Endless Peeps: Chocolate Mousse Marshmallow Cookie Bars

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Peeps. I love Peeps. And I love that the Peeps peeps are creating the sugar-coated marshmallow treats for just about every holiday. I even got a mint-flavored, Christmas tree shaped, chocolate covered peep in my stocking this year. So, you could imagine my excitement when I received a box of a variety of Peeps products at my door. The varieties ranged from vanilla creme hearts, raspberry and strawberry chocolate covered Peeps, strawberry creme Peeps, heartshappd marshmallow Peeps, even chocolate-dipped Peeps.

We loved the Peanut Butter Comfort Six Layer S’mores Bars so much that we decided to create a variation involving peeps…and maybe brownies. After debating chocolate chip vs. sugar cookie dough, we decided to go with a base of a sugar cookie. The result was something between a shortbread and graham cracker crust (maybe because there are whole graham crackers in the middle). Unfortunately, one tube of cookie dough was not enough, so we smothered the rest of the concoction with brownie batter. Between the cookie dough and brownie batter is whole graham crackers, chocolate mousse peeps, and chocolate chips.

Interestingly enough, the peeps kind of spread into every crevice available—even downward into the cookie dough. Every bite has a different texture. Sometimes the crunchiness of the graham cracker comes through, other times the chocolatey brownie and chocolate chips, and other times the gooey-ness of the marshmallow takes over. However, the flavor of the chocolate mousse is quite the complement to the overall taste. One thing I would change? More Peeps!

Chocolate Mousse Marshmallow Cookie Bars

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Graham Crackers Gone Wild! Top 10 Ways to Use Your Leftover S’mores Ingredients

It’s time to stock up on chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers. It’s s’mores season. Typically you’ll see the chocolate go first, then the marshmallows, but every year those poor graham crackers are left over to stale up. It’s a shame…rarely does someone crave a plain honey graham cracker. I actually enjoy one with some peanut butter spread and dunked in an ice cold glass of milk. But I digress. For the rest of you who don’t like the poor old “boring” graham, here are some ideas for what to do with them (other than s’mores of course):

10. Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars

Graham-Cracker-Peanut-Butter-Bars-With-Dark-Chocolate-Ganache_thumb

Recipe: The Wannabe Chef

Last time I did a top ten, I offended some by offering unhealthy choices. Well, as the humble person I am, and very thoughtful I may add, I found a choice that is gluten free. Gluten free, yet still scrumptious. Peanut butter, chocolate, graham crackers. You’re welcome.

9. Graham Cracker Chicken Bites

GrahamCrackerChicken

Recipe: My Kitchen Snippets

I bet you thought these would all be deserts. Well, yet again you are wrong. Screw corn flakes—let’s add some sweet honey graham crackers to the mix and impress guests of all ages. This really is sweet and savory. Maybe for desert, you can get out the mallows.

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Marshmallows Gone Wild! Top 10 Summertime Uses for Jumbo Marshmallows

Maybe I’m just sheltered, but I never knew about jumbo marshmallows until I saw a large palate of them in a grocery store near the shore a few weeks ago. As a proponent of campfires and burning marshmallows to a charred, crispy, oozing sweet goodness, you would imagine that I got excited.

With the summer finally here, it’s time we break out the mallows and start toasting away. But wait…there’s more you can do with a marshmallow than toast it in a fire? Well yes, and here are ten favorite, craziest ways:

10. Chocolate and Caramel Covered Marshmallow Pops

Whenever we’re making caramel apples, I make sure no caramel goes to waste. I dip marshmallows in the caramel, then set them in the freezer. Why didn’t I think of then dipping in chocolate afterwards? I’m ashamed. The peeps (no pun intended) at the turtle’s life for me made these. A layer of crushed Oreos after the caramel and before the chocolate would MAKE these.

(Photo: A Turtle’s Life for Me)

9. Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

They sell toasted coconut marshmallows in stores — but I’m pretty sure they couldn’t even compare to homemade toasted coconut-covered marshmallows. Now imagine this: they are made with jumbo marshmallows. I’m thinking you can coat the store-bought jumbo marshmallows in melted butter and the toasted coconut would stick. Or just make them from scratch. Whoever said marshmallows are boring: you lose.

(Photo: PreventionRD)

8. Oreo Marshmallows

Again, they’re homemade so the first goal would be to make these oreo marshmallows double the size. Do I hear a challenge? Damn right.

