Fourth of July Fruit & Brownie Skewers

Happy Birthday America!  Sharing a quick little treat that I've been making for years.  These fruit skewers are always a hit, with adults and kids alike, but ESPECIALLY if you have kids at your get-together!  These go together super fast and I've never had leftovers.  You can customize your skewers with whatever you like, but I really love the look of the RED strawberries, the WHITE marshmallows and the BLUEberries.  Simply grab a pack of 12-inch wood skewers and you've got a quick but festive patriotic treat that everyone will love.

Aren't these just the cutest? And unlike a Bomb Pop
they won't melt in the summer heat.

FOURTH OF JULY FRUIT & BROWNIE SKEWERS

1 large package of fresh strawberries, cored and stemmed
1 large package of fresh blueberries
1 package large marshmallows
2 boxes Little Debbie Mini Brownies (or Entenmann's Little Bites Fudge Brownie Muffins)

Alternate your fruit, marshmallows and brownies on the skewers.  If you're worried about little hands and mouths, you can trim the point off the skewer or cover it with a big marshmallow.  Enjoy and have a safe and happy fourth of July!

Two-Ingredient Lemon Bars

A lot has happened since my last original blog post. We bought a boat. Mr. Devilish Dish started his own company. The Devilish Nephew has two little boys now, so I have two grandboys. The Littlest Devils. I had major surgery on my hand on New Year's Eve. I had 12 weeks of recovery with absolutely zero to do and it got me inspired to get back to blogging. Shortly after the pandemic shutdown, we did a major remodel on our house. I packed up my old office into a closet and never looked back. Then Mr. Devilish Dish took what was supposed to be my new office as he was still working for home at the time. By the time I was able to put my office back together my old computer was obsolete. I never gave up cooking though besides those two Littlest Devils and bass fishing, cooking is still my favorite thing to do - even the last few months with only one hand to work with. We recently celebrated Mother's Day -after a super quick trip to Denver to see the aforementioned Littlest Devils. I knew after a long weekend of travel the Mother's Day festivities would need to be simple and quick. Nothing could be easier than two ingredients. I'm calling these Lemon Bars, but they aren't like a true lemon bar with a lemon curd-texture, these are more like a really moist, really delicious Lemon Brownie. They were the hit of the get-together and will definitely be made again this summer.

Two-Ingredient Lemon Bars

My cute little coordinating paper plates courtesy of Dollar Tree.

I love that the plates are shaped like a lemon wedge.

Here's my Littlest Devils coloring Crae Home dishtowels 
for their great-grandmother and great-aunt.

Proud of their work!

I've been making these little "fairy wands" to stick in
all of my potted plants on the patio.  I decided they would make
adorable gifts too, and with a little fenagling, I was able
to make these cute pots complete with the boys' pictures.
Flower Pots

I found the cutest kit on Amazon that makes 6 wands,
complete with all of the parts.  So fun and easy to do:

Fairy Wand Kit

My Mother-in-Law got a super cute MacKenzie Childs-
inspired flower pot with some fresh thyme and the cutest
pink fairy wand with crown charms!

TWO-INGREDIENT LEMON BARS

1 (21 Ounce) Can Lemon Pie Filling
1 (16 ounce) Angel Food Dry Cake Mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine dry cake mix and pie filling and mix until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9x13-inch pan and bake until top is browned and starting to split.  (Approximately 35-45 minutes) It will puff up tall like a cake but fall as it cools.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars and dusting with powdered sugar.  

Three-Ingredient NUTELLA Brownies {Gluten-Free}

It's World Nutella Day!  WHAT?!? That should be every day.  It's a holiday devoted to the globally sensational cocoa hazelnut treat.  I made these brownies for the Super Bowl, simply because they are made with almond flour so they are gluten free.  I took a platter full to the party hoping they would be overlooked and I would have leftovers.  NOPE!  They were gone in a flash.  The texture of a rich, fudgy brownie with that Nutella flavor we all know and love.  You would never ever know these are only made with three ingredients and the almond flour is a great alternative to regular all-purpose flour and gluten.  I've been using almond flour a lot as I've been dabbling in Macarons, and I really like baking with it.  (Stay tuned once I get those suckers perfected!) Super easy, super tasty, Super Bowl festive and totally worthy of an international holiday celebration.  Pour the milk and party!

World Nutella Day here I come...

A thick, fudgy brownie sans gluten.

Only 3 ingredients to a tray full of treats!

Break out the milk and enjoy.

Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Glaze + FREE Printable Gift Tags

In the past I've made Strawberry Brownies for Valentine's Day.  They were such a big hit and so simple, I decided to adapt the recipe for a quick and tasty Easter treat!  Carrot Cake Bars are so easy.  Just 3 ingredients!  Start with a boxed carrot cake mix and by adjusting the amount of oil and eggs, the result is a thick, rich bar full of carrot and spice flavor!  Now I LOVE cream cheese frosting, especially the one on My Mom's Carrot Cake, but I wanted these bars to have more of a glaze instead of a thick, fluffy frosting.  Mainly because I'm giving them in cute little Easter bags.  If you're planning to serve them on a platter where that delightful frosting won't get squished, feel free to frost them instead.  Since I'm giving these away to family and friends as a little gift for Easter, I created some cute little tags reminiscent of vintage carrot seed packets.  They are included below if you'd like to print them for gift giving too!  

Only 3 ingredients plus a quick glaze!

{Gluten Free} Chocolate Cheerios Treats

College football is finally here and I couldn't be happier.  That means lots of tailgating, tv watching and of course: snacking!  My beloved Sooners open their season tomorrow against the University of Texas El Paso and of course our tailgate will be open for business.  Keeping it simple with hamburgers and hot dogs.  I'm making sauerkraut to top the dogs and a big batch of baked beans on the side.  Since it's still hot in Oklahoma I needed a dessert that can stand up to the heat.  (No cupcakes with melting frosting!) Recently my friend Barbara told me about the Chocolate Cheerios  She loves them and I was super excited to have another gluten free item to add to my pantry.  In the past I've made Lucky Charms Bars substituting Lucky Charms cereal for Rice Krispies.  (They are so good too.  More marshmallow!) So this time I'm making the bars with Chocolate Cheerios.  I thought about adding some peanut butter chips or some mini Reese's cups but I figured they might melt in the 85 degree weather, so I opted for a traditional Rice Krispie style treat using the Cheerios instead.  So good!  The Chocolate Cheerios are flavored with real cocoa, lending the perfect amount of chocolate to the treats.  Chocolate and marshmallow are the perfect combination.  Just in time for Kick-Off!

Chocolate Cheerios Bars

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (10 ounce) package marshmallows
6 cups Chocolate Cheerios cereal


Grease a 9x13-inch pan and set aside.  In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Add the marshmallows stirring constantly until melted.  Stir the Chocolate Cheerios into the melted marshmallow mixture.  Combine and press into prepared pan.  Allow to cool before slicing into squares.

Prep:  Approximately 10 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 10 minutes

Strawberry Brownies +FREE "Shooting for Brownie Points" VALENTINE Printable

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and it's the ideal time to bake up something pink for your sweetie.  My husband's Mamaw gave me this recipe years ago.  It always reminds me of her.  It also reminds me of my Grandmother Mary and her Strawberry Cake, but way easier.  Only 5 ingredients and 15 minutes in the oven and you've got an adorable valentine in no time.  I've included a free valentine printable that says "Shooting for Brownie Points Valentine," complete with cute little arrows.  It's a very simple recipe that starts with a boxed cake mix.  You could switch up the flavors and use a chocolate or lemon cake mix, but I think the strawberry makes a perfectly pink brownie that makes a great homemade gift. 

Perfectly Pink and ready for gift giving...

Only three ingredients for the brownies themselves.

Look at that Valentine Pink batter!

Only two ingredients for the glaze.
Glaze the brownies while they are still warm.

Add sprinkles if desired.

Thick, rich and strawberry pink.

You'll be Shooting for Brownie Points
when you bake up a batch of these
Strawberry Brownies.

I found some adorable zip-style bags at Michaels,
and added my printed tags with glue dots.
Each bag held four brownies.  Great for a Valentine Snack!

Click on the image to enlarge.
Right click and save to your computer.
Open with the software of your choice
and print onto cardstock.These images are my exclusive artwork.
Please be courteous when using these printables
and remember they are for personal use only.

Strawberry Brownies

1 box Strawberry Cake Mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside. With a mixer, combine cake mix, oil and eggs until well-mixed. Spread batter evenly into pan.  (The batter will be very thick and sticky.  I usually spray a spatula with PAM to help it spread easier.) Bake approximately 14-16 minutes, or until edges start to barely brown.  While brownies are baking whisk together powdered sugar and milk to create a glaze.  Spread glaze over warm brownies.  Cool completely before cutting into squares. 

Prep Time:  Approximately 5 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 16 minutes

Man Bars

Time flies!  It seems like just yesterday I was posting my Roasted Cabbage Wedge Salad for our Spring Edition of #FreakyFriday.  And here we are, summer already.  I'm sure we'll be getting ready for the Fall Edition before we know it.  If you aren't familiar with #FreakyFriday, each person in the group is assigned a blog to make a recipe from.  Only everything is a big secret.  And today is the day we reveal our recipes, not only with all of you but with each other.  It's always a lot of fun to see who had what blog and what recipe they chose to make.  Bonus for all of you, because you get to meet some new bloggers and see some great new recipes.  So, without further adieu....

