Oreo Dirt Cake Recipe

“Look! There are worms in my cake!”

On any other occasion, this really wouldn’t be taken as a compliment, but with this tasty dirt cake… it’s just the opposite.

This recipe for Oreo dirt cake is so easy and perfect for the kids. In fact, they can even help out because this cake is completely no bake! Read more

No Bake Cereal Bar Recipe

No bake recipes are perfect for any occasion. The best part about them is that they don’t need an over so they’re great for hot summers.

In addition, kids love helping with this fun recipe… and it’s safe too! No bake recipes are even known for their ability to cut down on energy costs!

This no bake cereal bar recipe is the perfect snack for any occasion. I remember that one day when I made this recipe for a day at the park with some friends.

This snack didn’t melt, didn’t turn sticky, and when all was said and done… there were NO leftovers! These no-bake cereal bars were a huge hit!

Yield: 15 bars

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Cheerios
• 2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 2 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 2 cups M&M’s
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients; set aside. In a large saucepan, bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir just until sugar is dissolved.

2) Remove from the heat; stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over cereal mixture and toss to coat evenly. Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Cool. Cut into 3-in. squares.

Yum! This recipe is perfect and it’s a great blend of many kids’ favorite snacks! I really love it… with any luck, you may love it too! It’s a great no-bake cereal bar recipe– one in a million!

No-Bake Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

They’re crispy, they’re sweet, they’re delicious, and they don’t even require an oven! They’re no-bake cookies… or something of the sort.

I especially love this recipe because (obviously) it’s so easy! There are four easy ingredients that I usually have in my house so no matter the day, these no-bake butter balls are on the way!

For children especially, this recipe is so much fun to make. Usually, baking is only semi-hands-on for kids (partially) because of the dangers associated with ovens or stoves. With this delicious no-bake peanut butter ball recipe, they can help with the whole process!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter (Use reduced fat for less calories.)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 cups of crispy rice cereal

Directions:
1) Combine the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. Stir in enough cereal to make balls.

2) Place the balls on waxed paper and chill. Enjoy!

As a little hint, when rolling the balls (after step one) try wetting your hands a little bit. This makes it easier to roll the balls into a ball, without it sticking to your hands too much. Once you get these tasty balls all rolled all you have to do is chill and wait!

Once you take a bite, be sure to share because everyone will be wondering how you came across this great no-bake peanut butter ball recipe!

Ladybug Cupcake Design Recipe

When it is suddenly time for that party, gathering, or after school snack what do you do? Of course, cupcakes are always right, but why have a cupcake the same way every time? In this fantastic recipe, you can create a little ladybug creature. These cupcakes are absolutely darling and not to mention they’re so tasty!

I made these lovely ladybugs for my neighbors and their kids one afternoon and they were a huge hit! The kids really loved the cute designs and couldn’t wait to learn how to make their own. Ladybugs usually are only outside, but now they could be in your kitchen (and it wouldn’t be a bad thing)!

Yield: as many cupcakes as you have!

Ingredients:

• Cupcakes
• Chocolate frosting
• Strawberry frosting
• Red fruit slice candy
• M&M Mini’s
• Junior Mints
• Black licorice lace candy
• Small zip-lock freezer bag

Directions:

1) Ice the cupcakes with strawberry icing.

2) Place the chocolate frosting in a small zip-lock freezer bag and snip off one corner.

3) Pipe a mound of chocolate frosting in the center of each cupcake.

4) Slice a red fruit slice in half for the wings. Place on top of the chocolate icing.

5) Attach M&M Mini’s to wings using frosting for glue. (I use brown so it looks real, but obviously all colors are equally as scrumptious!)

6) Attach a Junior Mint for the head and two short black licorice pieces for the antennae.
These ladybug cupcakes are so fantastic. The design is easy, great for kids and extra fun for all the insect lovers out there! For fun variations, you can use a red velvet cupcake or chocolate cupcake. Of course, the usual vanilla is delicious as well!

All in all, these ladybug cupcakes are a hit, no matter the occasion or reason. In fact, who really needs a reason at all! These ladybugs are waiting! Go, go, bake then right now!

Puppy Chow Recipe

Its got a name for the dogs, but this puppy chow recipe is just for you!

With its original combination of peanut butter, chocolate, powdered sugar, and the light crisp that comes from the cereal.

You need to try it for yourself and once you do you’ll surely be hooked.

Ive been making this easy snack for my family ever since I can remember and although it makes a large batch, it never lasts for more that a couple of days!

Everyone just seems to love this puppy chow recipe!

