Wacky Birthday Party

It's been a month full of partying around here.  This Wacky Party was so much fun to plan!  My oldest turned 14 and I wanted a party that fit him and his personality.  He loves to joke around and be silly, so a wacky party was the perfect fit.  Because not all 14 year olds are as wacky as mine, each of the kids were given a bottle of "Wacky Pills" (M&M's) to get the party started.  The kids played games like Pin the Mustache on Tyler and had a silly string war, and then ate pizza and just enough sugar to have a nice sugar high by the time the party was over.  They all left with a goody bag filled with fun/wacky things like huge glasses, crazy teeth, silly string, pacifier suckers, etc.

I wanted to keep the party simple and he wanted to keep it intimate.  It turned out to be the perfect event for him and his friends.  And lucky for me, 14 year olds like to eat!  So I didn't get stuck with tons of leftover sugar. 

Doughnut Cake Pops

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Dipped Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

My favorite part of the entire party - The wacky doughnut cake with some funky candles

Wacky water with wacky straws

M&M "Wacky Pills"

The wacky stash

 Before

After - They didn't do too bad!  Except one who's mustache ended up on an entirely different wall...

I got all the darling printables from Just a little Sparkle.

Linked on Pinworthy Projects, Tatertots and Jello and Strut Your Stuff. 

Check out my Wacky Birthday Party Feature!!

Dipped Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

It's been a while, I know.  I have 2 kids with birthdays in April so we've been partying like crazies around here.  And I'm proud to announce that I've survived it all!  These Dipped Peanut Butter Crispy Bars are one of the treats that showed up on the table at my 14 year old's party.  

There's something magical that happens when you combine peanut butter and chocolate.  It takes things from ordinary to extraordinary and makes them disappear right before your eyes.

1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a large pan and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil.  Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Add peanut butter and mix until it is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Add crispy rice cereal and stir until the cereal is well coated.  Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan and press the mixture down until it is an even layer.  Let sit for at least one hour to cool and set.  Remove the crispy bars from the pan and place on a sheet of parchment paper.  Cut in half lengthwise, then into 1 to 2 inch bars (depending on preference).  Combine chocolate and butterscotch chips in a small microwave safe bowl.  Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.  Dip one end of each bar into the melted chocolate and then place back on parchment paper to harden.

*The bars can also be left in the pan and have the melted chocolate poured on top instead of dipping the bars.  Delicious either way!

Recipe adapted from Scotcharoos.

Linked on Pinworthy Projects, Manic Monday, Tatertots and Jello and Strut Your Stuff.

Pizza Dough

I don't know how many times I've tried to start this post.  Several, I know.  I just can't seem to come up with anything to say.  Not that this Pizza Dough isn't good.  It is.  Really!  I guess my creative side is missing today.  What little of it I have.  So I guess it's on to the recipe.  And a very good one, at that.

4 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast in a large bowl and mix well.  Stir in water (I use tap water as warm as I can get it) and oil.  Add more flour or water if needed.  Cover dough and let rise in a warm spot until double, about 20 minutes.  Punch down dough and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 500 .  Shape dough into rounds on a pizza sheet or pizza stone.  Top with desired toppings and bake for 10 minutes (a pizza stone will need to bake longer)

The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.  I like to make mine in the morning and use it that night.  Allow dough to sit out (still covered) for an hour to return to room temperature before shaping and topping.

Recipe from the Royal Cook - an original!

Pinwheel Cookies

I can't seem to get enough of these cute little cookies.  They are so colorful and fun and the perfect cookie for spring!  And they're pretty darn tasty, too.  The kids devoured them and were quite upset when they were gone.  I told them I'd make some more, so I guess it's back to the kitchen I go.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cup flour
Food coloring
Sprinkles

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix until combined, then add dry ingredients. Mix until ingredients are well combined. Divide dough in half. Add food coloring to one of the pieces and mix until dough is evenly colored. Tear off a piece of waxed paper and place the uncolored dough onto the waxed paper.  Cover with another piece of waxed paper and roll into a thin rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick).  Repeat with colored dough.  Carefully remove the waxed paper from the dough and stack the colored dough on top of the uncolored dough and trim the edges.  Tightly roll from the long edge like a jelly roll.  Once the dough is rolled up, pour sprinkles onto a piece of plastic wrap and roll the dough in the sprinkles.  Wrap dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Slice dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from my Unicorn Poop Cookies.

