Showing posts with label candy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candy. Show all posts

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Gross & Sweet Halloween Treat Tray

I've never been to sure how to feel about Halloween?.....I mean it does seem a little sketchy to me.....

it's a day that starts of with ghouls and gobblins running through the streets,


masks from last summers slasher movies are manufactured by the truck full for sweet faced little girls and boys! 

The sounds of witch cackles y una mezcla ( a little mix) of blood curdling screams stream through the ...

and it wouldn't be realistic to think that you could walk past five houses without encountering a blood stained face or a murderous axe dripping with guts of the unknown.....



Okay so here comes the bizarre part...



after fighting through a sea of gorey monsters and aquamarine -tailed sirenas (mermaids)you happily skip home memories of the killing field all washed away with trick or treat bags filled with chocolate bars, licorice sticks and bubble gum!....


and yes as a little chica and honorary "scaredy cat" the promise of a sugar coma by the nights end gave me ensentive to conquer my fears!



And although trick or treating is an experience like no other...that "fearless" cough, cough,



little chica would have happily traded that evening of adventure for a more tamed event
that had trays and trays filled with these curiosly odd and bizarre but deceivingly delicioso treats!


Treat Tray Supplies
q-tips
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1 bag of red chocolate melts
1 bag of peanut butter chocolate melts
1 bag of Charms Blowpops
1 bag of Cotton Candy
1 single pack of Oreos
1 bag of pink Laffy Taffy, pink Starbursts or any other pink chewy candy
1 box of Green Fruit Rollups ( I purchased mine from a local candy store)
1 pack of Graham Crackers
1 bag of Tootsie Rolls
1 bag of gummy teeth (also purchased at a local candy store)
12 pack of mini waters
2 bottles of any green swamp water resembling juice ex Mountain Dew (or as close as you can get!)
1 pack of piping bags or ziplock bags

optional
1 roll of twine
1 pack of circle labels
1 treat tray bag
1 pack of Halloween caution tape
Directions

Okay so it may seem like you have a lot of ingredients and will take forever....but it really is super easy and painless to put all these things together....I promise! You can also chop the list in half and work on it over a period of 2 or more days.

1. Snotty Tissues- cut 6 or 7 pieces of waxed or parchment paper into small squares...I would say about 4x4 inches each and set aside; Next you will need to pour your white chocolate melts into a medium bowl and heat them in the microwave for 20 second intervals stirring them in between until they are completely melted. Pour the melted white chocolate into your piping bag or ziplock then outline your wax squares and filling in the middles completely with the white chocolate.  Allow your chocolate to set for a minutes (until they are starting to harden but still wet). Once semi-set drop a few gummy boogers in to resemble a dirty tissue. Crumple the tissues a little to make them look used and more realistic.  Put them aside until they harden completely. Once they harden peel off the wax paper and place in the garbage can.

2. Already Been Chewed Gum- Unwrap Laffy Taffy or Starburts, place them on a microwave safe plate for approx 10-15 sec intervals until candy is pliable. ( be careful not to heat for too long as candy will melt quickly) Once candy is bendable form into a shape similar to chewed bubble gum. You can use a straw to make tooth-mark like indentations by pushing it into the sides of the candy to resemble teeth marks.

3. Dirty Lollipops- Open all your lollipops, the bag of cotton candy and package of Oreos. Crush your Oreos in a plastic bag and  pull your cotton candy into smaller pieces and set aside. Fill a cup halfway with water than lightly dip the lollipops into the bag of crushed Oreos and stick on a piece of cotton candy.

4. Dirty Q-tips -take your cocktail straws and place mini marshmallows on each end and set aside. Place peanut butter chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30 sec intervals mixing each time until completely melted. Dip each mini-marshmallow into the melted peanut butter melts coating just enough to cover the tips of the marshmallow. Place candy coated Q-tips on a piece of wax or parchment paper until peanut butter melts set.

