Halloween Bark

Easiest spooky sweet treat around! Just melt chocolate and add candy corn and sprinkles.  I used half milk chocolate and half dark here, melted separately and swirled. 

Ingredients:

16 oz chocolate melting wafers or squares (not chocolate chips)

2 tsps virgin coconut oil

Candy corn and Halloween sprinkles

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave just until nearly all melted then add the coconut oil, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Pour into a parchment lined  9 X 9" pan and immediately add candy corn and sprinkles. Refrigerate until set then cut into squares.

Happy Halloween 🎃 

Makes 16 squares 

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Easter Nests

Jazz up your Easter table! If you've ever made Rice Krispie squares then you can make these easy Easter nests.

Ingredients:

2 cups mini marshmallows (or 3/4 bag large marshmallows)

1/4 cup butter

4 cups chow mein noodles

 

Spray muffin tin with cooking oil.

In a large pot melt the butter on medium heat, then add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the chow mein noodles to coat. Spoon some of the mixture into a muffin tin. Spray the back of an ice cream scoop with oil and use it to shape an indentation in the noodles. If you need to use your hands to help shape the nest either spray them with oil or just dampen them with a little water.

Place in the freezer for 45-60 minutes. Then, using a small plastic spatula or knife, pop them out of the tin. They can be filled with little goodies then wrapped as small gifts or table markers for your Easter dinner.

Makes 12

Adapted from gratefulprayerthankfulheart.com

 

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Swedish Berry Rice Krispie Squares

Rice Krispie treats with a candy twist!  My daughter and her boyfriend bought these as a packaged snack and wondered if I could make a copycat recipe. Challenge accepted!

Ingredients:

6 cups Rice Krispies

1/4 cup salted butter

40 large marshmallows or 5 cups of minis

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup (185 g bag) quartered Swedish berries

2 tbsps red sprinkles, divided

Cut the Swedish berries in quarters (that's the most work this recipe requires), and toss them with the Rice Krispies. Melt the butter in a large pot then add the marshmallows and melt on low heat, stirring pretty constantly.

Once the marshmallows are melted remove from heat and add the vanilla, then the krispie/berrie mix along with 1 1/2 tbsps red sprinkles. Butter a 13 X 9" baking dish and gently press the mixture in evenly using a silicone spatula or buttered hands. Don't squish down to hard or the squares will not be as tender as they should be. You can shake more red sprinkles, about 1/2 tbsp, on top and lightly press to make sure they stick. 

Let set 1 hour before cutting into squares. After every couple of cuts run the knife under hot water then dry and continue cutting

This helps avoid gummy buildup.

They are just so darn good! I wonder what gummy bear krispies would be like?!

And the verdict... "they're better than the original!"

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Chocolate Swirl Meringues

These melt in your mouth meringues are crisp and airy, and with 70% dark chocolate swirled through they have just the right balance of sweet and bitter in every bite. 

And after separating the eggs you can save the yolks to make my Easy Bacon Carbonara:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2022/12/easy-bacon-carbonara.html 

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 oz 70% cocoa dark chocolate

Make sure to have your egg whites at room temperature before starting. 

First off, melt the chocolate. Microwave squares in 20 second intervals until almost completely melted, then stir and leave to cool but not set.

Beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Sift the cream of tartar on top and beat through. Then start adding the sugar, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, beating between additions. Once all the sugar has been added beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. That should take only a few minutes. Don't beat egg whites longer that 15 minutes in total (remember you already beat them 5 minutes to soft peak stage) or they could collapse and there is no fix for that.

Once the meringue is ready pour the melted and cooled chocolate on top. Then fold through only 2-3 times, more than that and you risk losing the "swirl".

Use a scoop or 2 spoons to dollop meringue 2" apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. (I used a 1 1/2 tbsp sized scoop here)

Bake at 300°F for 20-23 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the meringues sit in the oven for 30-60 minutes.

Store in an airtight container for 3 weeks.

Makes 58 meringues

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Coconut Truffles

Simple, 2 ingredient, no bake truffles ... ready in no time!

A sweet spring treat for that sweet tooth craving!

