Cookies/Brownies in a JAR!

A long time ago a girlfriend and I saw these and the Internet was no where near as big as it is today....so we had NO idea what we were doing and could not just "Google" it. So we set out to "do it ourselves" and ended up making huge messes and broken jars. To this day I still do not know if anyone ever made the cookies or just kept the jar for looks.

A few years ago I was at my local cake supply store and found a recipe book for "Cookies in a jar" and since it was only a few buck, I picked one up. Clearly it was done by one of the ladies that worked there or someone she knew and they decided to sell it for her....anyway, I forgot I had it till I came upon it a few weeks ago! SCORE! I remembered my Mom saying that I had some jars left over at her place and she brought them to me and there were eight jars. Hubby grabbed three bags of plain red/green M&M's from the store and off I went making jars for co-workers and my son's teachers. I managed to get four jars of cookies from three bags of M&M's then I was stumped for the fifth jar... I found in the back of the book a recipe for Brownies in a Jar and I did not have enough of the nuts so I substituted with the remaining M&M's and so the brownies will have walnuts and M&M's, YUM!

You use quart size jars and the book says "wide mouth" but I did not have those so I used what I had and everything fit. You layer the ingredients in order and then make your tags and you are done!

Cookies in a Jar

1 1/4 C granulated sugar

1 1/4 C plain M&M's

2 C flour mixed with 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda

layer in jar in order

attach tag that says the following

1-Empty jar of cookie mix into large mixing bowl

Use your hands to thoroughly blend mix

2-Add; 1 stick of butter, 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla

3-Mix until completely blended, you will need too finish mixing with your hands

4-Shape into balls the size of walnuts, place 2" apart on sprayed baking sheets

5-Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets then remove cookies to racks to finish cooling.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

Brownies in a Jar

2 1/4 C sugar

2/3 C cocoa powder

3/4 C chopped nuts

1 1/4 C flower mixed with

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

Layer in jar in order

Attach tag that says the following

1-Empty jar of brownie mix into large mixing bowl.

Use your hands to thoroughly blend mix.

2-Add: 1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine melted

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3-Mix until completely blended

4-Spread batter in a sprayed 9"x13" baking pan

5-Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Cut into 2" squares.

Makes 2 dozen

Creepy Finger Cookies

A girl at work made these last year and hers were so good I took a picture of one with my phone and sent it to my husband and he actually thought I broke one of MY nails! I remembered she made these and asked her for her recipe so I could make some for my Halloween party this Friday. Here is how they turned out! Not bad for my first attempt. Next time I will use half the salt and make them much thinner because they rise. I may also use the raspberry jam instead of the red piping gel.

Creep Witches' Fingers

Yield: 5 dozen

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1tsp almond extract

1tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cups flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp salt (I'd use 1/2 instead)

3/4 cup almonds sliced

1 tube red decorator gel or raspberry jam

In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoon full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape. Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and pres almonds back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood."

Halloween Oreos

I used these for a project at work and decided to make a small arrangement for my Halloween party that is this Friday night. I think they turned out cute!

Halloween Oreos

I used these for a project at work and decided to make a small arrangement for my Halloween party that is this Friday night. I think they turned out cute!

Terra Cotta Mummies

Well, here they are, mommy mummy and baby mummy. Hayden and I had a blast making these with my "mummy" lol. We each painted our own then I glued the material on and did the distressing ink. The third one I wrapped turned out the best because I got better as I did them. Maybe I'll have to do some more next year and use the eyes with the eyelashes and maybe put some bows or rhinestones on them for some girlie bling.

Halloween Oreo's

Another team challenge at work that I get roped into putting together.... I was given one of those cheap plastic cauldrons and told to "fill it." I decided to spray paint it with the same spray paint I used for my candle sticks before my Twilight party. It made the cauldron look more "metal" and gave it a "sparkle" too! The team donated about $45 so I decided to go to Bath & Body Works and "have at it!" I put in some of the Twilight Woods scent in the body lotion, body spray and bath gel then I added the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin hand soap and portable scent dispenser. The two smaller bottles in the front are hand sanitizer in a fun Halloween theme. I needed filler so I opted for chocolate covered Oreo's. I found the pumpkin candies at Michael's for $1.99 and went to town. Most popular cauldron wins their choice of a pizza party or ice cream party.

Hot Dog Octopus

So I'm searching online for ideas for food for my Halloween party and I discover these! I had seen the hot dog mummies over and over but then I saw these and I knew they were perfect! I just had to try one out on my three year old and he loved it! I cannot wait to serve these lil octopus at the party and see how everyone reacts!!!

