Lucky Charms Treats

Now if you have ever eaten that delicious and totally unhealthy sugary cereal when you were a kid, this will come as a pleasant surprise to you. Everyone knows what rice krispy treats are, but have you seen other cereals besides Rice Krispies? Well... if you haven't, you are in for a.... treat!

These are such a fantastic snack to make because it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. They are tasty and chewy, a perfect combination.

Ingredients:
5 C Lucky Charms cereal
3 tbsp butter
2 1/2 C mini marshmallows (or 25-30 large ones)

Directions:
1. Grease a 13" x 9" baking dish.

2. On the stove, melt the butter and marshmallows together.

3. In a large bowl pour the marshmallow mixture over the dry cereal and mix together with a greased spatula or plastic spoon. (I use the frosting spatulas)

4. Using wax paper or greased hands, pour the mixture into the baking dish and press down to set.

5. Once cooled slightly, cut into squares.

Luck 'O the Irish Brownie Bites

It's that time of year! Saint Patrick's Day is right around the corner and I can guarantee everyone is getting excited for some reason or another. For example, I am excited that spring is here because it's almost my birthday and I'm about to graduate in May! Eeeee!

This delectable little bites of chocolate are just wonderful. They can be made with or without Irish cream liqueur. I actually found them on AllRecipes, which is one of my preferred "commercial" recipe sites.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

2 family size boxes of fudge brownie mix

1 C Irish cream liqueur (like Baileys) (for non-alcoholic version, use heavy cream)

2/3 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

Icing on top:

1 C unsalted butter, softened

5 tbsp Irish cream liqueur (or heavy cream)

4 C powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Grease a cupcake tin with cooking spray

3. Beat together the brownie mix, 1 cup Irish liqueur, vegetable oil, and eggs until the mixture is smooth.

4. Pour large spoonfuls into the cupcake tins and bake until the centers come out clean when a toothpick is inserted. This is around 20 minutes. Let the brownies cool.

5. For the icing, beat the butter until it's creamy, add in the liqueur until incorporated. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until desired consistency. Scoop or spread onto brownies.

Blueberry Biscuits

I had some extra blueberries lying around and I'm not a blueberry eater, but I will eat a dessert or dish with blueberries in it! So I quickly searched for a recipe with blueberries that wasn't absolutely FULL of sugar. This recipe is it! There isn't much sugar, but the blueberries add a sweetness that doesn't bog you down after you eat it. My favorite! (The original recipe has a compote to go with it)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add the blue berries and mix. Add in the cream gently until the mixture is just mixed. You want a nice lumpy batter, which makes the biscuits light and fluffy!

3. On lightly floured parchment paper, knead the dough about four times into an 8" square or rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into 8-12 pieces leaving the bottom of the dough intact.

4. Place the parchment paper and dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Talk about an amazing, quick, delicious, superb treat! I had a flat tire and a friend of mine changed it for me. In return, I made him some cookies. He deserved them after all! He likes red velvet, but as much as I owed him a favor, I was not about to make him a red velvet cake. (Sorry Robert!) Then I came across this recipe, and thought it would surely be a hit. They were amazing!

Ingredients:
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
A box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line two cookie sheets with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Place powdered sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine butter, eggs and red velvet cake mix until there are no large lumps left.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls (about 1 tablespoon worth of dough) and coat in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches for spreading.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops have cracked and the tops look set (the centers will still be gooey). Let sit for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

4. Store in an air-tight container, but believe me, they'll be gone before you know it!

Chocolatey Chocolate Krispy Treats

What a name! It describes this treat wonderfully! When the words super and duper come before chocolatey chocolate, you can NOT go wrong! This recipe was found online, but I changed it up a bit with the Reese's peanut butter chips.

Ingredients:
12 ounces chocolate chips, semisweet, bittersweet or milk chocolate
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
3 cups crisp rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips (Reese's!)

Directions:
1. Lightly grease an 8X8- or 9X9-inch baking pan and set aside.

2. Melt chocolate in a sauce pot being careful not to burn. Stir in the peanut butter until combined. Let the mixture cool slightly, about five minutes. 

3. Add the rice cereal, marshmallows and chocolate chips and/or peanut butter chips. Fold together with a rubber spatula until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Press additional marshmallows and peanut butter chips into the top of the bars, if desired. 

4. Let the bars cool and set for 5-6 hours until they are firm and no longer gooey. Once the bars are firm and set, cut into squares and serve.