20 MINUTE PREP APPLE CRISP

Apple Crisp is one of our family traditions. That’s my favorite thing about the last half of the year: all the traditions. Because, to me, THAT is what is important in life. The traditions, the memories, the friends and family. And good food.

20 MINUTE PREP APPLE CRISP

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it is so very simple to make, which is just what I need as things get busy around this time of year, and it only gets crazier until the end of the year.

My second favorite thing is that you can make it ahead of time. Just put it in the freezer and save it until you need it. Take it out, let it thaw, add the Grape Nuts topping and then bake. So easy! And you’ll be lucky if there are leftovers.

Let’s get bakin’!

Yield: 8-10 Servings

The Most Delicious 20 Minute Prep Apple Crisp

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This yummy, warm dessert will hit just the spot on these cold wintery nights. This apple crisp is sweet and savory and easy to make with only 20 minutes of prep time!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Grape Nuts Original
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 Tbsp milk
• 6 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 apples
• 1/2 cup Grape Nuts, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Peel and slice the apples. Lay the apple slices in the bottom of a 7x11" pan. You can also use an 8x8" pan.
3. In a medium saucepan pan, melt the butter on medium low heat.
4. Add 1/2 cup Grape Nuts and milk. Stir until evenly combined. Allow to simmer 3-5 minutes, until the Grape Nuts have softened a little. Don't scald the milk!
5. Add brown sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and cinnamon. Combine well.
6. Continue mixing over heat until sugar is dissolved and the consistency thickens into a thick sauce.
7. Pour the sauce over the apples in the pan. Use a spatula to smooth and evenly distribute across the entire pan.
8. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Grape Nuts on top of the sauce.
9. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until apples are tender.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.
11. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

3/4 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 12.1gSaturated Fat: 7.4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 160mgCarbohydrates: 26.7gFiber: 3.3gSugar: 14.3gProtein: 2.4g

Ready to make your own? Let’s do it! And it’s okay to make a couple at a time! Freeze the second for a no-prep (or make-ahead!) dessert that will simplify your busy holidays without sacrificing the good stuff.

The post The Most Delicious 20 Minute Prep Apple Crisp appeared first on While He Was Napping.

Hey, I’m thrilled you’ve stopped by today! So… I have a question for you… Do you have a sweet tooth?

Did you say yes? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Especially if you have a thing for chocolate and caramel. Or sweet and salty. This will tickle your taste buds into ecstasy.

Here’s one more question… Have you ever made your own caramel? I used to help my grandma when I was little and what I remember most are the arm cramps I got from stirring the pot. I really had no desire to make caramel without my grandma…

… Until this barely-stir recipe entered my life. It’s absolutely amazing and super simple. It takes a little bit of time, but you can totally just set it and check on it every so often. There’s no heavy arm work!

If you’re in a rush and don’t have time for homemade from scratch, that’s ok! I’ve got a quick and easy version for you too. Check that recipe out down below.

HOMEMADE FROM SCRATCH CHOCOLATE CARAMEL POKE CAKE

CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

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Chocolate Cake

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  50 mins

Serves: Approx 20 servings

A not-too-sweet chocolate cake that is moist, light and fluffy and perfect for poke cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 c. white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 c white flour
• 1 c milk
• ¼ c butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbs cocoa

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13" glass pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream together sugar and butter.
3. Beat in eggs.
4. Add vanilla.
5. 
6. Combine flour and baking powder. Mix well.
7. Stir in milk until batter is smooth.
8. Pour into pan. Lower oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 28-32 mins.
9. 
10. (This is the perfect time to get your caramel started. See recipe below.)
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 mins.
12. Use a butter knife to poke holes in the cake. The more holes you make, the more caramel will soak down inside. Poke your knife into the cake and give it a little twist to make the holes bigger. The caramel will soak in better.
13. 

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CARAMEL SAUCE RECIPE
(I originally found this recipe on leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com a few years ago and I LOVE it. I tweaked it slightly to fit my needs for this recipe. You can see the original recipe at the link above.)

