Butterfinger Cupcakes

by penji1
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Butterfinger Cupcakes

Had the Young Women from church over for a Girls Camp planning meeting (did I mention that I get to go to Girls Camp this year? because I do!  Woo Hoo!) so I made these little cuties for them.  They are Easter themed here but you could make them for any occasion by substituting the Butterfinger Eggs for pieces of a Butterfinger candy bar.

1 box yellow cake mix plus ingredients to make cake

2 cups butterscotch chips

3 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping

1 package Butterfinger Easter Eggs (2 packages if you’re going to top the cupcakes with an egg)

1 recipe Buttercream Icing

1 King size Butterfinger candy bar

1  Preheat oven to 350, 325 for dark pans.  Line 2 (12 count) muffin pans with paper liners.

2  Prepare cake mix as directed on box.  Add butterscotch chips and caramel topping to batter and mix well.

3  Scoop batter into liners then insert 1 unwrapped Butterfinger Egg into each cup, pushing down into batter slightly.

4  Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool.

5  Prepare frosting.  Crush Butterfinger bar.

6  Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, sprinkle with crushed Butterfinger and top with a Butterfinger Egg.

recipe from Tatertots and Jello

Applebee’s Copycat Maple Butter Blondies

by penji1
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Applebee’s Copycat Maple Butter Blondies

I love desserts like this!  They are easy to make but are so tasty and look so appealing too.

blondies

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts

Maple Butter Sauce

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

8 oz cream cheese, softened

toppings

vanilla ice cream

1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

1  Heat oven to 350.

2  For the blondies, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined.  Stir in baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour until well blended.  Fold in white chocolate chips and nuts.

3  Pour batter into a greased 9 x 9″ pan.  Bake 20 – 25 minutes.

4  For the Maple Butter Sauce, over low heat combine maple syrup and butter and cook until butter is melted.  Add brown sugar and cream cheese and stir constantly until cream cheese is melted.

5  When blondies are done baking, cut into squares, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle with Maple Butter Sauce and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

The Famous KFC Coleslaw Recipe

by penji1
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The Famous KFC Coleslaw Recipe

KFC is not my fav but I do love their coleslaw and biscuits, this tasted pretty close to me.  It was easy to make too!

1/2 tablespoon dried onion

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix

1  Combine all ingredients except coleslaw mix until smooth and well combined.  Add coleslaw mix and stir until evenly coated.

2  Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours up to overnight.  Stir before serving.

recipe from Gonna Want Seconds

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

by penji1
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Crockpot BBQ Chicken

We had some friends over for dinner on Sunday night and I’m just wishing for Spring so decided to make this chicken and some coleslaw, which will be on the blog tomorrow.  It was incredibly easy and incredibly delicious!  You can mix up the flavors of the BBQ sauce and the dressing to get what ever kind of taste you like, sweeter or tangier, whatever you prefer.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup BBQ sauce, I used Sweet Baby Ray’s

1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing, I used Olive Garden’s Signature Italian Dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

salt to taste

1  Place chicken in crock pot.

2  Mix remaining ingredients together until well combined then pour over chicken.

3  Cover and cook on high for 3 – 4 hours.

4  Shred chicken in your mixer with paddle attachment then add shredded chicken back in to crock pot and mix with sauce until well coated.

recipe from Family Fresh Meals

St Patrick’s Day White Chocolate Mint Bark

by penji1
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St Patrick’s Day White Chocolate Mint Bark

The last of this year’s St Patrick’s Day goodies.  Just sort of threw this together on the day and it was delicious.  You could make this for any holiday or event just by mixing up the add ins and it’s super easy!

2 (12 oz each) bags White Wilton Candy Melts

1/2 – 3/4 cup Andes Mint Baking Chips

3/4 – 1 cup green M&Ms

1/3 package Mint Oreos, crumbled

1  Melt candy melts according to package directions.  Pour into a wax paper lined jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) and spread evenly in pan.

2  Sprinkle Andes Mint Chips over the top of the melted chocolate then the crumbled Oreos and lastly the M&Ms.  Press all add ins down gently into chocolate with the back of a spatula.

3  Place in freezer or fridge until firmly set then carefully break up into random pieces.

Pillsbury’s Irish Soda Bread

by penji1
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Pillsbury’s Irish Soda Bread

And some delicious Irish Soda Bread that went along with our St Patrick’s Day dinner.  There are already a couple of soda bread recipes on my blog but this one was especially good, almost like a cake instead of a bread, so good with some butter and strawberry jam.

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon melted butter

1  Heat oven to 375, 350 for dark pans.  Grease 8″ round cake pan.  Combine dry ingredients and mix well.  With pastry blender or fork, cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture is crumbly.  Add buttermilk and mix well.

