Caramel Corn

This sweet and crunchy Caramel Corn is delicious treat and makes a fun homemade Christmas gift!

Christmas is only 3 days away--is anyone else in shock?  It's finally starting to feel like Christmas since we had our first family Christmas party in Canada on Saturday.  We had a great time with our family and Summer loved seeing everyone!

Now we are back home and it's crunch time!  I have about half my gifts left to wrap and I still have some baking to do so I can bring some treats over to our neighbors.  Since I'm a little short on time I'll be making something quick and easy.  The recipe topping that list is my dad's Caramel Corn recipe.  I made a batch last week for my co-workers.  I filled little ramkins with the treat and packaged it up in a clear cellophane bag with a pretty bow.  My co-workers loved it!

This caramel corn is a recipe I grew up making.  My dad always made it in the microwave and my brother and I loved helping him pour it into a brown paper bag and then stir it up.  As kids we couldn't believe the magic that happened in the microwave ;)  You can make this recipe in the oven too if that's more your thing, I just choose to use the microwave because it's faster!  Either way, the caramel corn tastes amazing!

Caramel Corn

Makes 24 1 cup servings

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 quarts popped popcorn

1.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

2.  Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

3.  Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes without stirring.

4.  Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda.  It will expand when you add the baking soda, so be sure to use a large pan!

5.  Microwave directions:  Coat the inside of a brown grocery bag with cooking spray.  Pour the popcorn into the bag and pour the caramel over the popcorn.  Stir to coat.  Fold the bag over and microwave for 2 minutes, then remove the bag from the microwave and stir.  Microwave another 2 minutes and stir, then an additional 2 minutes and stir.  Spread caramel corn on a baking sheet to cool.

6.  Oven directions:  Place the popcorn in a large bowl and pour the caramel over it.  Stir to coat.  Spread on two cookie sheets and bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.

When the caramel corn is cool, break it apart and store in an airtight container.

Donut Snowmen

These Donut Snowmen are a fun and festive (not to mention, delicious!) winter treat!

The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

A flavorful brine and simple step-by-step instructions will have you and your family enjoying the perfect turkey this Thanksgiving!

Frosted Marshmallow Eggs

These adorable Frosted Marshmallow Eggs are the perfect Easter treat!  They're sugary, covered in sprinkles, and perfect for kids.

It's that time of the year when we are surrounded by sweets, particularly sugar coated marshmallows.  Rather than attempt another peeps project, I decided to go with marshmallows that were already created.  However, if you want a good chuckle, feel free to check out my Homemade Marshmallow Walruses Peeps.  And then check out my Marshmallow Bird's Nests, just so you can see that my marshmallow piping skills have improved! :)

I purchased a bunch of spring sprinkles on clearance last year.  The good thing about sprinkles is that they last forever!  Since I purchased them at the end of the season, I didn't have much of a chance to use them last year, so I thought before I miss Easter again this year, I better get busy.

This recipe couldn't be any more simple!  Take your marshmallow egg (or regular marshmallow if you can't find shapes) and cover it with a layer of frosting.  I flavored mine with a packet of Duncan Hines frosting creations.  I used bubble gum flavor, because who doesn't want to go over the top sweet?  You can use any flavor you wish, or just use plain frosting.  Then cover the frosting with sprinkles.  Let the frosting harden and viola, you have a cute spring snack!

Frosted Marshmallow Eggs

Ingredients:
1 bag of Marshmallow eggs
1 container of vanilla frosting
1 packet Duncan Hines frosting creations flavor mix
sprinkles

1.  Combine the frosting and frosting creations.

2.  Spread frosting on the marshmallows and cover with sprinkles.

3.  Place marshmallows on a piece of waxed paper and allow the frosting to dry.

Store in an airtight container.

Oreo Cookie Ball Santa Hats

These adorable Santa Hat Oreo Cookie Balls are sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!