5. Used Band Aids- break 6-8 graham crackers in halves (or however many you need) along the baked in lines. Lining them on a baking sheet. Place 6-8 mini-marshmallows in the microwave for no more than 5-6 secs, just enough to soften them a little. Take a softened mini-marshmallows and stretch them a little and place in the middle of your graham cracker. In a small ramekin or bowl heat up a few of your red candy melts and spoon or splatter a little of the melted candy on the mini-marshmallow to resemble blood. Set aside and allow candy melts to harden.

6. Cat Poop- Take a handful of Tootsie Rolls unwrap them and place on a microwave safe plate. Heat for approx. 10 secs. until the Tootsie Rolls are pliable. Once again be careful not to overheat as the candy can melt very quickly into a liquid mess. Take the Tootsie Rolls out the microwave, one at a time twist them around until they resemble the shape of Cat Poop. Place them on a baking tray to re-harden.

7. Swamp Water-Now this is where I leave it up to your discretion. There are many ways to make swamp water so I will give you some ideas and you can pick which one is right for you. First, I was unable to find empty bottles to purchase in my store, so I bought the  12 pack of little Poland Spring jr bottles of water and emptied them into a large pitcher for my family to drink later as not to waste their contents. The easiest way to make your Swamp Water is to purchase a package of Green colored Kool-Aid or powdered drink mix and prepare in a pitcher and pour into the mini bottles. Unfortunately I was unable to find green drink mix in my local grocery store so I had to improvise.  I waited until the day of my event and poured Mountain Dew into each bottle so that the fizz would remain (preparing days before will lead to flat soda). Once the sodas were bottled I took twine and placed little circle cards labeled "Swamp Water" I found at Michaels craft store and tied them around each individual bottle.

8. Lizards Skin- For this I just went to my local candy store and purchased a handful of green fruit-roll ups. I unwrapped the candy strips and just began to tear them apart jaggedly to make them appear as they had been ripped right off the lizards back...umm Eww! Simple!

9. Grandma's Teeth- This was the easiest one yet, I found a bag of gummy teeth in my Wal-Mart store opened and dropped them in the middle of the treat tray!  If you can't find these teeth you can obviously substitute for any that you can find or even those plastic Dracula teeth....kids always love those.

Once all the candy is set and prepared, place them onto your tray or dish preferably one that allows you to separate each candy. I placed a little name card in front of each treat with each gross little name.

Before delivering my tray I placed it in a plastic basket bag I found in my local Dollar Tree and covered it in caution type (this can be purchased at your local Dollar store or Wal-Mart).

ABRACADABRA!..That's It!....This really is a simple way to make a Gross & Sweet Halloween treat....No oven involved! 

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Marshmallow Candy Monster Pops

I hate to admit it...but I was the girl who went to bed gripping a flashlight and waking up in cold sweat at 3'oclock in the morning.

 
Forcing my self to do a sweep of my bedroom:

Starting with a through sweep under and above my Strawberry Shortcake canopy bed past my desk covered with Lisa Frank stickers


a quick dash past my doll shelf stuffing my arms with as many Cabbage Patch Kids one may need to ward of evil after dark, up all night monsters!

If all this seems way over the top and a bunch of childhood dramatics one would have to understand that I grew up during the times when Chucky ruled your toy chest and Freddy Kreuger owned your dreams!

Uhh huh! Scary Right?!...Told You! I had to be an 80's baby?!.....the millennium brought so many more nightmare taming characters like Elmo who could ever be scared of that sweet little furry and funny rojo red monster!

And lets not forget Monsters Inc. what that movie did for making "monsters" not only likable....but lovable...

by the end of the movie you not only are fearless of monsters, but you are actually rooting for them! Wishing for nightfall and crossing your fingers with one turn of the knob they would pop out of the closet and right into Boo's bed!


So.......I've said all that to say, what I'm pushing on you today is not the blood curdling, sheets between your eyes shielding you from the sinister force inside television kind of monster!



But the adorable, soft, fluffy colorful and whimsical kind.....




the kind of monster that gives you sweet, beautiful dulce sueƱos!......only in candy form!


Vamos a la cocinca!

