OH! NUTS Review and Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is my family’s traditional holiday baking.  We buy tons of supplies including many bags of chocolate chips, Flour, Sugar, and nuts. Good nuts can be hard to find. They are also really expensive to buy. I love all kinds of nuts. My two favorite are Pecans and Walnuts.  I had the opportunity to work with OH! NUTS. OH! NUTS sells all kinds of nuts from walnuts to pistachios, even Hazelnuts. They also sell chocolate and candy. They have great prices too.  Everything is so fresh, you don’t have to wonder how long it has been sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.  I was asked to share a recipe with you guys using an OH! NUTS product. Even though I received both Walnuts and Pecans, I decided to be different and not use Pecans.  I used things I had in my home and created a delicious masterpiece.  It was odd making a dish without buying any ingredients because usually there are some special items. I had chocolate chips and caramels in my cabinet. This is my recipe.

Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars

14 ounces of Caramels unwrapped

2 cups of flour

1 and ½ cups of Brown Sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of Butter (softened)

1 cup OH! NUTS Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan. Heat caramels and milk in a 2 quart pan over low heat until smooth.  It does take a while for them to melt.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter with a fork or hands.  Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Drizzle the caramel. I just used a big spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Cool completely and enjoy!

OH! NUTS provided me with nuts to help me create my recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wilton Treat Pops Review

I love to cook and bake. One of my favorite things to make is cupcakes. It's also one of my favorite things to eat. So, when I had the opportunity to work with Wilton, I was extremely excited. Wilton is the

Crème de la crème of cake decorating and candy making supply companies. I have been buying Wilton products for years. They wanted me to share with you some of their really awesome products. I received the Treat Pops, which is really cool because I love the sherbet treats that these were inspired from.  I love that it is so much easier to eat, especially for my six year old.  We can make whatever cake we would like and any icing flavor. I love that these are reusable. It reminds me of my Grandma Rose, because she would reuse anything she could. It makes the Treat Pops more fun because you can have countless treats in them.  I also received the Mini Whoopie Pie Baking Pan. When I first heard of Treat Pops, I was kind of curious how the cake would fit.  I wasn’t sure if you were supposed to crumble the cake up. I know that would make a messy presentation and possibly a messy treat, I was excited to learn that they have a pan for that. Wilton really thinks of everything.   You could also use the pan to make mini whoopee pies.  I don’t think I have ever had whoopie pies, which will be my next baking venture.  Another product I tried out was the Treat Pops Decorating Set.  I have a love/hate relationship with icing, when it comes to decorating.  I am happy to report that the Treat Pops Decorating Kit was so easy to use. I actually had fun doing the icing and it turned out nicely. I think it is because you get bigger tips.  Bigger tips are easier for me to use. The tops of my treat pops actually looked professionally done.  

Making Treat Pops are really easy. I used boxed cake mix. Now you get a lot of extra cake batter so either have extra Treat Pops available or come up with a dessert for the leftovers. I refuse to throw away cake batter.   My original plan was to make Treat Pops for our weekly play date, but then I realized there are a lot of kids involved.  There are a least twelve kids, not including parents.  I also knew that I would be worried that someone would throw away one of the Treat Pop containers away in the park trash can.  I decided that I would just make six Treat Pops, since that is a lot of Treat Pops for just me and Noah. I ended up using the rest of the cake batter and frosting to make cupcakes for our play date. It ended up making the exact number I needed.

 I filled up the Mini Whoopie Pie Baking Pan per Wilton’s instructions with a Tablespoon of batter in each, and then baked them until they were done. I started with 9 minutes and added more time until done. I didn’t want them to burn.  When they were cool I added coloring to my icing and then filled the pastry bag with the long tip in the Treat Pops Decorating Set.  I put a cake in the bottom and then began layering with icing. The top of the Treat Pop container doubles as a stand which is really helpful when you are filling them.  You have to be careful that you don’t push it up though.  I finally topped with a big swirl of icing and used some sprinkles.   These are so good. They are also portable and really fun to eat. Noah was so excited to try Treat Pops.  They are the perfect blend of cake and icing. I know my best friend who loves icing would love these, especially because you can control how much icing you put in them. You can also use fruit. I think gelatin and cream would even be good in a Treat Pop. 

Have you tried Treat Pops? What flavors would sound good to you?

Thank you to Wilton for providing me the items in this post for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Retro Mike N Ike's Candy Review

When I have to get Noah after school we always get a drink and a snack at a local gas station. One of the times we went he ended up getting a little box of Mike N Ike’s. The little boxes are a perfect size for Noah. So, now he always gets a little box of Mike N Ike’s which is fine because he is happy and I am happy because they are cheap. He really likes the ones in the red box and the ones in the blue box. I personally love Hot Tamales.  One day Noah and I were talking about Mike N Ike’s as he was eating them. He asked me if I liked them. I said yes. I started telling him about an old kind they used to sell called Cherri N Bubb. Cherri N Bubb are cherry and bubble gum flavored Mike N Ike’s. I told him that they don’t make them anymore and how much I loved them. I also told him I wished they made them again. I am not sure if someone heard me or not, but a week or so later, I received an email that Cherri N Bubb were back for a limited time.  It was a dream come true!  They also brought back Lem N Mel. I had never tried that kind before. I love watermelon candy so I thought it sounded good. I would give all the Lemon ones to Noah. I am not a lemon candy fan.  I had to tell Noah about Cherri N Bubb coming back, we just talked about it. He was as excited as I was. 

When I got the candy I was so happy. I had to open up the Cherri N Bubb's as soon as I got it in the door.  They were as good as I remembered, if not better. Sometimes you remember something being really good but isn’t after a long time. This was not the case.  They were amazing. They were soft and delicious. I had to share with Noah and he would hound me for Cherri N Bubbs.  We also like Lem N Mel but Cherri N Bubb have a fond place in my heart. I remember eating them growing up and I definitely loved them as much as I do now.   I love when they bring back things from my past.'

Cherri and Bubb and Lem N Mel candies are only available for a limited time. I am going to go to the store and stock up. They are good for a year so I thought I would buy a bunch and snack on them throughout the year. You can find Cherri N Bubb and Lem N Mel in the candy aisle.

Thank you to Just Born for sending me samples of Cherri N Bubb and Lem N Mel Mike N Ikes for my family to try out and review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Cinnamon Quesadilla Recipe

When I make Noah Quesadillas, I usually make him dessert to go with it.  I make him Cinnamon Quesadillas. Once again you don’t have to have a special kitchen gadget to do it. You just need a skillet. I thought I would share my recipe with you.  These are also extremely cheap to make and they are the perfect quick and easy dessert.

Noah’s Cinnamon Quesadillas:

Two Tortillas or one big tortilla

Spreadable butter

Cinnamon and Sugar mixture (I keep mine in a shaker)

Directions:

First butter one side of the tortillas. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture all over the tortilla. Shake off the excess.  Place the other tortilla on top of it and butter both exposed sides.  Cook on medium until golden brown on one side. Flip and cook the other side.  Cut and Enjoy!

Serves one!