Apple Pops

  

OK... I made these as a treat but I am so making these for our next party and for Halloween-time! These are great!!!


You need:



Apples, sticks, caramel, peanut butter, and sprinkles.


Here's what I did.....


(1) I washed my apples (I only had 2 and they were Red Delicious).
(2) I took my melon baller and made balls of apple (leave the skin on).
(3) I took popsicle sticks and put one in each ball (poked the stick through the skinned side).
(4) This is where you'd warm up your dipping agent. I used Caramel Bits by Kraft (nuked a small amount for 45 seconds in the microwave with a bit of water) and peanut butter (nuked for 30 seconds). Other great ideas would be Nutella, melted chocolate, melted cinnamon chips or fluff.
(5) Take a paper towel and dry an apple and then dip and swirl in the coating.
(6) roll in a coating such as nonpareils, sprinkles, mini chips, coconut, crushed cookies....
(7) place on waxed paper and cool in refrigerator (peanut butter ones are ready quickly (like 5 minutes) while the caramel needs about an hour).


These were so easy, the kids loved them, and so did I! :)

Homemade Pudding Pops

Just a  super quick treat to make kids happy....


1 box any flavor Jell-O instant pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
Small cups (like shot-sized)
Sticks
Any additives like fruit, sprinkles, chips...

1. Mix 1 box of pudding mix with the cold milk.
2. Whisk for 2 minutes.
3. Add whatever the kids would love to the pudding mix one semi-thickened.
4. Pour into cups and put stick in the middle.
5. Freeze for at least 3 hours until completely solid.
6. To release, either peel off the paper cup or dip cup in warm/hot water for a few seconds and they slide right out.

*** Mom's Note: I used vanilla pudding with half rainbow sprinkles and half mini-chocolate chips. They were both great!

Apple Sandwiches

This is just an easy thing to do but makes snack-time a bit more special.


1. Slice an apple across into thin but not too thin slices.
2. Take a small cookie/fondant cutter and remove the core from each slice.
3. Pat the slices dry.
4. Lightly smear a layer of peanut better on the apple.
5. Top with an apple slice to make a sandwich.


*** Mom's note: you can do the lemon juice thing before you peanut butter up the slices but I find they go fast enough I don't need to do that. I also use Gala Apples (since their skins are thinner) and I think the brown a bit less.

ChocoNut Haystacks

OK... so with the leftover melted Chocolate from the Banana Pop Treats, I decided to not waste it. I had shredded coconut already out from the pops. So what I did was add coconut to the chocolate and then added sliced, hand-crushed almonds to the melted chocolate. I stirred it and then took a cookie scooper (small ice-cream scoop) and made small mounds and put them in a  cool place (fridge or freezer) and let them set up.

If you like Almond Joys, you'd love these.

I got the inspiration from a candy store that used to be in Tanger Outlet Mall in Riverhead, NY. They used to sell these things I believe they called haystacks and they were just mound of chocolate  and coconut similar to these. i thought the almonds would add a bit more and the crunch it added made them even better.

Frozen Banana Pop Treats

I guess I am more of a Frugal mom than I thought... I can't waste things. The bananas were super ripe. There is only so much banana bread or muffins one can eat. I had like 8 bananas that needed to be used. I was going to make banana shakes (like the yummy ones from Cook-Out) but I decided it was a banana pop kinda day. Find the recipe and directions I did as follows (already altered).


6 Bananas
1-1/2 cup of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Tablespoons Butter
Items for coating (sprinkles, sweetened coconut, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips)


1. Peel 6 medium-large bananas.
2. Cut in half cross-wise.
3. Insert wooden pop stick in each piece carefully.
4. Place on baking sheet.
5. Freeze until bananas are firm which is about 2 hours (or more).
6. Microwave butter/shortening & chocolate chips for 45 seconds on 50% power. Stir and Microwave for another 30 minutes on full power and stir.
7. Using a silicone brush, "paint" on the chocolate quickly but thoroughly.
8. roll in topping on choice.
9. Place on wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze until firm.


*** Mom Note: We also tried smearing peanut butter on them instead of chocolate coating. We then rolled them in sprinkles or chips and they tasted very yummy.


*** Mom Note: Target has a pack of 150 Craft Sticks (plain pack & multi-color pack) for $1.00. Talk about a bargain! They are the perfect size and the kids LOVED that they were colored!


*** Mom Note: There was extra chocolate left.. I couldn't let that go to waste so please see post for ChocoNut Haystacks.

Trix Treats

Again, another cereal My kids don't eat.

I have never been one for sweet cereals.

I always chose Raisin Bran, Plain Cheerios, or Granola even as a small kid.

So, when I bought Trix instead of Fruit Loops, I did not know I made a big mistake.

Apparently, they are not  (i repeat NOT) interchangeable!

OK, so the recipe....

1/3 c. Corn Syrup

2 tsp. butter

1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello, any flavor (I used Cherry as that is what I had on hand)

4 c. Trix cereal

1. Grease an 8" pan with butter.

2. Mix syrup, butter and Jello in a small-medium sauce pan over high heat.

 

3. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

4. Pour over cereal in separate bowl & Stir until well-coated.

5. Quickly, spread into 8''-square greased pan and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 2-hours to allow to set properly.

6.  Cut into squares when cool.

***Mom note***: These were sweet and sticky. My baby was completely a mess after eating a small piece. Yuck! My 3-year old said he loved them although he didst eat his whole piece. So my verdict, worth a shot, but not that great. Maybe try a less sweet flavor and make sure to boil for a minute instead of when it 1st comes to a boil.

Homemade GOLDEN GRAHAM S'MORES

I had Golden Grahams that the kids don't like so I made these and, boy, are they are yummy!

GOLDEN GRAHAM S'MORES

3/4 c. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. butter
1 pkg. milk chocolate morsels
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Golden Graham cereal (9 c.)
3 c. miniature marshmallows

Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. Heat syrup, butter and morsels to boiling stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in bowl, toss until coated. Fold in marshmallows 1 cup at a time. Press into pan with buttered back of spoon. Let stand 1 hour. Cut into 2 inch squares. Store at room temperature.

I halved the recipe b/c that is how much cereal I had.

*** Mom's Note: These were sooo goood! I made them with semi-sweet morsels and I think that is why they weren't super sweet and were so yummy! C liked them and he doesn't like Graham Crackers or Chocolate. My mom liked them too.. so they are great for all ages. They'd be great for a bake sale instead of boring Rice Krispies Treats! I will definitely be buying Golden Grahams now JUST to make these!!!