This past Saturday was our 3rd annual Christmas Cookie Exchange at my mom's friend's house.  As in the years past, everyone brought gorgeous cookies!  We enjoyed a delicious lunch, good company, and fun cookies.  Though I have to say, the newest addition to our group absolutely stole the show! 

I don't think anyone minded though!

If you've been anywhere on social media (especially Pinterest!) since October, I'm sure you've seen all kinds of Christmas cookie ideas.  I spent a good amount of time looking for the perfect cookie to bring to the cookie exchange.  When I saw these Santa Hats, I knew I had scored! I'd previously made S'mores Thumbprint Cookies and Christmas colored Swirl Cookies, so I wanted to keep my tradition of creative cookies.

I do have to admit that these cookies were much more time consuming than I had expected.  However the cuteness factor made it worthwhile, and they are pretty tasty too!  Though time consuming, the method of making these cookies is quite simple.  Mix together crushed cookies and cream cheese, shape into hats, dip in melted chocolate, and then decorate.  I had fun making them and I think you will too!

Oreo Cookie Ball Santa Hats

Makes 18-20 cookies

Ingredients:
1 package Oreo cookies
1 package cream cheese
2-3 cups Red Candy Melts
1 cup White Candy Melts
18-20 mini marshmallows
white sprinkles (optional)

1.  Crush the Oreo cookies in your food processor. (Depending on the size of yours, you may need to do this in batches.)

2.  Combine the crushed cookies and cream cheese in a medium bowl.  You can use a mixer or your hands (like I did!)

3.  Scoop out cookie "dough" and roll into 1" balls.  Then pinch the top of the balls into a cone shape.

4.  Place formed hats on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in your freezer for about an hour.

5.  In a microwave safe measuring cup, melt the red candy melts.  I usually do mine for a minute and then additional 15 second increments until the candy has melted and can be stirred smooth. (Actual time may depend on your microwave.)

6.  Dip each cookie hat into the melted red candy, allow the excess coating to drip off, and then place the cookie back on the cookie sheet until the candy hardens.

7.  While the red candy is hardening, melt the white candy melts.

8.  Dip the bottoms of the hats in white candy.  Return to the cookie sheet to harden.

9.  If desired, moisten the marshmallows with water and then roll in white sprinkles.  (I just got my fingertips wet and then touched the marshmallows to moisten them.)

10.  Dip one side of the marshmallow in the white candy and then attach it to the top of the red hat.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Source: Shugary Sweets

Cookie Turkeys

These cookie turkeys are a fun and delicious holiday treat!

What are you thankful for?  Today especially, I am thankful for our veterans and all those who have served our country.  Be sure to thank a veteran today!  I have so many more things to be thankful for: my husband and beautiful baby girl, our families, our home, good jobs, my friends.  The list could go on and on.  I hope that you'll take some time this month to really reflect on what you have and be thankful for it!

These cookies are a fun Thanksgiving treat!  I made them by myself, but if you have kids, I think it would be a fun activity for them.  The concept is simple: an Oreo cookie coated in chocolate and decorated with candies to look like a turkey!

I listed amounts for the ingredients, but you really don't have to abide by those.  You can easily make more or less, just adjust the amount of chocolate based on the number of cookies you want to make. You can purchase the Candy Eyeballs online or at a local craft store.

My dad saw these cookies sitting on my counter the other day when he came over to babysit.  He said something like 'Oh, those cookies look like turkeys!' Well...that was the goal, so it looks like I was successful!

Cookie Turkeys

Ingredients:

8 Oreo cookies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
40 candy corn pieces
16 Wilton Candy Eyeballs

1. Place cookies on a piece of waxed paper.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 30 second increments until it can be stirred smooth.

3. Spoon approximately 1 Tablespoon of melted chocolate over each cookie. It should spread on its own over the cookie, but if it doesn't, you can spread the chocolate with a knife.

Alternatively, you could dip the entire cookie into the chocolate.

