Mini Cereal Bowl Cookies & Cupcakes

I have a problem that I love cereal way too much.  There, it feels good to come clean with that.  I wonder if you can be addicted to cereal? And by cereal I mean pretty much all of them.  The junkie and the so called good for you cereals too.  I don't care what kind it is - add some to milk to a bowl of any kind and I'm a happy camper.  The cereal marketers love me because I'm a sucker for any new cereal or retro cereal box.  

There's just something about the crunchy cereal and milk together and then you get that awesome cereal milk at the end.  

And for those of you who dump your cereal milk - we can't be friends.  You are wasting the best part!

If you are similar to me then you'll love these treats.

Mini cereal cookie bowls - filled with all my fav cereals!

Start with some sugar cookie bowls.  

When I made these mini strawberry and grape cookie cups this summer I thought the base looked a lot like a little mini bowl, which then sparked the idea for these little all edible cereal bowls.

They don't even need to be perfect

Fill them with some "milk" aka cream cheese frosting and top with all your favorite cereals.

You can pretend you don't scarf a bowl of your fav junkie cereal standing up in the kitchen but we all know we've been there done that!

Tiny spoons are made from melted candy wafers sprayed with some silver edible color spray.

Cute on their own... 

or add them to cupcakes as a super special treat! 

And seriously who can resist a mini bowl of fruity pebbles??! I know not me.  

(Please let me know that I'm not the only cereal addict out there!)

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.  Can't wait to see ALL of the Fall and Halloween treats this year!

Mini Cereal Bowl Cookies

by Michelle Clausen September-11-2016

Ingredients

• 1 package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 can of cream cheese frosting or vanilla frosting
• Various types of cereals
• Vanilla candy melts/wafers
• Silver color spray
• Mini bundt cake pan (you can also use a mini cupcake pan)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray mini bundt pan with non stick spray.
3. Add cookie dough to each section of a mini bundt pan and spread dough slightly to fill bundt section.
4. Bake for 8 minutes or until cookies just start to brown.  Let cool.
5. Pop out of pan (freeze for 10 minutes to make this easier)
6. Spread cookie with frosting.
7. Add some cereal to each bowl 
8. Add 10-12 candy wafers to a zip lock freezer bag.  Microwave in 10 second intervals until candy is just melted.  Snip a small corner and pipe spoon shape onto parchment paper.  Let harden 10 minutes.  Spray hardened spoons with silver spray.  Let dry 10 minutes.  Add a spoon to each bowl.
9. Serve as is or add as cupcake toppers.

Prep time: 40 mins Cook time: 8-10 mins Total time: 50 mins Yield: 12 - 15 mini cereal bowls

Pokemon Go Sweet & Salty Snack Mix - with Pikachu and Mini Pokeballs

Are you into the Pokemon craze like we are? The kids and I have such a fun time playing it.  What's not to love - super cute Pokemon characters, augmented reality, gamification and exercise!

We walk around catching Pokemon, hitting Pokestops, and battling in gyms - and bonus - we talk to each other about neat topics while doing all this.  It's actually a great way to do something fun with the kids (and something they like just as much).  

If you have kiddos all into Pokemon Go, then this cereal snack mix will be a hit.  It's sweet and salty and seriously addicting.

The Pokeballs are made from yogurt covered pretzel balls.  

Dip half into melted red candy wafers 

Add the rest of the detail with melted black candy wafers and use a round white sprinkle as the center

The tiny Pikachu heads are made with Corn Pops cereal, red and black sprinkles.  Yellow melted candy wafer was used to attach everything together and black edible marker for ear, nose, and mouth.

And because regular Pokeballs were not enough - I also made Great Pokeballs. 

You know just in case you have a really tough Pokemon to catch!

You can throw it all into a bowl and let everyone dive in....

OR serve in individual cups!

This sweet and salty cereal mix would make a great addition to any Pokemon party or if you need to restore your energy after a long afternoon of pokemoning!

PS In case you are wondering I'm currently Level 15 - 105410 XP and Team Mystic!

