Sugar Swings! Serve Some: christmas treats
Showing posts with label christmas treats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas treats. Show all posts

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Holiday PEEPS Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake



My edible crafting with marshmallow PEEPS continues! 

The fun people that work with the PEEPS brand were kind enough to send me some of their latest seasonal flavors! Sugar Plum Delight, Cinnamon Roll, Red Velvet, and Sugar Cookie. How fun are they?? 

Although they are already very festive, you can add some easy details and make them really ready for any holiday or Christmas party.


 Make them into wintery polar bears!


Or give them fun little Christmas hats!


Birds get cold too so add some tiny ear muffs!


Or turn them into reindeer - or go directly to the most famous reindeer of all


I usually add PEEPS to cupcakes (which would be A.DOR.A.BLE) but this time went with a Christmas-y chocolate chip cookie cake.


I mean who can resist a huge chocolate chip cookie during the holiday season??


The cookie cake disappeared in no time flat last nite!



Holiday PEEPS Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
  • PEEPS chicks in assorted flavors (I used red velvet, sugar plum, sugar cookie, and cinnamon roll)
  • 1 roll of refrigerated cookie dough ( I used chocolate chip)
  • Assorted sprinkles and candies for decorating: orange candy coated sunflower seeds, green m and m's, black and green dot sprinkles, holly and berry sprinkles, red-green-white candy corn, vanilla tootsie rolls, large red ball candy, 
  • Purple candy melting wafers (cut in half)
  • 1 cup of vanilla candy melting wafers
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips (or chocolate candy melting wafers) and green candy melting wafers
  • Green and red food writers
  • Vanilla buttercream (tint some red and green)
  • More holiday sprinkles for cookie cake
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. For Rudolph Reindeer PEEPs: Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe antlers onto parchment paper.  Let harden 5-10 minutes before moving. Attach to cinnamon roll chick with melted chocolate.  Attach large red candy to with melted chocolate as nose.  Use melted vanilla candy and add detail around neck and add green sprinkle in center.
  3.  For Polar Bear: Melt vanilla wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe ears and nose onto sugar cookie flavored chick.  Attach black buttons and nose detail with more melted candy. Soften vanilla tootsie roll for 7 seconds in microwave.  Roll out long strip for scarf.  Cut to size with clean kitchen shears.  Color with red and green food writers.  Wrap around chick as scarf.
  4. For Bird with earmuffs: Attach green m and m's to side of chick with melted candy. Add white band with more melted vanilla candy melts.  Attach orange candy coated sunflower seed with more melted candy.  Attach 1/2 of purple candy melt wafer to side as wings.
  5. For Red Velvet chick with hat: Melt green candy wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe small discs onto parchment paper.  Add christmas candy corn.  Attach small red ball sprinkle on top of hat with more melted candy. Let harden 5-10 minutes.  Use more melted candy and attach holy around neck of chick.  Add holy berries for detail.  Attach hat to top of chick with more melted candy.
  6. For cookie cake: Add cookie dough to a 9X3 springform pan.  Spread cookie dough evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes or until top of cookie is just browned.  Let cool completely.
  7. Remove cookie cake from pan and pipe buttercream around the outside top edge.  Add christmas or holiday sprinkles. 
  8. Add decorated PEEPS on top.  Slice and serve.
Prep time: 60Yield: 1 - 9 inch cookie cake

Friday, December 9, 2016

Winter Bird on Mini Chairs & Trees Cupcakes


Hey all! I'm trying to get myself into the holiday spirit since we're only about 2 weeks away from Christmas (and Hanukkah too!)

I've used jelly bean birds a bunch of times (scroll down to see more!) so I thought I'd try some little winter birds this time around.


I also love love LOVE mini things so thought they'd be cute on some mini chairs or trees.

The chairs are made from pretzel sticks "glued" together with some chocolate.


The chairs have a nice rustic look and are perfect perches for these little birdies!


I love Jelly Belly jelly beans because they have great colors and some look almost mottled and very much like bird colorings already.  Add some little details - super easy with some melted candy - and you get some cute little winter birds.  Don't forget to add simple eyes with a black food writer!


The trees are made from Hershey's Bells and Kisses stacked on top of each other.  Use whatever flavor you like since it gets covered in green melted candy wafers.  I used peppermint to go along with the winter theme.


Use your favorite cupcake recipe and white frosting as snow.


Put all of it together to make a fun little winter scene.


And don't worry about being perfect with you candy melt "piping"! Small details are needed and it doesn't take a lot of skill.  Once you practice on one or 2 birds it gets easy and the results are super cute!  


Making these cupcakes really did help to get me in the winter holiday spirit!

Thank you for swinging by and have an AMAZING weekend!  Take time to enjoy the moments and don't forget to spread some kindness in the world!


Little Birds on Pretzel Chairs and Tree Cupcake Toppers
Ingredients
  • Pretzel sticks
  • 1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate candy melts 
  • Assorted color jelly belly beans
  • 1/4 cup of black, blue, red, and yellow candy melts
  • Black food writer
  • Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Bells chocolate candy
  • 1 cup of green candy melts
  • Star sprinkles
  • White non-pareil sprinkles
  • 12 of your favorite cupcakes with white icing
Instructions:
  1. To make chairs.  Break or cut pretzel sticks into sizes (2 long and 9 smaller pieces) 
  2. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip and end and add some chocolate to pretzel stick and attach as in picture to "glue" chair together.  Let harden at least 15 minutes before moving. Repeat for as many chairs as you need.
  3. For birds: Select jelly beans colors you like.  I like Jelly Belly as they are a little mottled which make great birds! Melt each color wafer in a microwave safe bowl and add to a small freezer bag.  Snip and end and add some details to birds (beak, wings, top feathers) as in pictures or use your creativity!  Let harden at least 5-10 minutes or until candy is dry. 
  4. For trees: Melt green wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a small freezer bag.  Snip and attach Kiss to Bell to make tree shape.  Add more candy to outside of chocolate to make green trees.  Before candy dries, add either bird or star sprinkle on top (candy must be starting to harden to easily attach or you can hold it in place until candy is firm enough to hold it in place).  Before candy dries also add some white non-pareil sprinkles on outside of trees.
  5. Once chairs are ready, use more melted candy and attach birds to chairs randomly.
  6. Add trees, birds, and chairs to iced cupcakes as toppers.
Prep time: 60Yield: 12 cupcakes