4. Press 4 candy corn pieces around the edge of the cookie, point side facing in, as the feathers.

5. Add the candy eyes and the beak (the tip of a candy corn).

6. Allow the chocolate to set before serving or storing.

Store in an airtight container.

If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy this Fruit Turkey:

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Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Can you believe that it is already the last week of June?  This year has flown by!

I'm really looking forward to next week, not just because it's a short work week (Mike and I both have Thursday and Friday off--yay!), but also because it's one of my favorite holidays.  I love the 4th of July.  The parades, car shows, chicken lunch in the park, grilling for dinner, craft shows, and fireworks, plus the patriotic attitude of everyone around is just so exciting to me.

Every year my hometown has a huge Independence Day celebration.  When I was in high school, I marched in the parade with the band.  Before then, I often walked in the parade with our church's float.  For the past few years, Mike and I have been able to go to the parade and just watch it.  Then everyone leaves the parade location and drives a couple miles down to the township park.  There are food vendors, crafters, a chain saw artist, and a huge car show.  There is also typically a children's play area set up.  I love how the community all comes together to celebrate--I think that's one of the reasons I love this holiday so much.

After an afternoon in the park, Mike and I plan to head back to my parents for dinner.  You can't have 4th of July without grilling dinner!  At least not in my family...  This year will be especially fun because (for the second year in a row) my grandma will be visiting from Canada, so we'll be able to spend the whole day with her.  Then, if we can make ourselves stay awake, we'll head out to watch the fireworks.  Yes, it's a full day, but it's one filled with friends, family, and celebrating our freedoms!

On Monday, I shared a recipe for Copy-cat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies and at the end of the post, I left a little teaser about what I made with the giant cookie.  If you haven't guessed it yet, I made this Patriotic Fruit Pizza.  I was inspired by my friend's open house, where she had a mini fruit pizza bar.  I knew that the combination of strawberries and blueberries would be the perfect topping for a fruit pizza, and what better way to design it than with a symbol of our freedom?

Fruit Pizza

Makes 2 large pizzas (approximately 20 servings each) or 5-6 dozen individual cookies

Ingredients:
1 batch Copy-cat Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (7 ounce) jars marshmallow cream
1 pint blueberries, washed
2 quarts strawberries, washed and hulled

1.  Prepare cookie dough and bake according to recipe directions for individual cookies.  For 2 large pizzas,  roll each half of the dough into a circle, about 1/2" thick and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned.

2.  Mix the cream cheese and marshmallow cream together until smooth.

3.  Spread frosting onto cookies/pizzas.

4.  Cut strawberries into quarters, lengthwise.

5.  Place blueberries in the upper left corner of each cookie.  Arrange strawberry pieces in horizontal lines, leaving space between each line (to form red and white stripes).

Store decorated cookies in an airtight container in the fridge.

**Just a note:  One batch of the cookie dough makes a lot of cookies.  If you don't want to make them all into fruit pizzas, just make what you want, and then freeze the remaining cookies.  That's what I did and it worked out great.  You can also make one large cookie and a bunch of small ones--the possibilities are endless!

Here's another patriotic snack for your Independence Day Celebration:

Festive Marshmallow Treat Fruit Skewers

Festive Marshmallow Treat Fruit Skewers

I absolutely love the summer holidays!  There is just something about them that makes me really look forward to Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.  I think part of it has to do with having a day off of work when the weather is nice enough to be outside to enjoy it.  Plus, each of these holidays typically involves cook-outs and fireworks, two more things I love!

These festive fruit skewers were so fun to make, and they were fun to eat as well!  I actually made a bunch of them last summer for a Labor Day cook-out, but wanted to save the recipe to share when it was more relevant.  Now is that time!

I wanted the snacks to look like fireworks, but also incorporate the patriotic colors of red, white, and blue.  If you don't have red and blue sprinkles for the marshmallow treats, don't worry about it, there is plenty of red and blue from the fruits!

