Nutella Lovers...You MUST Try Reese's Spread!

So I realize I haven't blogged in forever but I've had lots of life changes happen since my last post, things I would not like to relive. 
However, all that aside, I was recently offered a complimentary Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate spread to try thanks to VoxBox and Influenster! I'm a huge fan of Nutella and really, it takes all my willpower not to grab a jar and eat at least half in a single sitting, same is the case with this yummy Reese's spread! It basically tasted like a liquified Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, which is heavenly, to me.

The card included in the box offered some suggestions on what to pair it with and while I used a couple of them, I wanted to branch out and try some of my own too. I'm nowhere near done trying pairings but I'm so happy with this spread already!

First I tried it on some honey wheat bread, which I loved, of course. Probably the simplest pairing and a good way to sneak in some chocolate at breakfast!

The next day I tried it on my Greek yogurt in the morning and it was also amazing. If you don't normally like the somewhat sour flavor Greek yogurt tends to have, mix in a little of this and voila! 

The picture on the jar of spread shows it paired with a green apple, but I only had red apples here, so I tried it with one of those. Of course, it tasted delicious, though I'm sure it would taste amazing against the tart taste of the green apples as well. That's definitely next on my radar. 

 Lastly (so far), I tried a spoonful in my mug of hot chocolate, which, when melted, gave it a smooth, creamy flavor with a hint of peanut butter flavor! I'm for sure trying this again soon!

Thank you again to Influenster for giving me the chance to try this yummy spread!

Dancing Gummi Bears!

Sometimes I find an adorable picture or something and want to post it somewhere. Way back when, I'd post it on Myspace (ah, memories) and my page was like a photo album of cute graphics. Nowadays, I don't have anywhere to post those things; facebook? No...especially since you can't see moving pictures and that's the whole point! I can't print them out...twitter? Nope.
Then I remember that I have a blog lol. So this is a really random post, but I wanted to share this adorable dancing gummi bear picture. I love all things candy and cute and this fits perfectly!



And the link for future reference:
http://picsauce.com/post/5946602506/gettin-jiggy-with-it

The Most Amazing My Little Pony Cakes!

When I need a laugh, I adore checking out the Cake Wrecks blog. With all the misspelled words (i.e. congradulations instead of congratulations) and just overall DUMB writing (i.e. actually writing "Happy Birthday with Sprinkles" on the cake rather than just writing Happy Birthday and putting actual sprinkles on the cake) it always makes me wonder if anyone proof reads anymore. Writing on a cake without checking what you're writing is like doing a crossword puzzle with a pen!
However, sometimes they take a break from the stupidity and showcase some absolutely amazing cakes. I'm always envious that people can do such amazing things with fondant and create such gorgeous cakes!
Recently, there was a post of some great 80's themed cakes and,because I love all things cute and still have a soft spot for MLP, my favorites by far were the My Little Pony cakes. I'm just in awe of these, especially the standing pony!

Cake below was created by: Courtney's Cakes



Cake below was created by: London Cake



To see these and other amazing cakes in the 80's theme, please see the Cake Wrecks website!: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2011/06/sunday-sweets-back-to-80s.html

Toasted Almond Brittle Bars-So Yummy!

Normally, chocolate and peanut butter sweets are my weakness, but this year I tried a new recipe I found called "Toasted Almond Brittle Bars" from McCormick. They are absolutely delicious, they taste exactly like almond extract smells; a little like marzipan, just nutty and sweet. And despite the word "brittle" being in the name, they aren't hard at all, due to the softer crust. Here's the recipe, hope you enjoy them like I do! Photo below is my own.

Toasted Almond Brittle Bars

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Almond Brittle Topping

1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


1- Mix flour, 1 cup butter, confectioner's sugar and salt in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until coarse crumbs form. Press firmly and evenly into greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 20 minutes or until golden brown.
2- For the topping, mix corn syrup, brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and cream in medium saucepan. Bring just to boil on medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds and extracts. Pour over hot crust, spreading evenly.
3- Bake 15 minutes or light golden brown and until filling is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.






Enjoy!

Easy Oreo Truffles, Easy AND Delicious!

Last Christmas, I made these truffles and they went FAST. The recipe is insanely easy and makes a decent batch, depending on how large you make them. I would suggest no larger than the recipe states, 1" balls, as they are rich. I've made these myself this weekend so below the photo from the Kraft foods website is my own photo. Also, please see my notes under the recipe to make it a little easier for you.


Easy Oreo Truffles

Ingredients
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 pkg Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 4 1/4 cups), divided
2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi Sweet Chocolate, melted


Instructions
Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended
Shape into 48 (1 inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.


My notes:
1- Upon crushing the cookies, I suggest placing a few cookies in a large zippered baggie and crushing them with a rolling pin. You will want to crush a few at a time because in my experience, it's a little to hard to try to crush them all at once and you need really fine pieces.
2- It's much easier to mix the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese with your hands (yes you'll be sticky, just have paper towels handy) and then scoop out the balls with a melon baller.
3- While dipping the balls, you can use 2 forks to roll them around in the chocolate and coat them better. This way, it's also easier to remove them from the chocolate and place them on the baking sheet.





After making them this weekend, here are my own!




Enjoy!

Yum! Cupcakes and more!

Busy day cooking today; I was inspired by a delicious picture of Peeps cupcakes I found when browsing Google images the other day...so I went a little crazy and made Peeps cupcakes! More goodies I made today include deviled eggs and apple bars! I so can't wait to dig in lol.