Easter Bird's Nest Treats

You've probably seen or heard of these wonderful treats before!  Perhaps you know them as "haystack cookies" or something similar. 


This recipe might not be new to you but they were new to me when I made them for a recipe swap last Friday!  I never had much reason to bake cute and fun things until I became a mom and joined a group where we exchange recipes each month.  Now I'm always on the lookout for new and creative ways to make cooking more fun! 


I opted to use Chinese noodles (chow mein) and chocolate chips for my version of this recipe.  But there are many other ways you can vary this dessert.  In fact, check out my pal Lara at Recipe Shoebox (whom I admire and adore) - she just posted her verison of these bird's nest delectables yesterday!  She used pretzels and butterscotch chips. 


Have fun with it and make it your own way.  Here's my version if you want to copy it:





Easter Bird's Nest Treats

(Makes about 20 cookies)

1 bag (about 3 cups) of Chinese Chow Mein Noodles, such as La Choy
1 bag (10 to 12 oz) of chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli all natural semi sweet chocolate)
1 cup of creamy, all natural peanut butter
About 60 jelly beans (3 per nest), mini chocolate eggs or candy-coated almonds


Lightly grease two muffin tin containers with cooking spray.  In a medium size microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Heat on high until the chocolate has melted.  Stop at about 45 seconds; stir it.  Then heat for another 15 to 30 seconds, if needed.  Be sure the chocolate and peanut butter are blended together.  Stir in the chow mein noodles until completely coated.  Drop by handfuls or spoonfuls into the greased muffin tins.  The muffin tins will give these Easter "nests" their circular shape.  (Or you can simply drop onto waxed paper and shape the "nests" yourself by hand).


If you'd like the "eggs" to stick to the nest, then place three jelly beans (or almonds or other candy) in the center of each "nest" before placing them in the fridge to harden.  Or you can wait to add the "eggs" on top later.


Place the pan full of "nests" in the fridge.  Chill them for 2 to 4 hours to be sure they have hardened.  Keep them there until ready to serve. 


For even more fun and dramatic effects, you can place a Peep shaped like a bird on top of the "nest" full of eggs.  Let your kids help you with this fun and easy recipe!  They are really adorable. 





I'm thinking that these would be great to make in the falltime as well.  Instead of being "Easter bird's nests," they could easily be turned into pumpkin haystacks.  I could use my mini bread pan and shape them into rectagular haystacks and place candy pumpkins on top.  Won't that be cute!?   I better bookmark that idea and save it for later!  


Does your child or someone you know have peanut allergies?   No Worries!  You can still make these!  Just substitute marshmallows in the place of peanut butter. 

A friend of my daughter's cannot have any nuts. So I made one especially for her using marshmallows.  I also substituted pretzels in the place of chow mein noodes.

Here's what her nut-free Easter nest looked like:   





Are you making any special Easter treats?  Do you have any great foods lined up for the holiday? 

I will be returning from a vacation; therefore, I think we'll be having takeout or eating from the freezer this year for Easter. 

Dirty Worm Cupcakes (The kids love these!)

The idea for dirt cake or dirt cupcakes has been around for awhile now.  You are probably no stranger to them.  Some people make them with pudding and stick them in a plastic flowerpot.  I had the idea to make them into cupcakes for a playdate I hosted at my house recently. 


These fun, simple cupcakes will have all the kids talking about you and your wonderful dessert.   My daughter Vivian and all her little friends really enjoyed them.  In fact, one of the kids (Norah) ran inside to inform her mommy that "The worms aren't real!"  Hahaha!  All of us moms cracked up over that line. 


I took an even easier route than most because I used a cake box mix, a can of diet soda and a few other basic ingredients.  The diet soda cake comes from a Weight Watchers recipe and tip that a former co-worker gave me years ago.  Just replace the basic cake's ingredients of eggs and oils with 10 to 12 oz of soda.  You don't notice a difference in taste but you'll be indulging in less calories and fat! 

