EASYBAKED

Jelly Bean Cookies

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cookies deliver a big Easter surprise~ jelly beans in the middle! Pretty on the outside and sweet surprises on the inside? These are a must-try Easter treat!

These really are just the cutest thing…but fair warning: I brought these to church and overheard the following conversation between an 8 year old and a 6 year old:

“There’s jelly beans in the middle!”
“And the cookie tastes like Play-Doh!!”
“I want another one!”

So…maybe this is a bigger hit with the under 12 set…?

I thought they tasted ok. The cookies are very dense and full of white chocolate, but colored like Play-Doh…I can see the connection. I really don’t like jelly beans either…so I wasn’t a very objective taste-tester. But they are super cute…

In any case, if you are up for an adventure and you have lots of kids to entertain with something new….here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 36 cookies)

One bag of Nestle white chocolate morsels.
One can (14oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of flour
Food coloring gels
One bag of large jelly beans (I used Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs)
One bag of Wilton’s white chocolate candy melts
Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

Carefully melt Nestle morsels in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
Add flour and mix, eventually using clean hands to knead dough into a ball.
Divide dough into parts and knead in food color gels until you get the colors you want.
*Note* This dough is very oily, because of all that white chocolate. This is ok. Just keep a paper towel handy to wipe your hands on during this process.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Then press it flat, lay two jelly beans on it and pull dough up around the jelly beans to cover them. Pinch cracks and seams closed and then roll into a ball again to make it smooth.

Place on a cookie sheet that has been covered in parchment paper. These don’t spread, so you can place cookies very close together.
Bake at 350F degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and slide parchment paper (cookies and all!) off the sheet and onto a counter to cool. There will be oil from the white chocolate on the paper- this is ok.
After cookies have cooled completely, melt white candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Lay a fresh sheet of parchment paper on the counter, and get a clean paper towel.
If needed, dab the bottom of each cookie on the paper towel to remove any excess oils. Then, dip the top of the cookie into the candy melts, set on the clean parchment paper and sprinkle with decorations before the chocolate hardens.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: I’m not sure what to say about these…I asked for honest opinions from the adults that tried them and they all said they loved them. Then I caught one person chucking his out the back door….so much for honesty…! If you like jelly beans (and apparently Play-Doh…) you should give these a try. They are a little time consuming, but not difficult at all. Who knows? It might be a new family Easter favorite? Or maybe just a good laugh…? Enjoy!!!! ~r

Other Easter treats I would wholeheartedly recommend:

11 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged bake, best, candy, colorful, Cookie, dessert, easter, easy, filled cookie, Jelly Bean, kids recipe, spring, surprise, sweet, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Hamburger Cookies!

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Ruthanne

These cute little burgers are a fun April Fools treat. They look like a little burger, but they taste like a yummy peppermint cookie!

I’ve been making these since I was a little girl. They are so easy to put together and so fun to share with people! Both kids and adults will smile when they see these on the table or tucked into a lunch box!

Want to know how to make these cute little treats? Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of Nilla Wafers
1 bag of York Peppermint Patties
1/3 cup each of red, green and yellow Wilton’s candy melts.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees
Unwrap all of your peppermint patties. (Usually there are 24-26 of them per bag)
Count out twice that many Nilla Wafers (choose the pretty and unbroken ones!)
Place half of the Nilla Wafers, flat side up, on a cookie sheet.
Set one peppermint patty on each Nilla wafer.
Carefully place the cookie sheet in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, just long enough to melt the chocolate coating on the peppermint patty. (This will melt the bottom of the peppermint to the Nilla wafer).
In 3 small bowls, melt the Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth.
Place each of the 3 melted colors in separate zip-top bags.
Clip one corner and drizzle one color across tops of each peppermint. Repeat this with other two colors.

Gently press a Nilla wafer, flat side down, on top of the drizzled candy melts. Press to gently squeeze the “ketchup, lettuce and cheese” colors out at the edge of the cookie “bun”.
Allow cookies to harden completely.

I like to serve them with those little mini potato sticks. I wanted to take some pictures with some, but I couldn’t find any at the grocery store here. Trust me, the salty and sweet is a yummy combination.