My GREAT Target Find

It is the Saturday before the week I get paid and I just ran to Target to grab a few much needed things and decided to detour through the dollar stuff. I see the cute Halloween containers, etc and then all of a sudden I was stopped DEAD in my tracks....I saw face to face with STAR WARS! I could not believe my eyes and I had to do a double take to make sure I was actually seeing what I was seeing. I found Star Wars tins for $1 each. I talked myself into buying just one of each. I cannot wait to fill these with something yummy for my baby's birthday party! I'm debating Oreo's or marshmallows or light saber pretzel sticks!!!

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

My niece Lilly just turned three last week and we headed out to Arizona to help her celebrate. I have done chocolate covered marshmallows before but wanted to try something cute and girlie for her birthday. Her party was "Princess and the Frog" themed so I decided I would theme the marshmallow bouquet the same. I collected my supplies; marshmallows, chocolate, sprinkles, sticks, bags, ribbons, pictures, cup and "frog." The marshmallows were a bit tricky but I figured them out and this is the end result. They made it to Arizona and did NOT melt in the heat and everyone loved them!

***Side note, these pictures were taken with my phone so they are not the best. For some reason I failed to take pictures with my actual camera

Chocolate Covered Oreos

I have seen these online and I have been wanting to try them. I first tried round sucker sticks but those were too "fat" and the cookie would not sandwich together properly so I toyed with the idea of double stuffed Ore's. I decided I would not buy anything else and work with what I had so I set my sights on popsicle sticks that I found at Joann's.

Step 1: I stuck the sticks in the cookies.
Step 2: I spooned the chocolate over the cookies and gently tapped the stick on the side of my bowl to knock off any excess chocolate. I had to perfect this because the very first one I did fell apart and ended up a casualty!

Step 3: I sprinkled with sprinkles and once the chocolate set up I bagged and tied the cookies.

Here is my end result. I think I did a great job for my first attempt at chocolate covered Ore's! I am sure my niece will love them no matter what they look like!

Taco Cups

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
1 (1.25 oz) pkg. taco seasoning
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. salsa
1 (7.5 oz) pkg. refrigerator biscuits
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese


Brown ground beef and turkey and drain well. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in salsa and set aside. Press each biscuit into the bottom and up the sides of a muffin cup. Spoon meat mixture into biscuit lined cups. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the meat. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until biscuits are browned. Serve with extra salsa on the side. Yield: 10 taco cups.

Calories 150
Total fat 5 g
% fat 30
Sat. fat 2.1 g
Cholesterol 30 mg
Sodium 409 mg




**Note: I made these with all ground beef instead of turkey and I did not use the salsa, I was going for something more kid friendly. I did have a difficult time getting the biscuits to stay up the sides of the muffin pan. I think next time I will buy the larger biscuits. I thought these were good and would make a good "after school" snack. They remind me of a pizza bite and they are even good when reheated in the microwave the next day.

My Birthday Cake!

My wonderful, loving brother made this cake for me! He is "da bomb!" It was banana with the best fondant I have ever tasted! It tasted like marshmallow!

Kabobs anyone?

I did these for my flip flop luau birthday party. I wanted something simple, fun and tasty for the chocolate fountain. When I was putting them together they smelled sooooo goooood! Needless to say, I made the mistake of putting a tray out with miscellaneous items on it that everyone dipped and ate instead. So these got thrown away. (So sad!)

More things I want to try....

I was searching for candy buffets for ideas for my son's Star Wars party and found these adorable gum ball flowers. They look super easy and super cute! They would be great for any candy buffet. Maybe if my brother and sister in law are doing a candy buffet for my nieces birthday party, I could give these a try.

I saw these "bacon and eggs" on a blog when I was searching ideas for a candy buffet. I think these are sooo cute but not sure what occasion I would use them for! Maybe Easter when we do breakfast?

Pleasures Party

Last Saturday hubby and I were invited to a co-ed Pleasures party. At the last minute I threw this together. I simply carved a 13x9 sheet of cake into the torso of the "body" and then the breasts are Hostess Snowballs that I covered in frosting. It was a huge hit.


I censored the picture but yes there are nipples on this cake!

Flip Flop Cookies

I saw this idea online when I searched images of "flip flop cookies." I purchased the cookies a few days ago then today went to Michael's and found the icing and the sprinkles. I chose the Wilton in the tube because I already had the compatible tips from when I made the baseball cupcakes. The hardest part of this whole process was choosing the color icing. My luau birthday party has taken on a pink and orange kinda vibe but there are many colors in the patter for the plates, napkins, etc. I liked the idea of the "swirled" icing so I went with the very girly pink and purple color. I then chose the over sized sprinkles for the accent on the flip flip. I simply screwed the tip on the tube then piped a "V" shape on one end then added the flower sprinkle. ADORABLE! They are sure to be a huge hit tomorrow at my birthday flip flop luau!

