Tag Archive for "no bake" - Simple Everyday Food

candy cane oreo truffles

Posted by :Amy On : December 19, 2013

Tags:candy cane, chocolate, dessert, holidays, no bake, peppermint, truffles

If you’re a fan of candy cane or anything involving mint and chocolate, you probably want to keep reading…. just sayin’.

These cute little truffle balls are a peppermint/candy cane lover’s dream dessert – they’re made with candy cane Oreos (my favorite!) coated with vanilla almond bark, topped with crushed candy canes. And let me tell you, THEY.ARE.AMAZING.

Brian came home one day from Target last month and surprised me with these. Instead of tearing them open and shoving them in my face right away, the food blogger in me racked my brain to think of something easy and delicious to make them with. And these little truffles were the first thing that came to mind.

You know you’re a food blogger when: the first thing that comes to mind when you see a food item is “what can I make with these?” And the second thing that comes to mind is “how can I style the food when I photograph it? What dishes and what props will I use?”

I don’t ever remember thinking this way about food a year ago….

candy cane oreo truffles

2013-12-07 10:27:09

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Ingredients

1 package candy cane Oreos
6 oz low fat cream cheese
8 oz vanilla almond bark
Crushed candy canes for topping, optional

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Roughly break apart the Oreo cookies and place them in the food processor. Pulse until they turn into fine crumbs.
Place Oreo crumbs into an electric mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment and on medium speed, add in the cream cheese and mix until everything is well mixed.
Roll the Oreo/cream cheese mixture into balls about 1" in diameter, place on baking sheet. Repeat until you have no "dough" left.
Place the truffle balls into the freezer. Freeze for 1-2 hours, or until hardened.
Using a double boiler, melt the candy melts. Using two forks, dip each truffle ball into the melted candy melts, making sure it's thoroughly covered. Remove truffle ball and place on the baking sheet for candy melt to harden. Sprinkle top with crushed candy canes, if desired. Keep truffles in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Makes about 25 truffle balls.

By Simple Everyday Food

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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Just like all my other truffle recipes, freezing the cookie balls is extremely important. Leave them in the freezer for at least an hour, but I do highly recommend freezing for at least 2 hours. This is because if they’re not hard and frozen, the cookie balls will start to crumble and fall apart when you place them in the warm candy melt mixture… and no one wants little brown specks of Oreo crumbs in the candy coating. I actually left my cookie balls in the freezer until the very last minute when my candy melts were completely smooth and melted.

If you’re like me and are a lover of anything and everything that has mint chocolate in it, then stay tuned this winter season because I already have a ton of recipes lined up for you guys!

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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mint chocolate puppy chow

Posted by :Amy On : December 2, 2013

Category: Appetizers/Munchies

Tags:chocolate, Hershey's Kisses, holidays, mint, munchies, no bake, puppy chow

After a few months after it came out in theaters, yesterday I finally rented Monsters University on DVD. Has anyone else seen it? The first one was perhaps my favorite Pixar movie ever, so naturally I’ve been itching to watch the prequel to it ever since it came out. I absolutely loved it and thought little Mike Wozowski was the cutest thing ever. I swear I’m just a 12 year old kid in a 27-year-old body….

After lounging around in my PJs all day yesterday, I finally mustered enough energy to go to Kowalski’s to return it last night. You know you’re in the medical field when you say “let me go upstairs and change into something ‘normal’ real quick” before going to store, means changing into a pair of scrub pants. Not yoga pants, not jeans… scrubs. Apparently it’s what I now consider “normal” attire.

I didn’t even notice it until Brian laughed and pointed that out to me at the store. In my defense, I’ve been wearing scrubs 5-6 days a week for the past 8 weeks. I go to work, I wear scrubs. I go to class, I wear scrubs. I go run errands and grocery shop after work, I’m in scrubs. I don’t really go anywhere else so I don’t get to wear a whole lot of “normal people” clothes anymore. On my day off, I don’t really go places so I stay in my PJs.