(Photo: Raspberri Cupcakes)

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Endless Poptails: Blueberry Cabernet Cheesecake

Blueberries, wine, cheesecake…in a popsicle. Yes, it’s possible to have all that in a poptail. I went against my usual hard liquor & fruit for dessert profile and instead took a blueberry cheesecake recipe, then shot it up with some cabernet sauvignon and froze it.

The cabernet gives the blueberry its full bodied shot of booze, while the eggless, heavy cream and cream cheese mixture gives the popsicle its cheesecake cred, and the little bit of graham cracker crumb inserted for a crust-like authenticity brings it all home.

This holiday weekend, forget trying to find a way to juggle your wine in one hand your dessert in the other — just mix them into one and lick your way through.

Blueberry Cabernet Cheesecake Popsicle

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Top 10 Foods Only a Baby Could Love

Around here, we love top 10 lists.  I particularly enjoyed Jessica’s Top Ten Things I Ate in College That I’ll Never Eat Again.  It brought back some fond memories and the taste of stomach acid.  I might also add the Ramen sandwich and instant apple cider made with dorm room sink water.  But it’s been ten years since I entered that freshman dorm, and life as a parent has taken me to some new culinary lows.  So, here we go…the top 10 foods only a baby (or maybe a toddler) could love:

10. Single-Grain Cereal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a child, my mom tried to sell me on the virtues of a strange paste called Cocoa Wheats, sometimes singing the jingle as she stirred the gluey concoction on the stove.   Even at the tender age of 8, I knew that stuff was nasty.  And yet, we are told to give it to babies as their first food because it’s “highly digestible”  and has a “smooth texture.” I think we’ve only succeeded this long because they can’t talk back.  Just a warning, parents, they get over it pretty quickly and you’ll be stuck with a box of the stuff for months or years to come.

9.  Pureed Vegetables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the texture of rice cereal, plus the power to stain any and all surfaces they touch — liquified veggies are truly abhorrent.  Since we waited until Elijah was six months old to give him solid foods, the mushy green paste period was mercifully short.  We never tried the jarred meat, so I can only imagine the horror.  And the smell.

I have been to a few restaurants lately where super-smooth vegetable mush was passed off as “sauce.”  Nope.  I’m on to you.  Gerber has a stake in this somewhere.

8. Food Off the Floor

Now, before you go and call me a snob, know that I am not talking about the 5-second rule, or even the 30-second rule.  I am talking about days-old, dried up, stuck-to-the-floor old food.  My son was never big on putting foreign objects into his mouth, but if it is, or once was, food — look out.  On the upside, I will say that my sweeping standards are dramatically higher as a result.

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Peanut Butter and Jell-WHY?!? Vodka

By this point in my Endless Simmer career (and let’s face it, my career as a human being in general), I have become the go-to girl when it comes to crazy/ridiculous/ill-fated novelty alcoholic endeavors. (Well, to be fair, this honor is shared with my booze soulmate, ML.)

So it should come as no shock that when Van Gogh wanted to send us a bottle of its new PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY FLAVORED VODKA to sample, I was the first (and only) writer to jump at the chance to experience such a creation. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for it, but come on, I never really have dreams of glory for any of my drunken experiences. All I hope for are entertaining stories we can retell in the future. And by “entertaining” I mean “humiliating,” but whatever.

My roommates and I decided to throw together a last-minute “flavored vodka tasting party” (classy) to poll people on the PB&J vodka. As one might imagine, the reactions were not the most positive. Don’t get me wrong, I love vodka. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But something seems a bit…. off about this booze.

Their website describes it as such:

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S’mores Gone Wild

Ah, s’mores. That simple-but-perfect campfire treat that ranks as one of America’s greatest food inventions. Gooey, crispy and chocolatey, they just couldn’t get any better. Or could they?

We got pretty excited when we saw frozen s’mores on a stick at the Iowa State Fair and wondered what other new takes on s’mores are out there. Turns out food bloggers have been busy giving this old-fashioned treat a new-school makeover. Check out these seven inventive treats that take s’mores to the next level. Give us some more indeed.

1. S’mores Cookies

An entire s’more submerged in a chocolate chip cookie? Yes, ma’am.

Recipe: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

2. S’mores Pops

All the gooey goodness of a s’more, made right on your stovetop.

Recipe: Bakers Royale

3. S’mores Oatmeal

Breakfast will never know what hit it.

Recipe: une deux senses

 

 

 

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