CHURROS!

Okay, so I got this wild "hair" and decided to make these today. They were pretty simple....here are my pictures;
Okay, so the recipe said to use a pastry bag and the star tip and I could not find my star tip then I remembered I had THIS! Its from Pampered Chef and its for frosting and it has a star tip. It worked PERFECT! Just squeeze the handle and out come churros...
I put the oil in the cast iron pan that we make our taco shells in. This pan as been around for MANY years! It worked great....

When the churros were golden brown, I took them out and rolled them in cinnamon and granulated sugar...

Here is the finished product. I went all out on the plate, I know! I made hubby try them and he said they were good an my three year old asked for another and knew exactly what they were before I even told him! Now he wants to go to Disneyland, lol!

Semi-homemade cupcakes

Tomorrow night is my son's last tee ball game and there will be a pizza party after the game for medals and certificates. I volunteered to bring/make cupcakes and realized I am limited time and in this heat I do NOT feel like baking! I ended up at Sam's Club asking for a box of white cupcakes with white butter cream frosting. I called up my brother and asked for his two cents and together this is what we came up with:

Started with the plain cupcakes that I purchased

Took the frosting off

Put it in the bowl

Piped it onto the cupcakes
Ran a butter knife under hot water too smooth out the tops of the cupcakes

So they looked like this

This is what I purchased to pipe the threads on with

This is all the frosting I have left over

And this is what I ended with!

It Has Been Chosen!

My son has decided that he would like a Star Wars birthday party this year. I knew it was coming since he is obsessed (I use the word loosely) with ALL things Star Wars. Now it is time for me to scour the Internet looking for some great ideas for his party. My Nephew had a Star Wars themed party for his fourth birthday so it is my duty to NOT replicate anything that was done at his party! Well, one exception....my brother will make the cake! Here are a few of the ideas I have found so far....
I LOVE this first idea, "Yoda Soda." It's simple and very cute! It is simply lime sherbet and sprite! Wa la...Yoda soda. Genius!


I like this idea as well, make your own R2D2 but I need to find more than just THIS picture. I need to find the tutorial so I can figure out if this is something for smaller children as well...

If you have any other ideas I would love to hear them! I am looking for "original," fun, exciting things for a three, well four year olds birthday.

Hello Blogland!

I have recently become obsessed with searching other people's blogs for GREAT ideas that I can copycat! I love seeing what other people are doing and trying it out for myself. Here is a list of things I am wanting to try:
Door Wreath from plastic grocery bags. I think this would be a great idea for Christmas, add a sparkly "Christmas" ribbing and you have a great wintry decoration or inexpensive gift.
Something else I saw was this so very cute garland! I am a sucker for anything red, white and blue and I love patriotic decorations. This looks so easy I am dying to try it!

I found a churro recipe online and then while I was searching blogs, I found the snickerdoodle muffin recipe. The pictures make these muffins look sooo amazing!

Here are some cute Valentine's ideas I JUST came across. I have never done a garland but after seeing all these posts, I may have to try one (or two.) I am now on the hunt for something fun for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween, how cute are these terra cotta mummies?!?!?! I am so going to make these this year!

S'mores! (on a stick)

I saw this idea on Christy's blog that I follow and decided at the total last minute to try it. I found myself at Michael's at 9pm getting chocolate, ribbon and the paper cups. I was not sure exactly how I was going to present them but I wanted to cover all my bases. I then ran to the grocery store for the graham crackers, marshmallows and a few other items that we needed like MILK!
Here goes!
This is what I started with...

I ran a whole sleeve of graham crackers through the food processor

I then melted my chocolate

While the chocolate was melting, I put the marshmallows on the sticks

I dipped the marshmallows in the chocolate using the spatula to coat them completely

I tapped them lightly on the edge of the bowl to knock off any excess chocolate to prevent dripping

I then sprinkled the graham cracker crumbs all over the melted chocolate covering them pretty good

I knew I did not want them to have flat "bottoms" so I figured out a way to "hang" dry them. I was just going to put the through the cooling racks but the sticks were a bit longer than I thought so I solved this problem by stacking the cooling racks

When they were dry I placed them each in a paper cup and placed them on the tray. These were such a big hit at work. Everyone loved them and a few people even suggested roasting the marshmallow before covering it in chocolate (which I really considered) another said that her son was having a beach party for some kids and this would be perfect because then the kids would not have to get near fire! I will definitely do these again!