This is a snack that I think would be fun for children to assemble. Parents, just cut up the strawberries and marshmallow treats and let your kids have fun!  Not only will they enjoy putting these snacks together, you'll feel good about the fruit they're consuming when they get to eat their creations later.

Marshmallow Treat Fruit Skewers

Ingredients:
1 pan of marshmallow treats (recipe below)
1 quart of strawberries, washed and hulled
1 pint of blueberries
6" wooden skewers (if necessary, cut longer skewers in half)

1.  Cut marshmallow treats into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set aside.

2.  Cut strawberries in half, width-wise.

3.  Thread the strawberries and blueberries onto the skewer, alternating strawberry half, 2 blueberries, strawberry half, 2 blueberries.

4.  Top the skewer with a marshmallow star.

These are best served the day they are made, otherwise the fruit and marshmallow treats become soggy.

Marshmallow Treats

3 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1 (10 ounce) package marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
red and blue sprinkles


1.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter (or coconut oil) and marshmallows on high for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds.

2.  Stir until smooth, returning to microwave in 30 second intervals if necessary.

3.  Add cereal to marshmallow mixture and stir until well coated.

4.  Press into a greased 9x13" pan.  Top with sprinkles.

Allow the marshmallow treats to cool before cutting.

Resurrection Rolls

Does your family have holiday traditions?  Growing up, we always did.  (And I know Mike and I plan to carry them on for our baby girl!)  My parents did a really good job of making sure that we knew the real reason for the holiday that we were celebrating.  We didn't do Santa or the Easter Bunny, but that was just fine with me!  My parents included other traditions that celebrated the real reasons for the holiday and we grew up knowing what we were celebrating.

One way that we celebrated Easter was with these Resurrections Rolls.  They come with a neat story that you can do with your kids to teach them about Jesus' death and resurrection.  The rolls are empty when you bite into them--just like the tomb was empty on Easter Sunday morning. These would be a great project for this weekend!

Here is what the ingredients represent:

*Marshmallow--the body of Jesus
*Melted butter--the oils used for embalming
*Cinnamon and sugar--the spices used to anoint the body
*Biscuit dough--the cloths Jesus' body was wrapped in
*Oven--the tomb
*Empty rolls--the tomb being empty

Resurrection Rolls 

Makes 10 rolls

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon 10 regular sized marshmallows
1/4 cup butter, melted
10 buttermilk biscuits

1.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

2.  Flatten each buttermilk biscuit into a 5" round.

3.  Dip each marshmallow in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

4.  Place coated marshmallows in the center of each biscuit.  Pinch the dough around each marshmallow being sure it's totally sealed so the marshmallow doesn't escape.

5.  Dip the dough balls in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

6.  Place dough on a greased cookie sheet.

7.  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow the rolls to slightly cool before serving.

Bunny Buns

Since Sunday, two of my friends have had three baby girls!  Yes, one of them had twins.  It's an exciting time for my group of friends right now as these are the first babies born of many due this year (myself included).  These precious new lives are just so exciting!

Spring seems to be the time of year that we all are thinking about new life.  When I took Champ outside this morning, I heard the sounds of spring--robins!  Flowers are starting to poke through the dirt (and some snow) in our yard.  Now, if only it could warm up a bit so it would feel like spring instead of just looking like it.

These bunny buns are the perfect spring bread, and they will make an excellent addition to your Easter dinner.  I made these this past weekend, as we had a pre-Easter dinner with Mike's family.  These buns were fun to make, and I was really impressed with how soft the dough was.  They require a minimal amount of rising time, and from start to finish, can be made in less than an hour!

Bunny Buns

Makes 14 buns

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1 heaping Tablespoon yeast

5-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 cup butter, melted

1.  Pour milk into a small microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, until warm.

2.  Sprinkle the yeast on the warm milk and set it aside to proof while you mix the other ingredients.

3.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

4.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

5.  Pour the milk and yeast mixer into the dough and mix using the dough attachment until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

6.  Divide the dough into 15 equal sized pieces.

7.  Roll each piece of dough into a long rope (like you're making pretzels).  Set aside 1 strip to use for the bunny tails.

