These are seriously my new favorite treat! They are going to be perfect for our neighbor gifts this year!! My kids would eat them as fast as I made them if I let them!
It's a perfect mix of Oreos and mint and chocolate. I am not an Oreo fan, but mixed with cream cheese and chocolate...YUMMY! They aren't that much work and they would make a great last minute gift!
Ingredients
1 pkg Mint Crème Filled Oreos 15.25 oz
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese-room temperature (Be sure this is room temperature...it's really hard when the cream cheese isn't pliable enough to incorporate the cookie crumbs)
2 cups dark chocolate melting wafers (You could also use chocolate chips)
Crushed peppermint candy. (I used about 4-5 regular sized candy canes, but it will depend on how much you want to sprinkle on each truffle. I crushed them first by using the food processor, but they were more like a dust so I tried just putting them in a Ziploc bag & then hitting them with a small rolling pin, which I liked better. More peppermint taste & looks cuter to sprinkle on top!!)
Instructions
1. Using a food processor (I used our Ninja blender...or you could do this by hand by putting the cookies in a Ziploc bag and then use a rolling pin to crush them...you will just need to be sure they are crushed very finely).
2. Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and stir it until well creamed (or you could you an electric mixer or a KitchenAid).
3. Stir in the cookie crumbs, stirring until well combined. (Use a spatula to scrape the cream cheese and cookie crumbs from the side of the bowl too!!)
4. Using a cookie scoop (or you could roll them by hand to about a tablespoon size) and place on a cookie sheet that is lined with wax paper.
5. Put the rolled truffles into the freezer for about 20 minutes.
6. After the truffles are chilled, melt your wafers (or chocolate chips) in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well and then return to the microwave for 15 seconds and stir again. Repeat the 15 second heating and stirring in between until the chocolate is completely melted.
7. Dip the truffles in the melted chocolate. I put the truffle in the bowl of chocolate and then using a small spoon, cover the truffle in chocolate. Then I use a knife to lift it up & the spoon to steady it and then put in back on the tray with wax paper. Immediately after dipping each truffle, sprinkle with the crushed peppermint.
8. Put them back in the fridge or freezer so the chocolate can harden before serving or putting them in any kind of container.
You are going to LOVE these! Perfect for a Christmas party or just cozying up for a Hallmark movie and enjoying your Christmas season! Enjoy!!
It's that time of year again. Yummy treats smelling up the kitchen, snuggling up on the couch to watch Hallmark movies! Its the best time of the year for me! Another couple of weeks and my tree with will be up and my house all decked out with Christmas gear, maybe a Christmas craft or two. The best time of the year! I know its not quite here, but I couldn't help myself this year...I had to start the treats a little early!! This seriously has to be my FAVORITE Christmas treat...really, it's probably one of my very most favorite treats period! And I might eat it throughout the year, not just at Christmastime. Its so simple and takes about 10 minutes from start to finish!!
Hope you will try it and enjoy it with your families this year!! What is your favorite treat to share with your family??
The recipe is below or click HERE for a printable version!
Christmas Crack
Ingredients
6
cups Chex Corn Cereal
6
cups Golden Grahams Cereal
2
cups shredded coconut
2
cups sliced almonds
1
cup light corn syrup
1
cup sugar
¾
cup butter
Instructions
In a large bowl,
mix the Chex Corn cereal, Golden Grahams Cereal, shredded coconut, ans sliced
almonds.Set aside.
In a medium
saucepan over medium high heat, combine the corn syrup, sugar and butter.Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes.Remove from heat and let cool for about 2
minutes.
Pour over the
cereal mix and mix well until the cereal is coated.Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.Store in an airtight container to keep from
drying out.
You guys!!!! These are the BEST cookies ever! My sweet friend, Ashley, let me in on this little secret. CARAMEL APPLE SNICKERDOODLES!!! For those of you who know me, Snickerdoodles are my FAVORITE cookie. My grandma used to make these for me. I loved them. I love her! She passed away a few years ago, but every time I have a snickerdoodle it brings back all of the good memories shared with her, including eating warm snickerdoodles fresh from her oven!
This particular recipe can be found at thefirstyearblog.com. She nails this recipe! My only suggestion would be to double the amount of caramel bits....but I really love caramel! And a little tip...these Kraft caramel bits are not easy to find so look for them in advance of making the cookies. I went to 4 different stores to find them! I finally found them at Walmart! Oh and the recipe doesn't call for sugar free apple cider, but that was the only box of powder apple cider mix I could find, but they turned out really good!
These were a fun take on snickerdoodles and perfect for fall!