This time around I was assigned the Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies blog, which is so fun because during the Spring Edition of #FreakyFriday, Kris was assigned my blog and she made my Creamy Corn Dip and her post was so flattering and wonderful.  I looked at all of the fabulous recipes on her blog and I was really torn between doing a dessert (since I love to bake I'm always looking for dessert recipes) and her Green Taco Roll Ups.  Because they use green chiles and you know how much I love green chiles!  Kris is from Wisconsin and I considered making Cheese Curd Stuffed Beef 'n Brat Burger, since that is truly a recipe from her part of the country.  We love bratwurst, and this burger just sounds amazing.  Cheese curds aren't too easy to find in Oklahoma though, so I settled on Man Bars.  The name totally intrigued me, and since Father's Day is in June I decided Man Bars were totally appropriate!

When I read Kris' post, she had made these bars for a Fill the Cookie Jar challenge that happened to be in June.  She also chose this recipe with Father's Day in mind.  That's how I knew I had selected the perfect recipe.  Great baking minds think alike!  Now I've told you before that my hubby likes sweets but he doesn't like anything super rich like fudge or flour-less chocolate cake.  When I looked at the ingredients, I was worried the bars might be too sweet since they call for a whole can of condensed milk, but I was wrong.  They have the perfect amount of sweetness.  They are chocolate-y, complimented with the crunch of graham cracker crumbs.  We all know how well chocolate and graham crackers pair together!  I actually might add some mini marshmallows next time.  Since we're already 2/3 of the way to a s'more.

The only change I made in the recipe is with the walnuts.  Kris' version called for 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts, but picky 'ol Mr. Devilish Dish does not like nuts so I left them out.  I definitely think they would be delicious edition though.  Or chopped pecans like we eat in everything down here in Oklahoma. 

As I mentioned earlier, the bars aren't terribly sweet.  Rolling them in powdered sugar not only makes an attractive treat, but it truly gives them the perfect level of sweetness.  Not too rich, but a totally satisfying dessert or snack.  You might want to cut them kind of small though.  I cut them fairly big so they would make a pretty picture.

I even added a hammer and tape measure to the photo shoot so my bars would be "extra manly."  Not only are these bars the ideal treat for Dad on Father's Day, they are a great treat any time of year.  Simple to make with only a handful of ingredients.  And they look pretty on a platter too.  Even though they are "manly."  Thank you to Kris at Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies for the terrific inspiration!

Man Bars

by: Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.  In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, walnuts, condensed milk, and vanilla.  Press into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool.  Remove bars from pan and cut into small squares.  Place powdered sugar in a small bowl.  Roll bars in sugar before serving.

#FreakyFriday Participating Bloggers:

 An Affair from the Heart
A Dish of Daily Life
Aunt Bee's Recipes
LeMoine Family Kitchen
Cooking On A Budget
Take Two Tapas
Who Needs A Cape?
A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Lisa's Dinnertime Dish
Tampa Cake Girl
Full Belly Sisters
Pic-Nic
Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies
The Devilish Dish
Platter Talk. A Culinary Blog. Food, Wine, Friends



I hope you'll give these fabulous bars a try.  Be sure to visit all of the blogs for some delicious new inspirations.  Hop on over and see Kris at Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies.  I know she would love to hear from you!






 

An InLinkz Link-up

Brownie Cookies

So Little Devil has this skinny boyfriend.  She not only shares my love of baking, but also apparently the need to fatten up everyone around her with over the top sweets.  About every other night she makes him a batch of these cookies.  And then our house smells awesome like brownies only she doesn't let us eat them.  When Mr. DD and I were dating he told me that he liked banana pudding.  And I made it for him in the biggest bowl I could find.  Like literally a wash tub of banana pudding.  To this day he will not touch banana pudding.  So far the boyfriend hasn't gotten tired of these cookies.  Or if he has he's smart enough not to tell her so he'll keep getting homemade treats.  Even if you don't make these every other night like she does, make at least one batch.  They are dark, rich and decadent just like a brownie, with all the fun of a cookie!

Little Devil's dark, rich, decadent
Brownie Cookies
try them!
Apparently some folks never tire of them!