Pokemon Go Cereal Snack Mix

by Michelle Clausen August-14-2016

Ingredients

• 5 cups of Crispix cereal
• 1 cup of Corn Pops cereal
• 2 cups of pretzels
• 1 cup of raisins and/or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• For pokeballs: yogurt coated pretzel balls, red, blue, and black candy wafers, round pearl sprinkles
• For pikachu: Corn pop cereal, red and black round sprinkles, yellow candy wafers, black edible writing marker

Instructions:

1. Combine 1st 4 ingredients in large bowl.
2. Combine butter, syrup, brown sugar, salt in bowl and microwave 1 minute until melted.  
3. Add baking soda and vanilla and microwave another 30 seconds.
4. Add to bowl with cereal and mix well.  Spread onto backing sheet to dry.
5. For Pokeballs: Melt some red or blue candy melts in small bowl in microwave in 20 second intervals until candy is just melted.  Insert toothpick into bottom of pretzel ball and dip 1/2 into candy.  Let harden 10 minutes. Melt black candy melt in microwave and add to a freezer bag.  Snip one small corner and pipe the black detail onto ball (use picture of pokeball as guide).  While black candy is still wet attach white ball sprinkle to center.  Do the same for blue great balls except use blue melted candy wafers and add 2 red lines on top of ball with melted red candy wafers.
6. For Pikachu: Find the right sized Corn pop cereral for the head.  Cut 2 small ears out of the cereal for each head.  Melt yellow candy melt in microwave and add to a freezer bag. Snip one small corner and use it to attach the ears to the head. Let harden.  Use more melted yellow candy to attach red and black sprinkles.  Add mouth, nose, and ear detail with black edible writing marker.
7. Add pokeballs and pikachus to snack mix before serving.  Store in airtight container.

Prep time: 60 mins Assemble time: 10 mins Total time: 70 mins Yield: 8 cups of cereal mix

Craft Beer Cereal Treats for Oktoberfests

This treat is for the grown-ups.  I made some craft beer cereal treats - meaning rice krispies treats made with BEER!

There's beer in both the treats and the glaze.  And if you like craft beer, there is Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin in this recipe.  Even though there's grapefruit in it - it's not too fruity just a really good IPA (India Pale Ale) that we tend to keep around the house a lot! 

You make the treats pretty much the same way with butter, marshmallows, and rice krispies cereal.  The beer thinned the marshmallow mixture a bit so the treats were a little less sticky than regular treats.  I've adjusted the recipe below to try to account for that.

Mix some powdered sugar with a little of the beer to make a tasty little beer-y glaze.

And top with some draft flavored jelly beans! Who knew they made beer flavored jelly beans? Well they do - so I had to top the treats with some.  The beer flavor does come through, but its not overly beer-y (is that a word?).  

Drizzle the glaze on top, add some jelly beans and cut into squares.  

A unique little adult treat to bring to all the Oktoberfests coming up soon - or for your next football party!!  

Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm slowly accepting that summer is over and trying to get back into loving all that is Fall.

Beer Flavored Rice Krispies Treats recipe

Makes 20 treats (depending on how large your squares are cut) 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of mini marshmallows (plus an extra 2-3 cups)
• 6 cups of rice krispies cereal
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup of your favorite beer (use a flavorful beer, this recipe used Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA)
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of same beer
• 1 cup of draft beer flavored jelly beans

Directions:

• Melt butter over medium heat in a large stove top pan.
• Add bag of mini marshmallows and beer and mix.  Add extra marshmallows (1 cup at a time) until marshmallow/butter/beer mix is just sticky.
• Mix in rice krispies.  Mix until all cereal is coated with mixture.
• Add mixture to a 9X12 baking pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray.  Press down until compacted together.  Turn out onto parchment paper or similar paper.  
• For glaze: mix powdered sugar and remaining beer.  If glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
• Drizzle glaze onto treats.  Add jelly beans (optional)
• Cut into squares and serve!

You may like these other beer flavored treats!

Blue Moon Beer Blondies

Oktoberfest Beer Donuts

Green Beer Bread

Blue Moon Cupcakes

Beer Jello

Disney's Frozen Themed Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies

Well here it is the first day of Spring and we have a forecast for more snow in NJ! Par for the course with this Winter season on the East Coast.  In fact the kids have a half day due to the predicted snowy weather.  Go Figure! 

So as a last winter treat, I'm sharing some Disney Frozen themed oatmeal cream pie cookies!

Have you seen this cereal in stores? A "Collector's Edition" Disney Frozen cereal by Kellogg's. It has Snow and Ice Crystal marshmallows! Think Lucky Charms cereal but with blue and white marshmallows.  

#FROZENALLTHETHINGS

It works because my kiddo immediately had to have this cereal.  We don't eat junkie cereals as "cereal" but I do let them have it as treats.  I had to make something with them so decided on some oatmeal cookies, because not only are they delicious but I also swapped out some of the oatmeal for the Frozen cereal.  

I used the Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie recipe that comes on the Quaker Oatmeal can lid! Can't go wrong with that recipe.

I also added dried blueberries in place of raisins to keep with the "blue" theme.

Add to make them into oatmeal cream pie cookies, add a huge slather of some light blue tinted filling.  I used a mix of marshmallow fluff and cream cheese.  

And homemade ones are so much tastier than the store bought ones (in my opinion anyway!)