My thoughts: My mom was downright mischievous on April Fools Day. I had green milk and no meat on my sandwich and holes poked in my apple. This is a fun “eating hamburgers for dessert” prank that will make your family smile. Plus they are SO yummy! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other fun treats you might like:

Ladybug Oreo Pops!

18 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies, Easy recipes and tagged April Fools, candy, chocolate, Cookie, dessert, easy, easy recipe, fun, hamburger cookies, holiday, kids recipe, make with kids, nilla wafers, recipe, sweets, Wiltons candy Melts, york peppermint patties. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Oreo Brownie Bars

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Ruthanne

Rich and gooey, these brownies are filled with soft caramel and Oreo cookies. Does dessert get any better than this?!?

Wow…this was an experiment, and I’m almost speechless about how good these are. It is hard to describe the yumminess…You need to try these. I need to make these again, because they are already gone.

I’ve shared this recipe before on Easybaked, a very long time ago. It is a wonderful recipe I called caramel chip bars. This was one of my very first recipes on this blog, and if you click on the link you can see the recipe AND my awful beginning photography!!! Lol.

These are very versatile brownie bars. I make them all the time with a variety of cake mix flavors and chips. It is a perfect way to use up half-empty bags of chips.

This time….I added Oreos, and the result was too incredibly yummy to not share with you all. So here you go: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/3c. oil
2 eggs
1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 box of Double Stuf Oreos
1/2 cup of butter
32 unwrapped Kraft caramels
1 (14oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9×13″ cake pan with foil.
Combine cake mix, oil and eggs.
Blend well and stir in all of the chips (mixture will be very thick).
Press a little less than half of the mixture into bottom of pan (it will press into a very thin layer and you might be able to see the bottom of the pan, but when it bakes it will fill in).
Bake for 10 minutes.
While this is baking, in a medium saucepan, combine butter, caramels and condensed milk.
Cook over low/medium heat until melted and smooth (stir constantly!)
When cake has baked for 10 minutes, remove from oven and place 24 Oreo cookies over the top of the partially baked cake.

Spread caramel over Oreos.
Top with remaining cake/chip mixture.
There is a technique to this- you cant just spoon the batter on top or it will just mix in with the melted caramel. Instead, take a small ball of dough/chips and press it very flat between your hands. Lay this on top of the caramel and repeat the process, like a patchwork quilt, until the entire top is covered. It is ok to have a few gaps.

Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes.
Gently lift from pan and peel foil from edges.
Cool completely before cutting. Makes about 24 bars.

My thoughts: You have to make these!!!!!!! YUM!!!!!

Love caramel? We do too!!! Here’s a few more caramel- filled recipes from Easybaked:

18 Comments

Posted in Bar cookies, Brownies, Candy, Cookies and tagged amazing, baking, bar cookies, best, brownie, cake mix, caramel, chocolate, chocolate chips, decadent, delicious, dessert, Kraft caramels, layered bars, oreo, Oreo dessert, recipe, rich, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Shamrock Parfaits…the unplanned dessert.

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Ruthanne

These lovely layered St. Patty’s Day treats were supposed to be a cake…but ended up even better!

I am in the middle of the Navajo Nation without a Bundt cake pan. That is how this tale begins. I am almost 3 hours from a store that sells Bundt pans. In my mind, I wanted to make a lovely bundt cake full of swirls of various shades of green, topped with melted Key Lime frosting. SO- I did what any enterprising blogging girl would do- I ordered a pan on ebay, with free shipping. It took a week, but once I got it I was ready to go! I divided my cake mix into 4 parts and colored each part an increasingly darker shade of green and swirled the colors together in the pan. After it baked, I tipped it out on a cake rack and…..

Sadness.