8.  Form a bunny with each piece of dough by twisting the top of the dough together and leaving a "keyhole" at the bottom.  (See {cell phone} pictures below)

9.  Divide the reserved dough strip into 14 equal pieces and roll them into balls to use for the bunny tails.  Place the tails in the opening at the bottom of the buns. 

10.  Cover the bunnies with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

11.  Remove the plastic wrap and bake the buns at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown.

12.  Brush the hot rolls with melted butter after removing from the oven    

 

 

Source: Cooking with K

Also, I am participating in another great giveaway, and giving away a $15 Starbucks gift card!  Click on the button below to enter!

Marshmallow Bird's Nests

I love marshmallow Peeps.  This time of the year, they're available in just about every store.  I simply can't resist tossing a package into my cart each time I go shopping.  Thankfully I only get groceries once a week!  There's just something about the crunchy sugar exterior and the fluffy marshmallow interior that I absolutely love. 

A couple years ago, I tried my hand at making homemade Marshmallow Peeps.  Admittedly, my chicks turned out looking more like walruses than birds, but they were delicious.  Go ahead and check out my walrus peeps--it's okay to laugh!

Since this week is Easter week, I wanted to come up with some fun Easter/Spring themed ideas to share.  Last week I had a couple of nights that I couldn't sleep, so I laid in bed planning out this week's recipes.  One of those late night brainstorms led the the idea of marshmallow bird's nests.  I still have 3/4 of the bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs in my pantry and I knew I wanted to use them again.  This recipe was the perfect use!

The marshmallow nests were way easier to make than the marshmallow peeps.  I just piped a circle with the marshmallow and then after I sprinkled the sugar on, I was able to reshape the nests if necessary.  The sugar created a good barrier between my fingers and the sticky marshmallow.  You'll want to work quickly as you make these because the marshmallow in the bag will start to set as you work.

These were fun to make, and even more fun to eat! 

Marshmallow Nests

Makes 10 3" nests

Ingredients:
1 package unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Colored sanding sugar
40 Cadbury Mini Eggs

1.  Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of your stand mixer.  Sprinkle gelatin over water.

2.  In a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar.  Stir over medium-heat until sugar dissolves.

3.  Boil sugar, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a temperature of 238 degrees.

4.  Pour syrup over gelatin.

5.  Using the whisk attachment, start your mixer on the lowest possible speed.  Once mixture has cooled, increase speed to medium-high.  Beat marshmallow mixture until peaks form and the mixture is able to hold its shape.  Mine took almost 15 minutes to reach this state.

6.  Scoop marshmallow mixture into a large pasty bag with a half-inch tip (or for easier clean-up, use a gallon Ziploc bag and cut a hole in the end to pipe).

7.  Sprinkle a large baking sheet with colored sugar.  (You can easily make your own.)

8.  Pipe marshmallow into a circle. 

9.  Sprinkle the tops and sides of the marshmallow nest with sugar.  If necessary, use your fingers to shape the marshmallow into a circle or flatten down any tips from where you ended piping.

10.  Press 4 Mini Cadbury Chocolate Eggs into the center of each marshmallow nest.

11.  Allow the marshmallows to harden, about 30 minutes.  Store in an airtight container.

Marshmallow recipe from:  The Novice Chef

Layered Finger Jello

Snow day!  I'm sure those two words brought lots of joy to many houses in our community.  We are currently being slammed by another lake effect snow system.  Since we live so close to the lake shore, we are getting the brunt of the storm.  Since yesterday we've got about 10 inches of snow dumped on us.  And it's supposed to keep snowing until tomorrow afternoon!