[sigh]

Since it’s December and December marks the official start of the Christmas season, it’s only right for:

1. Hanging up Christmas decorations around the house…. (Bentley – @boxerbentley on Instagram – helped hang Christmas lights)

and

2. The first post of December to be something that involved mint and chocolate.

News flash: I’m obsessed with anything that involved mint and chocolate. Every year when stores stock their shelves up with anything mint chocolate, I go crazy and start hoarding all things mint chocolate, enough to last me for the next 11 months. Candy cane coffee, mint M&Ms, peppermint M&Ms, candy cane Oreos, peppermint bark, Andes peppermint candies, all kinds of mint chocolate baking chips, Dove mint chocolates… you name it, I probably have it in my cupboard.

#mintchocolate4life

This recipe is made in the similar manner I made my pumpkin spice puppy chow back in November – seasonal Hershey’s Kisses mint truffles melted down, poured over gluten free chocolate Chex, coated with powdered sugar. It’s sweet, minty, and really addicting! They’re so addicting that I’m bringing some to work today to share so I don’t eat 5738293 grams of sugar in two days….

mint chocolate puppy chow

2013-12-01 19:37:03

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Ingredients

1.5 bags of 10-oz Hershey's mint truffle Kisses, unwrapped
One 14.25-oz box of chocolate Chex cereal
3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Pour the Chex cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
Using a double boiler, melt the unwrapped Hershey's Kisses until smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal. Stir to make sure all the cereal is coated with chocolate.
Pour the powdered sugar into the large bowl of cereal mixture. Toss and stir thoroughly to make sure everything is evenly coated with the powdered sugar.
Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Makes about 8 cups

By Simple Everyday Food

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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Along with being delicious, this recipe is also super easy to make. It only requires 3 ingredients! Three! And there are only about 3 steps to the whole thing as well. From start to finish, it took me less than 30 minutes to make. No baking, no cooling, and not a whole lot of measuring.

Yep, you’re welcome :)

If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning of time, you’ll know that I’m a fan of puppy chow… here are a few other versions for you to try!

pumpkin spice puppy chow

apple pie spice puppy chow

orange creamsicle puppy chow

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pumpkin spice puppy chow

Posted by :Amy On : November 8, 2013

Category: Appetizers/Munchies

Tags:Hershey's Kisses, munchies, no bake, pumpkin, puppy chow

I am no longer allowed to go shopping at Target by myself. This latest time when I shopped there myself, these came out of my kitchen:

I have proven that I have no self control when it comes to that store. It also doesn’t help that there’s a Super Target literally right across the street from our house, which also happens to be on the way home from school.

When Brian and I go, he’s always my voice of reason. “You don’t need that”, “don’t you already have something like that?”, “when would you ever use that?”. He probably saves us a good chunk of money every month by going to Target with me.

When I go by myself, it’s a totally different story. Yes, I make a list of things I need.. and I do try my hardest to stick to only things on that list. But somehow 30 minutes later, I always come out of there spending at least $30 more than what I would’ve spent if I stuck to my list. It’s just so easy to grab a basket, stroll through the aisles, look through the clearance racks, and find things that you absolutely “need” or are too good of a deal to pass up.

Please tell me I’m not the only one that has this problem. Next time I really shouldn’t even grab a basket. Once my hands are full, it’s time to head to the checkout lanes… oh but that’s easier said than done.

Anyway… the other day when I went to Target, I saw these out of the corner of my eye and just had to get them.

Dang you Target, for putting Fall/Halloween candy in the 50% off clearance aisle!

I had the perfect idea – pumpkin spice puppy chow. I know what you’re thinking – it’s already November and pumpkin spice needs to make way for peppermint desserts. It’s true, but I can’t let these Kisses sit on the shelves all by themselves, can I? Someone needs to rescue them…….

I still had some leftover pumpkin pie spice from last month, so it just sounded like a no-brainer. Cinnamon Chex cereal coated with white chocolate pumpkin Hershey Kisses, dusted with powdered sugar with hints of pumpkin spice. Mmm mmm mmm.

