Candy Marshmallow Treats

Okay, I have found my new favorite food product, Wilton candy melts!!!!!!!!!! Whoever came up with the idea is a genius.  There is no candy thermometer required to make these candy marshmallow treats, which is good because I don't own one.  All you do is melt the candy pieces on the stove or in the microwave (which is what I did) and it's ready to go.  I came up with the idea of dipping marshmallows in the candy melts as I was walking around the grocery store yesterday and actually had a package of lollipop sticks in my cart.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I had a bunch of craft sticks at home (from when I made my sugar cookies on a stick)!!  I decided to use them instead. If you get invited to a last minute Halloween party (or you forgot you have to bring a dessert to your child's classroom party), these were done from start to finish in about a 1/2 hour. The "dirt" in the bottom of the mug is actually crushed Oreo cookies. Pretty neat, huh??

Wilton candy melts are readily available, I found mine at my local Target.  They are pretty inexpensive - $2.99 for a 12 ounce package (which is approximately 2 cups).  To make a dozen of these treats, you only need 1 cup.  I called Wilton this afternoon and asked them how long the melts keep once they are opened. The customer service gal told me indefinitely! Cool, I think I'll hold on to these remaining orange melts until next October :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Wilton candy melts
12 marshmallows
12 wooden craft sticks

Melt the candy melts either on the stove or in the microwave according to the package instructions.  Push a craft stick into the middle of the marshmallow about 3/4 of the way.  Using a small spoon, cover the entire marshmallow.  Place on wax paper to harden up.  I couldn't believe how quickly the candy got hard - by the time I was done covering the 12th treat, the first treat I had done was ready to eat!!!  See, I told you they were quick to make!  Store in covered container at room temperature.

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins

I have been making tons of my pumpkin muffins since the beginning of October.  It seems like I can barely keep up with the demand!! They are very popular and everyone loves them here, but lately I've been thinking about taking my pumpkin muffin recipe and "tweaking" it a little by adding cream cheese and switching out some of the white flour with wheat flour.  This past weekend was very busy and Tuesday afternoon was the first chance I had to whip these up.  I decided to be my own taste tester!  These are a little more labor intensive than my "regular" pumpkin muffins, but boy, are they worth it.  I "sampled" two of them shortly after they came out of the oven yesterday and then had one for breakfast this morning!

I sent close to a dozen in with my husband when he went to work today.  He gets to work at 8 a.m. and he sent me an e-mail a little before 9 a.m., telling me they were almost gone!  Cool, glad his co-workers liked my muffins :)

Ingredients

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Batter:

2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
4 large eggs
15 ounce can packed pumpkin

Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon white flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place paper liners into two 12-cup muffin tins.  Set aside.  In small bowl, put the filling ingredients.  Beat by hand or with electric mixer until smooth.  Set aside.  In large bowl, put all the ingredients for the batter in the order given and beat by hand or with electric mixer until smooth.  In small bowl, put the first three ingredients for the topping and mix well with small spoon, then "cut" in margarine with two knives until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Set aside.  Fill the 24 paper liners one-third of the way full with the batter.  In the middle of each muffin put 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling.  Cover each muffin with another one-third of the remaining batter.  Sprinkle the topping evenly between the muffins.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes before transferring to wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 24 muffins.

Sugar Cookies on a Stick

There are many specialty stores out there that sell "gourmet" cookies on a stick, but they aren't cheap!  How about if you make them yourself at a fraction of the price??  The hubby and kids were all around this past Saturday afternoon, so I had three taste testers available.  Lauren gobbled hers down and proclaimed them to be the best cookies I ever made.  Dominic was kind of unsure about why there was a craft stick coming out of the bottom of the cookie, so he pulled it out.  The hubby who is never one to mince words said, "what the heck is the deal with the stick?" He's a real laugh riot, isn't he?!?!?! These cookies are easy and quick to make and you can leave the cookies as they are, put sprinkles on before you bake them or put sprinkles on after you have frosted them! I used vanilla frosting, but feel free to use your family's favorite frosting.   I bought the craft sticks a few years back at Wal-Mart, at the time they were $2.47 for 150.

Ingredients:

3 cups white flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2  teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, put all the ingredients (except the 1/4 cup white sugar for the topping)  in the order given and with an electric mixer or with a large spoon beat until batter is smooth.  Roll batter into balls approximately the size of a golf ball.  Put six balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.  In small bowl, put the 1/4 cup white sugar.  With the bottom of a drinking glass, put first in the sugar and then press down on the ball to about 2-3" in diameter.  Take craft stick and push it into the bottom middle of each cookie about 1/2 the way up.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Let cool for five minutes and then remove carefully to wire rack to continue cooling.  This recipe makes about 20 if you make them the size of a golf ball.

Broccoli-Cheese and Chicken Soup

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know that I have a tough time passing up a good deal.  Well, my favorite grocery store had fresh broccoli and shredded cheddar cheese on sale this week, so of course I had to buy both!!! Along with our meal Tuesday night, we had broccoli and there was exactly two cups left over. This afternoon, I thought about that broccoli and cheese and decided to make it into soup!  Many broccoli and cheese soup recipes out there require you to make your own cream sauce.  To me, that's a little too much work and a lot too rich and heavy (especially for lunch).  My soup was ready in about 20 minutes and I was able to use ingredients I had on hand in my pantry.  It was so tasty, I had two bowls for lunch on Wednesday. Hmm, do you think I'll be having this for lunch the rest of the week?? You bet!  I added canned chicken to this soup (because I happened to have some in my pantry), but if you wanted to go vegetarian, you could certainly skip it.

Ingredients:


2 cups broccoli
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup onion, chopped
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
12.5 ounce can white premium chunk chicken breast, drained

In blender, put the broccoli and milk. Puree until broccoli is in very small pieces.  Set aside.  In large stockpot, melt margarine slowly, then add the onion and saute until the onion becomes soft. Remove from heat and add the broccoli and milk mixture to the stockpot.  Next, add the water, pepper, salt and cheddar cheese. Stir with large spoon until well combined.  In small bowl, shred the chicken breast with a fork and then add to the soup.  Bring just to a boil and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes eight one-cup servings.