Do you have backyard BBQ’s on your calendar for this summer?  I plan to host a few and I’m sure we’ll end up attending a few more too.  BBQ’s are one of my favorites about summer time.  The company, the weather, the food… it’s perfection.  Some times, though, I just don’t want to spend a whole lot of time on putting the menu together.  I want to be able to enjoy the company and not spend my time running around the kitchen.  That’s when I reach into the baking methods my momma taught me.  I put out my favorite package of brownie mix or cake mix and whip up a tasty treat.  That’s right, packaged mixes.

I love the simplicity that baking with a mix offers.  Recently, I was introduced to Better World Brownies, an organic brownie mix, through Globe In, a monthly subscription box of artisan-made products from around the world.  I’ll give you a tour of my whole Globe In box next week.  That said, this post is in no way sponsored and, as always, all content is mine – honest and original.  I made some Raspberry Chocolate Chip Brownies with the Better World Brownies.  They turned out delish!

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP BROWNIES

Print This Recipe

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Brownies

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  35 mins

Total time:  45 mins

Serves: 9-12 servings

A decadent chocolate dessert made from your favorite brownie mix. Simple and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 package of your favorite brownie mix. You can find the Better World Brownies here, if you're interested in trying them. But any brownie mix will work just fine.
• Applesauce.
• Chocolate chips
• Oil or butter, as called for on the brownie package
• Eggs, as called for on the brownie package
• Raspberries
• Chocolate sauce (optional)
• Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Mis the brownies according to the directions on the back of the package, with one exception. Substitute half the oil with applesauce. Use the eggs and the other half of the oil the package calls for.
2. If you want an extra rich brownie, stir 1 cup of chocolate chips into the batter and mix well.
3. Pour batter into a baking pan. Scatter chocolate chips on top of the brownies. and bake according to the package directions.
4. Let the brownies cool and cut into pieces.
5. 
6. Place each brownie on a plate and top with whipped cream, if desired.
7. Drizzle chocolate sauce over the brownie, if desired.
8. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
9. 

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnackPackMixins #CollectiveBias

We spent last weekend working on our backyard landscaping project… FINALLY!  We’ve lived in this house for almost three years now and about half of our backyard has been very limited in it’s usability.  But this year, we’re changing that!  As part of our landscaping, we’ve been talking about flowerbeds and gardens.  My boys “helped” me plant our garden last year and they keep asking if they can help with the garden this year.  We just aren’t quite to the planting stage yet; while Daddy worked in the backyard, we made our own little pudding flower gardens with Snack Packs!  YUM!

SNACK PACK PUDDING FLOWER GARDEN

I grabbed a Snack Pack with new easy-open lids at Wal-mart and saw these new SUPER snack packs… super is right!  I showed them to Mr Napping.  He said, and I quote, “whoa, mon-delicious!”  How could I pass up the ‘daddy size’ pudding?  They jumped in our cart as well as a traditional sized pack.  The SUPER Snack Packs were in both chocolate and vanilla flavors, but it was hardly even a choice… because, well, chocolate.

One of my most favorite things about spring and summer is the abundance of produce.  My family loves fresh fruit.  And I figured some fresh fruit would help make our easy desserts a little more healthy.  So, after we had our snack packs, we headed up to the produce and picked up some of our favorites.  Once we got home, the real fun began.

MATERIALS:
– Green apple
– Pineapple
– Mango
– Raspberry
– Kiwi
– Green Grapes
– Cantaloupe
– Strawberries
– Oranges
– Banana
– Any other fruit you want
– Chocolate crackers (I used chocolate graham crackers)
– Cutting Board
– Sharp Knife
– Fruit Corer
– Flower/garden shaped cookie cutters
– Wooden Skewers (optional)
– Kitchen Shears (optional, but helpful)

Directions:
– Wash all the fruit, grab a seat and pull the trash can over.  You’re about to peel, slice, core and cut up a bunch of fruit.
– Cut up the fruit.  I basically took all the big fruit (pineapple, cantaloupe, mangos, apples) and made as large of a slice as I could.  I cut the friut into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds, as best I could.  I used my flower cookie cutter, and an egg and a heart cookie cutter to cut out flower heads.  Flip the hearts upside-down and they kind of look like bulbs about to bloom.  I cut the egg shapes to look similar to tulips.  I trimmed the stem off the flower cutter and just used the head.  For the thicker fruit, like the cantaloupe, I cut the flower heads in half length-wise and made two heads from one cookie cutter cut.

Need some tips on cutting a pineapple?  Check out this video…

A video posted by kristalynne (@krista_whilehewasnapping) on Apr 12, 2015 at 7:00pm PDT

I used the smaller fruits as embellishments or cut embellishments out of them, either by hand with my knife or with my corer.  That thing was a lifesaver.  It was super easy to cut flower centers with it.  It also made for some cute small circles to create petals on smaller flowers.

– Put the chocolate cracker in a zip top bag and smash it into crumbs.  You will probably only need one  cracker (or even half), unless you are doing a whole bunch of pudding cups.
– Set the fruit flower heads in the pudding cup.
– Add any extra embellishments (an apple center, for instance).  I used a small dab of pudding on the back of the apple to get it to stick to the pineapple flower head.

– Sprinkle crushed chocolate cracker crumbs around the flower.  You can put these in right after you open the pudding cup and before the flower head goes in.  After doing a couple experiments, we decided that the crumbs made the pudding cup look neater, but it we liked the taste better without them.  By just sprinkling the crumbs around the flower, you put in fewer.  It still looks good, but it’s super easy to eat the crumbs off the top and then enjoy the smooth, creamy pudding just as it is.  Experiment and let me know if you like it better with the cracker crumbs or without.
– Refrigerate until ready to serve.

My very most favorite part of these pudding flower garden desserts is that they are individual single-servings.  If you’ve ever seen a yogurt or pudding cup after a toddler has eaten out of it, you know it’s not really something you want to share.  AND you just toss out the dish.  My very most favorite kind of clean up!

These pudding flower gardens are delicious, easy and the fresh fruit is a great way to liven up dessert without a whole bunch of extra refined sugar.  The pudding even serves as a fun dip for the fruit.  The SUPER Snack Packs are perfect for adults and don’t leave you wanting more, like I often find with a traditional Snack Pack.  I also liked the texture of them better than a traditional Snack Pack, they were more creamy and not as gelatinous as the smaller Snack Pack.  They even have the same amount of calcium as an 8 ounce glass of milk, so eat up.  You’re just trying to do your part in avoiding osteoporosis (weak bones), right?  Just lift the baby a few more times or chase the toddler across the park an extra hundred yards to work off the extra calories.  Despite their little legs, they can somehow run the length of a football field when being chased by mommy.  But it’s totally worth it… I’ve think I’ve found a new “Mommy Snack”.

Join me on instagram to get more photos of these fun flower gardens.  Then, make sure you check out even more fun and delicious snack pack mix-in ideas to keep your summer full of yummy, easy, single-serving desserts!  What’s your favorite fruit?  Would you try it with pudding?