm a novice baker, here are a few of my rejects before my happy helpers Graham and Greg ate them in the name of "taste testing." Quality assurance working at its best!

Letting the chocolate harden and cool. Took about 30 minutes till I felt I was safe to wrap them.

Ta-DAA!!! I didn't get a shot of the ones we gave L. I had a larger treat bag, stacked 4 (2 sets of 2 side by side) and wrapped multiple ribbons with a tag. 

They really turned out darling!

Peppermint Trifle

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix 

1 Large Package Instant Chocolate Fudge pudding

2 small containers whipped cream

Red food coloring

1 cup powdered sugar

1 package crushed candy canes

Make cake according to directions on the box.  Let cool completely and cut into 1" squares.  Make pudding by adding 1/2 cup more milk than package calls for. You want it to be a little bit thinner and more of it. Mix powdered sugar and whipping cream until thick.  Add food coloring until you get your desired color.  (*You could use cool whip instead for a lighter version!)

In a trifle dish or punch bowl, cover the bottom evenly with 1/3 of the cake squares.  Cover the cake with 1/3 of the pudding.  Next add the whipping cream and then a thin layer of crushed candy canes!  Repeat!  In my dish I could only layer everything twice.  You want to make sure you end up with a pretty layer of crushed candy canes on top!

Served chilled - it looks so pretty and tastes yummy!

Linking up to Somewhat Simple and Crazy Domestic and No Minimalist Here!!

M&M Cookies

OH!! These are so good that I stole the recipe for them. Which is funny to me because I have since seen this recipe word for word a few other places.

So the "big family secret recipe" that was not to be shared with others? Not so secret after all.

Why do people recipe horde like that? So weird. Anywho...here is the yummy recipe free for the taking!

Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Mix together.

Add 2 1/4 cup white sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Mix together.

Add 1 cup M&M's.
Mix.

Drop 1 spoonful size cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet spacing them about 1" apart.
Decorate with more M&M's pressing them slightly into the dough so they won't fall off.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Luscious Lemonade Tarts

Yes I did walk right up to the frozen food section in Wal-mart on a Saturday and take a picture of the shells. I have no shame. And I now seem to carry my camera everywhere which makes me want a smaller and lighter one!

So here is what you will need to do to make these lovelies...

Pour 1 3/4 cups cold milk into a bowl.
Stir in two small packages vanilla instant pudding
Mix.
Add 6 oz frozen concentrate lemonade. (A lot of other flavors might be tasty too!)
Mix.
Add one regular sized tub of Cool Whip, thawed.
Mix together and let set in fridge for at least 20-30 minutes.

Buy 2 pkgs pre made pre cooked phyllo dough mini shells. (In the pastry section of frozen foods)
Spoon lemonade mixture in till full.

With canned whipped cream, add a dollop to the top and then if you are feeling fancy, add some lemon zest or a raspberry on top as well.

They are seriously so delicious and I've never had leftovers. Ever. So that says something right there, right?

(You can get another package out of this mix - I usually have enough left over that I could've made more. But I know Dan likes to sneak spoonfuls of it from the bowl so I pretend that I have extra when I am really just leaving it in the fridge for him!)