Candy Turkey Legs

Ok, guys–are these the cutest little turkey drumsticks that you’ve ever, EVER seen?! You KNOW they are!

And  no lie, they taste so good, you’ll be lucky if somebody doesn’t eat them all in one sitting. Ahem.

First, you’ll need three simple things:

1 bag of Braided Pretzel Sticks

1 bag Kraft Caramels

Dipping chocolate– we used 2 large Symphony bars

Here’s how you make them. 

Snap one end off the pretzels or they will be too long and look funny.  You can see that we didn’t break too much off. Just enough to make them the right size.

Next you’ll want to warm up the caramels. You can do this a few different ways. You can soften them up with a few seconds in the microwave–if you have one. We don’t, so we put them in a Ziploc bag and set them in a bowl of hot water. It worked just fine.

We’re not trying to melt the caramels–just make them soft enough to mold, kind of like clay.

Next, wrap the caramel around the broken end of the pretzel. Mold and shape it like a turkey leg–a blob at one end, tapering down towards the middle of the pretzel.

You’ll have a sweet little plate of naked drumsticks when you’re finished. While they sit there in all their skinned, raw, vulnerable glory you’ll need to melt the chocolate. We just put it in a small pan and warmed it on the stove on low.

Once it’s completely melted, dip the little things in the chocolate and let them rest on wax paper. You might want to be smarter than I was and put the wax paper on a pan first. That way you can pop them in the fridge to help them set faster.

I don’t know about you, but I simple LOVE giving someone a surprise that makes them say, “OH, MY GOSH!! How adorable!”

Then they laugh–

which is, of course my all time favorite reaction.

Luckily, I made a million of these.

Guess I’m just a needy little soul.

Ha.

 

 

PS- This recipe was first spotted on Taste of Home Recipes. I only did one minor tweak–using one caramel instead of two and breaking the pretzels.

The Halloween Tradition

Ahhh…such a happy tradition around here. Halloween just plain doesn’t work without these ooh-y, gooey Caramel Popcorn Balls.

I’m pretty sure all my kids like them, but I have this one daughter who says things like, “Yay! This is ALL I want at Halloween!” and “these are my absolute favorite!” She even texted me the other day with a crying face emoji and said the unthinkable, “I’m out of popcorn balls.”

Such a good, good daughter.

What some people know is that if you really, REALLY love one of my recipes and you make enough fuss about it–the likelihood that I’ll cook it for you goes waaaaay up.

You know what that means….

I guess I must desperately need constant, unbridled praise/adoration,

and…

yes, I absolutely can be bought.

Blonde Brownies

When I was a young pup, I worked at a bookstore in the mall. What I probably should have said, was that I bought all the books in a bookstore in the mall…but that’s a story for another time.

Anywhooo…at lunch time a bunch of us would go to the bakery and choose our personal favorite sinful thing and eat it all the way back to work. It was a perfectly lovely way to behave.

Well, the awesome little goodie that I always chose was the Blonde Brownie. Oooooh…I get shivers just thinking about it. So. Dang. GOOD.

Well, I’ve spent the better part of 30 years trying to find that exact recipe. I’ve tried millions—no, really, I have the scale to prove it–but never quite found the real thing.

Until now.

These are the real thing guys. Just trust me and make them.

They seriously lasted about 45 minutes at our house.

And there’s only….

two of us.

Yes, I’m mortified.

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Blonde Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (melted)

1-1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs + 1 yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsps cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and grease 9×13 pan.

Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir well.

Add eggs, yolk and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until completely combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool.

 

 
Blonde Brownies
 
:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter (melted)
  • 1-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsps cornstarch
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ⅔ cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease 9x13 pan.
  2. Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir well.
  3. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Set aside.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until completely combined.
  6. Fold in chocolate chips.
  7. Spread batter into prepared pan.
  8. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool.

Miss Chomp’s Cookies

Been quite a while since this sweet little face has shown up here–right? Well, Miss Chomp and her cute friend Piper got the baking bug one day….and decided that a boat-load of Oatmeal Farm Cookies were in order.

Which, in my humble opinion–is ALWAYS a good idea!

And then they got real creative and added chocolate chips to the tops. Such a brilliant generation to compliment perfection. Heh, heh.

Pretty sure I’d buy anything these little cuties were selling–wouldn’t you?

Solid win.

I love you Miss Chompy!

 

Losing

Down 9.2 pounds in two weeks!

That’s pretty good, considering I made Valentine cookies–ate quite a few–

AND won a chocolate cake from Magleby’s!! THAT was a bit rough to resist, but it had more points than I get in a whole day! No thanks.

Luckily, I have a son who is ready, willing and able to make those temptations disappear! Haha.
Seriously though guys, I’m having a lot of fun with this Weight Watchers stuff. It’s huge to me that I can choose whatever food I want and just count the points. I’ve eaten out several times –Kneaders, Arby’s, Pizza Hut–and still lost big.

Oh, and frozen fruit is my new best friend.

I can totally do this.