I let the disaster cool and re-thought my recipe. I brought my favorite little Weck jars with me, and I had some heavy cream to whip… how about parfaits!!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 10-12 small parfaits)

One boxed white cake mix (Plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
Green food coloring gel
One tub of Pillsbury Key Lime Frosting
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake according to boxed mix, adding green food color to make batter green (you can make several shades of green if you want, but you don’t have to).
Bake as directed in any cake pan you want (lol!)
Allow cake to cool completely.
Put heavy cream and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until cream is whipped and light, holding stiff peaks.
Take the lid and foil wrap off the tub of frosting, and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir until it is a nice smooth liquid.
Assemble your parfaits by spooning a bit of frosting into each glass, followed by a bit of crumbled cake, followed by a dollop of whipped cream. Repeat these layers until you are at the top.
End with a swirl of whipped cream and some sprinkles.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These ended up being the yummiest dessert! I had a family over to visit that night and they gobbled up every last bit of it and loved it. That key lime frosting is the BOMB! Yum! Anyway, thanks for joining me on my latest Navajo kitchen adventure! Happy St. Patricks Day!! ~rUsually I give you another four recipes related to this one. But today I leave you with one. These are seriously some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever made, and they are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day….just click on the photo and you’ll be magically transported to the yummy recipe. I present: Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes….Enjoy!!!! ~r

10 Comments

Posted in Cakes, Miscellaneous and tagged baking disaster, best, bundt, cake, dessert, green, key lime, key lime frosting, new, parfaits, Pillsbury Key lime frosting, recipe, sprinkles, St. Patricks Day, unique, whipped cream. Bookmark the permalink.

Lime Soda Cupcakes!

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Ruthanne

Sweet lime cupcakes topped with a swirl of marshmallow buttercream.
A perfect flavor combination!

A while back, I shared with you an impossibly difficult (but amazingly yummy!) candy recipe from my friend Gail. It was a recipe for Opera Creams passed down to her from her grandmother. We spent the entire day together, candy making. For lunch we ran up to a little soda fountain from the 50s that is still in business. (Arnolds Drive In, for you folks that live near Indiana) They have burgers and fries— and yummy soda fountain drinks. Gail recommended the “Ole Green River” and I got the most wonderful lime phosphate topped with marshmallow cream. It was beautiful and as that marshmallow dissolved into the drink…? Unbelievably good. Here’s my Instagram record of it:

I’m not sure what brought it to mind the other day, but I decided to use those flavors to create a cupcake version of that yummy Ole Green River. I think they turned out great. Nice and green for St. Patricks Day!!!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS (makes 24 cupcakes)

One boxed white cake mix, plus oil, water and eggs to make according to box.
One small packet of Lime Jell-O.
4 sticks of salted butter (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 jars (7 oz. each) of Jet-puffed marshmallow creme
White food coloring (optional- only if you want that bright white marshmallow color.)
Sprinkles and decorations as desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to box, but add Jell-O along with other ingredients.
Divide batter evenly into 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Bake according to box, a toothpick inserted into the center of one should come out clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool while you prepare frosting.
Combine (room temperature) butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on low until combined.
Beat on high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
(optional) add white food coloring at this point, to whiten up all that butter- I did not have any, so you can see my icing is more of an ivory color.
Add marshmallow creme to frosting and beat until completely incorporated.
Spoon frosting into a large zip top bag that has been fitted with a decorating tip, and pipe frosting over cupcakes.
Decorate as desired (paper straws are fun!!!!!!)
Enjoy!

My thoughts: I really loved these flavors together. Marshmallow and lime. So yummy. The cupcakes are very moist because of the Jell-O, so take care unwrapping them, they are a little more likely to fall apart than other cupcakes. I experimented with the marshmallow butter cream, just adding the fluff to my usual buttercream recipe, and I thought it was fabulous. The marshmallow flavor was not lost! I hope you enjoy these little treats, and if you’re ever near a soda shop that has lime phosphates on the menu, ask for one with marshmallow cream on the top! Enjoy! ~r

Other fun St. Patrick’s Day treats you might want to try:

5 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, best, buttercream icing, cupcake, cupcakes, dessert, green, jell-o, Jell-o cupcakes, lime, lime phosphate, lime soda, marshmallow, marshmallow buttercream, marshmallow fluff, paper straws, St. Patricks Day, st. patricks day dessert, white cake mix. Bookmark the permalink.

Rainbow Oreo Pops~ and a celebration of all things OREO!!!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Ruthanne

You’ll feel like you’ve struck gold when you bite into one of these fun rainbow Oreos. A perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day and SO easy to make!

