Category Archives: Kids recipes

Spooky Chocolate Brownies

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Ruthanne

Spooky2

You know it’s October when I pull out the eyeball and bones sprinkles! 🙂 These deliciously rich chocolate brownies are a family recipe that we LOVE. Whether you decorate them or not, they are guaranteed to make your family smile!

Spooky4

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine came across this recipe of my mom’s that I hadn’t ever made. I actually don’t remember her ever making it either, but my friend sent me a copy in my mom’s handwriting and told me that she’d made them for their wedding reception years ago. We lost my mom to cancer about 7 years ago, so I loved trying this recipe of hers for myself. And… these brownies are the BOMB. The brownies aren’t super sweet, but the frosting is like fudge. They cut *perfectly* too- which I love. When you want to share brownies with a group, there is nothing worse than trying to cut them, and ending up with gooey piles of chocolate. Plus…. they are super easy to make!

Spooky3

Want to try them? Here’s the recipe (printable version):

INGREDIENTS:

Brownies

1 cup of sugar
1 stick butter (room temp)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups Hershey’s chocolate syrup
1 cup flour

Icing

1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup milk
6 Tablespoons butter
6 oz. chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream together butter and sugar
Add eggs and syrup
Blend in flour
Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan
Bake at 350F for 30 min
Cool

Icing

Combine sugar, milk and butter in a saucepan
Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until completely melted.
Pour over the top of brownies
To decorate, drizzle with colored Wilton Candy Melts and sprinkle with Halloween candies (if desired)
Allow icing to harden up before cutting brownies into squares.

Spooky5

My thoughts: Just make these. Honestly, they are one of the best brownie recipes I have tried, and they have become a go-to recipe for us! Enjoy! ~r

Want to try a different Halloween dessert? We have SO MANY! Click on a photo to see the recipe:

And… our top two favorite Halloween recipes on Easybaked:

1 Comment

Posted in Brownies, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged brownies, chocolate brownies, fun scary dessert, halloween brownie, Halloween dessert, hershey syrup brownies. Bookmark the permalink.

Leprechaun Lime Mousse

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Ruthanne

This refreshing lime mousse tastes a little like whipped key lime pie, but has a secret ingredient you’d never guess…. PEARS! A sneaky way to get fruit into a meal. I promise that you can’t taste them… I hate pears and absolutely love this mousse! Lime Mousse 5

This is a family recipe, and we *always* had it at Christmas- just cut into squares. I was craving it, and because it is almost March, I cut some into squares and used a cookie cutter to make some into shamrocks 🙂 Either way you serve it, this is a REALLY yummy treat in any season! Lime Mousse 3

Want the recipe? Here it is (printable version):

INGREDIENTS:

One box (3 oz) Lime Jello
One box (3 oz) Lemon Jello
Two (15 oz) cans of pears
One (8 oz) block of Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 (8 oz) tub of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)

DIRECTIONS: (make ahead one day, to allow it to fully set)

Drain pear juice from pears into a measuring cup (add water to bring the total to 2 cups)
Bring 2 cups pear juice to a boil on the stove.
Place both Jello packets into a large bowl and add boiling pear juice, stirring until completely dissolved.
Allow Jello mixture to cool to room temp (place in freezer to speed this up)
While Jello cools, cut pears up into small chunks and cream cheese into squares.
Add pears and cream cheese to a blender. Pour in cooled (but NOT set!) Jello mixture.
Blend until very, very smooth. You should not have a gritty texture from the pears- keep blending.
Add thawed Cool whip, and Jello/pear mixture, together in a large bowl. Beat until smooth.
Pour into a 9×13 dish and refrigerate until it sets (overnight is best).
To serve, cut into squares. Or shamrocks- just know you will have more waste with the shamrocks, although I just put the extra in a bowl with a spoon and we were all good 🙂
Enjoy! Keeps well in the fridge for several days.

Lime Mousse 1

Lime Mousse 2

My thoughts: Well, I love this recipe, and I make it quite often during all times of the year. It is a quick and easy *kinda* healthy treat (PEARS! There are PEARS!). I really do hope you get a chance to make this, and that you love it as much as we do! ~r

Lime Mousse 6

Want to try some other fun St. Patrick’s Day recipes? Just click on the photo to see the recipe! 🙂

Leave a comment

Posted in Jello desserts, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged fluffy pear salad, fruit desserts, green desserts, Jello desserts, key lime mousse, Lime Mousse, mousse, pear mousse, pear salad, shamrock dessert, St. Patricks Day. Bookmark the permalink.