So here's my simple recipe and how I put it all together!






Dirty Worm Cupcakes
(Makes 12 cupcakes)

1 box of Devil's food cake mix
10-12 oz of soda (I used diet coke)
1 small container of vanilla frosting
3 to 4 oz of Oreo cookies, grinded up into bits (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
24 (or more) gummy worms (I used the sour kind)


Grease a 12-muffin tip pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place the Devil's food cake mix into a medium size bowl.  Pour in the 10 oz of soda.  (Or if you really want to, then follow the package instructions of using oil and eggs).  The soda can be cold or hot, it doesn't matter.  Either way it may sizzle but trust me, it works great. 


Pour the batter evenly into each muffin filling it about 3/4 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Let the cupcakes cool. 

Meanwhile, grind up your Oreo cookies in a food processor until they form crumbs.  Place the crumbs in a bowl. 


Frost the cupcakes with the vanilla frosting after they have been cooled.  (You could use chocolate frosting but I think the "dirt" stands out better against the white frosting.)  Then dip each cupcake in the Oreo-crumb filled bowl.  I took a photo of what the cupcake looks like with just the frosting and then after it's been dipped in Oreo crumbs:





Poke two holes in each cake.  I used the bottom of a thin wooden spoon.   Place a gummy worm in each of the holes.  I tried to make mine springing out or snoozing across each cupcake.  Have fun with it like this: 





Serve to the kids and watch their faces light up!  And moms can enjoy their reactions or leftover cupcakes as well. 


Also, please check out this one very satisifed customer (pictured below) - Meet my daughter Vivian's friend Jillian.  She was covered in oreo crumbs after she finished her cupcake.  Here she is licking her fingers because that's how much she enjoyed it!  LOL!  




My daughter's little friend Jill = one very sastified customer! :)


In fact her mom, my friend Amber, decided to wash her hands outside using my garden hose.  We won't mention how Jill later took the garden hose in her own hands and had a little fun squirting another kid and herself, LOL!  


This above picture and the comments I received from the kids who ate them made this dessert worth the trouble!  And it really wasn't any trouble at all, actually.   :-)


Next week, I'm going to try this recipe again but use vanilla pudding cups instead.  I'll make it easier on myself by skipping the cake and just sprinkling the Oreo crumbs above the pudding then placing the worms on top.  This will be for a bug-themed preschool class I'm teaching next Monday!  Let's hope that the kids there will love them as much as Jillian did but maybe not have quite as much mess!   Ha!  


Do you have any kid-friendly dishes or desserts to share?  I'd love to hear about them or see photos too!

Mardi Gras Mini King Cakes

Can we pretend it's "Fat Tuesday"?  That's Mardi Gras for those of you who might not know that.  Carnival season is almost here!  It's time to get into the spirit by baking your own version of the king cake. 

This is a festive, fun recipe that you can make and have your kids help you with.  They will love it.  Everyone loves these because they are basically cinnamon rolls with colorful icing.  I opted to place fruit filling in mine but you can leave that out if you like.  Below I will place step by step photos of how I put it together!

The funny thing is that I didn't set out to make these mini king (cup) cakes....it just kind of happened that way.   I looked up a ton of king cake recipes online since I've never made one on my own but always wanted to do so.  I grew up near New Orleans after all and Mardi Gras is just part of my culture and history.  However when I read about using five cups of flour and all the kneading involved in making the traditional king cakes, I just couldn't do it.  Plus I didn't have time to spend hours in the kitchen like that over the weekend.  So I came up with my own, easy recipe instead.  I think you'll enjoy this one!

And if you have no idea what a King Cake or Mardi Gras are, then here is a great site that covers it all!  Mardi Gras is definitely something to experience once in your lifetime! 