Prepare yourself.

National Oreo Day is just two days away. This year, the momentous occasion falls on Thursday, March 6th. There isn’t a store-bought cookie that I like better than an Oreo. All the fun flavors (cookie dough, peanut butter, birthday cake, mint, marshmallow…) are great- but I like mine just plain double stuf (I just realized they left an “f” off of stuf last week!) I’m not alone in my passion for this little cookie- over 362 billion cookies have been sold since it was first introduce in 1912!

This week I created these little rainbow Oreo pops in honor of the day (and to give you a head start on your St. Patrick’s Day ideas!)

They are incredibly easy to make. Once your Oreo has been dipped, those rainbow stripes are just painted on with gel food coloring.

Here’s the recipe: (for a printable recipe click here, for a picture tutorial click here)

INGREDIENTS:

One package of Double Stuf Oreos
2 (12oz.) bags of Wilton White Candy Melts
24 Lollipop sticks
Food color gels in purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red -I used these

DIRECTIONS:

Carefully twist apart all of the Oreo cookies
Using one of the pop sticks, make an indentation in the white filling of each cookie.
Melt the Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until completely melted and smooth.
Dip the end of one stick into the melted white chocolate, drizzle a little in the center of the white cookie filling and then gently press it into the indentation made.
Place the top of the cookie back on and allow white chocolate to harden (10 minutes or so), cementing the cookie back together with a stick inside.
Holding the stick, lower the entire Oreo into the bowl of melted white chocolate, spooning it over the top and sides to cover it completely.
Allow the excess white chocolate to drain off and gently place covered Oreo on a piece of parchment paper to harden.
Allow white chocolate to harden and cool completely.
Using a small paint brush (you can get one specifically made for food that won’t shed bristles- like a Wilton 7-Piece Decorating Brush Set), start in the middle of the cookie using the yellow, and paint a stripe across. Paint a yellow stripe on all cookies.
Wash and dry your brush and paint the other colors, working from lightest colors to darkest.
Allow the “paint” to dry for several hours.
Eat and enjoy!!!

Aren’t they fun?????

My thoughts: You can see that I sprinkled a little bit of edible glitter on top when I was done. You have to do this before the paint completely dries. It makes them very fun and sparkly- more fun and sparkly than you can see in the pictures! Just an option, if you want to add it. You can also see that I didn’t agonize over painting perfect lines and not going over the edges. I really liked the messy paintbrush look of these. Put on your artist hat and have some fun!!!

Here’s a little collection of all things Oreo on Easybaked…as you can see, we love Oreos around here! Just click on a photo to see the recipe!

Oreo Pops…so many possibilities!

Nothing makes a crust like a crushed up Oreo cookie!!!

And my favorite Oreo dessert?

These yummy Brownie Oreo Cookie Cups!!!!!!

Happy Oreo day to you!!! I hope you have time to stop and enjoy some this week!!!! ~r

9 Comments

Posted in Cake Pops, Candy, Cookies and tagged art, best, colorful dessert, dessert, dessert art, dessert for kids, fun, kids, lollipop stick, National Oreo Day, oreo, oreo cookies, oreo pops, paint brush, painting with food color, Rainbow, recipe, spring, St. Patricks Day, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Ruthanne

Creamy chocolate cheesecake topped with a layer of raspberry and sour cream. Unbelievably yummy!!!

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you will remember this cheesecake from last fall. It is my Aunt’s recipe and it is literally the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten. It is so creamy and smooth…oh my.

I decided to add a few twists to the recipe by making it chocolate and adding raspberries to the topping. It worked beautifully and added so much flavor! It is really quite easy to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!!!