Love Bug Cupcakes

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Ruthanne

*These cute little bugs are filled with berry cream and jam. They sit on top of a dense, not-too-sweet brownie base, and are the *perfect* treat for your Valentine!*

I feel like I am always on the lookout for something creative to make for Valentine’s Day. January is such a blah, grey month, and I miss having something to celebrate with colors and sprinkles. And along comes Valentine’s Day! Even as a single person (for WAY to many years!) I celebrated the day- just because you need SOMETHING in February to make you smile. In fact, if you are single and these love bugs make you want to roll your eyes, try my cute Frog Prince Oreo Pops instead! 🙂

These treats are a little on the fussy side. Obviously. Anything cute requires a little time. If you want a simple, delicious dessert- without the fuss- you can just pipe some topping on, add some sprinkles, and call it a day.

Want to know how to make these fun treats? Here is the recipe: (printable version)

Ingredients: (makes 24 love bug cupcakes)

Love Bugs: (make these 1st)- you will need a silicone chocolate bomb mold to make these:

5 cups powdered sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) melted butter
2 teaspoons strawberry or raspberry extract
1 cup of raspberry jam
Food color in pink
One bag of Wilton’s Candy melts in pink
About 1/2 cup of Wilton’s Candy melts in black
48 candy eyes
Candy heart sprinkles

Brownie cups:

1 cup butter
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Chocolate Glaze:

6oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter (do not substitute margarine here!)
Green jimmies for grass!

DIRECTIONS:

Berry Love Bugs:

Melt pink candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Use a clean paint brush to brush melts into a chocolate bomb mold and freeze for a couple minutes until hard.
Make berry filling by adding melted butter to sugar and extract.
Mix well, using water to bring it to a thick but spreadable consistency.
Add pink food coloring to make it a fun pink color.
Place filling into a large zip-top bag and seal tightly.
Cut a corner off bag and pipe berry filling into each pink shell- filling them about 1/4 full.
Place jam into a small zip-top bag, clip corner and pipe a little bit in the center of each pink shell.
Pipe more berry filling over the top until it is level .
Use a knife to spread berry filling to edges of shell.
Refreeze these for a few minutes before gently popping them out and setting them on a plate.
Repeat this process until you have 24 berry bombs ready.

Brownie cups:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
Spoon evenly into 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes (don’t over bake- they will start to pull away from the liner)
Cool.

Chocolate Glaze:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Set aside until cupcakes are ready to assemble.
Assemble the cupcakes by spooning a little chocolate glaze on top of a brownie and spreading to all edges.
Place a berry bomb in the center and sprinkle green jimmies around edge.
Allow this all to harden up (refrigerate to speed process up).
Melt black candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Use a clean paint brush to paint a black face on the front of each bomb, and immediately place eyes before candy melts harden. Place the rest of the melts in a plastic zip-top bag, cut a corner and pipe the center line down the bug’s back.
Melt just a few pink candy melts, and use a paint brush to stick each little candy heart “dot” in place.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These are delicious. Think chocolate covered strawberries. I made half of mine with the love bug domes, and half with just the berry icing and chocolate glaze- just to save time. Either way, they are delicious and sure to make YOUR Valentine smile! Enjoy! ~r

Looking for other fun baking ideas for Valentine’s Day? Click on the title to see the recipe:

Leave a comment

Posted in Brownies, Cupcakes, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged brownie cups, brownie recipe, chocolate bomb, chocolate bomb mold, cute cupcakes, cute valentines dessert, valentines day, Valentines day cupcake, Valentines Day dessert, valentines ideas. Bookmark the permalink.

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies!

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Ruthanne

Spider5

These deliciously creepy little spider cookies are special…. because the peanut butter cookies they sit on only take THREE ingredients, and are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted!

Spider7

I’ve seen these cute little guys pop up online, and I’ve wanted to make them with my favorite (super-easy!) peanut butter cookies for more than a few years. They are a cute addition to any Halloween party, delicious, and sooooo easy to make. Want to know how? Here you go: (printable recipe)

Ingredients: (makes about 24 cookies)

2 cups peanut butter (creamy)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
24 Lindt chocolates
1 cup of Wilton candy melts in milk or dark chocolate
48 candy eyes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Place peanut butter, sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Use a cookie scoop to place 2 inch balls onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake at 350F degrees for about 12 minutes (cookies will still be soft in the middle).
Remove from oven and use a tart shaper or the rounded back of a measuring spoon to press a small round indentation into the center of the cookie (so the chocolate spider has a place to sit!).
Bake another 2-4 minutes and remove from oven. Slide parchment paper off cookie sheet with the cookies still on top and cool completely.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between.
Use a toothpick to put a little melted chocolate on the back of your candy eyes and attach them to the Lindt chocolate. Allow these to harden.
Place the rest of the melted chocolate into a zip-top bag. Seal it up and cut a small corner off. Squeeze the bag and pipe legs on the top of each cookie.
Add a bit of chocolate in the center of each cookie and set a Lindt “spider body” on top.
Allow all chocolate to harden and ENJOY!