Ingredients
Jumbo Marshmallows ( these can be found at your local grocery, Target or Walmart)
1 package of Skittles ( I used the Darkside of the Moon Skittles)
1 package of Gummy Bears
1 package of chocolate melting wafers
1 bottle of sprinkles (you can use chocolate or rainbow)
1 pack of lollipop sticks or colorful straws

Directions

1. Insert lollipop sticks or straws about halfway into each jumbo marshmallow and place on a cookie sheet and set aside. Place the skittles, gummy bears and sprinkles in three separate dishes and set aside as well.

2.  You can either use a microwave or double-boiler to melt your chocolate, (I prefer to use the microwave because it's quicker and easier for me).Pour your chocolate wafers in a glass bowl or a mug reducing the power to 50% to help prevent the chocolate from melting too fast and burning. Set the microwave for 30 second intervals stirring each time until chocolate is completely melted.

3. Once chocolate is melted dip each marshmallow pop into the chocolate, coat marshmallow at least halfway and allow excess to drip off into your bowl or mug.

4.Next, dip each pop into each dish of candy ( I like to add the sprinkles at the end). Set each candy coated marshmallow back onto the cookie sheet and repeat with each marshmallow until you have candy coated monster joy!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

500 Grand Brownies

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Well actually these are made from 100 grand chocolate bars, not 500 ( don't worry the story behind why they are 500 instead of 100 is on the way!)

If you've never tried one they are crispy bars of smooth caramelly,  (pretty sure this is not a word...but they are that good!) chocolaty deliciousness.

They are everything that makes my mouth Super Feliz! (happy)  You know what else made me Super Feliz ?!  Reaching 500 likes on Facebook last week , I was so excited that I decided to celebrate with a chocolate fiesta! 


So in honor of my awesome fans I made you guys these chocolate brownies filled and sprinkled with super rich 100 grand bars....

oh and did I forget to tell you I slathered them with fudge frosting and warm dulce de leche! 



Oh yeah, the story behind the name.......


I named them 500 grand bars in honor the 500 super awesome people who like my yumminess so much that they want immediate updates via their news feeds! 


Definitely seemed appropriate for the occasion but in all honesty I used so many 100 grand bars that a more realistic title would be 2 million grand bars!.....


but hey it's a celebration, so who's counting!



Vamos a La Cocina!


Ingredients ( Fudge Frosting)






 
 

 
 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Ultimate Cake Nachos

So one of my absolute FAVORITE holidays is literally right around the corner!




 I adore it because it's the day that many of the Gringos (like me)



love everything about Mexican Food, Mexican music & Mexican culture. 



Every store have an overstock of piƱatas, super grande margarita glasses & hard taco shells.


It's the one day that it's perfectly normal to ride in your car wearing a colorful sombrero fist pumping to Mariachi music ( this is jersey after all)






and I love it!


El Ultimo ( The Ultimate) Cake Nachos are absolutamente perfecto for a Cinco de Mayo party or a super cute addition as a dessert for a summer party or BBQ.






                                                   Ingredients

1 box of Dark Chocolate cake mix ( I used Duncan Hines)
your favorite buttercream or frosting like this one ( I never use can frosting, but it can be substituted)
1 bag of yellow Wilton chocolate melts
1 bag of white Wilton chocolate melts
1 bag of Swedish Fish or any red gummy candy
1 package of green sour licorice string
orange food coloring
piping bags
colorful bowl
                                                Vamos a la cocina! ( Directions)

A day or two before you bake your cake, you may want to prepare your chocolate tortilla
 chips.

For the tortilla chips

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Take 1 Oreo cookies and crunch them until they are completely crushed in a plastic ziplock bag and set aside. Combine 1/2 bag of white chocolate with 1/2 bag of yellow chocolate in medium bowl.

2. Place bowl in microwave on 70% power heating for 35 second intervals, stiring well after each interval until completely melted.

3. Once chocolate is melted it's time to add in your crushed Oreos, you will only need about a couple of sprinkles of the cookie. ( the crushed cookies just serve as the black flecks seen in real tortilla chips)

4. Once you mix in your cookies, immediately place the chocolate in the piping bag and begin piping medium sized tortilla chips right onto your waxed paper.