2  On a well floured surface, knead dough 5 – 6 times until no longer sticky.  Press dough into prepared pan.  Cut an “X” 1/4″ deep on top of loaf.  Brush with melted butter.

3  Bake 25 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from pan.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.

recipe from Pillsbury

Mini Shepherd’s Pot Pies

by penji1
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Mini Shepherd’s Pot Pies

I like to make Shepherd’s Pie on St Patrick’s Day but I also love to try new recipes so this one looked like fun.  It was yummy, not as good as the more traditional Shepherd’s Pies I’ve made but still good and easy too.

1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as per box instructions

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 pound hamburger

1/3 cup beef broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

mashed potatoes, about 4 – 5 potatoes worth

1  Heat oven to 400, 375 for darker pans.

2  Unroll pie crusts and roll each out into a 12″ circle.  Using a 4″ round cutter, cut 6 rounds from each crust.  Firmly press each round into bottom and up sides of 12 ungreased muffin cups.  Bake 7 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350, 325 for darker pans.

3  Microwave veggies and 2 teaspoons water on high for 3 minutes in a microwave safe covered bowl.

4  Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add beef and cook 5 – 7 minutes, breaking larger pieces up.  Add broth, salt and pepper and cook 3 – 5 minutes until hot and liquid is absorbed.  Stir in veggies.

5  Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup of beef mixture then top with a 1/4 cup scoop of mashed potatoes.  Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and mashed potatoes are lightly browned.  Let stand in pan 10 minutes before removing.

recipe from Pillsbury

St Patrick’s Day Loaded Mint Brownies

by penji1
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St Patrick’s Day Loaded Mint Brownies

Took dinner last night to a friend who just had a baby and had some fun whipping up these gems.  They would be great for St Patrick’s Day, so easy to make and so, so yummy!

1 brownie mix for a 9 x 13″ pan, plus ingredients to make brownies

1 – 1 1/2 cups mint chips, chocolate chips or a combination of both

1/4 – 1/3 cup chocolate frosting

1/4 – 1/3 green mint frosting

about 5 – 6 Mint Oreos, crumbled

1/4 – 1/3 cup green M&M’s

1  Bake brownies according to package directions adding mint/chocolate chips to batter and let cool completely.

2  Drizzle chocolate and mint frostings over brownies in a random pattern.  Crumble Oreos over frosting and then sprinkle M&M’s over the top.

Harry Potter Party Treats

by penji1
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Harry Potter Party Treats

So here is the “Pennydukes” (I was going to call it “Honeydukes” but Bob said it should be “Pennydukes”!) treat table at our Harry Potter party.  I’ll tell you all about the treats moving left to right across the table.

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Cockroach Clusters

First up, Cockroach Clusters, you can find the how to here.

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Nimbus 2000

And then we have these Nimbus 2002’s which couldn’t be any easier, just a mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cup with a stick pretzel.  The hardest part is getting the pretzel in without breaking the candy, as can see.  I used a bamboo skewer to prepoke a hole and that helped a bit.

inspiration from Make and Takes

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Harry Potter’s Butterbeer Pudding Cookies

Next up, Butterbeer Cookies, you can find the recipe here.

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Chocolate Frogs

It’s not a Harry Potter party without Chocolate Frogs, right?  All you need is a chocolate frog mold, which you can find on Amazon or maybe at a party store or craft store near you (if you live near me, I found mine at “Funfinity” in Springville) and some Wilton Chocolate Candy Melts which I got at Michaels.  Melt candy melts according to package directions, spoon into mold and put in refrigerator until firm.  Ta da, chocolate frogs!

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Honeydukes Pink Coconut Ice

And now for some color, Honeydukes Pink Coconut Ice, recipe here.

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Olivander’s One of a Kind Wands

And finally, every wizard needs a wand so here are Olivander’s One of a Kind Wands which I made by dipping both red and black Twizzlers in white candy melts and then topping each with a different kind of sprinkle.

inspiration from Pastry Affair

I also made some Butterbeer with cream soda and Imitation Butter Flavor topped with whipped cream but forgot to take a picture of it.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our Harry Potter party as much as I enjoyed making the treats for it!

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Harry Potter’s Cockroach Clusters

by penji1
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Cockroach Clusters

Another treat from the Harry Potter party for the girls at church.  These could not be any easier!

about 56 square pretzels

1 (12 oz) bag Rolos, which is about 56, unwrapped

chocolate jimmies

Preheat oven to 250.  Lay pretzels out on a cookie sheet and top with a Rolo.  Place in oven for about 10 minutes, you want the chocolate to be soft but not melting.  Remove from oven and carefully squish Rolo with a fork so it spreads out over pretzel.  Place 2 chocolate jimmies for antenna on one end of the chocolate covered pretzel.

recipe inspiration from The Apron Archives