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Caramel Chocolate Poke Cake

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  35 mins

Total time:  55 mins

Serves: Approx 20 servings

The perfect sweet and salty dessert that will leave your taste buds wanting more!

Ingredients

• - ¼ Cup butter
• - 2 cups sugar
• - 1 Cup light corn syrup
• - ½ tsp salt
• - 1 Cup whipping or heavy cream
• - 2½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. ** If you're in a hurry or don't want to mess with making your own caramel sauce, just use a jar of your favorite caramel sauce from the store and skip to step 11.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat on the stove.
3. Increase heat to medium-high. Add sugar and corn syrup and mix until well blended.
4. Add the salt and combine with a spatula.
5. Slowly stir the mixture until it comes to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and let boil 4 minutes without stirring.
7. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the whipping cream. Be careful and don't pour too much in too quickly. It might spatter and could burn. Stirring nice and slow will help get the cream mixed in smoothly as well.
8. Return to medium low heat and continue cooking without stirring until mixture is 245°F on a candy thermometer.
9. *Note: This makes the caramel a firm chewy candy. You'll probably have to cut the caramel on the cake with kitchen shears, but I love the chewy texture. For most people, a caramel sauce will be more to your liking. There's lots of recipes, but I've never tried any and don't have a favorite to point you to. You can even add sea salt to the sauce and make it salted caramel sauce if you'd like.
10. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
11. Pour caramel over the cake (recipe above). If your cake is domed after you bake it, you can use a spatula to pull the caramel back to the middle as it soaks in and cools down.
12. If desired, sprinkle caramel with sea salt before it cools too much. If the top has already started to firm up, you can gently press the salt into the caramel with the palm of your hand. Be careful, the caramel will still be hot!
13. Allow to cool completely (2-3 hours). Slice and serve topped with whipped cream, pretzel sticks and M&M's® Red, White & Blue Milk Chocolate for the perfect sweet and salty ode to America.

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Maybe you’re more a Skittles® fan? Well, there’s Skittles® Red, White, & Blue too! I’m not sure I’d eat them with the chocolate caramel cake, but they are pretty tasty little treats.

Right now MARS/Wrigley is showing appreciation of our troops by donating M&M’s® to the troops for every bag purchased at Walmart. Select stores will have representatives sharing more information about the “1 For You, 1 For the Troops” campaign exclusively at Walmart.

Did you know that M&M’s® were originally created for the troops?  Keep the tradition going and buy M&M’s® at Walmart or Walmart.com.

Supporting the troops is definitely something I can get behind. America has always held a special place in my heart. I truly love this country, despite any flaws she may have.

When I met my husband, he was a soldier. We have lived the life of a military family and I had a love-hate relationship with the military, for many reasons. But, I will be forever grateful for and to the courageous and selfless men and women who defend our freedom. The brave people who leave their families to stand against and protect our rights and privileges. I admire and respect the families that are left behind, the single parents who hold their homes and families together while the one they love most is thousands of miles away, often in mortal danger.

The men, women and families who make up our armed forces are some of the strongest, bravest, courageous and selfless people I have ever had the privilege to know. I am so grateful for the time we had among those heroes. I will always respect, admire, and love those who have, who do and those who willingly sacrifice holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, time with their families, their health and even their lives to protect this country and all those within her borders.

If purchasing a bag of M&M’s® or Skittles® can help lift a service member’s day with a small treat, it’s the least I can do. Help support our troops and grab a bag (or two!) at Walmart today. And check out more fun patriotic recipes for your celebrations this summer!

I hinted at the quick and easy version earlier; but, as promised, here’s the recipe. This is a little different consistency and flavor, but still really yummy.

QUICK AND EASY
CHOCOLATE CARAMEL POKE CAKE

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Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  40 mins

Serves: One 9x13" pan

Quick & easy chocolate caramel poke cake ready to serve in 45 minutes!

