Nestle Holiday Candy Review and Recipes

It is no big surprise that I love sweets.  When my mom gave me the nickname Sheilacakes when I was an infant, little did she know that the cakes would become more than just a nickname?  I also love my family’s tradition of holiday baking each year. It is probably my favorite thing about preparing for the holidays. I used to bake with my mom and my sister when I was younger. Now I bake with my mom and my son.  We always make a bunch of delicious treats and enjoy giving them to friends and family. I had a chance to receive some holiday candy from Nestle and some new recipes to try out.  I am a huge Nestle fan. They have great products and great recipes. I have one of their recipes that I have made every year for the last seven plus years. I can’t wait to sink my teeth in to it and these new recipes I received.

First let’s talk about the candy I received. Nestle has a big holiday candy line.  Here is all the goodies I was able to try out.

• Nerds Rope
• Paul Frank Crunch Bar
• Butter Finger Jingles
• Crunch Jingles
• Frosty Nerds
• Nerds Fantastical Fun Book
• Fun Dip Fantastical Fun Book
• Butterfinger Fantastical Fun Book
• Crunch Heritage Tin
• SweeTart Gummies
• SweeTart Merry Mix
• SweeTart Candy Canes
  
  
  
  
  
  

There are other delicious treats as well.  My favorites are the Butterfingers and the SweeTart Gummies, although I love them all. I used to eat Butterfingers when I was younger all the time. I remember when I was at camp my mom sent me a card with a coupon for a free Butterfinger in it for when I got home. I don’t know why I thought that was so cool, but I did.  I am addicted to SweeTarts. I prefer the Chewy and Gummy kinds over the traditional ones.  Did I mention they are only red and green ones?  Cherry and Apple are my favorite ones. I don’t have to pawn the yellow and orange ones off on Noah.  I haven’t had Fun Dip in years! My favorite part of Fun Dip was the stick. I think my sister and I had an arrangement, that she would eat the powder and I would eat the stick.  My sister and I would make weird agreements like that, she would “make” me eat the pimentos out of olives.

Here are a couple of the delicious Holiday recipes you can make this weekend in anticipation of Santa.

These recipes are from the Nestle Website:

Cakey Chocolate Jingle Bars

Ingredients:

30 NESTLÉ BUTTERFINGER Jingles, unwrapped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

BEAT granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until combined. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in Nestlé Jingles. Press into 9-inch-square baking pan.

BAKE for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

NOTE: Try substituting NESTLÉ Milk Chocolate Jingles. 

 

Santa’s Thumbprint Cookies

1 package (13 oz.) NESTLÉ BUTTERFINGER Jingles, unwrapped
3/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar (optional)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

BEAT peanut butter, brown sugar, butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour and baking soda.

SHAPE dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in 1 cup granulated sugar; place on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press 1 Nestlé Jingle into center of each cookie (cookie will crack around edges). Cool cookies on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

To find the candy I wrote about please visit your local store’s holiday section. For more recipes please visit Nestle’s website.

Thank you to Nestle for providing me with complimentary candy samples and sharing these recipes with me. The recipes are Nestle’s but the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whole Fruit Sorbet Review

I know it is December and it is not typical to eat frozen desserts in the winter, but now that I live in Florida it is very acceptable to do so and to go to the beach on Christmas Eve. I would like to debunk the myth that if you live in a cold area that you can’t eat cold treats in the winter because of course you can.  I wouldn’t recommend doing it outside of course but in the comfort of your home it makes a delicious treat, especially if your throat is sore and you want something to soothe it.  I had the chance to try out some Whole Fruit Sorbet.  I don’t think I had ever had sorbet before.  If I had, I didn’t realize it. Honestly I didn’t know the difference between Sorbet and Sherbet. I love sherbet so I figured they were like cousins.  The difference between sorbet and sherbet is, sherbet is made with dairy and sorbet is made without dairy. Therefore sorbet would be a great treat for those with lactose intolerance issues.

