Easter’s come and gone, and all we have left from it is all the candy!!  The tot received a healthy amount, but she’s been nice enough to share with me.  My stash is slowly being eaten, but just like last year, there was too much to really know what to do with it, besides taking it all to work, and then someone else will have the same idea, and our table will be nothing but candy.  Like it all followed me to work…..AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!  I even made this cake for work, double the sugar…yay!!!

Last year I’ve come up with a really cool idea after staring at the heaping mound of sugar on the kitchen countertop: Make cookies out of this stuff!!  Oh what a great way to get rid of it all!!  Well, not all of it. 😉

The past two times I’ve done this it’s been trial and error.  Some candies do better than others; some you don’t dare put in, like my Peeps!  And speaking of marshmallows, they don’t work as well anyway.  They melt immediately and flatten your cookies along with it.  They’re good, but they’re a bitch to remove from the silicone mat since they get sticky!  Wanting to keep the thick, but yet soft, chewy cookie texture I settled with 3-4 candies that can be used in the dough.  Last year I think I used Cadbury eggs, but this year I didn’t bother with them simply because the filling can make things pretty messy real quick.

My brother sent me a pack of Robin’s Eggs to use in the cookies.  They ended up in with the first batch that didn’t turn out as well as I wanted them, but they’re still good!   So into the mailing package they go!   The second batch turned out better, sans marshmallows.  I used white chocolate chips, chopped up a chocolate bunny, halved cadbury mini eggs,  and the rest of my spring-themed sprinkles.  Colorful and springy, but some of the sprinkles actually melted!  This second batch is going into my bro’s mailing package too!  We did keep some for ourselves, but they didn’t last long, of course.  One candy you could try is the chocolate/peanut butter candy, which of course, I didn’t use due to my peanut allergy, but I bet they’d taste just as yummy too!   The chocolate chip cookie recipe I use is from a classic Hershey’s recipe book and I doubled it.

So until next time, I got another cookie project to do and then here comes graduation season….more cookies!  Oh, and sometime soon I will share some spring-cleaning tips that’ll help get rid of the clutter in the kitchen and keep it organized.  First we begin with the drawers….stay tuned!!!

Leftover Easter Candy Cookies

Recipe from the Hershey’s Classic Recipes book

*Recipe was doubled

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons softened margarine

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chopped up Easter candy of your choice: I used Robin’s Eggs, Cadbury’s mini eggs, a small solid chocolate bunny, and Wilton’s Easter Sprinkles – 1/2 cup each

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

• In a mixer bowl, cream together margarine, brown sugar and granulated sugar until it becomes light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; combine well.

• Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.  Then add all your chopped up Easter candy and gently fold on low speed.

• Using a medium-sized scoop, drop dough onto a greased cookie sheet or on a silicone mat.  Bake for 13 minutes.  For smaller-sized cookies, 8-10 minutes.*

• Place cookies on wire racks to cool completely.

*Here are the type of scoops I use.  I frequently use this medium scoop.

 

Hello, spring!!!!  It’s nice that you plan to show up early!!  It’s going to be warmer next week, so time to run….gotta start training for that 8K in September…and get back into my beach body by July…but I got to get through this month first!  There’s sooooo much chocolate and goodies to eat, and did I just read today about eating chocolate every day has health benefits??  How cool is that!

 Of course, I’ve got some springtime baking to do, and what better way to start out by letting the tot take over the kitchen a little bit…supervised, obviously!  Alex loves Mommy’s cookies, especially the sour cream cookies, so now that she’s 3 it’s time to introduce her to the place where we prepare food and desserts.

 When it comes to learning new things, she’s an observer, like her mommy, but when it was time to measure the flour she dove right in.  She placed those little fingers into the flour container and spread that stuff all over the countertop!  She helped stir the dry ingredients around a little, but she was having too much fun making a mess.

 Alex is intrigued by the stand mixer.  She watched with wide eyes as I alternately mixed the flour and sour cream into the bowl with the wet ingredients*.  She wanted to eat that dough and not save any, but she ran off to watch Thomas instead.

Alex wanted to celebrate most of the major holidays.  We made hearts, bunnies, peeps, pumpkins, turkeys, and shamrocks.  She was so fascinated by how the dough felt and yes, tasted when it got on her fingers, and I probably washed her hands about 354 times.  With guidance, she rolled out the dough and pushed the cookie cutters down into it.  So much fun was had by all, and there was enough flour on the floor to create an ice rink!

Icing is always the fun part!  We used the leftover conversation hearts from Valentine’s Day and some Easter sprinkles as the finishing touches for Alex’s creations.  With a tot, you can’t get too technical with decorating, like I usually do, but she enjoyed spreading a little bit of icing on the cookies and topping them with the hearts. We had a springtime palette of icing, and we made the turkeys purple and the pumpkins green. We made enough cookies to share with friends and family, so we put them in gift bags and tied them up with ribbon. Simply adorable!

Cookies made by the tot (with help from Mommy!) make it extra special for the much-anticipated springtime season, and best of all, baking up a storm with your little one is the best bonding experience ever!