Ingredients

• 1 Family-sized Chocolate cake mix box (should bake in a 9x13" pan)
• 12 oz bottle Caramel ice cream topping
• Sea salt to garnish (optional)
• Whipped cream
• Pretzel sticks
• M&M's® Red, White, & Blue Peanut

Instructions

1. Mix and bake the cake according to the directions on the back of the box.
2. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 mins.
3. Use a butter knife to poke holes in the cake. The more holes there are, the more caramel will soak in. You can give the knife a twist after you poke it in the cake to make the holes a bit bigger.
4. Pour half the caramel over the cake and let it sit and soak in for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the other half of the caramel on top and let it soak in.
6. Slice and served topped with whipped cream, pretzel pieces and M&M's® candies.

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The post Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake appeared first on While He Was Napping.

Easter is nearly here and that means it is time to start thinking about your menu. The Easter weekend gives us plenty of opportunities for feasting whether it’s appetizers before the big Easter Sunday meal or family brunches during the weekend. Several bloggers have gotten together to bring you our Favorite Easter Recipes. From delicious brunch, dinner and, of course dessert recipes you’ll be sure to find something to add to your Easter menus.

24 Favorite Easter Recipes Round-Up!

Ukrainian Babka Bread (Easter Bread) from Blogghetti

Breakfast Casserole for the Crockpot from To Work With My Hands

Peaches and Cream Dessert from Katherine’s Corner

Crockpot Easter Spiral Ham Recipe from The Lady Prefers 2 Save

No-Bake Birds Nest Cookies from Love My Messy Messy Mess

Cheddar Biscuits from Ducks ‘n a Row

Cadbury Creme Egg Pies from Upstate Ramblings

Peepsicles – Chocolate Covered Frozen Peeps Pops from Upstate Ramblings

Ham and Asparagus Roll-Ups from Blogghetti

Grilled Leg of Lamb from That Recipe

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake from The Painted Hinge

Amazingly Flaky Cresent Rolls That are to Die For from While He Was Napping

No Bake Bird Nest Cookies from While He Was Napping

Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts from Blogghetti

Easter Candy Cones from The Lady Prefers 2 Save

Coconut Curried Eggs from That Recipe

Easter Mini Cheesecakes from Eclectic Red Barn

Crockpot Fresh Green Beans, Taters, and Bacon

Easy White Cake from Ducks ‘n a Row

Savory Roasted Potato Disks from To Work With My Hands

Birds Nest Cheesecakes from A Labour of Life

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Ham from The Magical Slow Cooker

Fresh Herb Whole Wheat Bread from To Work With My Hands

Easter Whoopie Pies from Katherine’s Corner

What’s on your Easter Menu this year?

The post 24 Favorite Easter Recipes appeared first on While He Was Napping.

Valentine’s Day has never been a holiday just about romantic love for me. Growing up, my mom always made sure we knew that we were loved and that, in later years, relationship status didn’t matter on Valentine’s Day. It was a day to express your love and gratitude for everyone who was special to you. And that’s something I fully intend on passing on to my kids. We are tightening the budget around here and so that means homemade Valentines this year. Since Valentine’s Day falls on Sunday and we will be going to church, Big J asked if we could make something for his Primary teacher. He’s had the same teacher for the last three years and he adores her. I headed out to Walmart and picked up the new M&M’s® Strawberry and decided to make some Dipped Strawberry Sugar Cookies to show his teacher that we are so thankful for the time and effort she puts into teaching our hooligan son every week and that he really does love her.

DIPPED STRAWBERRY SUGAR COOKIES

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Dipped Strawberry Sugar Cookies

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  60 mins

Total time:  1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 3 dozen cookies

Kick up your favorite sugar cookies with a fun chocolate-strawberry twist.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups sugar
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 4½ tbsp milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3½ tsp baking powder
• 4½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp strawberry extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix the sugar, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs, butter and milk. Mix until smooth.
4. 
5. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix until dough is formed.
6. 
7. This dough can be rolled into 1-inch balls and placed 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
8. If you want to cut shapes from the dough, lightly sprinkle the counter top with flour and roll the dough out until it's approximately ¼" think. Then, cut it with cookie cutters and place the dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
9. 
10. Depending on the size of the cookie, bake for 5-10 minutes. If you want a chewy cookie, your cookies should NOT be golden anywhere - even the bottoms. See the photo below. If you like a crispy cookie, bake until the tops are lightly golden.
11. 
12. Cool cookies 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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I started out melting the chocolate as it directed on the package in a glass in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. When the chocolate was melted, I just hand dipped my cookies, set them on wax paper to dry and then decorated them before the chocolate hardened to hold the candies on. Quick tip: use a fork to help spread the chocolate around where you want it when it starts to cool enough that it doesn’t move around very easily anymore. You won’t have to reheat as often – which can make the chocolate crystallize.