Spider4

My thoughts: What’s not to like about these?!? A super-easy peanut butter cookie, plus chocolate? SO fun! Too busy for spiders? Just make the cookie part. You could have warm peanut butter cookies in like 20 minutes from RIGHT NOW. Aaaand…. go!

Spider3

Looking for other fun Halloween treats? Here are a few- just click the photo to see the recipe!

2 Comments

Posted in chocolate, Cookies, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged 3 ingredients cookies, 3 ingredients peanut butter cookies, best peanut butter cookie recipe, cookie recipe, cookies, easy halloween dessert, fun cookies, halloween cookies, Halloween party idea, lindt chocolate, lindt chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies, spider cookies, spider cookies for halloween, spider dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Baby Chick Oreo Pops

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Ruthanne

These adorable baby chicks are made with Oreos- a perfect treat for Easter baskets!

Have you seen the chocolate covered sunflower seeds yet??? Oh my goodness. I saw them for the 1st time at Trader Joe’s, and I’ve been on the hunt for new colors ever since! My latest find was at JoAnn fabrics- right at the checkout!

I’ve been experimenting with them on a variety of Oreo pops (coming soon!) and these were a part of those experiments!

Aren’t they cute???

Here is how we made them: (printable recipe here)

(If you have never made Oreo Pops before, refer to our tutorial here.)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-30 Oreo Pops)

1 package of Double Stuff Oreo cookies
1/4 cup of Wilton’s candy melts in white
2 bags of Wilton’s candy melts in yellow
1/4 cup of Wilton’s candy melts in dark chocolate
Chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in yellow and orange

DIRECTIONS:

(If you want to simplify these- don’t add a stick. Just dip the Oreos using a fork, and skip the following steps for inserting a stick!)

Gently twist apart all Oreos.
Melt white candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Dip one end of a lollipop stick into the white chocolate, spread a little on the top of the white Oreo filling and then press the stick flat into the center of the filling.
Place top of Oreo on, and set on a cookie sheet. When all Oreos have sticks inserted, pop these in the freezer for 15-20 minutes (until they are nice and firmly set).
Melt yellow candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Have parchment paper spread on your countertop and have your sunflower seeds ready.
Dip an Oreo into the yellow melts, spooning melts over top and sides. Tap on edge of bowl to get rid of excess and slide bottom of Oreo along edge of bowl to remove drips.
Place on parchment paper and while melts are still soft, gently place seeds in place (use photos as a guide). I used a clean tweezers to place these and adjust them. You can add a few flower sprinkles too, if you want! Allow these to harden.
Melt chocolate candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Use a toothpick, wooden skewer, or food-grade paintbrush to add little eyes.

Allow these to harden completely.
Wrap these up in little cello bags tied with Easter ribbon for a fun treat! These will keep (sealed up) for several weeks.

My thoughts: These are as fun to make as they are cute! Placing all those little seeds can take some time- and it might take you a couple tries to get the hang of it. I was pretty speedy by the end! 🙂 Make these with our fun Flower Oreo pops– or even just dip some in fun pastel colors and add Easter sprinkles. You’ll have loads of fun treats to share! Hope you get a chance to try these! Enjoy! ~r

Other recipes to try at Easter (click on a photo to see the recipe):

Leave a comment

Posted in Cookies, Kids recipes and tagged baby chick cookies, baby chick oreo pops, chick oreo pops, chicken oreo pops, chocolate, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, cookie pops, cookie pops for easter, cookies, cute easter dessert, easter chicks, easter dessert, easter recipe for kids, Holiday Oreo Pops, oreo pops, oreo pops for easter, oreo pops for kids, Oreos, sunflower seeds. Bookmark the permalink.

A Collection of 10 Halloween Treats!

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Ruthanne

halloween dessert collection

My thoughts: These are some of my favorites!!!! Click on a photo to see each recipe. Enjoy!!! ~r

Leave a comment

Posted in Cake Pops, Cakes, Candy, chocolate, Cupcakes, Kids recipes, Seasonal dessert and tagged cupcakes, halloween desserts, holiday themed desserts, scary desserts, spider desserts. Bookmark the permalink.

Hairy Monster Oreo Pops

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Ruthanne

These fuzzy Oreo monsters aren’t TOO scary- and they taste delicious!

Oh Oreo Pops… I love you! So many possibilities and so little time! Aren’t these so cute? They remind me of the little pom-poms with eyes that we used to put on the tops of pencils. Yes..pencils…back in the olden days when we used paper 😉

In any case- these are perfect for Halloween and even for just fun fuzzies at kids parties! The only requirement??? You need to like coconut! I know that eliminates a few of you out there…but believe me- if you like coconut, you will LOVE these! Coconut plus Oreos?? Bam!

