Chocolate Corn Chip Cookies

I have been baking a lot lately and homemade cookies have been on my to do list at least 2-3 times a week lately. I made the sugar cookies, pumpkin cookies, peanut butter cookies, Reese's Pieces filled cookies, and some others. For some reason, 6:30 a.m. has been a favorite time to bake for me, right after the kids leave on the bus. I pour myself a cup of coffee and then get busy in the kitchen, filling my house with the yummy smells of baked goods.

This morning I got up wanting to bake cookies like usual, but I wanted to do something different. I got to thinking about what I had in my cabinets and I came across the corn chips. We like to cook hot dogs on our fire pit, and we usually put corn chips with them as a side. Afterwards, we sometimes have S'mores, but for one of those times that we don't actually have S'mores, I got the idea to add the corn chips in with some chocolate chips to make these yummy chocolate corn chip cookies. I love sweet & savory snacks and these definitely hit the spot.


How to make Chocolate Corn Chip Cookies:

Prepare this basic cookie recipe and tweak it to make the different varieties of cookies I have been making. You almost can't go wrong! I whipped up the basic cookie recipe, added some chocolate chips, and then folded in the corn chips. I baked them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes and then removed from oven and let cool completely. The cookies will seem uncooked when you remove them, but allowing them to cool on the pan first will actually allow them to continue cooking slightly while they cool. The corn chips crunch in spots when you bite into the cookie. Super simple and so good!

                    

Random Acts of Kindness: Bugs & Kisses Treat Bags

If you don't know Jess over at My Little Mustache, then you are missing out on knowing one of the most beautiful and inspirational people on the planet. Jess has made it a mission of her's to spread encouragement to others in 2013 (and beyond, I am sure!) through random acts of kindness. Over this past year, as I have followed her through instagram, she has done some pretty wonderful things for friends and total strangers, out of the kindness of her heart and with her own money, just to make someone's day a little brighter... to put a smile of the faces of those around her. I was even the recipient of a beautiful little crochet flower ring she sent recently during a time I was feeling down and needed some encouragement of my own. Amazing, huh?

Jess definitely motivated me to come up with my own way to encourage others, which got me working on these cute little bugs & kisses treat bags. I first discovered this idea through Pinterest, and could have easily just made them for the kids to pass out to friends at school, but I wanted to do something more than that with them by giving them out to total strangers. Not only is this a great way to uplift those around us, it teaches my children to give through the kindness of their own hearts and without the expectation of receiving. 

Bugs & Kisses Treat Bags

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You will need:

• Clear cellophane Halloween treat bags
• Hershey's Kisses
• Plastic spider rings
• Bugs & Kisses gift tags free printable from Tammy Michelle Designs
• Ribbon of your choice
• Scissors
• Glue
• Mini hole punch
• Large shape punches ( I used a solid square punch and a scalloped square punch for mine)

This is a super affordable project to put together with your children. I was able to find the treat bags and spider rings at the Dollar Tree and used some white ribbon I had on hand. Putting them together is pretty simple and self explanatory as well. I actually printed out the gift tags, shrunk them down 50%, and used my large solid square and scalloped square punches to make tags. I printed out the tags on plain white paper and punched them out with the solid square punch. Then, I punched out the scalloped squares in orange paper, glued the printed tag to the orange paper, and then punched a small hole in the top. Lastly, I put 10 Hershey's kisses in each bag, along with two spiders, cut and  threaded a length of ribbon through the small hole, and tied the bags closed.

Hand one to someone near you at the doctor's office, the park, at Target, or at a restaurant. Teach your children to give out of the kindness of their hearts and not based on what a person is wearing or the color of their skin. We are all children of God and only He can judge us. The fun part is just being able to brighten someone's day with this small gesture.  

I challenge you (and your children) to pay it forward and surprise someone you don't know with a random act of kindness.


                    

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

I shared this post last year as a guest over at Summer's blog, Crosbie Crew, and thought I would do a repost this year over here in case you missed it. These are simple treats that are sure to be a big hit with anyone, and only take minutes to make. I even provided you with an awesome little set of gift tags to print out and attach that will surely make you look like you spent all day making these bad boys. 

One thing that comes with having a big family, is having lots of friends. My kids like to give their friends gifts during the holidays, but we have to carefully watch how we spend to make sure we don't go over budget. Some of the most inexpensive gifts can be food treats, so we tend to make a lot of them. This super simple recipe for marshmallow popcorn balls, is a take on two of our favorite fall treats... Rice Krispie Treats and popcorn balls. Hope you enjoy!

 
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

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You will need:

• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 10 oz. bag of marshmallows (or 4 cups of mini marshmallows)
• 1 regular size bag of microwave popcorn; popped, cooled, and unpopped kernels removed
• Sprinkles of your choice

Melt the butter on medium low heat and starting to caramelize. Add the marshmallows and heat on low until completely melted. Remove from heat and add the entire bag of popcorn and stir. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Once the mixture has cooled, divide mixture into equal amounts and mold into balls approximately the size of a baseball. Shake or roll on sprinkles to finish them off.