I crushed up a few of the M&M’s® Strawberry to top the cookies with. They were a little bigger than I had hoped they would be so I crushed them up a bit with a meat tenderizer. I tried some with whole M&M’s® Strawberry too and they were fun, but it was kinda hard to eat them by the time I got my whole mouth around the cookie and the candy.

While I was at Walmart, I found these awesome DOVE® chocolate tins and some super cute American Greetings® cards. There was a great card for Big J’s teacher and one for Mr Napping that was just perfect… A dad of three boys is definitely a superhero! And the way to my man’s heart is definitely through his stomach… and my sweet tooth won out on this one. He will be getting (and sharing!) the DOVE® chocolate tin this weekend. Walmart became my one-stop shop for Valentine’s Day, which was super nice! I loved all the awesome options all in one place.

You can check out even more amazing ideas with M&M’s® Strawberry, DOVE® and American Greetings®! What will you make this Valentine’s Day?

The post Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Sugar Cookies appeared first on While He Was Napping.

SPREAD CHEER WITH SIMPLE SURPRISES

The kids are out of school and I am trying to find a balance of attention for them and not letting my other responsibilities get left behind or completely overwhelm me. We have been looking for lots of fun activities that aren’t too time consuming or involve a lot of preparation or supplies. We’re working with little attention spans and all. That also lets me spend time with my boys and still not have too much mom guilt when I tell them I need to do some work or a few chores.

Betty Crocker®  cookie mixes have come to our rescue more than once this past week! We love cookies… because, who doesn’t? We used Betty Crocker®  mixes to make our cookies for Santa and he loved them. He told me so. We’ve shared cookies with lots of family and friends this past week too. It’s been fun to spread some cheer with simple surprises, like a plate of cookies.

I knew that Christmas Eve would be a busy day and we had quite a bit of baking we needed to do. Among the pies, rolls and waffle dough we needed to make we also needed to make cookies for Santa. I knew we weren’t going to have a lot of time so I went with one of my favorite flavor combinations. Peanut butter and chocolate!

I picked up the Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix at Walmart. I grabbed a sugar cookie one too because I knew my kids would be home for the next three weeks and we might need a project to do. We haven’t made the sugar cookies yet, but there’s still two weeks of Winter Break so I’m not tucking it away into the cupboard just yet.

We made peanut butter blossoms for Santa on Christmas Eve and it was perfect. My boys love to help mix things up in the mixer and Betty Crocker® cookie mixes are perfect. They are quick and there’s just enough ingredients that my boys stay interested. We rolled the dough so my boys even got to help with getting it ready to bake, which they usually don’t get to do.

While the cookies baked, my boys helped me unwrap the chocolates to top the cookies with. They did really well and didn’t even eat that many of the chocolates, although that was their favorite part, of course.

We will be making some more cookies while we wait for New Year’s tomorrow, although I’m not sure what kind of Betty Crocker® mix we’ll use yet. There are so many to choose from. I love being able to get my kids in the kitchen in a low-stress, fun project that we can do together. It’s something we all enjoy. And the end result is pretty great too. Another simple surprise we can all enjoy.

If you want some fun cookie ideas, check out the Betty Crocker® Homepage. How would you like a coupon to save on some delicious Betty Crocker® cookie mix? You can do just that with any Betty Crocker® cookie mix and this coupon on Ibotta. How are you going to bake with Betty this winter?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Betty Crocker. The opinions and text are all mine.

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I love this time of year. The lights, the colors, the music, the movies, the good will and the food. I love holiday food, and my sweet tooth does too. I love the hunt for the perfect holiday dessert.