Initially I dreaded unwrapping two bags of Hershey Kisses by hand. I thought I would find it tedious and time-consuming. Once I got a system down though, the process went by faster than I imagined. And somehow the melting process also seemed to go a lot smoother than my other puppy chow recipes..

pumpkin spice puppy chow

2013-11-08 17:13:22

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Ingredients

9 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
1.5 10oz bags of Hershey's pumpkin spice Kissees, unwrapped
2 cups powdered sugar
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin spice

Instructions

Place Chex cereal in a large bowl, set aside. Then in a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar and pumpkin spice. Stir to combine and set aside.
Using a double boiler, melt the pumpkin Kisses. Pour the melted chocolate over the Chex mix, stir until all the Chex is covered with chocolate. Then gradually sprinkle the powdered sugar mixture onto the cereal. Stir until everything is covered evenly with powdered sugar.
Makes ~9 cups

By Simple Everyday Food

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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Although the pumpkin spice Kisses taste a little artificial if you eat them by themselves, these puppy chow don’t taste artificial at all! This is probably because most of my puppy chow recipes already utilize vanilla almond bark or white chocolate, so the white chocolate center of these Kisses were a perfect fit for this recipe! The cinnamon-y, pumpkin-spiced powdered sugar coating is the perfect combination with the subtle hints of pumpkin spice flavoring in these chocolates… It was a hit with all my pumpkin-loving friends!

Now that pumpkin season is unofficially over, it’s now time to move on to one of my top favorite flavor combos – chocolate + mint.

Here are a few more recipes came out of my kitchen this pumpkin season:

Pumpkin n’ spice cream cheese truffles

Ooey gooey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Glazed pumpkin coffee cake

Pumpkin peanut butter dog biscuits

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pumpkin n’ spice cream cheese truffles

Posted by :Amy On : September 30, 2013

Category: Desserts

Tags:dessert, no bake, pumpkin, truffles

I think I have a problem, guys. Now that I’ve caved in and made my first pumpkin dessert of the year, I can’t seem to stop. I have a bunch of pumpkin recipes lined up on my “make before the end of October” list already! I made these a few days ago, and today I’ve already made my 3rd pumpkin dessert in 2 weeks. Don’t worry, that recipe will also be on Simple Everyday Food here soon too.

I present to you today: pumpkin n’ spice cream cheese truffles.

Yep, you heard that right. Pumpkin + gingersnap cookie crumbs + pumpkin spices + cream cheese + almond bark. These little balls of deliciousness are bursting with plenty of pumpkin flavor! Smooth, velvety pumpkin n’ spice mixture encased in a thin, crunchy white chocolate-y almond bark.

‘Tis the season, right?

The whole process of making these can take a good 3-4 hours, but the result is totally worth it! You first mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl. I chose to use an electric mixer to make sure everything was thoroughly incorporated. Then you freeze the filling for at least an hour. Then you take the filling out, roll them into balls, freeze them for at least two more hours. If they don’t seem hard enough, freeze them longer. Then you melt your almond bark and coat the truffle balls in them and throw them in the fridge until ready to serve. Waiting for everything to set will be the hardest part! It’s truly a test of patience, but I promise it’ll totally be worth it :)

pumpkin n' spice cream cheese truffles

2013-09-30 12:07:15

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Ingredients

1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 and 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs, finely pulsed, plus an extra 1-2 tablespoons for garnish
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup white chocolate chips
12 oz vanilla almond bark
1 tablespoon shortening

Instructions

Using an electric mixture, combine the pumpkin puree, cookie crumbs, powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cream cheese together.
Melt the white chocolate chips using a double boiler. Add the white chocolate in with the rest of the filling, combine until smooth.
Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and freeze for an hour or until filling is fairly hardened.
Using your hands, roll the filling into 1" balls, and set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until hardened, about 2 hours.
Once the balls are frozen, melt the almond bark and shortening using a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth. Using a spoon and a fork, dunk a filling ball into the almond bark until it's completely covered. Remove the ball from the almond bark using the fork, and remove the ball from the fork using the spoon onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for all filling balls. Top each ball with a pinch of gingersnap crumbs before the coating hardens.
Place the coated balls in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Store in airtight container for up to a week.
Makes about 20 truffles

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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The magic ingredient in these truffles are the gingersnap cookie crumbs. They share a lot of similar spices as those found in the traditional “pumpkin spice”, so not only does the cookie crumbs give the extra “umph” to the pumpkin spice, it also serve as a binding agent to bind all the wetter ingredients together.