Here’s how we made these fun little guys: (printable recipe available here)

INGREDIENTS: (for about 24 cookies)

One package of Double Stuff Oreos
Wilton’s Candy Melts– you need about a bag and 1/2- so if you do all three colors you need 1/2 bag of each.
Candy eyes
About 3 cups of shredded, sweetened coconut
Food coloring in desired shades
About 24 lollipop sticks

DIRECTIONS: (if you’ve never made Oreo Pops, check out our tutorial here)

Place coconut in small zip-top bags and add food coloring in desired shades. Zip bag shut and shake and squeeze until coconut is completely colored. Set aside.
Twist apart all of your Oreos.
Melt your candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melts, spread a little on the top of the white filling of the Oreo and then press the stick into the white filling.
Place the top of the Oreo back on so that the stick is in the middle with the filling.
Do this for all the Oreos, and set them on a large plate or cookie sheet to FREEZE for about 10 minutes.
Hold a chilled pop by the stick, and spoon candy melts (in desired color) over the top, bottom and sides of the Oreo.
Tap stick against the side of the bowl to get extra melts off, and gently pull the bottom of the Oreo along the edge of the bowl, scraping off excess melts.

Set Oreo on parchment paper to harden- but before it hardens, sprinkle a generous amount of coconut on the top of the candy melts, and gently press it up against the sides.
When all Oreos of a given color are dipped and covered, take the remaining candy melts and use a dab on the back of each candy eye-ball to “glue” these on top of the coconut. I used a toothpick to add this dab of candy melt to the eyeball.
Continue until you have all colors finished. Allow Oreo pops to completely harden (a couple of hours). You can freeze them to speed up this process.
The BEST way to serve these is to wrap them in cello bags and tie them with a ribbon. This keeps all that coconut in place (and not all over the other colors of coconut!)

My thoughts: These are quick, but a little messy to put together, They are adorable and delicious though– so well worth the effort in my opinion!!! I liked them even better after a couple of days- when the coconut gets a little firmer in texture from sitting out and it’s less oily. These will keep for at least a week (maybe longer?) when wrapped up in cello bags. I do hope you get a chance to try them! Enjoy!! ~r

We specialize in making kids smile here at Easybaked. Here are a few more ideas: (click on photo to see recipe)

2 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies, Kids recipes, Uncategorized and tagged coconut, coconut dessert, coconut oreos, dessert, fuzzy monster dessert, Halloween, Halloween dessert, Halloween Oreo Pop, Halloween party idea, Halloween recipe, kids party Oreo pop, monster dessert, Monster Oreo Pop, Oreo dessert, Oreo pop, Oreos. Bookmark the permalink.

Fun recipes for kids!

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Ruthanne

Summer is almost here- and that means summer vacation! I remember spending my summer days in the kitchen with cookbooks I’d gotten out of the library, trying new things. Sometimes I baked with mom- and sometimes I ventured out on my own and learned valuable lessons like you can’t put the whole egg in when the recipe calls for just egg whites!

As an adult, I love baking with kids. I love creating recipes that make kids smile. My childhood interest turned into a lifelong hobby for me, and it’s fun to share that with a new audience.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite kid-friendly recipes that have been posted on Easybaked over the years.

Some of these are featured in my cookbook for kids, “Life is Sweet, Baking Devotions for Kids”.

As I share photos of these recipes, click on the photo to be taken to the recipe!

Easy Recipes- ones that kids can make on their own or with a little adult supervision.

Cinnamon Cheesecake Sundaes– use wonton wrappers to make crispy little cups. Fill them up with a no-bake cheesecake and sundae toppings. Kids love to make their own creative sundaes!

Nutter Butter Flip Flops- less baking and more art! Simply dip Nutter Butter cookies in Wilton’s candy melts and draw on flip-flop straps. It might take a little practice, but learning to dip things in chocolate is a skill everyone should learn!

Tie-Dye Cake- If your kids love color, this cake will make them smile! You color cake mix in all the shades of the rainbow and then bake it into a swirling masterpiece. With blue frosting. Everyone loves blue frosting- right?!?

Hamburger Cookies- They look like hamburgers but taste like chocolate. What kid wouldn’t love that! Easy and quick to make- and very cute when served with those mini potato sticks as french fries!

Earthworm Cupcakes- Kids will love making these jello “worms” and poking them into Oreo crumbs. Not just your USUAL dirt cupcakes- because this time the worms look REAL!

“Pup”cakes- If your kids are looking for someone special to bake for… try these super-easy cupcake treats for dogs! Peanut butter happiness for everyone!

Confetti Kisses- here’s that chance to learn about egg whites! A little supervision if they’ve never divided an egg before- and help with beaters- but add some Jell-O and you have such a fun treat!

Recipes for kid’s parties: These are fun ideas to surprise kids with. Maybe they help create the masterpiece- or you create it for them. These are a little more difficult, but so much fun!

Frozen S’mores Cups!