Cooking Thursday-No bake mints

(the main players)




(getting ready to chill)


(yum!)
Does it count as cooking if the recipe is no bake? Hmmm...well it is still a recipe right?

*****A Minty Memory*******

So I was looking at my friends' Facebook album, and she had pictures of cakes that she had decorated. While browsing her album, I also saw that she had some pictures of mints that she had made. It brought back fun memories of a childhood friend who made these. She always had some at church and we would line up to get some.

I looked up a recipe and got to making them. My 3 older kids LOVED them. My 5 yr old let me know, by spitting it out in the trash, and yelling "I am not eating anymore of this POISON!" I think that meant he wasn't a fan.

NO BAKE CREAM CHEESE MINTS:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
32 oz. of powdered sugar
mint extract
food coloring


In a large bowl, put your softened cream cheese. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. The more you add, the more thick it gets. Make sure you have some muscles...or a mixer! lol

Once sugar and cream cheese are fully mixed, add your mint extract. Remember the rule, that you can always add more, but you can't take it away. So do a little bit at a time until you reach your desired minty-ness.

Roll into balls and place on a tray. Chill these in the freezer or the fridge until cool. You can also press into molds if desired.

Store in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks!

For more Cooking Thursday head on over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

**Also, while you are here, please enter my giveaway. You can find all the info here

sweet Sundays

(Ethan's masterpiece)


" You are such a jerk!" My 8 yr. old son yelled this at my 9 yr old son, which resulted in a complete meltdown.

In trying to console him, I said, "would you like to bake something?" He perked up and we found a fun recipe.

Our very first recipe out of the Ziploc/Taste of Home Back to School magazine was for these, "Fun Marshmallow Bars".

Ethan loved making these and the kids really enjoyed eating them with him! Here is the recipe. If you make these, let me know what you thought!

Fun Marshmallow Bars
1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) devils food cake mix
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup mini candy coated chocolate baking bits (aka M&M's)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, butter and egg. Press into a greased 13x9 in baking pan. Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes, or when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Sprinkle with marshmallows, baking bits and peanuts. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until the marshmallows beging to melt. Cool on a wire rack and cut into bars.

Tips:
** I didn't have mini marshmallows. So we cut up big ones into pieces. I don't recommend that!! We got an ooey-gooey mess! We ended up using more than a cup and it didn't end well! LOL

** My kids do not like nuts so we just omitted them.

** Because they were so eager to dive in, they were still pretty warm. I would highly recommend letting them cool completely.

** Make sure that you are paying close attention to those last couple of minutes. Don't let the marshmallows go to long or they will end up getting hard!

Oh and as you can well imagine, these are very RICH. Have some milk close by!

** Before I forget, email me or leave me a comment if you need upc's and I can get you some!