Cookie Exchange 2014

Last weekend, I hosted our 6th Annual Cookie Exchange! I switched gears from the jewelry party and put on a green and silver themed cookie swap, with my favorite garland and straws from Twigs & Twirls.

All things pumpkin

This morning I made this for my coffee...

I used 2% milk, my Pumpkin Pie Spice and regular maple syrup. It is a fall party in my mouth! 

And since I had to open a can of pumpkin, I will just have to use the rest for these...Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (made from a cake mix). 

My family will eat them all by the end of the weekend. Truth. They are a favorite around here.

If you're looking for more pumpkiny things to make this weekend, I have a great list here.

Happy Friday Friends!

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Pie

Earlier this month, I shared my Frozen Nutella Pie over at 30 Days. This was a recipe inspired by my Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Pie, which I realized I had never posted. So, without further ado, I bring you the perfect summer dessert with one of my favorite combos...peanut butter, chocolate and banana!

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Pie
adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1/2 c. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (8oz) container whipped topping, thawed
2 medium bananas, sliced (about 1 1/2 c.)
1 (9") store-bought chocolate cookie crust
1/4 c. chocolate syrup for garnish

Directions

1. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

2. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

3. Add whipped topping. Mix until well blended.

4. Add sliced bananas to pie shell.

5. Pour peanut butter filling over bananas. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.

6. Take out of freezer and remove cover. Drizzle chocolate syrup over pie.

7. Slice into 8 slices and enjoy!

So easy, cool and yummy!

Frozen Nutella Cream Pie

OOOOOH boy! Do I have a yummy recipe to share with you!

Frozen Nutella Cream Pie.

If you are a Nutella fan, you need this in your life. It is super rich & creamy. Only takes 15 minutes to whip up. And only requires 6 ingredients.

Head on over to 30 Days for the recipe.

Mint Chocolate Cookie Bark

March is here and my Pinterest feed has been inundated with minty-chocolatey recipes. The mint chocolate combination is one of my favorite pairs...it's right up there with chocolate and peanut butter.

So, today I'm adding to the recipe box and sharing an awesomely good, NO BAKE candy over at 30 Days.

This has the perfect combination of sweet, salty, chocolatey and minty! It'll be a perfect treat for Saint Patrick's Day. AND you can switch it up for different holidays and occasions by changing out the M&M's and Oreo flavors.

Go get the recipe here.

Happy Patty's Snack Mix

Sharing a fun, no-bake, (very addictive) recipe over at 30 days today. Check it out here.

A No Bake Christmas

I haven't done a lot of baking like I normally do during the Christmas season. I've been all about the easy, no-bake recipes this year. Are you looking for an easy, last minute treat to take to your neighbor? Or to a party? Here are a few of my faves:

Spiced Christmas Tea

We also call this "Russian Tea" and I've heard it called "Friendship Tea", but at Christmas time, we call it "Spiced Christmas Tea". It's very soothing and yummy! Here's how to make a big batch of it. It takes...

2 c. Tang orange drink mix
1 c. instant tea
3 c. sugar (or less)
lemonade drink mix (enough to make 1 quart)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (not pictured)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves (not pictured)
3/4 c. red hot candies

Mix all ingredients (except red hots) in a food processor until well mixed (you can also mix by hand, we just use the food processor to ensure that there are no lumps). Stir in red hot candies. Use approximately 2 Tbsp. of mix for every one cup of water. This makes a great gift. Just fill small jars or bags tied with ribbon.

Another favorite is Bakerella's Christmas Crunch

WARNING: This is extremely addicting! And because of that I've also heard it called "Christmas Crack", but I think "Christmas Crunch" sounds much better, don't you?

It consists of Corn Chex, pretzels, peanuts and M&M's drizzled and mixed with vanilla flavored almond bark. So easy. SOOOO good!

The next no-bake item is Microwave Peanut Clusters.

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My mom and I have been making these for years. In fact, the copy I have says "Holiday Cooking 1987", so apparently it's been almost 15 years! They are one of my husband's favorites! AND there are only 3 ingredients!!

1/2 pound vanilla flavored almond bark (4 small cubes)
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 c. spanish peanuts, roasted, salted (regular peanuts will also work)

Place almond bark and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted and smooth. Stir in peanuts.

Using a medium scoop, drop peanut mixture onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill for about 30 minutes, or until firm and set. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Another no-bake Christmas goody is Peppermint Bark

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I made this last year and was SO easy and again, only 3 ingredients...white chocolate, candy canes and peppermint oil or flavoring. 

My last treat is the newest edition to my no-bake Christmas recipe collection. It's Martha Stewart's Foolproof Holiday Fudge

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I've made fudge in years past and have been disappointed with the outcome. Most of the time it comes out too dry or too gritty. There's definitely a science to it all. But this recipe came out PERFECT! So smooth and not gritty at all! It truly is foolproof. The only changes I made was using 4 Tbsp of butter instead of 6 and omitting the peppermint candy.

So there you have it...my top 5 no-bake Christmas goodies. Do you have a no-bake Christmas favorite?

Harvest Blessing Mix

For the last few years, we've made this Harvest Blessing Mix (which I found here) for school parties and other festivities. It's yummy and meaningful. Here's what you'll need to make it and what the ingredients represent:

Bugles: represents a cornucopia, a horn of plenty.
Pretzels: represents arms folded in thanks and prayer.
Candy Corn: during the first Winter, the pilgrims were each allotted only 5 kernels of corn per day because food was so scarce. (I got a 22 oz. bag of candy corn for .69 cents on Halloween clearance!)
Dried Fruit: Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest.
Peanuts and/or Sunflower Seeds: represents the potential of a bounteous harvest for the next season if they are planted and well tended.

There's not really a recipe for the mix. You can use equal parts of each ingredient or just eye-ball it.

This year I made simple little printable tags to include in the snack-size bags.

Go HERE to print these little tags. You can print them on Avery Badge paper (#5395) or on cardstock.

These make great little gifts for neighbors, teachers, co-workers, classmates...
put a bowl of it on the kids table for Thanksgiving...
or just use the mix to snack on anytime!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!