Ingredients:

400 g (14 oz) unsweetened shredded medium coconut 

1 - 300 ml can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup shredded coconut

In a large bowl combine the 400 g of coconut with the condensed milk.

Next form into 1 heaping tablespoon sized balls and roll in the shredded coconut. I won't lie, rolling this stuff into balls is a little sticky on the hands, but if you wash them off a couple of times you'll find it much easier to handle.

Place on a lined tray and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. 

That's it, they are ready to serve!

Makes 35-40 truffle balls.

Original recipe from: lifestyleofafoodie.com

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Silky, rich fudge that's so easy to make, it's going to be our new favourite candy treat!

Ingredients:

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips 

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup peanut butter 

In a saucepan combine the chocolate chips with the condensed milk and heat on low for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally,  until the chocolate is melted.

Remove from heat and add the peanut butter. Stir together. It will already be starting to thicken.

Pour into a parchment lined 8 X 8" baking pan and refrigerate 1-2 hours to set.

Once set lift the fudge out of the pan and slice off the rough edges. (Those are the testers!)

Then cut the rest of the fudge.

Can be stored for a fews days in an air tight container at room temperature or for longer refrigerate.

Who's keeping fudge any longer than a few days anyways ?!?!?!!!

Thanks Marlana on Homecook Foodies Unite FB group for sharing this recipe. 

White Chocolate Cookie Ball Truffles

Sometimes life gives you happy little accidents!

Ingredients:
4 or 5 oz white chocolate
1/4 - 1/2 tsp butter
5 ladyfinger biscuits

So I was melting white chocolate in a double boiler for drizzling in another recipe. It had just about melted when I decided I wanted it a little more runny. I added room temperature butter and it all seized up! Big mistake... I should have melted the butter so it would be about the same temperature as the chocolate before adding it. And apparently there is no reversing seized white chocolate.

I wasn't about to throw away all the chocolate. But I had these ladyfingers on the shelf in preparation for an upcoming dessert. I just crumbled some of them into the chocolate and rolled the mixture into balls.

Now, unprepared as I was for making truffles, what was I going to roll them in? I had just run out of cocoa (gotta get to Bulk Barn!) I didn't have enough sprinkles (what's wrong with me?!?!) And I was kind of running out of patience so chopping walnuts wasn't going to happen.

I grabbed a bag of homemade granola.
This'll work! Just rolled them up and let them set on parchment in the fridge a few minutes.

This "recipe" only made 12 cookie ball truffles but you could always accidently seize up more white chocolate, LOL!

To quote Bob Ross "we don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents!"

Holiday Sweet Marie Bars

Never knew Sweet Marie chocolate bars were only available in Canada. I believe they are now discontinued but if you have a craving for them these copycats will hit the spot!

And I stumbled upon this... apparently the story of how the Sweet Marie chocolate bar came to be.

___

The Sweet Marie chocolate bar was inspired by a love affair.

In 1893, after an evening stroll through the streets of London, Ontario, with his girlfriend Marie, author Cy Warman was so smitten that he sat down in a park and wrote a poem called “Sweet Marie.”

When musician Raymond Moore read the poem he put it to music, and the song became a hit that inspired a chocolate company to create the Sweet Marie chocolate bar.

Cy married his sweet Marie, and together they raised four children in London.

___

Doesn't everyone like a good love story ♥


Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup golden corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter 

1 cup salted dry roasted peanuts

4 cups (holiday) rice krispie cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Holly candy sprinkles (optional)

Begin by heating brown sugar, syrup and peanut butter together on medium heat in a large skillet. Do not boil.
Add the peanuts and rice krispies and fold together. I didn't add it all at once, but about half at a time.

Spread the mixture into a parchment lined 13 X 9" pan pressing with buttered fingers. I did this with the pan sitting on the warm (turned off) stovetop to keep it a bit soft for spreading.

For the topping melt 1 cup chocolate chips in microwave for 40 seconds on high. Stir and add the butterscotch chips. Stir and microwave another 20 seconds. Stir to melt completely.

Pour over the krispies layer and add candy sprinkles if using.

Refrigerate to set then remove from fridge for 20 minutes before  cutting.