Happy Spring!!

CJ and I are hoping that by creating these dragonflies we can hurry Spring on her way to town. We found the great idea to make dragonflies out of Starburst candies here . If for whatever reason that link isn't working on your end try it this way http://chiccookiekits.blogspot.com/2009/03/oh-so-easy-dragonfly-toppers.html We've packaged them up and they are ready to take flight to spread some spring joy. Maybe some will make their way to your house!

Tomorrow is Moto-Moto's birthday... wait and see what CJ has planned for that!

M& M Pretzel Treats

We are still busy here at Mrs. Claus' kitchen. Every year I think we have things done and I'm still "making a mess" as Bob says! Here is what CJ & I made this morning. I saw it on some blog awhile ago and can't remember where so if this is your idea THANK YOU and leave me a comment. You need waffle pretzels which we found at Superstore, HUGS and M&Ms which were are Walmart.

Place the waffle pretzel on a baking sheet. Get your helper to unwrap the HUGS and put one in the middle of each pretzel. Place in a 200 degree oven for about 3 minutes. Make sure you watch them, you only want them to melt a LITTLE or you'll have a mess!

Take them out, press a M&M in the middle of each one. Let them set again. (If you live somewhere cold just throw them out on the deck for a few minutes and that'll do it. NOT too long or your M&Ms will crack ~ ours did.)

I think they look kind of fancy ~ Saucy will be proud!

Christmas Treats

What better way to spend an evening . . . listening to Michael Buble's Let it Snow ( I love him!! Really love him. I saw him in concert last January and it was incredible. A girlfriend treated me for a baby gift! How sweet was that!) Okay, so I'm listening to Michael AND finishing up some treats.

This started out as Sassy's Moose Munch. Check out her recipe at http://sweetsassystudio.blogspot.com/. I had some melted dark chocolate left over from pretzels so I took a couple cups of caramel corn, and the same amount of mini marshmallows and broken graham crackers, made a little "goodie salad" and used the chocolate as dressing. Cooled it outside ( because it's freezing and there is NO room in my freezer) then broke up and dumped the chocolate salad back into the remainder of the caramel corn.

Now Sassy, dig out your paper crimper and make waxed paper "chip bags" and fill with 'Gourmet Moose Munch'. Then to jazz it up I made a bigger "chip bag" and put on a label.

Then it was on to finish CJ's class treats for tomorrow. We used our Stampin Up punches to make little snowman faces (with those two Sharpie colours) & added some ribbon to some mint patties for instant treats and a little ornament ... if it makes it to the tree.

Caramel RK Balls

Brrrrrr, it's cold out there! It was -31 this morning when we got up, I have no idea what it was with the wind! Good day to stay inside and make gooey yummy treats. These ones make Auntie Viki's teeth hurt but we like them.

It's so much easier when you have a great helper too!

Here's the recipe:

4 cups crispy rice cereal (Holiday Rice Krispies)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup margarine
30 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped ( we used 45)
1 (16 ounce) package large marshmallows

(we cut our marshmallows in half using wet kitchen scissors so they didn't stick)

DIRECTIONS

Line trays with waxed paper. Pour rice cereal into a shallow dish or bowl.

In a double boiler, combine condensed milk, margarine and caramels. Cook, stirring, over simmering water, until melted and smooth.

Using two forks, dip marshmallows one at a time into caramel mixture, then roll in rice cereal. Place on waxed paper until set.

Scrap Jessi's Cookie Swap

Eggnog Tarts

4 dozen baked tart shells
2 cups whipping cream
1 large package instant vanilla
3 cups eggnog
Nutmeg

Prepare pudding following instructions on the box substituting eggnog for milk. Let stand 5-10 minutes. In another bowl whip cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar to taste. Fold ½-2/3 of the whipped cream into the pudding. Fill each tart shell with the pudding mixture, add a dollop of whipped cream & garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Keep refrigerated. Can be frozen but you'll eat them all before they get there.

Red Velvet Oreos

2 boxes Red Velvet Cake Mix

4 eggs

3/4 cup cooking oil

Cream Cheese Icing

Mix together. It will be a stiff cookie dough. Roll into 1/2 inch balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet leaving lots of room for them to spread out. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies completely. Use cream cheese icing to "sandwich" two cookies together. Store in an airtight container and they will stay soft. You can roll the edges in crushed candy cane to make them look pretty (though the cookies are quite sweet and don't really need it).

Check out http://scrappyjessi.blogspot.com/ for more yummy cookie recipes.