Mike and I were thankful that he has 4-wheel drive on his truck because otherwise we probably would have ended up in a ditch last night.  I have all-wheel drive on my vehicle but I was still sliding around corners on my way home from work yesterday.  He was able to get to work this morning with out an issue.  I was supposed to work a side job for a couple hours, but I ended up cancelling because there's no way I'm driving even closer to the lake this morning!

I'm using my snow day to bake.  I have quite a few recipes that I'd love to make and I've decided that today is the day for that!  I'm sure many kids are spending their snow days outside making snowmen.  Of course, an afternoon curled up on the couch with blankets, popcorn, and a marathon of good movies doesn't sound too bad either!

Speaking of kids, what kid doesn't love Jello?  This is such a fun recipe to make, and to eat.  While it is time consuming because you have to wait for each layer to set before moving on to the next one, the visual effect makes it worth it.  I made this for a Christmas party, but decided to just use white and red layers so that I could post it for Valentine's Day.  (This year, I'm planning ahead!)  Everyone loved this dessert and because you can use any flavor of Jello, you can switch up the colors if you want to use this for certain holidays or special occasions.

Layered Finger Jello

24 servings

Ingredients:
5 (3 ounce) boxes Cherry or Strawberry Jello 
2 (14 ounce) cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
9 envelopes unflavored Knox Gelatin
Water

1.  Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Wipe off any excess with a paper towel.

2.  Pour a red layer into the bottom of the pan.  Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, until the layer is set.

3.  While the red layer is setting in the fridge, mix up your first batch of the white layer.

4.  Pour 1/2 of the white layer on top of the set red layer.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

5.  While the white layer is setting, mix up the next batch of the red layer.

6.  Pour red layer over white layer and return to the fridge for 15 minutes.  Continue alternating white and red layers until all 9 layers have been completed.

7.  After all the layers are poured, allow the Jello to set for at least 2 hours before cutting.

For the red layers:

One layer at a time, mix 1 envelope gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water in a small mixing bowl.

Add 1 cup boiling water and 1 box of Jello and stir gently until the Jello is dissolved.

For the white layers:

In a small measuring cup, combine 1/2 cup cold water with 2 envelopes gelatin.  Stir until dissolved.

Pour 1 can of sweetened condensed milk into a medium bowl.  Add 1 cup of boiling water and stir.

Pour dissolved gelatin mixture into the condensed milk mixture.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir.

**This will make enough for two white layers (use 1/2 of the mixture for each layer).  You will make another batch halfway through.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

White Chocolate Popcorn

My weekend in numbers:

20 hours spent in the car

3 states travelled through

1 entire book read

5 meals at restaurants

hundreds of hugs, kisses, and laughs

95 family members all together to celebrate

Mike and I went to Kentucky for our family Christmas party this weekend.  It was quite a whirlwind trip, but we haven't gone for Christmas since before we got married, so this trip was long overdue.  It was so good to see so many of our family members (can you believe that 95 didn't include everyone?!).

Of course, driving for so many hours means that there were plenty of opportunities for snacking.  When I was growing up, my mom always packed a huge box full of "road trip treats".  My favorite was (and is) Twizzlers.  It's a good thing my parents rode with us this year, because my mom brought along a bag packed with goodies.  I, on the other hand, brought water and a small plate of cookies.  Silly me. 

If I had been thinking ahead, I would have made up a batch of this white chocolate popcorn.  It's insanely easy to make--you probably don't even need a recipe.  I added in some Christmas colored sprinkles to make this popcorn more festive.  You could omit them, or use any color you want to match a holiday or special occasion.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 cup of popcorn kernels
1 cup of white chocolate candy melts
sprinkles

1.  Pop the popcorn according to the directions on the bag.  Remove any unpopped kernels.

2.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate candy melts.  I begin with 30 seconds, then stir. Then continue on 15 second intervals, stirring until the chocolate is smooth.

3.  Put the popped popcorn into a large bowl.  Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the popcorn, stirring gently until the popcorn is evenly coated.