 *About that sour cream cookies recipe: I began reducing the amount of sour cream that’s being mixed with the dry ingredients!!  Instead of 8 ounces, go for 4 ounces! You will not believe the difference!! The cookies keep their shape much better during the cookie cutting process, there’s less flour being used to roll out the dough, and the dough is at a much-desired firmness when you remove it from the fridge!!  No more kinda-firm-but-sticky dough!  If you haven’t yet, give it a try!!  Go here for the updated recipe!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine’s Day!!!!  What did you do??  If you answer, don’t give too many juicy details..LOL!!!

A couple people I know got engaged, and I congratulate them both so much!!!  What a great day to begin the journey to becoming an old, married couple!  I know this because that’s how Mike and I began.  5 years we dated since high school, and then finally he popped the question.  February 14, 1999 (yes, we are old!) was the day he put the ring in my glass of wine after having a lasagna dinner (yes, I cooked), and we watched Sleeping Beauty, because back then I was all about Sleeping Beauty for some reason.   We had a looooong engagement (3 years) until our October 2002 wedding day.  We were still in college, so one of us had to graduate first and make money.

But anyway, this year’s Valentine’s Day was just down-right busy, so we may be celebrating a week late, along with celebrating my dad’s birthday.  Speaking of Dad, he’s finally out of rehab after 3 long months and is back home!!!  He’s doing well with his walker and is slowly working his way back into becoming an independent individual again.  On the other hand, the past 4 months have taken a major toll on me, not only taking care of myself and my family was a struggle, but taking care of somebody else’s phone calls, finances, home, appointment schedules, etc. etc. was twice the amount of stress my body had to deal with.  The stress was so bad that I gained weight, lost some hair, and smashed my cell phone.  I hardly had a life for a while, and I’m slowly making a comeback.  Now that we are soooooo close to having a few caregivers set on a good schedule, I’m ready to hide and get away somewhere.  My goal from this point on is to get myself healthy again, just like my dear ol’ Dad.

But while I was gone from here, I did find some time for an escape in baking.  I’m a cereal fiend, and it’s been a while since I had those popular crispy rice cereal treats, but this time I added heart sprinkles, chocolate, and turned them into treat pops.   Unlike the cake pops, there was really no need to dip the candy stick into melted chocolate to hold it in like glue.  The marshmallow mixture pretty much did that for me, but the refrigerating process was still used to give me peace of mind.  This dessert is a great universal treat for any occasion.  Look for seasonal sprinkles and there you go!!

Here’s how I did it:
First, I followed the original recipe from Rice Krispies, but I added the heart sprinkles at the same time as the cereal.  Then after the ingredients firmed up in the 13×9-inch dish, I cut it up into small square pieces, carefully pushed the candy stick into each square while reshaping the square if needed, placed them on a large baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray, then refrigerated them for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.  When it’s time to do the dipping, I melted chocolate bark in a microwave-safe dish (two blocks for 50-55 seconds, but after 25 seconds, stop and stir the blocks around, whether they’re melting or not.  You don’t want the chocolate to burn!), and carefully dipped each square into the chocolate and then set them down on a silicone mat and let them set completely.  Viola!!  A nice, simple treat for your sweetheart, at any time of the year!!

NOTE: You can also use a sheet of waxed paper instead of a silicone mat, but the silicone mat seems to help prevent the chocolate from sticking too much once it’s set, plus you don’t have to fight with the waxed paper since it can move on you when removing the treat pops.  Here’s the silicone mat I use.

Happy baking everyone!!  Until next time….and hopefully a lot more often!!  🙂

Happy New Year!!!!!!  Did everyone have a good time??  How’d you all celebrate?   I hope everyone had a great Christmas and first day of 2016!  Mine was very pleasant, and I enjoyed being around the fam and eating a lot.  The tot and I hung out all morning watching Mickey Mouse cartoons and the Rose Parade while Daddy caught up on sleep.   Now on with the reducing of carbs and getting back into my 6-days-a-week exercising routine….I haven’t done that in, like, 3 years!!

But anyway, I got lots of goals to reach this year: participate in a 10K or a half marathon, read more books, sleep more (if the tot allows me!), and blog more!  Yes, I’m gonna bust my booty and share more recipes, more pictures, and improve the site a bit, as well as sign up on a couple other sites that’ll give The Sweet Obsessions more exposure.  Oh so much to do, but I’m excited!!!

I got to share with you all my most favorite sweet treat that I made for Christmas.  My mom used to make these magic cookie bars a lot around the holidays, and I love them for the fact that an entire bag of chocolate chips is poured on top of the graham cracker crust for me to pick at before she topped off with the nuts and coconut.  Once the sweetened condensed milk got poured over top and baked through, they became my most favorite cookie bar ever.