5. Once all tortilla chips are piped, you can place them in the freezer and prepare cake, if your not baking cake that day the tortilla chips can easily be stored in the refrigerator or a cool place in your kitchen.

6. This is also a good time to chop your Swedish Fish and green licorice. I gave them a rough chop to resemble tomatoes and jalapeƱos and lettuce. Set them aside

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, follow directions on box or cake recipe, you can either pour the batter in an 8 inch round cake pan or a jelly roll pan. I used the jelly roll pan because it was a shorter cook time and I seemed to get more cake out of it. ( I wanted my nachos to look like that had a lot of meat)

2. Once the cake is cooled, take a colorful bowl and crumble all of your cake it crumbs to resemble taco meat.

3. Take your buttercream and add a few drops of orange and yellow food coloring. ( I used about 3 orange drops and 5 yellow drops to achieve more of nacho cheese color). 

4. Place buttercream in the microwave for approx. 20 seconds until pourable. Once buttercream is colored you can either mix it directly into the cake crumbs or pour it all around. ( It all depends if you want to have a moister cake or not, the buttercream definitely soaks into the crumbs) If you are making the nachos with cheese, you need to add your chocolate tortilla chips first and pour the cheese on top of them and add a few jalapeƱo sprinkles.

5.If  you are going more for " El Ultimo" nachos, than it's time to add on heaping scoop of  plain white vanilla buttercream (sour cream) and sprinkle on your Swedish Fish & green licorice. You also use black licorice for olives, I am not a fan of black licorice or the smell so I didn't use it. Add your chocolate tortilla chips around the sides and in the middle to resemble "real nachos".

6. That's it!......All done a dessert that's not even hard, super cute and all dressed up for a
Fiesta!









Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Cupid's Arrow Popcorn & Candy Munch Cups

Once the festive colors and sweet candies of the impending holiday go up in stores, anyone with little chicas and chicos know that those party donation request forms start showing up in their sweet little bookbags. 

Most likely these forms reach your doorsteps weeks in advance, if you are anything like me ...........


dulce suenos ( sweet dreams) of thick fluffy brownies, stuffed with chocolate chips dripping with rich vanilla frosting, cut into cute little heart shapes with homemade hot pink and red sugar lip sprinkles dripped all over them ( or some fancy pants treat like that) dance in your head.


They sound pretty perfect hugh!?....Right!....Well fast forward to let's say ummmm...........


the day before the big bash and what do I have? Nothing!! Not a chocolate chip, nor a lick of vanilla frosting and the idea of handcrafting sprinkles in the span of a few hours time is like mission impossible! 

So I came up with something that is way less time consuming and super easy to put together, just in case you find yourself in a situation like me and need a cute little party treat in no time flat!



                                                                     
                                        Ingredients
 
popcorn ( microwave or bagged)
Valentine's candy ( I used candy corn and m&m's but you can use anything that will mix well with popcorn, and is red and pink of course)
red or pink candy melts
red, pink and or white sprinkles
red or pink cups
 heart ring pops or regular ring pops
 
The amount of popcorn and candy you will need will all depend on how many cups you plan to fill. If you are going to make enough for about 24 cups, I would buy two bags of popcorn and three bags of candy. 
                                                                

                                                              Directions
1.  Get a large bowl pour in the popcorn and mix in your bags of candies
 
2. Once your popcorn/ candy munch are well mixed, divide them evenly into each individual cup filling them to the top of each cup.
 
3. Next you will need to melt about 1/2 cup of melting chocolate for approx. 24 cups, once chocolate is completely melted,  using a spoon drizzle chocolate quickly over the popcorn and candy in each cup.
4. I placed the ring pops in the middle of the popcorn for my last step,  to secure the pops to the popcorn I dabbed a little chocolate underneath the ring base than placed it in the middle of the popcorn.
 
For extra cuteness you can get a roll of cellophane or individual treat bags and wrap them up with a pretty pink or red bow!
 