4.  Spread the popcorn out on 2 cookie sheets.  Top with sprinkles.

5.  Allow the chocolate to harden before breaking the popcorn apart.

This is best eaten the day it is made.  If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.

White Chocolate Santa Mix

I was honored to share this recipe as part of the Bake, Craft and Sew along a couple weeks ago at A Southern Fairytale.  You can still enter the giveaway today here.  Now I'm happy to share it here in case you missed it...

We're 19 days from Christmas! Do you have your Christmas shopping done?

No?  Me neither!  But let's forget about Christmas shopping for a few minutes and talk about something much more exciting--White Chocolate Santa Mix!  This is a fantastic snack to make and have on hand for all your Christmas parties.  It would also make a fun Christmas gift. (hint hint)

If you have children, I think this would be a fun treat to make with them.  The most time consuming part is making the little Santa hats, but the end result is worth it!

White Chocolate Santa Mix

Makes about 20 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup red chocolate candy melts
1 cup Bugles
mini dehydrated marshmallows, if desired
2 cups Chex cereal
2 cups Cheerios cereal
2 cups popped popcorn
2 cups pretzels
1 cup Christmas M&Ms
1-1/2 cups white chocolate candy melts

1.  In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the red chocolate candy melts in the microwave.  I microwave for 30 seconds, then stir.  Then return to the microwave in 15 second increments until the chocolate is melted.

2.  Using a fork, dip the Bugles into the red chocolate and place coated Bugles on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Allow the red chocolate to harden.

3.  In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate candy melts in the microwave following the directions in step 1.

4.  Dip the wide end of the Bugles into the white chocolate to form the brim of the Santa hat.  Return to the wax paper lined cookie sheet.

5.  When the white chocolate has hardened, dip the tops of each hat into the white chocolate to form the pom-pom at the top of the hat. 

6.  If desired, place a mini marshmallow on top of the white chocolate.  Return the hats to the lined cookie sheet to dry.

7.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the Chex, Cheerios, popcorn, pretzels, and M&Ms.

8.  Pour melted white chocolate over the mixture and stir to coat thoroughly.

9.  Spread the chocolate coated mixture in an even layer onto 2 wax paper lined cookie sheets.  Sprinkle the Santa hats on top.

10.  Allow the white chocolate to cool completely before breaking the mixture apart and storing in an airtight container.

Gift Ideas for the Foodie in Your Life

It's hard to believe that we are less than a month away from Christmas!  We have our first Christmas party (a cookie exchange) in about 2 weeks, and our first family Christmas party a couple days later.  The Holiday season is in full swing!

Have you started Christmas shopping yet?  I'm about halfway done. I have both of our mothers done--they were the easy ones this year!  My dad is done--Mike's not so much.  Anyone have ideas for the man who has everything and needs nothing?  I'm about halfway through shopping for Mike, but I have enough ideas for him for this year and next!

I thought I'd put together a list of gift ideas that I would love to receive.  Actually the majority of these items I have and love, so I know I can recommend them to you!  These items would be perfect for the foodies in your life.  I'll also include some ideas for people who may not spend as much time in the kitchen, as well as the men in your life.  Here are some things that caught my eye:

For the Foodie in Your Life:

Cuisinart SmartPower Duet Blender and Food Processor

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KitchenAid Stand Mixer

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Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler (on my wish list)

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Keurig Platinum Brewing System (Also on my wish list!)

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Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker

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Dutch Oven

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For the Women in Your Life:

Personalized Christmas Gifts


From Etsy

Automatic Soap Dispenser

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Scented Candles

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Cookbooks

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Cherry Poptart Earrings

Klutch Club Subscription

For the Men in Your Life:

Food Baskets

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Magazine Subscriptions

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 DVDs

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Soap-on-a-Rope

E-Reader



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For the Kids in Your Life:



 Spectacular Magic Show

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Learn to Dress Toy

 Animal Hats

Don't forget to use your Ebates or Swagbucks account to save even more money while shopping for Christmas!

What's on your Christmas list this year?