The actual recipe is very similar to the recipe for Rice Krispie Treats, except you replace the cereal with popcorn, and I like to let my butter caramelize a bit. You can use any style of popcorn, such as homestyle or butter. I prefer the butter just because I love the salty sweet favor combo.

To give these as gifts, you will need large lollipop bags and any type of festive ribbon that can be found at craft stores. You may think that the sticky marshmallow may stick to the bags, but it actually doesn't. Place the marshmallow popcorn balls in the bags and tie off with a ribbon, and that's it. You can even add a fun little gift tag. I have created some below for you to enjoy.

Right click and save to computer. For personal use only!

I would love to hear if you try this marshmallow popcorn ball recipe or how you use these gift tags. Be sure to stop back by and let me know!

 

                    

marshmallow popcorn balls over at crosbie crew

 

summer, over at crosbie crew is hosting her awesome series, mama makes, again this year and i am sharing my marshmallow popcorn balls recipe over there today. there's even a free halloween gift tag printable i created, so be sure to go check it out!

and if you would like to see all of the other mama makes posts in this series, click HERE. 

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

summer treats: strawberry banana lickity splits

we always do several craft projects every summer while the kids are on break from school, but this year i wanted to incorporate more food projects that allow my kids to make and create their own fun snacks. last week we started the summer out by making s'mores over an open flame in our fire pit. this week i wanted to try an alternative to one of our favorite desserts, ice cream sandwich cake. my dad introduced me to this cake for the first time several months ago. my dad has never been one to get in the kitchen, so i knew this was a pretty easy treat if he could make it.

usually the ice cream sandwich cake is a very chocolatey dessert. however, i decided to change it up a bit this week by adding fruit and making it a cross between a strawberry shortcake and a banana split. to give each person their own individual serving, each person received their own little canning jar to build their treat. we call it strawberry banana lickity splits.

i could definitely see myself serving these at a party. not just a party for kids, but for adults too!

strawberry banana lickity splits (per jar)

• homemade or store bought icecream sandwich
• COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
• sliced strawberries
• banana slices
• small canning jar

ahead of time, slice strawberries and place in the refrigerator. next, remove the ice cream sandwich from the package and cut into about six pieces. fill the bottom of the canning jar with the pieces of ice cream sandwich and put into the freezer until ready to serve.

once you are ready to serve, add a scoop of COOL WHIP to the jar, on top of the pieces of ice cream sandwich, then top with strawberries and bananas.

add a spoon and serve!

this simple recipe was certainly a big hit at our house! it is so simple for my little ones to prepare themselves... even elijah.

quick tips: puree a few of the strawberries and add a little of your favorite sweetener, then mix with the rest of the strawberries and add on top of the COOL WHIP. yum!

frozen, COOL WHIP makes a tasty treat similar to ice cream.  you can even change this recipe up each time by adding different ingredients on top of the COOL WHIP. the toppings are endless!

 

Do you have a special dessert you'd like to share? Enter COOL WHIP's Fan Dessert of the Month Contest for a chance to win $500! Simply make a COOL WHIP dessert, take a photo, and upload it here. Enter now! 

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

pumpkin spice rice krispie treats

happy 1st day of fall! 

here is a yummy treat to get the season started off right.

the recipe i found for this on pinterest is here. originally this recipe was for brown butter pumpkin spice treats. however, browning butter is way to complicated for me. the directions make it sound easy enough, but i know me and i am sure to screw it up. so, i just skipped that step.

let me just tell you that these are so freaking good. i didn't even eat 1/8 of a square and i was blown away by it's yummy goodness. and since i am trying to change my eating habits in hopes of losing weight, so unfortunately that little sample may be all i enjoy.

but it will be hard.

pumpkin spice rice krispie treats

3 tsp. butter
4 cups mini marshmallows (or one 10 oz. bag of the regular size)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
6 cups rice krispies
sprinkles

so basically, all you do is make rice krispie treats like the original recipe that comes on the rice krispies box (go here if you don't know it), and when it is time to add the marshmallows, add the pumpkin pie spice. once you have poured the rice krispie treat mix into a container to set, you put on the spinkles.

i pretty much change the sprinkles for whatever season or holiday it is and my kids think i am a rice krispie treat genius. this is our first time trying the pumpkin spice flavor, so i am pretty excited to see what they think.

try them, you will thank me!
oh, and if you are not following me on pinterest you can do that here.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

happy valentine's day!

look what we have been busy making!

consider one of these for each of you!

strawberry marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and covered with sprinkles

white marshmallows dipped in chocolate and rolled in graham crackers...just like s'mores!

today is the last day to enter the my funny valentine photo contest.

get those photos in to win! 

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