Mandy's Mardi Gras Mini King Cakes
(Makes 16 mini cakes)

3 cinnamon roll packages  (I used reduced fat cinnabon flavored by Pillsbury, 8 in each pkg)
*keep the icing that comes in the cinnamon roll packages too!
1 container  (8 oz) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 can (15 oz) apple pie filling or other fruit filling (optional)
food coloring - purple, yellow and green  (or use a combo of red and green to make purple like I did!)
3 tbsp sugar
brown sugar and powdered sugar for dusting (about 1/4 cup each)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously grease two muffin tins with cooking spray.  Note: This makes 16 cakes so I used my 12-muffin tin and my 6-muffin tin pans.  Open up two packages of cinnamon rolls and set the icing aside. 

Place each individual cinnamon roll in a muffin spot, just like this picture below.  This will be 16 cinnamon rolls.  Save the third package for later:




Shape them as best as you can to be round within the muffin tin.  Open your fruit pie filling can, if you use it.  The apple pie filling was excellent!  Scoop out one teaspoon on top of each cinnamon roll, just like this photo below:






Once you have spooned out the fruit filling, open up your third and final package of 8 cinnamon rolls.  Tear each roll in half and place 1/2 of it on top of each fruit filled roll in the muffin tin pan.  Spread it out to cover the rolls as best as you can where you can't see the center.  It will look similar to this:






Now bake your cinnamon rolls in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  While the rolls are baking, make your icing to cover them. 


Place three, separate bowls out on your table.  Scoop out the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls packages.  Take your 8 oz container of reduced fat cream cheese and divide it evenly into each bowl.  Then add 1 tbsp of sugar to each bowl as well  (equal to 3 tbsp all together).  Now place the food coloring in each bowl.  Place a few drops of yellow in one bowl, a few drops of green in a second bowl and then use purple food coloring for the final bowl.  If you don't have purple food dye, like I didn't, then make your own by using about two drops of blue and four drops of red.  Mix until you have the right color you desire.  You may need to melt the added cream cheese a little in the microwave if it has not been softened.


Aren't these pretty?






Once the cinnamon rolls are done baking and lightly browned on tops and edges, remove them from the oven.  Let them cool for about five minutes before topping them.   At the last minute, I decided it would be fun to place a small scoop of the "icing" in the center of the cinnamon rolls too.  That way, when you bite into them, they'd have the fruit filling PLUS a bit of the icing too.  Double the goodness!


So if you want to do that as well, then you'll just need to gently pull up the top of the cinnamon rolls and scoop out a bit of icing into the center.  Like this:






But this is an optional step and it requires a bit more work.  Still it's fun and the cinnamon roll "top" can easily be put back together.  The icing helps it stick and your kids can help you too!


Continue spreading the colored icing all over each cinnamon roll, covering the tops and down the sides.  Sprinkle each one with brown sugar and powdered sugar.  Then amaze your friends and family with how good these are!  Almost too pretty to eat!  :-)  I said....almost!






Have you ever been to a Mardi Gras Parade?  If you ever get a chance to visit New Orleans but you cannot go during Carnival Season, you can still see the large, beautiful floats and taste king cake by visiting Mardi Gras World.  It's a great place to see artists in action making the floats and experience a bit of the fun if you cannot do the real thing! 

Holiday Tortilla Chips Appetizer With Gucamole Dip

I will often browse healthy alternatives to traditional recipes.  As I was looking up holiday appetizer ideas, I came across this Pita Tree treat.  It looked so fun and festive.  Best of all, it seemed easy.  So I decided to make my own version of it.  I used whole wheat flour tortillas instead of pita bread and I made my own guacamole dip instead of using the store bought kind. 

This is a very kid-friendly dish.  So let your children help you with this one.  Both recipes are listed below!





Holiday Tortilla Chips
Adapted from Eat Better America

4 to 8 (1 package) of whole wheat flour tortillas -  or use more or less, depending on amount you feed
2-3 different holiday cookie cutters
Olive oil cooking spray (or several teaspoons of olive oil from a jar)





Brush the olive oil or spray the cooking oil on cookie pans.  On a cutting board, place the whole wheat flour tortillas.  Use holiday cookie cutters to mold and shape your desired "chips".   This is a great activity to let your kids get involved in helping you cook.  Children love to make shapes so give your trusted little ones the chance to make the holiday chips!







