Magical Milk + Cereal Cups

Remember those milk and cereal bars? They were almost like a rice krispies treat and were made with all types of kids cereals and my favorite part was the white chocolatey bottom portion. It was sweet and delicious and far from healthy. These were certainly classified under the "special treat" category in our house and I loved every bite.

Saint Patrick's Day gave me the perfect excuse to introduce my little ones to Lucky Charms. I cannot remember the last time I had them and I'm here to say that they taste the same as they did in the 1980s. I'm also certain that my kids will never want to snack on a healthier cereal again. If I had to pick my favorite kids cereal, Lucky Charms wins every time. And if I had to pick a regret during my pregnancies, it would be that I didn't eat enough kids cereals. Seriously! 

I've been on a homemade nut butter cup kick the past week or so. It turns out making homemade Reese's cups are dangerously easy and the options are endless. Saint Patrick's day inspired me to make this Lucky Charms version for Will and Kate and they totally bought into the festiveness of them. If I'm being honest here, these cups are suuuuuper sweet but I am a dark chocolate lover forever. If you like white chocolate, you will LOVE these. A few bites and I was good but of course the tiny humans gobbled these up in no time. The crunchy-ness of the cereal works perfect at the bottom of the cup and since the chocolate is warm when you fill the cereal lined cups, the cereal kind of soaks up all of that white chocolatey goodness- just like my beloved milk and cereal bars. 

The best part of this process? Pulling out all of the marshmallows that I could. It was like my childhood dream come true- a giant bowl of Lucky Charms Marshmallows. When we were younger, my sisters and I would always eat around the marshmallows and save them to the very end. 

Gold sprinkles are optional, but also totally necessary. Enjoy!

Magical Milk + Cereal Cups

One 10oz. bag white chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut oil
Lucky Charms cereal (or cereal of your choice)

Line a muffin tin with liners and make room for the tray in your fridge. Sprinkle cereal on the bottom of each liner. I covered the entire bottom. 

In a heat-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips. I like to use a double boiler, but you can also melt in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well in between. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, add the coconut oil and stir well until it's completely melted and combined. 

Pour melted chocolate over the top of the cereal until each is completely covered. Top with the Lucky Charms marshmallows and sprinkles if you are using them! Chill in the fridge to harden for 1-2 hours.

Cookies for Santa!

It's the most magical night of the year and the little ones in our house are patiently waiting for the big man in red to make his arrival. We are looking forward to a wonderful couple of days with family and soaking it all in together. 

It's not too late to make cookies for Santa! My baking assistants went a little sprinkle crazy, but I don't think that Santa will mind one bit! They also insisted that he get a dinosaur and a unicorn on his plate. 

This sugar cookie recipe from Everyday Annie is my go to and never fails. The lemon zest gives them a little something extra and is my favorite addition. I skipped the royal icing and just did a simple frosting with 1 cup of milk + 2-3 Tablespoons of milk. I separated frosting into a couple of bowls and then colored each one using this gel food coloring. 

Simple Sugar Cookie Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp. whole milk

gel food coloring

In a bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk and stir until it reaches the right consistency- make sure it isn't too runny! Add more milk or sugar as needed. Divide into bowls and add food coloring- then you are ready to decorate! 

P.S. Sprinkles are necessary.

Wishing you all much joy, peace and love as you celebrate this Christmas! Merry Christmas Eve!!

Pumpkin Pecan Cranberry Upside Down Cake

This festive little cake was the result of gathering ingredients from my kitchen and hunting for recipes that included them. I started with fresh cranberries and pumpkins, and knew that I would probably need some butter to make it GOOD. Pecans were a no brainer and brown sugar seemed like another appropriate ingredient to add to the bunch. After a quick search and a few key words using my ingredients, I found this DELICIOUS cake recipe. Pineapple Upside Down Cake was one of my favorites growing up and I had no doubt this version featuring pumpkin, pecan and cranberries would be a nice seasonal twist! 

The cranberries are sweet, yet tart, the nuts are gooey and decadent and the pumpkin is just enough.

If you need a quick, yet impressive dessert to share with friends this Christmas season, this one is a winner. Served warm with vanilla bean ice cream is totally the way to go.

Pumpkin Pecan Cranberry Upside Down Cake
recipe from Sis. Boom Blog

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour the brown sugar mixture into the bottom of the cake pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries and pecans. Place them in the pan over the brown sugar mixture. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin and canola oil. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Carefully spread the batter over the cranberry pecan topping. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cake on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Place a large plate or platter on top of the cake. Invert the cake and plate together and remove the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.

Red Velvet Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

As I mentioned a few days ago, I spent last Saturday baking up some Christmas treats. These cookies made their way onto the baking list and I do believe they will remain on my list for years to come. I love red velvet anything and with only a handful of ingredients, this is such a simple cookie to make. They're pretty, they're pepperminty and bonus points because they're a festive color- red! If you are not a peppermint loving soul, I do believe a simple red velvet crinkle cookie would be delightful. I just happen to love that candy cane crunch!

Red Velvet Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

recipe from Duncan Hines

1 box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix

6 tablespoons butter

2 large eggs

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and set aside to cool. Place cornstarch and powdered sugar in a shallow bowl (I recommend using a pie dish) and mix well with a fork.

Place cake mix, eggs and cooled butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix by hand until well blended. Stir in crushed candy cane. Using your hands, form dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture. Place on a cool, un-greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time, for 9-11 minutes, in the center of the oven.

Cool on a wire rack.