This year for our end of the summer family vacation we all decided to go to Bear Lake. The kids have never been there and I haven't been since I was a kid! So we packed them up and took a trip! We actually stayed in Paradise, UT because we have a family home there and also because I didn't realize it was Raspberry Days in Garden City and there were no hotel rooms available at a reasonable price! But it was only an hour drive from Paradise to Garden City, so you can't beat free! Even if there is a little more of a drive!!
We started our day off at Minnetonka Cave. We had heard so many great things about this stop.
It did not disappoint! 3 out of our 4 kids had never been to a cave before and they didn't know what to expect. They loved the rock formations and the history of the cave. Our tour guide, Kinzi, was awesome! She answered questions and gave us a great understanding of the cave. Their favorite part was being able to touch the 1 rock that you're allowed to touch in the whole cave! Their least favorite part???...They all forgot jackets and it was a toasty 40 degrees in the cave!! And 888 stairs! And they are slick! We all took our share of almost falling on our bottoms!! Overall, what a great time spent at Minnetonka Cave!
The next stop on our trip was actually on the way down from the cave on the Minnetonka Cave Road, Blue Pond Springs. Its just a little turn off on the main road...if you blink you might miss it!!
It was a fun little shallow pond. It was literally 2 mins off of the road and beautiful. It was clear and clean. Very easy to see the bottom of the pond and fun to skip rock across. We only stayed for a short time. We had heard there was a moose that likes to frequent this pond and bask in the sunshine. Unfortunately for us, there were no moose sightings! But still a nice place to visit.
Next stop...Paris Ice Cave!! We have been told so much about this place too! Some of our friends told us about this quaint little place when we told them we were going to Bear Lake. They told us how much their kids enjoyed it and how cool (literally) it was when they entered the cave. Another friend told me that her Grandfather used to go to that cave back in the day and actually carve ice out of it to take home for his freezer.
I honestly wasn't expecting that there would still be snow there, BUT there was! And it was definitely cooler in the cave. There are 2 parts to this cave...the first one is the room you walk into from the outside, which has a big opening in the rock so its only a partial "cave". You can then make your way around some other rocks to a small opening where it then opens up to another room with more ice and snow. Keep in mind if you are going to do that, be sure to wear clothes you don't care if they get a little dirty and wet. And its slick! There is still a lot of ice covering the unsteady rocks ( and this is August people!!) so BE CAREFUL! I loved this place and knowing a little bit of history of the cave. It isn't a guided tour cave so it made it a little more fun to be able to see it at our leisure! The drive to it took about 45 mins up Paris Canyon and not right off of the main road, but it was worth the drive. The top of the cave was covered in wildflowers and grasses. Very pretty!
Next on our list, and my favorite part of the day, was Bloomington Lake. This fun place is about 12 miles up Bloomington Canyon. The road is very rough and is dirt the entire way. It is a popular spot to go so there was a lot of traffic & the roads are narrow. It took us about an hour to get up to the trailhead, but it was Raspberry Days so I am sure there were many more people than normal. It was about a half mile hike into the lake. The trail is fairly easy though & our 7 year old made it with ease! But check out this view.....
It was so beautiful...this picture does not do it justice! The rock cliffs behind it..the clear water...all of the green grass and wildflowers. And snow!! It was so amazing! This is quite the place for kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, cliff diving...and there is even a rope swing. Although there were many people there, it didn't feel over crowded to me. There was plenty of space to enjoy some time with your family. I could have spent all day there. It was really fun!!
Last stop of the day was Garden City. We took advantage of being in the place with the world famous Bear Lake strawberries and ate at the Quick N Tasty and of course had the raspberry shake! Then we walked around the town days booths and stopped at the beach to take in some of the lake! Because, that is what we came for!!
It was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing! The kids had a blast just playing in the water & sitting around talking after a long day of exploring! I had forgotten how blue the lake is. And I seem to remember it being very cold...but not so much this time! It was perfect!
This was the perfect getaway for a quick trip! I definitely want to come back to Bear Lake! Its so close and well worth the time to take in all of the beautiful scenery and fun small town feel. I have so much fun with this family of mine and I can't wait to plan the next trip! He's having fun...I promise!!
St. Patrick's Day came with some fun surprises! Those silly Leprechauns moved our furniture around, sprinkled Leprechaun dust and left their footprints on our seats, BUT they also left us some yummy treats!!!! Chocolate, Lucky Charms and some Leprechaun Floats!
For dinner we ate in green food style..sandwiches on GREEN rolls, GREEN grapes, KIWI, GREEN Caesar salad and Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds! Fun night celebrating together as a family.
I sure enjoy the time we spend around the dinner table sharing our experiences of the day, laughing and being together over a good meal. I find that some of our best conversations are had here. I hope our children will treasure this time we get to spend together...if not now, maybe they will appreciate it later when they are grown and have children themselves....after all, "The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table."