Monday, December 21, 2015

Winter themed graham cracker treats


During the holiday season I like to make fun but quick treats for the kids.  Since I work full-time out of the house and have 3 kids in elementary school, things get hectic and busy (as I'm sure it does in every house these days).  The love graham crackers so I use them as "canvases" all the time.  


These are my latest little winter scene graham crackers.  Cute, fun and I think it took me 1/2 to throw them together.  I think they would make great class treats or teacher gifts too.  Use all sorts of flavors graham crackers too :)

See the details here at sheknows!

I'm still recovering from the #12daysofStarWars countdown - 12 treats in 12 days was a lot! It was  fun though so if you missed it you can see the last post and recap here.  And we did see the movie this weekend! I won't give any spoilers but I'm sure all fans (the old and new) will love it.  JJ Abrams did a great job and it has everything you think it should.  


See the recap here!

And a very Merry almost Christmas if you celebrate!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Day 8 Star Wars Christmas Wreath Treats #12daysofStarWars


We're getting close peeps! 

Next up on the #12daysofStarWars count down:

8TH DAY OF STAR WARS

Star Wars Christmas Wreath Treats!  


Because doesn't everyone need a wreath decorated with Yoda and Vader? 

I found these candies around Halloween time and couldn't resist buying them up. 


There were also green and purple lightsabers.  I added a little candy melt/sprinkles to give them a little more detail.


The treats are made like rice krispies treats except you swap corn flakes for the rice cereal.


Add some more sprinkles to finish the wreath look.


ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT!! 

Stop back everyday for another Star Wars treat or follow along on FacebookInstagram and/or Twitter! #12daysofStarWars @sugarswings

How To Make Star Wars Wreath Treats 

Ingredients:
  • 4 cups of corn flakes
  • 1 bag of mini marshmallows
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • green food color
  • Star Wars candy (found them around Halloween time)
  • Other holiday sprinkles (red berries, green leaves)
  • 1/4 cup candy melts or chocolate (to attach candies to wreaths)
Directions:
  1. Melt butter in large pan on low heat.  Add marshmallow and once just melted turn off heat.
  2. Add green food color - enough to make a nice deep green color.
  3. Add cornflakes.  Stir until well combined.
  4. While still warm, shape into wreath shapes (spray hands with non-stick spray if too sticky).
  5. Melt candy melts/chocolate in microwave safe bowl.  Add some dabs to backs of candy and sprinkles and attach to the wreaths.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas Ornament Cookie and Pretzel Snacks



It's almost Christmas!!! Woohoo!! And this is it for me, one last treat before Christmas day.  And it's a really simple one too, some little ornaments made from mini vanilla wafers, pretzels, cheerios, and your favorite sprinkle decorations--you may have this stuff at home already. 


I keep seeing these mini vanilla wafers in different colors at my local food store, which make great little round colorful ornaments.  If you can't find the tinted ones, just use regular mini vanilla wafers.


Attach the wafer with melted candy melts or chocolate to a pretzel base.  


 Then attach a cheerio with melted candy as the ornament loop.  Decorate with sprinkles/candy in any way you like.  And ta-da, little tiny and tasty ornaments.  Sweet and salty always a big hit a parties.  These got gobbled up super fast.


Only 3 days until Christmas! My big kid is 9 and the little ones are 6 so this is such a fun fun FUN time right now.  They are big enough that life in general is so much easier but they are still into all the fun kid stuff.  Plus we have been doing some construction in our house, and we're 99% done - just in time for Christmas! YAY!!  Life is great.  And how crazy that 2014 is around the corner??   Going to try to log off for a bit and do that quality time thing.  

I do want to take a moment to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and a very Happy Holiday season to all.  I appreciate all the interactions, comments, and friendships over the years, as well as all the sharing of my stuff around the interwebs! You guys are the best.  

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Grinch Cereal Treats


I can't go a christmas season without the Grinch.  It's just impossible.  And by The Grinch, I mean the old cartoon, not the movie.  (Jim Carrey I love ya, but you can't beat the old animated movie!)


I did these Grinch cupcakes ages ago:


And I love how many have done the Grinch cupcakes similarly.  Do you ever google your stuff to see what comes up?? or maybe that's just me :) Anywho, I wanted to try something else grinch-y this year and I've been on a cereal treat kick lately because they are so easy and most people love 'em.  These are just the basic rice krispie treat recipe, and tinted chartreuse.  (in case you are wondering, 5:1 lemon yellow to leaf green food gel).  Here's a great mixing chart for colors!


Cut out rectangles and then cut/taper a little for the Grinch head.  Once you are happy with the shape, add yellow candy melt eyes, flat round sprinkles for the red eyes, and black candy melt for the mouth.


Add a little more light green candy melt for his tuft of hair.


And that's pretty much it.  


And if you feel like it, do his pal Max the dog and Cindy Lou Who!


Well if Max and Cindy Lou were zombies! Ah well, at least I tried.  Not all of the things I think up come out exactly as pictured in my head.  Happy week before Christmas!