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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Key Lime Pie Bites


Ingredients:

1 - 16.5 oz. package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 lemon
1 lime
12 oz. cream cheese
1 - 16 oz. bag of Wilton's vanilla candy melts

Directions:

- Cook the sugar cookies according to the package directions.
- Zest and juice the lemon and lime.
- Cream together the cream cheese and zest and juice from the lemon and lime.
- Once the cookies have cooled, break them up into small pieces.
- Add the broken up cookies to the cream cheese mixture until thoroughly coated.
- Chill the mixture until it is workable to roll into balls (about 1 hour).
- Cover a baking pan with parchment paper.  
- Roll balls approximately 1 tablespoon in size from the cream cheese mixture and place on the parchment paper.  
- Freeze the balls for about 1 hour (the longer the better, it makes them easier to coat).
- Melt the vanilla candy melts taking care not to overheat.  If the vanilla seems to thick, add vegetable shortening and heat slightly to make the mixture more smooth.
- Using a bamboo skewer (or other long, thin instrument) dip the cream cheese balls into the melted vanilla until coated.  I like to add a small dollop to the top as well.
- Before the vanilla hardens, sprinkle the tops with sugar or sprinkles.
- Keep refrigerated.

Note: Some of my bites look greener in the picture because I used some green colored vanilla candy melts in addition to plain white.  I think next time I'll use white because it wasn't the color green I was going for!

 

Flip it!

- For a less creamy bite, use only 8 oz. of cream cheese!
- Use only lemon or only lime depending on your taste preference!


S'more Popcorn Bars

 This recipe is a play on rice crispy treats... using popcorn instead of rice crispies and adding yummy s'more ingredients!

Ingredients:

4 T. butter
10 oz marshmallows (1 bag of large marshmallows)
6 cups air popped popcorn (4 T. kernels)
8 large graham crackers broken into small chunks
1 cup chocolate chips
cooking spray

Directions:

- Melt the butter in a large pot.
- Add the marshmallows to the butter and heat on low until all the marshmallows are melted.
- Add the popcorn (make sure there are no unpopped kernels) and graham cracker chunks to the pot and coat with the melted marshmallow.  Leaving the heat on low will make the mixture more workable.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until all the chips are melted and the mixture is well coated in chocolate.
- Coat a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray then press the popcorn mixture down lightly until it evenly fills the bottom of the pan.  I think it is easiest to use your hands even though it gets a little messy!
- Let cool completely and then cut into whatever size bars you would like!

Flip it!

Add more marshmallows to make them gooier!
Use chocolate flavored marshmallows!
Add more chocolate chips!