Peanut Butter & Chocolate Truffle Spider Cookies

It's almost Halloween!  For me, Halloween is less about the costumes and more about the food and candy!  These Spider Cookies are such a fun and cute treat especially for little kids.  They were also fun to make and of course easy!

What you need:

1/2 cup butter- softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

24 round chocolate truffles (Lindt Truffles work great)

chocolate chips- for melting

candy eyes 

(found in the baking section of Walmart or any craft store)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

- Cream together butter and peanut butter with a mixer.  Add sugars and beat.  Add egg and vanilla and beat.

- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture beating at a low speed.

- Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a large cookie sheet.  Cook for 8 minutes.  Take out and press the center down (I used a cookie dough scoop).  This will cause the cookie to crack and get flatter in the middle.  Bake for 8 more minutes. 

- Now this is the tricky part.  Let the cookies cool to room temperature then take the truffles and press it down into the middle of each cookie.  If the cookie is still hot enough it will melt the truffle, and if the cookie is cooled too much then it won't stick to the cookie.  Room temperature!  If you're scared the truffle will melt, just wait till the cookies cool completely then take the melted chocolate and use it as glue for the truffle.

- Melt the chocolate and put into a plastic bag.  Cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner and make legs coming out of the truffle.  Take the eyes and put a dab of chocolate on the back to glue the eyes onto the truffle.

Such a fun and easy Halloween treat! Enjoy!

Inspired by http://www.aspicyperspective.com

Crack Dip

This dip is truly amazing.  My friend and neighbor, Brandi, made this for us a couple times when we'd go up to a friend's cabin.  It's one of those dips that you can't stop eating even you're stuffed.  I asked her what she called it and she just said chip dip, so I had to rename it Crack Dip because it's so addicting.  It's also the easiest thing to throw together and only has 4 ingredients!  I went to a family Halloween party last night at my in-laws and decided to make it into pumpkin "throw up" to make it festive, but it can be served just as great in a bowl!

What you need:

1 stick butter

1 8oz block cream cheese

1 can white shoepeg corn

1 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds, take out and stir.  Continue microwaving at 30 second increments until all the way melted.  Whisk until smooth.  Add the corn (drained) and green chilies (undrained) to the mixture and microwave until hot.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!  And don't feel bad when you eat the whole bowl without realizing it!

Copy Cat Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Apple Pie Caramel Apples

Raise you're hand if you're obsessed with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apples like me!  The only problem is that they can be up to $10.00!  I whipped up 15 of these bad boys for about $15.00 so I was pretty excited about that.  The homemade caramel was heavenly and I could just eat spoonfuls of it all day but I resisted (kind of).  This is the perfect treat to take a Halloween party, Thanksgiving, or if you're just feeling lonely and need to eat away your problems.

What you need:

Apple-

15 granny smith apples

15 popsicle/bamboo skewer/ any type of durable wooden stick

Caramel-

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

White Chocolate Layer-

24 oz of premium white chocolate chips- I used Nestle Tollhouse 

Cinnamon Sugar Layer-

1 cup white sugar

3 tsp ground cinnamon sugar

- Wash your apples and dry them really well.  They must be completely dry!  Take your sticks and pierce them through the middle of the apple.  Put them on a large cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

- In a large saucepan, melt your butter completely.  Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar, and condensed milk.  Cook on medium-high heat.  You must stir constantly for 15 minutes.  When caramel is done, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

- Take apples out of the freezer and one by one dip you apples into the caramel.  Turn your apple in all directions then turn it upside down to drain excess caramel off and allowing it to coat completely.  Cover the cookie tray with tin foil and spray cooking spray over it.  Return dipped apples to the tray and put in the fridge.

- After 10 minutes, I took the apples out and coated them again and returned them to the fridge for 30 minutes.  If you feel like one coat is enough, let the apples sit in the fridge for 30-60 minutes allowing the caramel to set.

- After the caramel has set, take the apples out of the fridge.

- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

- White chocolate is a lot harder to melt than milk chocolate.  Since I don't have a broiler, I used the microwave.  I used one cup of chocolate chips at a time because it melted easier.  I microwaved for 30 seconds, stirred, microwaved for 15 seconds and took the bowl out.  It may seem like they're not melted, and be chunky, but keep stirring and the chocolate will continue to melt and become smooth.
- Take a spatula and cover the apple with the white chocolate all the way around.
- Then take the apple and roll it into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place the apple down on foil and let sit.
- These apples can be stored up to a week in the fridge.  Before eating, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes so soften.

