Easter Bunny Snack Mix

I was lucky enough to get assigned the very last snack day before Easter for Andrew’s preschool class, and I just know that his teacher did it on purpose. I always make fun things for his class when I’m assigned a snack day around a major holiday, and this one could be no exception. Talk about pressure! Except, honestly, there really wasn’t any pressure at all, because it’s something I love to do, and I knew exactly what I was going to make this time around.

Enter this Easter Bunny snack mix. It’s simple and delicious, with a nice mix of salty and sweet elements. The multi-colored chocolate drizzle and generous amount of Easter sprinkles make it so festive. Even though the Easter Bunny himself sorta creeps me out (anyone else feel this way?), I think he’d appreciate having this delicious snack mix named in his honor!

Easter Bunny Snack Mix

8 cups popped popcorn (1/2 cup unpopped kernels, or 2 bags of natural microwave popcorn)
3 cups waffle pretzels
1 bag Easter M & Ms (I used dark chocolate)
1 bag Reese’s Pieces eggs (you could also use robin’s eggs or Whopper eggs)
12 ounces white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons sprinkles
Assorted food colors (I used purple, blue, pink, and green)

1. Combine popped popcorn, pretzels, M & Ms and eggs in a very large bowl.

2. Pour all but 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth. Reserve the remaining chips in a small bowl to melt later.

3. Pour the melted white chocolate over the popcorn mix. Add the sprinkles and immediately stir to coat the entire mixture. It’s a little messy, but your hands really are the best tool to accomplish this! Lay the wet mixture out on wax paper to dry.

4. Melt the reserved half cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, then divide the melted chips evenly among four small bowls. Add a drop of purple, blue, pink or green (or whatever color you want) food coloring to each bowl and use a toothpick to stir until it reaches the desired color. Using a fork, drizzle each color over the popcorn mixture. Leave on wax paper to set up, then store it in a covered container until you’re ready to snack.

2011 Christmas Cookies Recap

As you know, I recently got done sharing all of the Christmas treats I made for last year’s cookie trays. Last weekend, I spent an entire day baking cookies for our family, neighbors, and friends. It was exhausting and stressful, but it was also incredibly rewarding when Andrew, Will and I delivered overflowing trays of goodies to everyone earlier this week.

Rather than saving the cookie recipes to share with you next year, I thought I’d go ahead and write about them now. I’m doing this for a couple of reasons: 1. Because I’ve talked to some people who aren’t doing their holiday baking until tomorrow (Christmas Eve), and this may give those people a few yummy last minute ideas; and 2. Because I didn’t have the time to take a picture of each cookie individually. Frankly, while I was baking these cookies, I didn’t even have time to stop and eat. (Well, aside from the baked goods and cookie dough I was sampling all day long.)

Before I started baking last Sunday morning, I wrote out my agenda on my trusty chalkboard door:

By the end of the day, all of these items except for two were crossed off – and one additional item was added (but I’ll get to that in a minute). My failures were the peppermint fudge, which never sat up for me properly, and the soft sugar cookies. I tried baking three different batches of them, but they came out incredibly dry and sort of flavorless each time.

The rest, though, were absolutely delicious, and so far I’ve gotten tons of positive feedback on all of these things. I already told you about the hot cocoa mix and dipping spoons and the hot chocolate popcorn. Here’s the rest of what I made:

Buckeyes and pretzel turtles: These are yearly staples for me, and they always go over well with everyone. This year my sister dipped the Buckeyes for me, and she did a much better job than I ever do, so that’s totally her job from now on.

Mint chocolate chip cookie dough truffles: Everyone has loved these so far. More than one person has told me that it’s so fun to bite into a truffle and see something that looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream on the inside. They’re pretty tasty, but they don’t have quite enough mint flavor for me. Next time, I’d add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of mint extract.

Nutter Butter snowmen: Are these little guys cute or what?! I usually make Santas, but thought these snowmen would be a fun change. They’re basically candy, coated with candy, and decorated with more candy. Needless to say, they’ve been a huge hit, and well worth the time it took to make them (nearly two hours for one package of Nutter Butters)!

Rugelach: This was the first time I’ve ever made rugelach, so I picked a popular recipe that was pretty highly rated and sounded simple enough for me to make. Well, I must have good recipe-picking skills, because these were perfect. The dough is so lovely and flaky and not too sweet, and the filling of walnuts, chocolate chips, and cinnamon sugar is just absolutely scrumptious. Everyone loves these, and I’ve had multiple requests for the recipe.

