Spider Web Peppermint Patties

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

I am enchanted by these Spider Web Peppermint Patties!

Seriously easy and super cute Halloween treats are my favorite. Like my Vampire Donuts or Oreo Ghosts or Jack O’ Lantern Cinnamon Buns.

And these are in that vein. (Is that a Halloween pun??)

Candy plus icing, and done.

I used peppermint extract to flavor the icing, which was nice with the peppermint candy, but you could also use vanilla.

I made icing with a scoop of powdered sugar, a sprinkle of meringue powder, a dash of peppermint extract, and a splash of water.

(You can see the actual recipe on my Chocolate Almond Mummy Cookies, but here I used peppermint extract instead of almond.)

I put the icing in a baggy, snipped off the end, and drew the webs with the icing on top of the York Peppermint Patties. I drew an asterisk, then made a swishy circle in the shape of a spider web.

I lost the plastic spider-shaped rings I thought I had, which would have looked cute in the photos, but the candy still looked good. And the kids were super happy!

Happy Halloween Snacking!

22Mar2015

FROZEN Snowflake Mini Candy Cupcakes

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

FROZEN Mini Candy Cupcakes

I made these adorable little Frozen Mini Candy Cupcakes for my girls.

Just because.

We didn’t eat them ALL ourselves, of course. I shared some. But the reason behind their creation was simply my girl’s love of the Disney movie FROZEN.

And because they were cute.

FROZEN Mini Candy Cupcakes

I’ve made these mini “cupcakes” before with regular Reese’s miniature peanut butter cups, but when I found the white chocolate versions in the store, I just knew they would be perfect for a project like this!

I matched them with some blue icing {store bought icing + blue food coloring} and some snowflake sprinkles.

I used the Cake Mate Sequins Winter Snowflake sprinkles, not even noticing until afterwards that the actual “snowflakes” look more like little flowers than anything else.

So, next time, I’ll probably opt for a different sprinkle. Something more like Wilton’s Pearlized Snowflake Sprinkles.

FROZEN Mini Candy Cupcakes

But they’re still cute, right??

Totally cute.

And my girls LOVED them. So did the other people I shared them with.

They would be completely perfect for a FROZEN birthday party {something Elsa herself might whip up}, or even any winter themed event.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CANDY CUPCAKES:

1. Unwrap peanut butter cups.
2. Separate snowflakes from other sprinkles {if necessary}.
3. Add blue food coloring to icing, mixing thoroughly.
4. Put blue icing in a piping bag fitted with a small star tip {about #16} or gallon size plastic storage baggy with the end snipped off.
5. Pipe icing on top of peanut butter cups like you would a cupcake.
6. Top with snowflake sprinkle before icing sets.
7. Store covered in a cool location.

FROZEN Mini Candy Cupcakes

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

30Oct2014

Halloween Marshmallow Mummies

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Halloween Marshmallow Mummies

These Mummy Marshmallows are soooooo cute!

But to be perfectly honest: they were a pain to make.

The good news? I know what I did wrong and can help you avoid my mistakes! :) If you don’t do what I did, then they’re super, super easy to make.

I picked this particular combination because I liked the concept of these as a somewhat “reversed” mummy. Usually the mummy wrappings are white and the background dark, but I switched it around by using white marshmallows and a dark colored “wrapping.”

I suppose you could get some chocolate marshmallows and drizzle white candy melts over them, too.

Just a thought.

Halloween Marshmallow Mummies

You can see that I decorated them on the floor. This was to make it easier for my 4yo could help {her little sister was napping}. More casual, I guess you could say.

Anyway, to get to the heart of the matter: I used melted chocolate chips for this.

I don’t know why.

I bake with chocolate chips all the time and seem to repetitively forget that they’re best for just that – baking. NOT decorating.

To solve this problem, just use candy melts instead. The regular chocolate chips get too hot, harden too fast, and don’t melt as evenly in the microwave.

I also stuck them in a little plastic baggie. To my credit, that’s all I had available. But the tiny sandwich bags tend to burst open when you have something in them that you’re trying to squeeze out of a snipped corner. Thus: the half-cleaned blob on my tray. So do yourself a favor and use either a heavier, freezer-weight baggie or a traditional cake decorating bag with a metal tip. It’ll save your sanity.

Halloween Marshmallow Mummies

So…

To make the Mummy Marshmallows:

1. Place marshmallows on their side on waxed or parchment paper.

2. Drizzle melted Dark Chocolate Candy Melts over the tops of the marshmallow, moving from side to side.

3. Place two mini M&Ms on top of the chocolate as eyes {preferably with the “m” facing down} and drizzle a little chocolate over the eyes to make them appear partially hidden.

4. Let the chocolate harden. Store covered.

Halloween Marshmallow Mummies

An easy concept, really. And if you don’t make the mistakes I did, it will only take a few minutes to complete the entire project.

Maybe next year I’ll attempt this with more coffee in my system and remember to follow my own advice. :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

3May2014

“Make Your Own” Custom Chocolate Bars

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, wanderings in the world & web by Rosemary Lynn

Today, I discovered custom chocolate bars.

That’s right: make your own Belgian chocolate bars by mixing and matching 3 types of chocolate and over 100 toppings.

I believe that “Sweet!” would be an appropriate response to this. {Pun fully intended.}

Anywho, the combinations are endless, which I love.

You can add up to 5 toppings to make “recipes,” like Peanut Butter Jelly Time Chocolate Bar which includes a milk chocolate base and toppings of dried strawberries, butter toasted peanuts, peanut butter drops, and gushers.

Heck, you can even go the extra mile and add a “Congratulations” plaque and a candle.

Some of the ingredients which most intrigue my taste buds include:

Diced Ginger
Himalayan Sea salt
Pumpkin Spice
Dried Raspberries
Nerds
Sour Patch Kids
Cookie Dough
Pop Rocks
23 Karat Gold Flakes
Crystallized Violet Petals
Bacon
Monkey Munch

The list goes on…

And I mean, seriously, does anyone really NOT know someone who wouldn’t want a pumpkin spice chocolate bar?

I’m thinking that I’d love to try the dark chocolate base topped with violet petals and gold flakes.

What about you? What would you try? What would you craft as a gift for a loved one?

Let me know! (And don’t forget to check out all the ingredients for the Create Your Own Chocolate Bar on Zazzle!)

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19Apr2014

Candied Watermelon Popcorn

Posted in food & flavor & recipes by Rosemary Lynn

Candied Popcorn: Great for birthday parties, holidays, and baby and wedding showers!

I’ve made this type of Jell-O candied popcorn a few times now, and I prefer the watermelon flavor, which is what you see here.

Now, it is pretty sweet, so it’s not for everyone, but I think it makes a nice addition to a party table, and it’s a bit of a conversation piece, too.

Bonus: it’s easy to do and you can make it in ANY color.

Throwing a monster or a dinosaur party? Make green apple or lime instead.

Make it to match your wedding colors.

Let your imagination run wild. :)

Watermelon Candied Popcorn

First, throw all the ingredients (except the popcorn) in a pot and simmer for four minutes.

Watermelon Candied Popcorn

Then pour it over the popcorn and bake it for a half hour.

Watermelon Candied Popcorn

After spreading it out on wax paper and letting it cool, I like to store it in a gallon baggy.

I prefer the baggy to a Tupperware container because you can massage the baggy to break up any remaining large chunks of popcorn that are stuck together.

Watermelon Candied Popcorn