Whole Fruit is a part of the J&J Snackfood Company who also makes Super Pretzel, another favorite of mine. Whole Fruit has many delicious flavors of sorbet ,made with chunks of real fruit, Whole Fruit® Sorbet offers a great tasting treat!  It's available in seven refreshing and fruity flavors that deliver a healthier dessert option this holiday season. Whole Fruit is

•          Fat-free
•          Dairy-free
•          Gluten-free
•          Soy-free
•          Made with real fruit

I was lucky enough to try Black Cherry, Raspberry, Lemon, Mango and Strawberry.  There are also Peach and Valencia Orange flavors. The sorbet comes in full pint sizes. I prefer pint sizes because you can fit multiple flavors in your freezer at a time.  The sorbets are so creamy. As their name suggests, it is made with whole fruit and there is also real fruit chunks in the sorbet. The fruit gives it an extra goodness in my opinion. My favorite is definitely Black Cherry. I may or may not hoard the whole pint for myself.  I don’t mind sharing the other flavors but the Black Cherry is mine. I did allow Noah to try a spoonful or two of the Black Cherry and he really liked it too.  His favorite flavor is the Raspberry. I like them all. I am not really a mango person but since the Mango is so creamy and good, I do like it too.  Whole Fruit will be a staple in our household. I know they also have Whole Fruit Fruit Bars, which also comes in Black Cherry, that would be perfect for our pier walks and adventures around town.

Connect with Whole Fruit:

Website: http://www.jjsnack.com/WholeFruit/home1.aspx

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WholeFruit

If you are looking for a creamy treat check out Whole Fruit. You can find it in your grocer’s freezer section. 

Thank you to J&J Snack Foods for providing me with a sample pack of Whole Fruit Sorbet to try out. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ChapStick's Holiday Lip Balm Review

Here is a little known fact about me, well if you actually knew me in a face to face setting you would know this, but I never wear lipstick. I just don’t really like it. I think it looks weird on me.  It just doesn’t look right on me.  Thankfully I use Chapstick like it is going out of style.  I don’t like dry chapped lips. I don’t like the color of lipstick and I don’t like using lip gloss because it feels like I have some sort of sauce on my lips.  I have been using ChapStick for many years. One of the things I really wanted when I was in the hospital when I was pregnant with Noah was ChapStick.  The other was pretzels.  I remember when my friend Adrianna pretended to have a ton of makeup when we were in daycare, I found out all she had owned was ChapStick.  I like my lips to be soft and smooth and it doesn’t hurt that ChapStick actually smells good and doesn’t taste horrible.  I am definitely a lifelong fan.  So when I had the opportunity to try out the new holiday flavors I was so excited.

ChapStick is debuting two new limited edition holiday flavors of ChapStick. They are Apple Cider and Chocolate Truffle. You will definitely be hungry for chocolate after using the Chocolate Truffle.  Who doesn’t love the smell of chocolate? I know I love it.  The Apple Cider ChapStick will remind you of those fall days and holidays with family.  I love the smell of apples too. It may be my favorite scent.  Back by popular demand ChapStick has brought back Candy Cane ChapStick. These lip balms even have a convenient gift tag on the back of each package, taking the hassle out of gift wrapping or adding an extra surprise to gift packaging. Forget the boring old gift tags and use a package of ChapStick to label your gifts. If you shop at Target you can also get the special ChapStick tin that features some of the traditional ChapStick flavors like Cherry, Strawberry and Spearmint. It comes with full sized ChapSticks. It would be an awesome stocking stuffer or holiday extra for anyone. The tin is reusable. After you use the ChapStick you can store little things inside the tin. Noah lost his first tooth so now his tooth is in the tin.  I haven’t used all the ChapStick yet but I didn’t want to lose his tooth.

Speaking of Noah, he loves ChapStick. I wasn’t sure if he was going to try it. He thought it was makeup at first but I told him it was just ChapStick. He tried some with my help and stole my cherry ChapStick, ok so I gave it to him but that is my favorite kind. Now Noah wants to use his ChapStick every hour. I have taught him the important lesson about making sure you roll it down all the way before putting the lid on it. Men can definitely use ChapStick and it doesn’t just have to be the black one. Everyone needs soft lips so everyone needs ChapStick. 

ChapStick® seasonal varieties are available November 1^st in the cough and cold aisle at food, drug and mass retailers for the SRP of $1.01-$1.99. *ChapStick® Chocolate Truffle can be found exclusively at Wal-Mart.

·        To help prevent and temporarily protect chafed, chapped or cracked lips, apply ChapStick®  balm liberally as needed, particularly before sun exposure, dry, cold or wintery conditions. *Consult a doctor before using on a child under 6 months of age.

The ChapStick® product and information have been provided by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.