minty chocolate puppy chow

I think it was during a classroom Christmas party in the 3rd grade, that I first ate puppy chow.

No, not that kind of puppy chow! I mean the kind usually made with Chex cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar!

2013-11-24 12.12.58

Its a really tasty snack that only seems to pop up around Christmas time, and when I first heard of it as a wee little kid, I was ultimately confused. I thought that this kid in my class had actually brought in dog food to share with the class. Silly me!

Continue reading “minty chocolate puppy chow”

s’mores creme brulee

I love s’mores. You might remember those little s’mores bars? They were impossible to stop eating.

2013-11-24 11.33.11

This s’mores creme brulee was pretty much as good as those s’mores bars. It’s amazing! I made a version of this about 7 or 8 years ago and I always wanted to revisit it.

Continue reading “s’mores creme brulee”

creepy chocolate spiderweb treats!

Oh, glorious Halloween. I have such fond memories of you from when I was a kid!

When I was in elementary school, everyone would dress up. Probably even the bus drivers, if memory serves me right. As if trick-or-treating candy wasn’t enough, we’d also get treat bags at school. I know there must have been candy in them, but I can only vaguely remember Saf-T Pops, info on trick-or-treating safety, and (for some reason) packets of chocolate Malt-O-Meal cereal that kids would just eat plain from the packet. Gross. I guess it was meant to be breakfast for the day after Halloween, so we could get a somewhat nourishing meal after gorging ourselves on candy the night before.

20130922_123653

Continue reading “creepy chocolate spiderweb treats!”

golden grahams s’mores bars!

I love s’mores. Man oh man, do I love s’mores. Graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows! Mmmm.

Growing up, I never went camping (sad!), so I’ve never known the joys of making s’mores over a fire in the middle of nowhere. At our house when I was a kid, we had to make due with a lit burner of the gas stove, or make cheater’s s’mores in the microwave. They were still good, and they’re still one of my favorite messy treats for when the weather cools down.

20130907_160228

Continue reading “golden grahams s’mores bars!”

an owl cake for randi

20130829_211158Recently, my roommate Ben (whose birthday cake I made back in March) asked if I would make a cake for his girlfriend Randi’s birthday. I agreed, and asked what sort of stuff she liked so I could have something to base the design off of. He replied “Owls and hedgehogs!”. Cute! I figured owls would be easier than hedgehogs when it came to fondant modeling, so an owl-themed cake it would be!

Continue reading “an owl cake for randi”

there’s always money in the banana stand.

Ah, Arrested Development. Is there a more perfect, quirky comedy TV show? Sadly, it was not fully recognized as the comedic breakthrough that it deserved to be, and it was cancelled after only 3 seasons. They sure managed to pack a lot of hilarity into those 3 short seasons, and now that the show is coming back for a 4th season exclusively on Netflix on Sunday, I thought there would be no better snack to indulge in than some chocolate-dipped bananas while watching the awesomeness unfold!

G.O.B can tell you, chocolate-dipped bananas are the perfect snack for a guy wearing a $4,000 suit… come ON!

2x09_Burning_Love_(28)

Continue reading “there’s always money in the banana stand.”

diy sno-balls!

It was a sad, sad day for junk food lovers everywhere when Hostess filed for bankruptcy in January. I remember the day after the news spread about the brand going under, I was at my local Target and the shelves that had previously held boxes upon boxes of Twinkies and cupcakes were totally bare. Even the end caps filled with packages of mini donuts were picked clean.

Homer's Phobia

Bart’s a smart one! Much to Homer’s chagrin, he picked the sno-ball!

Continue reading “diy sno-balls!”

knock-off samoas!

Hooray, it’s Girl Scout cookie season! Is there no better time of year? The ushering in of springtime, adorable little girls in their Girl Scout uniforms, harassing you asking you to buy some cookies as you walk into the grocery store. It’s wonderful. There seems to be quite a dividing line between people and their love of the top two Girl Scout cookie flavors, Samoas and Thin Mints — people always seem to prefer one over the other. I’ll generally devour anything containing coconut, and toasty coconut with caramel and chocolate is just a bonus.

Flour Scoop   Butter Creamed1 Butter Bowl1small  Flour Bowl

Continue reading “knock-off samoas!”

tuxedo strawberries

Seeking out a Valentine’s Day gift for a significant other is sometimes difficult. Aside from agonizing over just what to get your sweetie, there’s the added stress of worrying if they’ll truly love the gift you’ve gotten for them. So far, I have yet to meet a man or a woman who would turn down the gift of chocolate. Want to do them one better? Make them these homemade chocolate-covered strawberries! Sweet, creamy, chocolate-y, and while some may say that they’re predictable this time of year, they’re a great traditional Valentine’s gift. Save yourself tons of money by making them yourself. Most places that sell individual chocolate-dipped strawberries at this time of year, tend to charge per berry what you’d usually pay for several pints of strawberries. The best part about making them yourself? You can choose your most favorite brand of chocolate to dip them in.

Chocolate Pieces Continue reading “tuxedo strawberries”

rocky road squares

Marshmallows

(Every time I see a bag of marshmallows, I feel compelled to squish it. Does that make me weird?)

Most people who know me, know that I rarely turn down chocolate. As a kid, one of my favorite ice cream flavors (and to this day still ranks in the top 3) was rocky road. What’s not to love about awesome chocolate ice cream, with marshmallows and almonds? Plain perfection.

A few years ago, on a whim, I set out to make some rocky road candy. I went to the store and randomly bought some chocolate, marshmallows and salted almonds. I threw them together with not much of a plan in mind, and the finished product was damn near perfect in my eyes. I don’t think I’ve created such a hassle-free dessert recipe since.

Continue reading “rocky road squares”