Now how easy was that?  These really should be called " No Stress Cups"!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Marry Me, Cupcake- Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

Although for some, the idea of packing up their last silver bell and unhanging their stockings and packing them away with care is a somber event.

For me it's a sign that my absolute favorite holiday is on it's way. I've had a "love affair" with Valentine's Day since?!.........


Well actually I have no idea when my infactuation with the national day of love began, but I do know that everything that it entails leaves me feeling warm inside and a smile on my face.   It's not so much the romantical idea ( I know this is not a real word, but I think I heard Snooki use it and I liked it!) of it all.








The whole having "El Hombre" of your dreams show up at your doorstep, whisking you off to an extravagant restaurant showering you with red roses and lavish presents like 25 karat diamond rings. Nope! that's not the reason for my obsession with Valentine's Day. It's more along the lines of almost all the store shelves blanketed with varying hues of red and pink which are my absolute favorite colors.

Hearts and sweet words of love on everything! Not to mention the chocolate! Ohhh yes the sweet, dulce, milk, dark, semi-sweet bites and boxes of caramel filled ways to show your love! LO AMO! ( I love it!). With those boxes of chocolate love come even more sugared-up dessert possibilities.  Like these Marry Me, Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes,  which are fluffy vanilla cupcakes swirled with a layer of vanilla buttercream, then a twist of pink cherry buttercream, drizzled with chocolate syrup, colorful sprinkles and a plump red cherry. Stuffed inside the cupcake is a strawberry ring pop.......... 


Well actually 5 minutes after I placed the ring pop filled cupcakes in the oven, I realized that what I would pull out the oven would be filled with an ooey gooey mess.  Ten minutes later.......Yup! I was right......the realization that the thin layer of cake batter wouldn't be enough to shield the candy coated ring pop from the molten hot temps within the oven!

Uhhh Duhh!  Anyway I still think that these can be super cute Valentine's cupcakes to give to your sweetie as gift or to bring to a school class.  Imagine their surprise when they take a bite and inside is an authentic sugared diamond, a Valentine's symbol of true love.

I assure you it will work this time, instead of baking the cupcake with the ring pop, just wait until they are out the oven and cooled.  Then you can just dunk the ring pop right in the middle of the cake and swirl your buttercream all around it.  Believe me this time it will work like a charm!




                                                                    
Adapted from Magnolia Bakery Recipe


                                                        Buttercream Ingredients

                                           

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
 
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
 
1/2 cup milk
 
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 
1 jar of maraschino cherries
 
 1 jar of chocolate syrup-  I used Hershey's
 
  1 container of red or pink sprinkles
 
  Ring pops- as many as needed

                                                                    Directions    

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, 4 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes.
 
      2. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition, until icing reaches desired consistency; you may not need to add all the sugar.
 
     3. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.        
 
     4. To make the cherry buttercream, separate a cup or more of white buttercream, add in 2 drops of pink food coloring. Pour in 1/4 cup of maraschino cherry juice and whip for 3-4 minutes until well mixed adding more juice to reach desired cherry taste.
                                                                  
 
                                                               
                                     Cupcake Ingredients                  

3/4 cup butter

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla (add more for a super-vanilla taste)

1 1/4 cups milk

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
 
                                                                    Directions                                           

1. Stir together the salt, baking powder, flour

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter in an electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until combined. Continue to beat and add the eggs. Beat well and add vanilla.

3. Add part of the flour mixture then part of the milk, then beat on low. Repeat until all of the milk and flour mixture have been added. Combine and spread batter into cupcake pans. Be sure not to over mix your batter.

4. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool for at least 15 minutes.

5. Once the cupcakes are completely cooled it's time to stick in your ring pops, 
6. Next, grab two piping bags and fill with vanilla and cherry buttercream. Alternately swirl each flavor onto your cupcake.
 
 7.Drizzle cupcake with chocolate syrup, colorful sprinkles and plump cherry. You can package these up in pretty red or pink boxes and serve them with MUCHO AMOR!
 
                                                

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