eatatallies.com» Holiday

Candy Bar Cheesecake Brownies

Allie — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:36:14 +0000

PMS and children do not go well together. PMS and Candy Bar Cheesecake Brownies go very well together! I love my children dearly but today I am counting down the minutes until they go to bed so that I can calm my raging hormones with ~~a few~~ one of these…

Candy Bar Cheesecake Brownies

Brownie Layer
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Layer
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups sliced candy bars (I used Milky Way & Snickers)

Combine melted butter with sugar and vanilla extract.
Then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in cocoa until well blended.

Add flour, baking powder and salt

and stir until just combined, do not overmix.

Set aside one cup of the brownie batter and smooth the rest
into a buttered (or foil lined) 9×13 pan.

Begin making your cheesecake layer by beating cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Smooth cream cheese mixture evenly over the brownie batter.

Cut Milky Ways and Snickers
(or whatever other leftover Halloween candy you have in your pantry) into thin slices.

Sprinkle candy bar slices evenly over cream cheese layer.

Using the reserved one cup of brownie batter, drop 12-15 spoonfuls over the top of the candy bar layer.

Use a butter knife to gently swirl the batters.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

source: brownie base adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Allie — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 01:10:52 +0000

I always thought that one Halloween all three of my kids would wear coordinating costumes. I see other families with a Mickey and a Minnie, a Luke Skywalker and a Princess Leia, a princess and a knight. It’s cute, it’s adorable! I like the whole sibling costume coordinating thing but it’s just not going to happen in my house. Each year one of my children is insistent upon being a certain something and as much as I try to coerce the other two into complimenting roles, they just won’t have it. This year is no different. After much thought from each of them, this Halloween I will be out trick-or-treating with a Star War’s Storm Trooper, a Cheerleader, and a Race Car Driver. Totally random but they will still be just as cute as ever. While they’re knocking on doors asking for candy, I will be munching on these roasted pumpkin seeds. How about you, what will your kiddos be this year?

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Use a spoon or your hands to gut the inside of your pumpkin.

Remove the seeds from the pulp and set aside.
Rinse the seeds and allow to dry overnight (if you can wait that long).

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Combine the melted butter, worcetershire sauce and all the salts.

Pour the butter mixture over the pumpkin seeds and toss to coat.

Place the seeds on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil.

Bake for one hour stirring every 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

source: adapted from allrecipes.com

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Caramel Apples

Allie — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:17:00 +0000

In the Fall, I say a sweet goodbye to the carefree days of summer and my life becomes busy again. The kids begin a new school year, a new soccer team, a new grade. They have homework, school projects, practice, fundraisers. I have parent meetings, volunteer commitments, school conferences. The lazy days of summer are behind us and the life of schedules, structure and routine is in full swing again.

I find it a constant balancing act between the have to and the want to. Family time and fun time become things I must purposefully schedule in. One of the ways I do that is by creating traditions. Fall traditions that we do together as a family year after year, making time for each other during this busy season in our life.
Apple Hill and Bishops Pumpkin Farm have become two of our most cherished Fall traditions. We go away for the day, enjoy the outdoors, spend time together, and celebrate being a family. We come home with happy hearts and full bellies remembering who we are and what is most important in every season, each other.

Here is one of our favorite Fall indulgences that we always remember to bring back with us:

Caramel Apples

8-10 large Granny Smith Apples

wooden skewer for each apple

1 lb. brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup light corn syrup

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Wash apples and remove stems.

If apples have wax coating on them, dip them in boiling water and use a paper towel to wipe off wax.

This will allow the caramel to stick better.

Insert wooden skewers into each apple.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.

Add the sugar, salt and corn syrup and mix well.

Slowly pour in the sweetened condensed milk and stir to combine.

Continue cooking over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly,
until caramel reaches 245 on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Dip each apple into the caramel and turn slowly to coat evenly.

Allow excess caramel to drip back into pan.

Place apples on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to cool.

Enjoy!

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Halloween Snack Mix

Allie — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:49:00 +0000

Snack mixes are definitely the way to go when feeding a group of hungry kids. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, a little of everything is sure to please a crowd. After a recent soccer game, I passed out this Halloween Snack Mix to team of six and seven year old hungry boys. It was a total hit! My favorite little soccer player is still requesting more :)

Halloween Snack Mix
4 cups Classic Animal Crackers
4 cups Chocolate Animal Crackers
4 Cups Pretzels
4 cups Cheez-its
2 cups Chex Cereal
2 cups Raisins
1 1/2 cups Peanuts
1 cup Candy Corn
1 bag Reese’s Pieces

Mix it all up and serve!