Place the chips on the greased cookie pans.  Lightly spray or brush a tiny bit more olive oil over the top of the tortillas.  Broil (not bake!) in the oven at 400 degrees for about five minutes.  You can shorten or lengthen the time depending on how brown you like your chips to be.  Carefully remove with an oven mit.  Chips will only need about one minute to cool before you can eat them. 


Spread the below gucamole dip on the chips.  Top with additional tomato slices or use diced red bell peppers.







Guacamole Dip
 (Serves 6)

2 avocados—cut open, scooped out and mashed

1 large tomato, chopped and drained of juices (about 1/3 cup)

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp (1/8 cup) of Taco seasoning mix (from an envelope used to make tacos) - Or use 1/2 a packet if you like a lot of flavor!

Cut avocados in half.  Scoop out the seeds.  Throw them away.  Then scoop out flesh and mash it in a medium bowl.  Add in diced tomato with the seeds and juices squeezed out.  Mix in your garlic, lemon juice and taco seasoning.  Blend well.  Let your kids stir the dip once you have all the ingredients.  Children love to stir, mix and see how fast or slow they can swirl things around.  Spread over homemade tortilla chips (recipe is listed above). 

 
Store dip in refrigerator inside an air tight container for up to three days.   Enjoy!

Getting Crafty With Foods - A Sweet Turkey Treat!

I belong to a local MOMS Club organization.  I volunteer a lot with this non-profit group.  They have many activities for moms and children to keep us all active and happy.  Today we had a meeting with our members where I was asked to demonstrate a holiday craft that parents could do with kids at home. 

I've never considered myself to be a real "crafty" person.  I will pull out play-doh to mold or paint for my three year old daughter to make a mess with but I am not artistic.  I can't sew.  I can't draw.  But as I'm discovering and revealing on this site (and in my upcoming cookbook), I can learn.  I can practice at being better.  With hard work and determination, I can improve at a skill or hobby.  After all, I only really began cooking within the past year.  So if I can do that and write a book about it, then I can do almost anything, right?  Right! 

Plus, I am resourceful at finding ideas for crafts and other fun things to do.  I came across this Oreo Turkey Treat posted on a food blog I love while browsing new recipes to try.  This kid-friendly treat looked perfect for my group.  Best of all, it seemed easy enough for even a novice like me to make.  All of the ingredients were easy to find too. 

I was right.  It was simple to make.  Fast too.  Perfect.  I'd definitely recommend it to you and others to try at home!  

Here is my sweet bird:







Don't laugh at it! (Okay, you can laugh, I won't know you're making fun of me anyway!)  My stuff isn't always the prettiest but it's still something that can be enjoyed and best of all, eaten!   Below is the recipe and instructions on how to make your own turkey treat.



Sweet Turkey Treat
(adapted from the Recipe Shoebox blog)

1 box of Oreo cakester cookies  (I like these better than regular Oreo cookies, less mess~!)


1 small package of candy corn
1 small package of whoppers malted candy
1and 1/2 tsp of white icing
1/4 tsp of red icing (or use white with red food coloring) OR use an edible red candy ornament


For each child participating, give him or her a plate.  Place 1 tsp of white cake icing in the center of the plate.  Instruct the kids to place the Oreo cakester upright into the center of the white icing.  Then place one whopper malted candy ball in front of the Oreo cakester so it looks like the head (face) of a turkey.  Gently twist the candy corn pieces into the creamy sides of the Oreo cakester until a full-feathered bird is shown.  Use your remaining white icing to make eyes on the face (whopper candy) of the turkey.  Then use red icing or whatever red ornament candy you have on hand to make the wattle (neck and throat) of the turkey. 

Make as many as you and your kids feel like using all the above ingredients.  Have fun with it!  Then gobble it up!  :-)