Chocolate caramel cookies: These are similar to the Snickers cookies I’ve made before, except the cookie base is chocolate and they’re stuffed with a Rolo instead of a mini Snickers bar. These cookies are rich and sweet, with a nice caramel surprise in the middle.

Lofthouse sugar cookie bars with easy buttercream frosting: When the soft sugar cookies failed me thrice, I did a quick online search for something sugar cookie-ish that didn’t involve a dough that I could make quickly. Thankfully, I had everything on hand to make these. And although they were a last-minute addition to the cookie trays, they’re actually my favorite thing I made this year. They taste exactly like a Lofthouse cookie, with a sweet, silky frosting and the soft crunch of holiday sprinkles. LOVE.

Oatmeal butterscotch coconut cookies: Annie said these are the best oatmeal scotchies she’s ever tried, and I agree. They’re definitely the best ones I’ve ever had. The shredded coconut and toffee bits just take them to a completely new level. I only had quick-cooking oats on hand, so that’s what I used for the cookies, and they turned out just fine. This is one loaded, delicious cookie.

Red velvet crinkles: These cookies start with cake mix, so immediately I love them, because I love easy things like cake mixes when I’m baking cookies for AN ENTIRE DAY. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the mix and left out the lemon zest, but otherwise made the cookies as indicated. They came together in minutes, and they’re so festive and pretty, with that familiar red velvet flavor everyone loves.

Hot chocolate triple chip cookies: Joe had his eye on these cookies before they’d even been baked, when they were still just raw balls of cookie dough sitting on baking trays. They were the first thing he tried when presented with all of my day’s efforts, and were definitely his favorite of all of this year’s offerings. These cookies are gigantic and rich. You can really taste the hot chocolate flavor in them. I loved them, too, but because I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate chips in cookies, I’ll probably replace those with another cup of milk chocolate chips when I make these again (and I will, because they’re almost gone, and Joe will soon be clamoring for another batch, I have no doubt).

Chocolate cherry blossoms: This is a change-up of the traditional peanut butter blossom. It’s a cherry cookie instead, with both cherry juice and chopped maraschino cherries in the base. I really liked these cookies. The texture is really soft, and the cherry flavor is definitely there, and strong enough that the Hershey’s Kiss doesn’t overpower it. I thought these were definitely the prettiest cookies of all the types I made.

Are you exhausted, just reading about all of this? I was definitely exhausted by the time I finished baking all of it on Sunday evening! It was so worth it, though, to be able to give plates of delicious baked goods to the people I care about. And even while I’m recovering from all that baking, I’m already thinking about what I’m going to make next year…

I want to wish all of you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope your holiday is merry, bright, peaceful, and spent as every holiday should be: with the people you love the most in the world.

Green Egg Candies

Did you know that tomorrow is Dr. Seuss’s birthday? Unless you have a kid in school, you probably didn’t. My sons’ daycare always celebrates Dr. Seuss for the entire week of his birth, with fun themed days like Silly Hat Day and Pajama Day. Today happens to be Green Eggs and Ham Day, during which they’ll march up and down the halls of the daycare reciting lines from Green Eggs and Ham. What I wouldn’t give to see that. I can’t even imagine how cute it must be!

Anyway, as a former English major who will do just about anything to inspire the love of books in my boys and their friends, I decided to make a little themed treat for them today. Last year I made these fun cupcakes, but this year I went for something even simpler than that: green egg candies.

If you have two ingredients and two minutes to spare, you can make these too. They’re beyond easy, and they’re such a fun little treat. These are a great way to get your kids interested in reading. You could even use yellow M & Ms for the yolks to make more traditional eggs.

I know I saw a yellow-yolk version of these on a blog, but it was a long time ago and for the life of me I can’t remember where. If you know, please let me know in the comments so I can give proper credit for the idea!

Green Egg Candies

6 ounces (half of a 12-ounce bag) white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
20 green M & Ms

1. Mix vegetable oil and white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth.

2. Using a spoon, dollop 20 circles of white chocolate on a baking sheet lined with wax paper (they don’t have to be perfect circles; they look more egg-like if they’re not).

3. Top each “egg” with a green M & M yolk, slightly off-center. Refrigerate until completely cool.