Halloween Treats with See's Candies

When we opened our package of See's Candies, my husband and I felt like we were children all over again. Sure we remember getting the fun sized bags of candy during the Halloween festivities, but there is something nostalgic about vintage and authentically made treats. Do you remember going into the corner store with your grandmother? The giant lollipops and colorful suckers that immediately made your mouth water? Holidays are really special in our family and making sweet memories has been at the top of our list since the moment we became parents. Enter literal sweet memories, such as this, and our kids having their own taste of Halloween. 

Halloween is of course about costumes and trick and treating and hanging out with all of our friends; but we ALL know at the end of the night, it's allllllllll about that c-a-n-d-y!! Check out some of the sweetness that can be found at See's Candies-- they've been making quality chocolate for over NINETY years, y'all. And they have over 200 shops AND an online store.

If WE as parents were oohing and aahing over the beauty that was set out in front of us, you KNOW our children were in candy and chocolate HEAVEN. It was so fun watching them pick up the many assortments and talk about what to try first and then what to eat next. We only let them have two pieces, and ever since this shoot, I've basically been ghosting the leftovers [which there was a LOT] because #momtax, y'all. 

If the images themselves haven't convinced you yet, then just see for yourself. Visit See's Candies website and I double dog dare you to choose just ONE Halloween treat. I mean really, do you think you'll be able to order JUST the Trick or Treat Lollypops and miss out on ALSO ordering those milk chocolate jack o' lanterns? Hhhmmmmmmm, I doubt it ;) 

Happy Halloweening, friends! Is that a word? No...but it works. 

Valentine's Day Pretzel Bites

This past Christmas my sister-in-law and her children were making pretzel bites for the kids to gift their teachers. Her three were sitting at their kitchen table, carefully unwrapping every Hershey's Kiss©, and my son eagerly joined them. She told me that it was a great activity to help them stay busy, because they seriously focus so well on individually unwrapping each one to place on top of the pretzels.

While I scrolled Pinterest in search of Valentine's goodies, I remembered this idea! There's lots of variations of it, but we chose to do mini pretzels, kisses, and valentine themed m&m's for ours this morning. My kids were so excited to do this together, and I made a whole Instagram story of them unwrapping and chatting, giggling together and talking about how I would put the m&m's on top after they had warmed in the oven. 

They of course intermittently asked, "Mommy, can I eat one??" to which I obliged because they were doing SO well. And together, they finished the entire task all by themselves! That's a lot of pretzels for a three and four-year old! So here's how you do it, though I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory based on the pictures ;) 

-Buy your favorite [or cheapest in my case] brand of mini pretzels
-Hershey Kisses
-M&M's [we used the Valentine's themed]

-Pre-heat oven to 300°
-Line up the pretzels over wax paper on a cookie sheet
-Have kiddos unwrap the kisses and set on top of the pretzels
-Put cookie sheet w/ pretzels + chocolate in the oven for about 3 minutes
-Gently press m&m on each pretzel

And then I put ours in the fridge to get nice and solid. The kids had a few after their lunches and they LOVED them. I keep opening the fridge and snacking on them in between writing this blog post, brewing coffee, and rotating laundry, ha! 

Easy

Time-Consuming for Energetic Kiddos 

DELICIOUS! 

The recipe to THE perfect rainy and cloudy afternoon, at least in my book! Enjoy, y'all! And thanks again to my sis-in-law Jana for the idea! She is the best! 

Valentines Goodies Brought to You by Shari's Berries©

I can't believe Valentine's Day is in just a couple weeks! I was so excited to partner with Shari's Berries this month because now I can show you the perfect gift to send your boo- (or kids, or bestie, or mom, or whoever!) I don't know about YOU, but gourmet dipped strawberries are right up my love language alley. There is such a huge selection to choose from; from hand-dipped football berries, hand-dipped caramel apples and classic dipped cherries! I got these delectable berries in the mail and photographed (and ate!) them a day later- they were still as fresh as can be! 

Paired with some sparkling cider, (champagne would of course work too), talk about YUMMY. The kids requested 'pink milk' so that's what they got. As they were finishing their berries, they looked at one another and said, "Cheers!" (Reese's favorite thing to say thanks to our many tea parties). These two and three year olds definitely approved!

Run, don't walk, to your computer or phone or whatever device you want to use and place your order for Valentine's Day! I promise you won't regret it!

A Valentines Treat: Oreo© Cheesecake Cookies

My Pinterest SWEETS board is quickly filling up with an abundance of cookie + pie recipes and when I saw this one, I thought, 'What a cute idea for Valentines Day!' The original recipe is from Blogger 'Baker by Nature.' It may be one of the easiest cookie recipes I've ever followed and with only five ingredients, how could it not be?! Another Blogger, 'Nest of Posies' took it one step farther and added some red food coloring to hers, making the cookies festive and pink. With a total of six ingredients, you'll be able to whip these cute cookies up in no time!

Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
8 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature [I used unsalted because that's what we buy]
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
A few drops of red food coloring
10 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces
 

Directions:
In the body of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the sugar and beat well.
Add in flour, a small bit at a time, beating in on low speed, just until incorporated. 
Add in a couple drops of red food coloring.
Fold in Oreos until evenly distributed.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, and up to 2 hours. [With two toddlers and life, my batch ended up being in the fridge for probably 2.5 hours...]

30 minutes prior to baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough, roll them into rounds, and place them on the cookie sheet. Lightly press down on each cookie.

Place pan in the oven to bake for 10-11 minutes, or until *just golden at the edges. They will be SUPER soft when they come up and that's what you want!

Cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then very carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

My kiddos wanted'pink milk' to drink with the cookies. They are so soft and seriously taste like little drops of Oreo© Cheesecake in your mouth. I'm not sure how dipping a cookie in milk is an innate response, but apparently it is; Reese was cracking me up! I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as me and my family did! Happy Baking :D