Ma What's For Dinner?

Fairy Wands

Serves: 12                        Prep time:  20 minutes                        Cook time: 20 minutes

24                                     pretzel rods

2 11 oz                                    white chocolate chips

24                                     caramel candy squares

1 T                                    vegetable oil

colored sugar sprinkles

chopped nuts

mini chocolate chips

Pour white chocolate chips and oil into a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 2 minutes stirring once halfway through, set aside.

Using the heat from your hands roll a candy square between them until it is pliable.  Once easily workable wrap the caramel around the top of the pretzel rod and wind around leaving a 2 inch space at the bottom.  Dip the caramel covered part of the pretzel and roll in the white chocolate to coat.  Then sprinkle with sugar sprinkles, chopped nuts or mini chocolate chips.  Place on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet to set.  Cool in fridge for 20 minutes.  Repeat with remaining pretzels.

Tasty Tidbit:  Decorate these with green and red sprinkles or blue sprinkles for Christmas and Hanukkah, or the pink, green and yellow you see here for easter.  Or you can make them in your kid’s soccer team colors.  Everyone will ask you to bring this one to parties for years to come!

Meaty Morsel:  They also make a great gift wrapped up in cellophane and a ribbon!  Or they’d be a best seller at your next bake sale!

This recipe is always a huge hit.  My sister in law got this idea from her sister in law and around holiday time none of us can go a party without the hostess asking us to whip up a batch of “THE pretzels.” You’ve been warned, be careful who you make them for because they’ll be asking for them all the time too.

Continue Reading

Well first off I’d like to thank the nice folks at Snyder\’s of Hanoverfor sending us not one…

not two…

but three yummy pretzel treats to try.

Some how in my world chocolate isn’t quite as bad for you if accompanied by the healthy snack alternative, pretzels.  Even when it’s sandwiching some peanut butter and dipped in yummy milk and white chocolate goodness!

So the boys got up from their naps and I told them they had a special treat to try.

We started out with the basics…chocolate covered pretzel nibblers. Man these things are great.  Small little crunchy chocolate bites.  The boys gobbled them up….

Next we moved on to what I was really excited about.  It’s a little sad, I admit, but I couldn’t wait to try these next ones.

Ohhh, these are the best!  They may not look like much, but inside that Hershey chocolate goodness is 2 pretzels sandwiching a delicious dollop of peanut butter love.  These are like girl scout cookies on crack!

And the boys were quite thrilled too…

Brady gives the pretzels a big thumbs up….

Keegan was a fan too….

Cooper and I liked the white chocolate dipped ones as well but  to be honest, we’re a dark chocolate household.  That’s just how we roll, but I still managed to polish off the bag.

So go and check out these yummy treats.  You can find all sorts of pretzel treats and cool recipes on the Snyder’s website.

Pretzel Recipes

We’re going to try some as soon as we get settled in our new kitchen.  Stay tuned to see what we come up with.

Continue Reading

Serves:  12 (but if my hubs is involved then it serves 1)

Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook time: 50 minutes

Butter, for greasing pan, plus 2 sticks butter, melted and divided

1 package store bought chocolate cake mix

3 eggs

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

3 T cocoa powder

1 16 oz box powdered sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 13 x9 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1^st stick of melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside. In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder.Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Continue Reading

Serves: 4  Prep Time: 25 minutes  Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 ¾ c All Purpose Flour

3 1/2 t Baking Powder

¾ t Kosher salt

3 T Granulated sugar

1 1/4 c Milk

1 large Egg

1 t Real Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 T butter

In a medium size bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center and add in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.  Mix until smooth, being sure not to overmix, this will toughen the pancakes.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Set aside and allow the batter to sit for 15 minutes.  This will make your pancakes fluffier.

Preheat your frying pan to medium heat.  You’ll know it’s hot enough when a drop of water skips along the surface.  Melt a bit of butter on the pan.  Using a ladle drop about 1/3 cup batter onto your buttered pan for each pancake.  When you see bubbles all over the top of the pancake, it’s time to flip.  Flip only once and don’t press down on your pancake or they won’t be light and fluffy.  When the second side is browned pull them off and keep them warm under some tinfoil on a plate.

Serve ‘em up slathered with butter and syrup or sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Toss on a few berries and some bananas and sneak some yummy fruit into the kids at the same time.  Oh, yeah, you’re going to need a big glass of milk to go along with these!  Trust me!

Continue Reading