Heart Shaped Strawberries

Here is a simple snack that is shaped like a heart. Just pop the green off the top of a whole strawberry and then cut a V at the top, slice in half and there you have it. :)

Snowman Donuts

This was a quick throw together thing with mini-powdered donuts and fall themed candy corn (the brown yellow and orange variety).  You can also make a healthy version with mini bagels, cream cheese, raisin eyes, and a mini carrot nose. :)

Eyeball Truffles

This is a yummy and easy recipe that has variants all over the web. I made them last year with Oreos and they were divine. This year I tried the same recipe with Vanilla sandwich cookies and lemon flavored candy melts.  The only issue was being pressed for time and the eyeballs were a bit wonky. The kiddos didn't seem to notice or mind. Enjoy

 All you need for this recipe is a box of sandwich cookies. 1 block of cream cheese, a bag of Wilton Candy Melts and some lemon extract.  To start put your cookies in a normal sized food processor. I was able to fit the entire box. Process until crumbled. Mix your crumbs with the softened cream cheese. Roll these into balls. Refrigerate until cold and set. This will make dipping them a tad easier.

Next melt your chocolate. I dumped the entire bag into a double boiler + added a drip or two of lemon extract and started the heat when the melts were in the pan - not before. I used a medium heat. Stir these bad boys constantly. Once you overcook them it is bad news.

Once the melts look like this smooth with a handful of lumpy it is almost done. Take the pan off of the water and get ready to dip your balls one by one into the hot candy. I rolled mine around with the spoon and plopped each on a ready cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.  Once the candy cools you can decorate your eyes with tubed frosting. I used black and blue.

Not perfect but tasty!

Cat cupcakes

I made these with the snacks I had at the time in my kitchen. Get creative and have fun.

Ingredients:
1 box of cake mix & ingredients listed on the box.
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
a splash of milk
think pretzel sticks
golden raisins
green icing
one apple
Blue, yellow, and red food coloring. 
vanilla
1 mini muffin/cupcake pan

Directions:

• Make mini cupcakes then let cool.
• Mix together in a stand mixer 2 cups of powdered sugar a splash of milk and 1 stick of room temp. butter
• Add a splash of vanilla to the frosting. 
• Scoop out 1/4 of the frosting and set aside. 
• Mix in equal parts yellow, red, and blue food coloring. 1-3 drops each. This should turn your frosting light brown. 

For the Kitty face

• frost the cupcakes brown
• use the white frosting you set aside to create the mouth area on the kitty. Basically a white oval
• add a golden raisin for the nose
• break pretzel sticks in half for the whiskers
• add green icing dots for the eyes. 
• cut triangles out of apple slices dipped in lemon for the ears. 
• use a butter knife to make a smile on the kitty.

Monster Sandwiches

I have been having a lot of fun creating monster sandwiches for my first grader.  They are very easy to make and you can get creative with the items you have on hand. I am going to keep adding photos as the monsters are "born".

PB&J Monster Sandwich

Ingredients:
One peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut on the diagonal
apple sliced dipped in lemon juice & water (teeth,nose, eyebrows)
freeze dried banana slices (eyes)
2 chocolate chips (pupils)
1 green fruit roll-up (eye and tongue


Cheese Monster Sandwich

Ingredients:
One cheese sandwich cut on the diagonal.
apple slices dipped in lemon and water (eyebrows, teeth, nose, pupils)
cream cheese flattened and shaped into a circle (whites of the eyes)

slice of ham cut to fit (tongue)



More Monsters:

Apple Cupcakes

A is for Apple. You could eat an apple - but why not a yummy apple cupcake? Inspired by the ever popular Pinterest posts of delicious cupcakes I tried my hand at my own version of apple themed cupcakes. 

Ingredients:

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils Food Cake Mix  ( I like gluten free BC because the cupcakes are more moist and dense then other store bought mixes).

3 sticks of butter

3 eggs

water

Red sugar crystals

Fruit Roll-up in green. ( I used Target brand speckled tropical)

4 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)

Milk 

vanilla

pretzels (thin sticks)

Directions:

1. Make cupcakes as directed but make sure you fill your cupcake liners pretty full - you don't want flat cupcakes but ones that are nice and round. I made large and mini-cupcakes because the small cupcakes fit nicely into my daughters backpack.

2. Make frosting by mixing 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar with 2 sticks of butter + a splash of vanilla and a splash or two of milk. Beat until smooth.

3. Frost the cooled cupcakes with just enough frosting to cover.  Then roll into a bowl of red sugar sprinkles. I put my sprinkles in a ramekin.

4. cut or tear leaf shapes from the fruit roll-ups

5. snap off the top 1/4 of a dozen or so pretzels. 

6. put the leaves on the cupcake and then poke the pretzel stick in at the edge so it curves up the leaf

a tad. 

7. Enjoy!