FunBites Food Cutter Dessert Dippers

Recently I was offered the fun opportunity to test out a groovy kitchen gadget.  The FunBites Food Cutter was featured on the ABC show Shark Tank.  FunBites promotes their tool as a novel way to encourage picky eaters to play with their food.  The cutter also makes fun shapes out of sandwiches or other foods.  It's safe for kids to use, and BPA free.  I consider myself a kid at heart, and who wouldn't want to eat food cut into fun shapes?  Not wanting to do the usual sandwich or lunch box snack, I wanted to create something using FunBites that would be delicious and fun for KIDS OF ALL AGES.  Not only are these little bites easy to eat and a fun treat for children, but the FunBites Food Cutter is also great for adult treats.  I used store bought pound cake, and a batch of my Simple From Scratch Brownies, and easily cut everything into shapes (the hearts were my favorite.) The curved blades cut easily through the cake and the matching popper made the shapes super simple to pop out.  I simply skewered the cake and brownie bites and served with with a wonderful homemade Strawberry-Raspberry Sauce for dipping.  It made a fun dessert for the husband and I, and I can't wait to try this idea for a party.  Not only is FunBites great for pancakes, deli meats, cheese, Bento and lunch boxes and more, but as you can see here adults can enjoy a treat made with FunBites too!

FunBites Food Cutter
Dessert Dippers
Yummy AND Fun!

As Featured on Shark Tank
Such a cool tool
and packaged so cute!

The FunBites Food Cutter consists of a Made
in the USA, BPA-free plastic
safe "blade" and a matching popper.

Great for burgers, sandwiches, fruit, quesadillas
and more.  But check it out with yummy pound cake...

FunBites is available in a variety of shapes
but I just love the cute little heart. 
It's like a puzzle!  No wonder it encourages picky eaters!

Here's a close up of my pound cake
and brownie skewers.
So delicious dipped in my
Homemade Strawberry-Raspberry Sauce

Get some FunBites Food Cutters for your kitchen.
Whether you have kids or not, it's a cool tool
for making food fun!

Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Krispie Treats

Is there such a thing as a sophisticated Rice Krispie Treat?  Um....Yes there is.  You won't believe the flavor in these super simple treats.  The only addition to the standard recipe is vanilla bean paste.  If you haven't used vanilla bean paste, I highly recommend picking up a jar.  It's all the wonderful flavor of using fresh vanilla beans with the bonus of easy storage.  Browning the butter adds an extra level of flavor, that you don't find in your standard Rice Krispie Treat.  An extra richness and slightly nutty flavor.  To quote Mr. Devilish Dish, "These are like a regular Rice Krispie Treat on steroids."  Which I think is a compliment.  Sooooo, if you're looking for a modern twist on an old-fashioned treat, this is it.

Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Rice Krispie Treats...
"Sophisticated Rice Krispie Treats..."

If you don't believe me, you should have seen how
quickly a family of three dominated a 9x13-inch pan of these!

Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats with Sea Salt

Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats with Sea Salt.  Say that five times fast!  Good thing you can whip up this awesome dessert in less time than it will take you to say it!  Several years ago Mr. Devilish Dish and I taught a cooking class.  The theme was, "Gridiron Gourmet."  You know, because we love football.  Neither of us are professional chefs, we are just two people that like good food and like to eat.  I think the appeal of his classes was the fact he was just a regular guy that cooks regular food, but shows you how to elevate it a little bit.  A menu that's simple enough for the home cook and working mom or dad to create, but impressive enough for company.  Each table had several football-shaped bowls of CRACK CORN for the students to snack on as the class was getting started.  We shared our recipes for Greg's FAMOUS FROM SCRATCH ONION DIP, SLOPPY JOE SLIDERS, and Greg's AWARD WINNING CHILI.  I wanted the perfect dessert that would be both casual and appropriate for tailgate, but something a little unexpected.  I came up with Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats with Sea Salt, and they scored a TOUCH DOWN.  And an EXTRA POINT.  And a FIELD GOAL. Since then I've made these many times in the Fall, and I usually prepare them for more than one tailgate.  They have become a bit of a Tailgate Tradition.  Yesterday I made a double batch for the game, along with a big pan of SALTED NUT ROLLS, and I am not exaggerating when I say there wasn't a single crumb of either left in the pan.  

Everyone's favorite snack gets 
a Fall upgrade.

Begin by browning the butter.
It will foam up, and then the foam will
settle down and it will brown quickly.
Keep an eye on it because this happens fast.
I was using a white pan, so you can see the
dark golden color of the butter.  It will also
give off a "nutty" aroma so you will know
when it is ready.

Stir the marshmallows into the 
browned butter.

Get the marshmallows melted.

Stir in the pumpkin spice.

Add the Rice Krispie cereal.

Press mixture into a greased pan.
Allow to cool. Before serving sprinkle
with flaky sea salt.

Enjoy!  This recipe is a keeper and 
a crowd pleaser!