Yield: about 6 cups…roughly

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 oz. milk chocolate chips
• 12 oz. box of Crispex (or similar cereal)
• 3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 paper bag

Directions:

1) Melt together the peanut butter, butter, semi-sweet chips, and the milk chocolate chips in a medium sauce-pan until it is a creamy delightful mixture; stirring occasionally.

2) Pour the whole box of cereal into a paper bag. Combine the chocolate mixture to the cereal so that both are in the paper bag.

3) Now for the fun part; shake it! Roll the top of the bag over a couple of times so nothing falls out then shake the bag until the cereal has an even coat of chocolate. By now you might be drooling from the smell of the combination of chocolate and peanut butter… but just wait.

4) After a few good shakes of the bag, add the sugar the same way; directly into the bag and shake it until the chocolate-coated cereal has a layer of white powdered sugar.

Now at this step you can vary the recipe a little bit. I usually don’t measure the sugar…

I just start pouring!

Anyone who makes puppy chow frequently knows that the amount of sugar is purely dependent on your specific taste. If you like sugar, then add more and if you dont… well then add less. It is completely up to you.

When I make my puppy chow I add enough sugar so that I cant see the chocolate anymore. But beware if you add too much then it wont coat the cereal anymore because the chocolate is what makes the sugar stick. Too much sugar will result in a bunch of just plain sugar at the bottom of the bag which is wasteful and doesn’t taste too good. Just play with it until you get it right!

5) Pour the puppy chow out of the bag and onto parchment paper. Evenly distribute it so the sweet snack can cool.

If you’re like me and my brother then you will quickly decide that puppy chow is best when its hot.

So go ahead, no ones watching. Pour yourself a big glass of milk and dig in!

Well that’s it. What are you waiting for?

This puppy chow recipe is easy, fun, delicious, and its calling your name!

Cupcake Recipe for Kids: M&M Madness!

Baking with your kids is a fun time for both of you, and a kid cupcake recipe is one of the only other thing you need to have a blast in the kitchen!

With so many recipes out there, how do you decide which one to bakewhich recipe will be the one that gives you both the most enjoyment in the kitchen?

The key to the perfect kid cupcake recipe is to make sure its easy enough that your child can help you with it and as a bonus, make sure that it has a fun decorative design that they’ll surely love!

I’ve been cooking in the kitchen with my mom and grandmother for as long as I can remember. Time in the kitchen with my mom and grandmother are some of my favorite memories so I guess I am a little partial to kid-friendly recipes!

Yield: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 package vanilla pudding mix
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup mini M&Ms
• 1 container of frosting

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 12-cup muffin pans and one 6-cup with paper or foil liners.

2) In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding, flour, milk, oil, and the eggs. Beat the mix with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Then, beat the mix for 2 minutes on medium speed, being sure to scrape the sides.

3) Fold in 2/3 cup of the mini M&Ms and then transfer the batter into the separate muffin cups filling 2/3 full. Drop a few more of the M&Ms over the cupcakes and the bake them 18-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are fully risen and golden brown on the tops.

4) Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly and then frost each cupcake with a dollop of the pre-made frosting. Sprinkle remaining M&M’s on top and then enjoy!

You kids are bound to love these adorable cupcakes. The M&Ms in every cupcake is a special treat and a delightful surprise! Not only are they a favorite for family time, but also for kids birthday parties, or just a fun afternoon snack.

My mom and I have made this kid cupcake recipe so many times that I think I could make it with my eyes closed. Be sure to let your child help you with the recipe where they can. Things like adding the mini M & Ms, scraping down the bowl, and even frosting the cupcakes are all kid friendly jobs.

This kid cupcake recipe is a favorite by many and even I know to always keep the ingredients for this favorite recipe on hand! You just never know what could come up and when you might need to get baking these adorable cupcakes!

Frog Design Cupcake Recipe

Time spent with your kids is very important, its fun, its worthwhile and now with this cupcake decorating idea its easy!

These cupcakes, made to look like little frogs are so adorable you could just eat them right up (if they don’t hop away first!)

Follow these easy directions and you and your child will have one unforgettable afternoon creating these cute frog cupcakes oh, and I bet it will be an afternoon in the kitchen that you and your child will not soon forget.

Ingredients:

• Cupcakes (check out my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe )
• Green Frosting (homemade vanilla with just a touch of green food coloring will do)
• Green Gum Drop (one per cupcake)
• White chocolate chips (2 per cupcake)
• Black Icing (a small tube will be more than enough)
• Red Icing (a small tube will be more than enough)
• Red Licorice (I use Twizzlers)

Directions:

1) To get started, take your pre-made cupcakes and frost them with the green frosting. After thats done, take some gumdrops and slice them in half (long ways). Just as a safety precaution, you might want to slice the gumdrops for your kids. Family time is fun, but it should always stay safe.