Here’s the recipe (printable version):

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups Honeymaid graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar
3 (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese bars (must be the Philadelphia brand)~ softened to room temperature.
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1/3 cup of canned raspberry pie filling

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine crust ingredients together until well combined.
Press into a 9″ spring form pan, pressing crumbs into bottom and about 1 1/2″ up sides of pan.
For the filling, combine the sugar and softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition.
Add the vanilla, lemon juice and salt and beat until smooth and creamy.
Melt the one cup of chocolate until smooth, and add to cheesecake mixture, beating until completely incorporated.
Pour into crust.
Bake at 350F degrees for 35-45 minutes.
While cheesecake is baking, make topping by simply mixing together all of the topping ingredients.
After 35-45 minutes of baking, remove cheesecake from oven and turn oven down to 325F degrees.
Pour topping over hot cheesecake, gently spreading to edges.
Return cheesecake to oven and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes.
Remove cheesecake from oven and leave sides on pan while allowing cheesecake to cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate several hours (or overnight)
Run a small knife around the edges of the pan and remove them before serving.
Serve with extra raspberry pie filling– YUM!
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: You can see in my pictures that I added a cup of raspberry pie filling over the crust before I poured the cheesecake batter in. It was really yummy, but made it hard to remove the bottom of the springform pan (which I always do before pictures). If you don’t mind leaving the bottom on, this is a yummy addition to the recipe! Just gently spread it out over your graham crust and pour the cheesecake over the top.

We love raspberries here at Easybaked! Check out our other yummy raspberry recipes!

11 Comments

Posted in Cheesecakes and tagged baking, best, best dessert recipe, cheesecake, chocolate, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate chips, Cream Cheese, dessert, easter, easy cheesecake recipe, family, fancy, fruit, party, philadelphia cream cheese, pink, raspberry, raspberry pie, raspberry pie filling, raspberry sauce, recipe, sour cream topping, valentines day. Bookmark the permalink.

Coconut Brownie Cups

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Ruthanne

These moist little brownie cups have a layer of creamy coconut and a yummy fudge topping. Beautiful and easy to make, these are sure to impress!

I’m addicted to coconut. I really do love it in everything. Have you seen the coconut Oreos? The coconut M&Ms? The coconut Hershey kisses? Yeah….there’s no better flavor in my book! That said, if you hate coconut (as many of my friends do), these little brownie cups can be made with other flavorings. I’ve made them with mint, maple and raspberry flavorings and all of them are delicious! You can add a little food coloring to make them pretty too. This is a really fun, easy and versatile recipe- and I think you are going to love it!!

Here’s the recipe, it makes 24 cups: (printable version)

Brownie:

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

Coconut filling:

5 cups powdered sugar
8 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Chocolate Topping:

12oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 tablespoons butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

DIRECTIONS:

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 350.
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 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (don’t over bake- they will start to pull away from the liner)
Cool.

Coconut Filling:

Add melted butter to sugar and extract.
Mix well, using water to bring it to a thick but spreadable consistency.
Add coconut and blend well.
Scoop filling into a large zip top bag fitting with a large round tip and pipe filling over the top of each brownie.

Chocolate Topping:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Pipe over coconut filling and spread evenly over top
Chill until top layer is hard and use any extra topping to pipe fine lines on the top if desired~ be creative!!
Enjoy!!

Coconut Brownie Cup! My thoughts: These are one of my favorite go-to recipes. I love how beautiful they are and I love the versatility of the flavors. These are SO perfect for showers and parties. You can even color the fillings to match school, team or wedding colors. Very fun! I hope you enjoy them!!! ~r

Other fun and colorful recipes:

Tie-Dye Cake with Blue Raspberry Frosting!

19 Comments

Posted in Brownies, Cupcakes and tagged baking, best, brownie, brownie from scratch, chocolate, coconut, coconut extract, cream filling, dark chocolate, dessert, fancy, fudge layer, layer dessert, mounds bar, recipe, shredded coconut, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Ruthanne

Just in time for Valentines Day- these pretty pink strawberry cookies are made using a cake mix and full of creamy white chocolate chips.

These are such easy and pretty little cookies! They are chewy and moist and flavorful- I really think you are going to love them!

Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of Duncan Hines Strawberry cake mix
1/3c. margarine (soft, at room temperature)
1/2 box (4 ounces) of Philadelphia cream cheese (soft, at room temperature)
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.
Cream together margarine and cream cheese until smooth.
Add egg, stirring until smooth.
Melt 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips and stir in.
Add cake mix and stir until combined. Use clean hands to knead mixture into a heavy cookie dough.
Add remaining white chocolate chips and combine well.
Make evenly- sized small balls of dough using a spoon or a cookie scoop.