I’m not a coconut fan.  Coconut reminds me of eating flavored shredded paper.  I think the reason why I can tolerate the coconut in this recipe is because of the sweetened condensed milk.  The sweetness and somewhat thick consistency of it kinda takes away from that shredded paper taste.  It acts like a glue so all the ingredients can stick together once baked, cooled, cut up, and then refrigerated for storage.  The walnuts are minced up nicely to where I can easily tolerate them too.  I also used the holiday chocolate morsels to add some festive color to the cookie bars.  So perfect and tasty…and addicting!!

So thank you sweetened condensed milk for allowing me to eat coconut without having to make a funny face and throw them out!  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!

So until next time, happy baking!!

 

MAGIC COOKIE BARS

2 cups graham crackers (1 1/2 packs), finely crushed

1/2 – 3/4 cup melted margarine (1 + 4 tablespoons)

1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips, or the special holiday chips by Nestlé

2/3 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup minced walnuts (or any other kind of nut would do)

14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees

• Crush the graham crackers in either a food processor, or place in a zip-lock bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Pour crushed graham crackers into a 13×9-inch baking pan.

• Melt the margarine in a microwave-safe cup or small bowl and pour over top the graham cracker crumbs.  Stir to distribute margarine evenly throughout, and then press gently to the bottom of the pan.

• Pour the chocolate chips evenly over top of the crumb crust, then the coconut and nuts.  Evenly pour the sweetened condensed milk over top all the ingredients.

• Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.  To cool faster, stick it in the refrigerator for about an hour and then cut.  To store, place waxed paper in between each layer of squares in an airtight container and freeze up to 3-4 months.

 

Good golly, Winter is almost here, and I’m still trying to enjoy what’s left of Fall!  Most of the season was spent making sure my dear ol’ Dad was taken care of.  He had surgery back in October and is currently recuperating in rehab.  The almost daily trips to his house keeping up with his mail and bills as well as my everyday life knocks me out in the evenings!  But in between all that, I have accomplished a baking milestone…I made a wedding cake!!!  A 2-tiered cake!!  I am really proud of myself!!

A friend of mine asked me months ago if I could make her wedding cake for her rustic fall-themed wedding; I was super-excited to take up the challenge in making a multiple-tiered cake!  She showed me a picture and I did a lot of studying and searching for other similar cakes with links that provide info on how the cake was made, and then I shopped for the supplies.

   

It was made with two flavors: vanilla and devil’s food cake, with a raspberry filling in between each layer, topped with buttercream frosting and burlap decorations. Because of its size, I was able to use just a single dowel rod in the center of the cake, with just a bit of it punched into the top tier to hold it in place. Both tiers were divided with a 6-inch cake board for easier disassembly. For the burlap/lace ribbon, I attached wax paper on the back of it with double-sided tape to keep the ribbon from making contact with the frosting. The burlap flowers were being held by toothpicks. Originally I was glueing the backs of the ribbon with pieces of cake board and I used a dab of royal frosting as a glue to hold a toothpick in place like a stem. That didn’t work, so I simply poked a toothpick through the burlap flowers and that worked! The white artificial flowers had their stems so I easily poked them through the cake. The blue flowers were made with royal frosting with a #2D Wilton frosting tip.

Getting it to the reception site was actually less stressful than I anticipated! I used the bottom of my springform pan as the cake’s base so I could transfer it into a deep dish pie plate big enough for the cake to sit in it, then I placed it in a box. It survived the trip, and I didn’t become a cake mess! I found the cake stand locally, and it was a wedding gift.

The guests had cupcakes and the cake was only for the bride and groom. To make a long story short, the cupcakes didn’t make it to the party. Using the same recipes, they were placed in the fridge to keep cool and fresh for the big day, but the night before they got dry and the frosting was falling off of them.  A big order of store-bought cupcakes came to the rescue.  Sooooo, here’s a rule of thumb: if you plan to make multiple cupcakes ahead of time (which I did) make sure you FREEZE them and have room for them (which I don’t), and don’t decorate them until they are thawed and ready to go (which I didn’t). Refrigerating them can make them drier as opposed to freezing them. I froze the cake before decorating and assembly, and it turned out fine. Lesson learned!  The fancy cupcake liners were ordered from here.

In other news, I’ve been catching up on the holiday baking. Usually I begin in August, but time was definitely not on my side this year.  I’ve been making cookie dough and freezing it ahead of time.  I’m going to reserve a weekend where I will thaw out the dough and bake everything.  It’s something I never did, and it seems like a good idea for me to start doing now since I’ve been busy as of late.  I simply just took the dough of whatever cookie I was making, placed gobs of it on a long piece of plastic wrap, and carefully rolled it up, then I placed them in freezer bags and labeled them.  I would suggest 3 months as the latest in keeping your dough in the freezer. Then when the time comes, I’ll let the dough thaw overnight in the fridge, then I’ll place it in a large bowl for maybe an hour or so to reach room temperature, then bake.

So on with winter, and my birthday!!  Oh yeah, another year older, and I’m very thankful to live for another year!  I’ll be celebrating with the husband and the tot, and do some shopping, and bake some more!  Until next time, happy baking!!