Because the filling balls are made up of ingredients that don’t hold their shape up well under heat, you’ll have to work quickly when you’re ready to coat them with almond bark. Since I melt my almond bark over a double boiler, I found out that my filling balls tend to start to slowly fall apart if I leave them in the coating mixture too long.

They’re not as cake-y as the traditional truffles I’m used to making due to the amount of wet ingredients required (i.e. pumpkin puree), but the soft velvety texture sort of reminds me of pumpkin pie. Everyone that was lucky enough to try them raved about how good they were!

Poor Bentley wanted to be my taste tester… it was pure torture.

Bring on the fall baking season!

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

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apple pie spice puppy chow

Posted by :Amy On : September 14, 2013

Category: Appetizers/Munchies

Tags:apples, munchies, no bake, puppy chow

I’ve been a little obsessed with puppy chow lately. I just made these, and I already have about a dozen different other variety of flavor combinations I want to make already!

Brian really isn’t a big fan of puppy chow, so every time I make these, my friends and coworkers are in luck – as much as I’d love to eat 8 cups worth of Chex cereal covered in sugary goodness, I find myself packing them into little snack bags to bring to work and school to share (sharing is caring, right?). My friends really aren’t as lucky when I make cookies or cupcakes, as those tend to slowly mysteriously disappear when I’m out of the house [ahem] :)

Although I’m not ready to let summer go and am in some sort of a denial state of mind that autumn is upon us, I can’t help but be excited about the different fall recipes I have planned for the next few months – apple pie spice puppy chow sounded like the perfect way to welcome the arrival of fall.

apple pie spice puppy chow

2013-09-02 12:05:41

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Ingredients

8 cups apple & cinnamon Chex cereal
16 oz vanilla coating/almond bark
2 teaspoons apple pie spice mix (see below)
2 cups powdered sugar

For the apple pie spice mix

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
A pinch of ground ginger

Instructions

Pour cereal into a large bowl.
Using a double boiler, melt the vanilla coating/almond bark.
Pour the melted vanilla coating onto the cereal, stir. Add in the apple pie spice mixture, stir until thoroughly combined.
Add the powdered sugar into the cereal mixture, about 1 cup at a time, until the cereal is evenly coated with powdered sugar.
Spread onto waxed baking sheets for coating to set. Store in airtight container for 1 week.
Makes about 8 cups.

Notes

Measurements for the ingredients for the apple pie spice does not have to be exact. Amount can be varied if you prefer a little bit more (or less) of one particular spice.
Spice mixture recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction.

By Simple Everyday Food

Adapted from A Pumpkin & A Princess

Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/

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As if the apple pie spice mixture wasn’t delicious enough, the apple and cinnamon Chex cereal really kicks the flavor up a notch. If regular Chex cereal is all you have on hand, I’m sure it’ll taste just fine, too. Like I mentioned in the recipe card, the measurements of the spice mixture doesn’t have to be exact – everything can be made “according to taste” when it comes to these babies! I personally love cinnamon and nutmeg, so I added a bit more in mine. I wasn’t sure quite sure about the ginger flavor, so a dash of ground ginger was all I put in it. So feel free to play around with the spices – this is one of those recipes that doesn’t require exact measurements!

I brought a few little baggies of these to school to share, and they sure got rave reviews from everyone! I think the smell of apple pie brings back warm happy memories for everyone – family gatherings, warm cozy blankets, falling leaves…

I would be one happy camper only if there could be two seasons in a year: summer and fall.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from A Pumpkin & A Princess

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