2) After you have sliced enough gumdrops for two halves per each cupcake, set them aside. Next, count out the white chocolate chips so that there are 2 for each cupcake. This step is extremely popular with the younger kids who are learning to count in school. Use this as a time to have fun in the kitchen and to reinforce newly learned math skills.

3) When I made these cupcakes for a birthday party, I had one of my 5 year old neighbors help me count out the ingredients (gumdrops and white chocolate chips). She really enjoyed showing me how high she could count and it was a fun time for the both of us!

4) After you have counted out the chocolate chips place them tip down into the center of the sticky side of the gumdrop. Press the gumdrop lightly into the frosting on the cupcakes to resemble eyes with the white chocolate chips facing outwards. Once all of the eyes are in place, take the black frosting and put little dots on the white chocolate chip for the little frogs pupils. If you want to get really creative use the red icing and draw in tiny frogs tongue off center of the mouth line. Kids in the kitchen really love this touch and it brings out the laughs!

5) Now, take some of your candy licorice and pull them apart until its just one strand. Take that strand and cut (or tear) off a piece about 2-3 inches long to use for the frogs mouth. Continue this step for all of your cupcakes and soon you too will see a cute little frog smiling back at you!

This easy cupcake decorating idea is great for family time, perfect time of combining learning and fun for the younger kids, and a huge hit at the parties! If you wanted to alter the design a little bit, you could take away the mouth and use light blue frosting instead of green. Take a small knife and pull it across the blue icing in little squiggles to create the look of waves. By doing these subtle changes, your frog is now partly submerged underwater looking out at you! What a hoot! Who wouldn’t crack up with this suggestion for a cupcake decorating idea. In fact, I bet your cupcakes will be the talk of the party.

I would recommend this design for kids of all ages! Its easy, fun, and after you make the frogs you can enjoy baking and eating them with your kids.

Who knows, now you might want to go to the library and check out that frog and amphibian book to read with your children! No matter how you slice it, you’re bound to have fun in the kitchen decorating cupcakes and your kids will too. This cupcake decorating idea gets two thumbs up from me… and a ‘RIBBET’ from the frogs!

Cheesecake Brownie Recipe

This cream cheese brownie recipe is a unique twist on two old fashioned favorites; the brownie and the cheesecake. Quite possibly two of my most favorite foods on the planet!

To most people a cream cheese brownie is a regular chocolate brownie with a surprise swirl of cream cheese found in every bite! The cream cheese, as expected, is very similar to the taste of cheesecake so it’s like you have two desserts in one! Really, what could be better.

This cream cheese brownie recipe has an amazing balance of richness (from the brownies) and lightness (from the cream cheese filling). It’s an excellent choice for any occasion and my family loves them! My mom calls them simply decadent.

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie Base-

• 2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 1 cut (7 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Filling-

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk

Directions:

1) For the brownie base: Adjust the oven rack to be in the middle-lower position and heat the oven up to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray, coating it lightly. Also, if non-stick spray isn’t really your thing, you could also use parchment paper to line the pan. It gets the job done just the same, but without the grease.

2) Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set the mixture aside.

3) In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of almost-simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until it’s smooth. Remove the melted chocolate mixture from the heat.

4) Mix in the sugar and vanilla and then let it sit and cool slightly. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5) Continue mixing until the mixture is completely smooth and then add the dry ingredients, mixing until just barely incorporated.

6) For the cream cheese mixture: In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk until blended.

7) Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Drop half of the cream cheese filling atop the brownie batter in the pan. Top that with some brownie batter and continue layering until all of the batters are gone.

8) Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the two mixes together. All you need to do for that is to place the knife in the batter and move it around in an “S” motion. Be sure not to swirl it too much or you’ll get a brownie, where you can’t tell the difference between the cream cheese and the chocolate! If you do this right, it will create a marbled effect in your brownies.

9) Bake your brownies until the edges have slightly puffed up, about 50-60 minutes. When a toothpick is inserted, it should come out with many crumbs adhered to it…then you know the brownies are done!

10) Cool the cream cheese brownies for at least 5 minutes and then place them on a wire cooling rack and wait until they have reached room temperature.

11) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or 1 ½ hours in the freezer).

12) Remove from the refrigerator cut, serve, and taste the decadence!

13) Place the leftovers, if there are any, back in the refrigerator!

14) Enjoy!

This cream cheese brownie recipe is a favorite with the kids and the unique combination of “brownie meets cheesecake” will surprise your taste buds!