These caramel apples are quite the process so make sure you have a couple of spare hours.  Even though it takes time, it's so worth it!  $10.00 for an apple at Rocky Mountain?  Pshh not anymore!

Recipe inspired by: http://www.nobiggie.net/

White Chicken Chili

Fall and Chili.  I don't think there's a better combination!  This soup took about 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook on the stove.  There's no one out there that could mess this recipe up.

What you need:

5 cups chicken broth

4 cups cooked shredded chicken

4 cups (2 15 oz cans) seasoned southern style Great Northern Beans- drained

2 cups salsa verde

2 tsp ground cumin

optional garnishes:

avocado

sour cream

cilantro

shredded cheese

tortilla chips

- Add chicken broth, chicken, beans, salsa verde and cumin into a large pot.  Stir and cook on high heat until it boils.  Once it's boiling, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve warm with desired toppings. 

Enjoy!

- Note - The seasoned southern style great northern beans make this chili spicy.  If you'd like a more mild taste, use the regular great northern beans without any seasoning.

Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

And another fall recipe.. But seriously, can anyone get sick of all this pumpkin loving!?

What you need:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup pack brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 bananas- mashed

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray or line muffin tins.  

- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

- In a separate bowl, whisk together the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla.

- Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.  Stir in as many chocolate chips as you'd like.

- Evenly distribute the batter into each muffin tin.

- For mini muffins- bake 10-12 minutes.  For standard muffins- 13-15 minutes. (stick a knife in the middle to see if they're done.  If the knife comes out clean they are ready!)

Easy Apple Crisp

The first weekend of every October is very special to me.  General Conference is a chance to listen to a modern day prophet and his apostles and listen to their guidance and counseling.  I'm proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints.  If you'd like to learn more about my faith, visit these links http://www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.  Another great thing about conference weekend is that there is good food all around.  It's such a wonderful excuse to bake up some yummy fall treats and eat a lot without feeling too guilty!  My sister, Kim has the best Apple Crisp recipe and it's so easy!  A bowl of apple crisp with vanilla ice cream is probably my favorite fall dessert!

What you need:

8 cups (6-8) green apples

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cinnamon sugar

1/2 cup butter

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees

- Peel and slice apples and add them to the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan.

- In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly.

- Sprinkle mixture over apples.

- Cook for 35-40 minutes (until apples are tender)

- Serve warm- and with ice cream!

Chicken Enchilada Pillows

Today I'm sharing my favorite dinner on the blog and I'm excited for all of you to try it!  This recipe comes from the lovely http://www.chef-in-training.com.  I think I've mentioned this before, but I will again, this is my favorite blog!  I sometimes find myself looking through her blog for hours, it is so addicting!  I make these pillows all the time, and I don't think we could ever get sick of it here at my house.  If there is one recipe to try it would be this one!

What you need:

2 chicken breast- cooked and shredded

 (I like to cook mine in the crock pot with a packet of taco seasoning, on low for 6 hrs)

1/2 cup black beans- drained and rinsed

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup red enchilada sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 Tbs Taco seasoning (if you don't use my method of cooking chicken)

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I like to use a Mexican blend)

1 can Pillsbury Big & Flaky crescent rolls

1 egg

3-5 Tbs water

crushed tortilla chips

Topping:

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream of chicken

extra cheese optional

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- In a large bowl, combine chicken, beans, corn, cumin, taco seasoning, cheese and enchilada sauce.

- Lay out the 8 crescent rolls.  Stretch them out as far as you can without tearing or making holes.

- Spoon about 3 spoonfuls of the mixture onto the middle of the crescent roll.  Fold the sides around the mixture making sure that none of the filling is showing.  This will make a "pillow" shape.  Place on a large cookie sheet.  Repeat with each crescent roll.

- In a small bowl, mix together the egg and water.  Brush the egg mixture over the pillows.  Top with crushed tortillas.

- Cook pillows for 20-25 minutes- until golden brown.

- Combine sour cream and cream of chicken into a saucepan and stir over medium heat.

- Top pillows with sauce and cheese.

Enjoy!