Peanut Butter Eggs

If I had to pick a favorite Easter treat, it would Reese's peanut butter eggs.  They're pretty much awesome!  And the entire family loves them.  Not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing.  Probably a good thing.  It saves me from eating all of them by myself.

These Peanut Butter Eggs are amazing!  They practically disappeared right before my eyes.  I turned my back on them to find my camera to take a picture and they disappeared.  All that was left was a darling little 2 year old with chocolate covered hands and brown drool.  I guess that means they disappeared right behind my back!

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 pound milk chocolate chips

Combine peanut butter and butter in a large bowl and mix until smooth.  Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and powdered sugar, and mix until well mixed.  Shape dough into egg shapes and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Freeze for 30 to 60 minutes.  Place chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl and melt in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring well after each 30 seconds.  Dip eggs, one at a time, in melted chocolate.  Tap on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate.  Place dipped eggs on parchment paper to set.

Notes:
If you prefer a thinner chocolate, add 2 tablespoons shortening to the chocolate before melting.
To dip my eggs and use a plastic fork and break off the 2 inner tines, leaving just the outside 2 tines.

Recipe from The Royal Cook - an original!

Linked on The Busy Bee's, The Weekend re-Treat, Tatertots and Jello, Finding the Pretty & Delicious and Pinworthy Projects.

Key Lime Pie Cake Pops

I'm so excited that spring is finally here!   We welcomed it in style.  With snow.  I was due with my 4th (and 5th) in July and actually wanted snow in the spring.  I even requested snow in June.  It ended up snowing on May 31 and I was happy as could be.  Pretty sure I was about the only one happy about it though.  This year I'm not requesting snow in June.  Or in May.  Or even in April.

The Key Lime Pie Cake Pops are perfect for the spring (the sunny kind of spring, not the snowy kind of spring).  They are so pretty and every bit as delicious, if not more delicious!

1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 cup key lime juice
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
Food coloring, optional
1 pound vanilla almond bark (or white chocolate chips or white candy melts)
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Key Lime Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons key lime juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cake mix, key lime juice, eggs and milk (I also added 2 drops of blue food coloring to make the batter a little green).  Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.  Let the cake cool completely, then crumble into a large bowl.  To make the frosting, combine butter and powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add key lime juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.  Add about 3/4 of the frosting to the cake crumbs and mix well.  Add more frosting, if necessary, to make a stiff mixture that holds its shape when formed into balls.  Shape cake mixture into balls about the size of a walnut and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Freeze balls for 30 minutes.  Remove balls from freezer and insert a sucker stick into each ball (I like to put my sucker sticks in, then remove them and dip them in a little of the melted almond bark, then put the sticks back in the cake balls and let them set before dipping).  Place vanilla almond bark in a microwave safe bowl.  Melt almond bark in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring well after each 30 seconds.  Dip each cake pop into the melted almond bark, then gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to remove excess almond bark.  Sprinkle with crushed graham crackers.  To keep the cake pops right side up, I poked holes in an empty box and put a pop in each hole.  I've also used a glass jar.

Recipe from The Royal Cook - an original!

Linked on The Best Blog Recipes, The Busy Bee's, Tatertots and Jello, Finding the Pretty & Delicious and Pinworthy Projects.  

Unicorn Poop Cookies

My little 4 year old is in a unicorn phase.  Or a princess horsey phase, as we like to call them.  We have a unicorn costume I bought years ago for her older sister for Halloween.  My little 4 loves to pull it out of the closet and run around in it.  Since she is obsessed with unicorns right now, I figured she'd love these Unicorn Poop Cookies.  She did.  And so did everyone else.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cup flour
Food coloring
Sprinkles

Pour sprinkles onto a plate and set aside.  In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix until combined, then add dry ingredients. Mix until ingredients are well combined. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Add food coloring to each piece (pink/red, blue, yellow and green) and mix each piece until dough is evenly colored.  Break off a small piece of each color of dough, about 1 teaspoon, and roll each piece into a rope about 1/4 inch thick.  Place a rope of each color together and roll together until the rope is about 1/2 inch thick.  Roll the rope up to make a circle, then roll the outer edges in the sprinkles.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and repeat with remaining dough.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Sugar cookie recipe adapted from Rachel Cooks.

Linked on The Best Blog Recipes, The Busy Bee's, Tatertots and Jello, Finding the Pretty & Delicious and Pinworthy Projects.