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Resurrection Rolls

Allie — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 07:48:00 +0000

Resurrection Rolls are the perfect treat to make with your little ones to share the meaning of Easter.

Resurrection Rolls

One can of crescent roll dough

8 large marshmallows (or one for each roll you’ll be making)

Melted butter

Cinnamon sugar

Read John 19 while the oven is preheating to 350.

Unroll the crescent rolls and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Explain that this is like the cloth they wrapped Jesus in.

Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus,
all white and pure because He was without sin.

Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter.
This symbolizes the embalming oils.

Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar.
This is like the spices used to prepare his body for burial.

Wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll cloth, pinching the dough together securely. This represents how they wrapped Jesus’ body.

Put the rolls in the oven (symbolizing the tomb) and bake for 12 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, read John 20:1-18.

Open the tomb and remove the rolls. When they’re cool enough to handle, break one open and discover what happened to the marshmallow.
JESUS IS RISEN!

Happy Easter!

Source: adapted from Homegrown Mom

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Sweet and Salty Valentine Popcorn

Allie — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:44:00 +0000

I promise that someday, I will write about something other than sweets but this is just too cute, too tasty and too festive to pass up. Valentine Popcorn! I mean who could resist popcorn coated with candy melts, sprinkled with sea salt and tossed with pink and red M&Ms! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sweet and Salty Valentine Popcorn

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

1 bag Colorburst Pastels Candy Melts

1 bag Valentine M&Ms

Sea Salt to taste

Pop the popcorn and set aside.

Place candy melts in a small pot over low heat.

Stir often until completely melted.

Pour over the popcorn and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with Sea Salt.

Add M&Ms

and gently toss.

Place on waxed paper until set.

Enjoy some with your Valentine and share with those you love ♥

Source: adapted from This Blessed Nest

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Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Allie — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:19:00 +0000

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought that I would serve you up some
Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownie love ♥ ♥ ♥

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter

4-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 – 8oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

Melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth.
Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and food coloring.

Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.

Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

Drop in dollops onto prepared brownie batter.

Gently swirl two batters with a butter knife.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set.

A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Cool in the pan completely before slicing and serving, either at room temperature or chilled.
Enjoy!

source: adapted from Baking Bites

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Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

Allie — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:27:00 +0000

My good friend Tanya made these brownies last Christmas and they instantly became a favorite of mine! I absolutely love the chocolate peppermint combination and the candy cane topping makes them the perfect treat to serve at Christmas time. These brownies are the best! Merry Christmas!

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

Brownies:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate (4oz)

1 C butter

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1t vanilla

1 1/4 C flour

1/2 t baking powder

Frosting:

2 C powdered sugar

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 t peppermint extract

2 T milk

pink food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

6T real butter

Topping:

Crushed candy canes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.

While the chocolate is melting, use a mixer to beat the eggs for about 3 minutes until thick and frothy.

Add sugar and vanilla

and beat to combine.

Then add in the melted chocolate and butter that you set aside.

Mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder

and stir into brownie batter

until just combined.

Pour into a 9×13 pan lined with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes.

When brownies are done, cool on a cooling rack.

When completely cool, place in the fridge to chill.

Combine all frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread evenly over cooled brownies

and place back in the fridge to chill again while you do the final step.

Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl.

Cook in 30 second intervals until smooth.

Spread the melted chocolate over the frosting.

Top with crushed candy canes.

Enjoy!

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World’s Best Sugar Cookies

Allie — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:54:00 +0000

These are the sugar cookies that I grew up on. My mom would make them every year along with Christmas Fudge to pass out to our friends and neighbors at Christmas time. They are the perfect Christmas cookie.

World’s Best Sugar Cookies

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour

Cream together sugars and butter.

Add oil and remaining ingredients.
Mix to combine.

Firm into small balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.

Press cookies with a fork.

Sprinkle generously with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Cool completely.

Enjoy!

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Christmas Fudge

Allie — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:06:00 +0000

This Christmas Fudge is a Christmas tradition in my family. A dear friend made it for us one Christmas years ago and it has been made in our home every Christmas since. It really is the best fudge recipe out there. Look no further, make this Christmas fudge today!

Christmas Fudge

4 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cubes butter

1 can evaporated milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 lb semi-sweet chocolate

1 lb milk chocolate

1 jar marshmallow cream

2 tablespoons vanilla

2 cups chopped walnuts

Combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk and salt in a large pot over medium heat

Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly

Remove from stove and add semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate and marshmallow cream.

Stir until melted.

Add vanilla

and nuts.

Stir to combine.

Pour into a sheet pan lined with wax paper.

Cool and cut.

Merry Christmas!

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