Make them today and devour one on Winter's last hurrah.  

If you don't have winter worries at all, make them anyway since there are probably a gazillion more #FROZENALLTHETHINGS to come since there WILL be a Frozen 2 movie.  (Um that's a no brainer Disney!) You can also get your Frozen fix on by checking out Frozen Fever which is a short you get when you see the Cinderella movie. (PS There is cake in it!!)

Have a totally awesome weekend and thanks for swinging by! More spring-y treats to come soon!

Frozen Themed Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies (adapted from Quaker's Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe) 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 and 1/2 cups quick or old fashioned, uncooked oats
• 1 and 1/2 cups of Frozen cereal
• 1 cup dried blueberries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Add 1/2 flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.  Add remaining flour mixture.  Mix the oats and cereal together and gently mix into the batter.  Add in dried blueberries.  
• Drop rounded spoonfuls onto parchment paper baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.  
• For filling, mix 2 cups of marshmallow fluff with 1/4 cup of cream cheese.  
• Spread between 2 cooled cookies and eat!

Cereal Snowmen made from Mini Wheats & Marshmallow Trees

Happy New Year Peeps! Hard to believe it's now 2015, but I can tell its definitely Winter.   How? Well because it's SO.COLD.OUTSIDE!  Commuting into NYC in this weather is not so fun.  It's that painful cold where you can't move your fingers in a few minutes.  I think I'm gonna officially start my countdown to Spring - 67 days!

But in the meantime I made some snowmen.  A little army of snowmen made from cereal.  Mini Wheat cereal to be more specific and as if mini was not small enough the fun folks at Kelloggs made Little Bites Mini Wheats that are half the size of Mini Wheats! They made mini minis!  Thank you Kelloggs people.  

OK I know they might look a little like penguins, so feel free to call them Snow Penguins.

You guys know anything mini works for me so I had to scoop up a box.

The snowmen are made by "gluing" the mini wheats together with some melted vanilla chips/melting wafers.  To get them to stand, add a blob of melted candy to parchment paper and while still wet, add the snowman.  Once the candy hardens they will be sturdy and stand on their own. 

Their scarves are made from fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls.  To make them, microwave a Tootsie Roll for 5 seconds (to make it flexible) then roll candy flat.  With a knife or pizza cutter, cut out strips for the scarves.  Trim the ends to make it look more scarf-like!

Noses are a candy coated sunflower seed.  I use Sunny Seeds because they are so tasty!  Snowman eyes and buttons are different sized black sprinkles.  I also added little marshmallow trees for some extra wintery scenery.  They are just made by stacking star shaped marshmallows on top of each other and adding a yellow star sprinkle (also glued with melted vanilla candy wafers).

Enjoy them on their own or add them to cupcakes! Hopefully they make enduring this bitter cold a little bit easier.

Again happy happy New Year and have an awesome week!

Lucky Charms Oatmeal Cookies

Hey there! I finally have a weekend that we have absolutely nothing going on.  It seems like ever since Spring started we've been non-stop every weekend.  The kiddo's little league was a lot of fun his first year, but lots of practices, games, volunteering at snack bar etc.  Plus all of the regular end of school year stuff.  I also had a work trip to Japan in June and we had vacation to San Diego last week.  So it's been so hectic and busy that to have a weekend with no running around has been so great.  

But of course I couldn't just sit around doing nothing - well I did for a little bit and that was enough.  I also made some cookies.  Oatmeal cookies. With. Lucky Charms.  Yes, Lucky Charms the cereal! 

They made them this year in this "limited edition" box with all green clover marshmallows.  

Lucky Charms are one of my favorite junkie cereals.  I indulge every once in a blue moon (or maybe green moon in this case).  So I bought a box on sale after St. Patrick's Day and immediately forgot about it.  When I found it today, going though some bags, I thought it would be fun to make cookies with them.

I used the recipe on the Quaker Oats container for Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  Mix up the cookie dough as per the recipe but I used 1 and 1/2 cups of the dry oats and 1 and 1/2 cups of the Lucky Charms (instead of 3 cups of oats in the recipe).  I also substituted yogurt raisins for regular raisins.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes or just brown around the edges and top.

The recipe held up to its name and these cookies vanished quickly! 

Ginormous Lucky Charms Oatmeal & Yogurt Raisin Sandwich Cookie

Especially if you add a little cool whip and make a Lucky Charms Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich.  

Not that I did that, because that would make a huge oatmeal pie like cookie that would need to be taste tested immediately and after coming back from an indulgent vacation last week eating something like this would be so gluttonous (aka magically delicious)!

Anyway I hope you are enjoying your summer and have some time to relax and sit back and enjoy the days.  It will be Fall again before we know it!  Have a great week!