Place on a parchment paper- covered cookie sheet, leaving room for cookies to spread as they bake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.
Remove from oven, slide parchment paper (cookies and all!) onto a clean counter, and cool.

My thoughts: I really love these cookies. The white chocolate chips are SO yummy. I like them best warm out of the oven and all gooey! These are an easy recipe to make with kids, and a perfect treat to give for Valentines Day!

Other fun Valentines treats on easybaked:

6 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, best, cake mix cookies, dessert, Duncan Hines Strawberry cake mix, easy cookie recipe, holiday, philadelphia cream cheese, recipe, strawberry, sweets, unique, valentines day, white chocolate, white chocolate chips. Bookmark the permalink.

Frog Prince Oreos

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Ruthanne

These adorable edible frogs are made with Oreo cookies and pretzels- cute and soooo yummy!

“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince…..!”

Someone posted a picture of frogs made with Oreos on Facebook last week and I came across it just after spending time on the phone with a friend who’s just been “dumped” by her boyfriend. When I saw the picture I immediately thought of all the “frogs” I’ve dated and knew I had to make us some frogs for Valentine’s Day!

I’ve only occasionally been in love on Valentine’s Day, and usually I watch horror movies with my other single friends to celebrate the day. Can you relate? If so, these frogs are for you!!

I am 2 1/2 hours from a Hobby Lobby. It is (as far as I know) the only place I can get candy melts and other fun decorative things for food blogging. When I packed up my car to move here for 8 months I remember packing the candy eyes. I can see myself thinking, “Well, I’m sure the Navajo will not have a store that sells candy eyes…I better bring those!”

I didn’t bring them. Or I lost them….?

So today I found myself standing in the kitchen with every ingredient I needed for these…except eyes.

I melted white and black candy melts and piped little eyes. Don’t do that. Go and buy the Candy Eyes. They are super cheap and really cute. My eyes are a little crazy looking….but then again, they remind me a little of some guys I’ve dated, so I guess it all worked out in the long run for me.

Ready for this recipe? Here you go! (Printable Recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One package of Oreo cookies
One bag of small pretzels
Two bags of Wilton candy melts in green
Candy Eyes
Mini M&Ms (you’ll only need the red, so you can eat the rest!!)
Green jimmies (for the warts!)
Candy hearts (I piped mine with red candy melts, but I’d have used candy hearts if I’d had them!)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the green candy melts in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Spread a sheet of parchment paper over the counter you will be working on.
Dip Oreos, one at a time, in the green candy melts, spooning the candy over the top and sides and then lifting with a fork and tapping excess away.
Gently slide the covered Oreo against the edge of the bowl to remove excess candy melt from the bottom, and then slide off fork on to parchment paper.
Place two eyes on the top, an M&M in the front for a tongue, sprinkle with jimmies and place a heart candy on top.
Allow Oreos to completely harden.
Reheat candy melts if needed (they might harden up while the Oreos cool).
Dip pretzels into candy melts, using the same technique as the Oreos.
Place two pretzels bottom to bottom on a clean sheet of parchment paper and while they are still melted, set a decorated Oreo on top and allow this to harden together.

My thoughts: If you’ve never dipped things in chocolate or candy melts before, it will take you a little while to get the technique down. The biggest tip I have is to tap off as much as you can before you set it on the parchment paper. If you leave too much of the candy melts on the Oreo or pretzel it will drain off into a big puddle around it when you set it on the parchment paper. It is also nice to have a clean set of tweezers handy to place the eyes and M&M with. I had so much fun decorating mine…I think they got more cross-eyed and dumb looking the longer I thought about some of the guys my friends and I have dated. I actually laughed out loud a few times. I’m easily entertained!! 🙂

If you are celebrating the holiday because you have found your prince, here are some ideas for YOU 😉

Editorial note: I stopped at the local grocery to get milk today and wandered through the baking aisle. They have candy eyes! I underestimated the Navajo Nation. All of my new friends here are asking where to get the supplies to make these. Lavina and Kathy: they have candy eyes at Basha’s 🙂 Yay for us!!!