But the holidays can be stressful too. They are busy, they are bustling and there is always something to do or some where to be. Add in a big family meal with all the traditional fixings and the favorite family recipes. Things can get kinda of hectic and crazy.

My grandma has always made the Thanksgiving pies and they are amazing. Her apple pie has a special little spot in my heart. I love using her recipe and making apple pie from scratch. My mom made pies too, but she had a little help from Marie Callender.  And I’ll be honest, baking pies from scratch doesn’t happen often. I just don’t have a lot of time for it.

Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies are already a part of my childhood and I love the go to option of Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies. You get delicious pies, quality ingredients and the hot-from-the-oven satisfaction without the prep work. You can find them in almost any grocery store and I grabbed a few favorites last time I was at Walmart and some Reddi-Wip® to help put together the perfect holiday dessert.

MARIE CALLENDER’S PIE BAR BUFFET

The beauty of the pie buffet is that everyone gets the dessert they want without you spending hours and hours in the kitchen. There’s a great selection of Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies so everyone is sure to find something they like. Add some delicious toppings and you’ve done it: the perfect holiday dessert. Check out how you can put together your own pie bar.

Ingredients:

• Marie Callender’s frozen pies. Choose your favorite flavors.
• Assortment of toppings. See my list below for ideas.

Directions:

• Bake the pies according to the directions on their box. Depending on what kind you choose, baking times and temperatures will vary.
• Put your toppings in easy to serve dishes so your guests can top their pies just the way they want. You may consider labeling the toppings so there is no confusion. I just explained the options verbally.
• Let the pies cool as directed, slice and set out. You will want the pies on one end of your serving area and the toppings on the other end.

Let your guests serve themselves. They can choose how much pie they want and what, if anything, to put on it. Everyone gets just what they want.

PIE BAR TOPPING IDEAS

• Reddi-Wip® topping
• Caramel syrup
• Lemon glaze
• Orange glaze
• Cranberry glaze
• Cinnamon sugar
• Mini marshmallows
• Chocolate chips or shavings
• Ice cream
• Nutmeg clove sugar
• Citrus zest

MARIE CALLENDER’S PIE BAR BINGO

Want to have a little more fun and encourage your guests to try more than one type of pie? Do people really need to be encouraged to eat more pie…? Anyway, here is a fun printable game similar to bingo. The winner is the one with the most boxes checked off and combinations of pie tried. Right click, save and print!

See what a completed game board might look like below.

So, simplify your holidays and choose Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies and enjoy stress-free, delicious sweets to accompany your holiday meal: the perfect holiday dessert. Grab yours at Walmart today! And check out more amazing ways to use Marie Callender’s® Dessert Pies this holiday season!

The post The Perfect Holiday Dessert appeared first on While He Was Napping.

I often run out of steam and energy before we’re finished when I’m in the kitchen with my boys; so, I decided to skip the baking part and just jump right to the fun part. We used Nutter Butter Cookies and candies to decorate and make snowmen!

NUTTER BUTTER SNOWMAN COOKIES

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Nutter Butter Snowmen Cookies

Prep time:  30 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Decorate Nutter Butter cookies and turn them into a winter wonderland! Create friendly snowmen with candies and white dipping chocolate.

Ingredients

• Nutter Butter Cookies
• White Dipping Chocolate
• Mini Chocolate Chips
• Mini Chocolate Candies
• Mini Peanut Butter Candies
• Chocolate Flavored Roll Candies
• Red and Green Licorice
• Confetti Sprinkles
• 

Instructions

1. Melt the white chocolate.
2. 
3. Work one cookie at a time so you can get it completely decorated before the chocolate hardens.
4. 
5. Spread the white chocolate on one side of the Nutter Butter cookie with the back of a plastic spoon.
6. Shape the chocolate roll candies into the shape off a top hat. I actually found it easier to make several at a time and have them ready to go straight on the cookies as soon as I got the chocolate spread.
7. Use the mini chocolate candies, the mini peanut butter candies and the confetti sprinkles to create eyes and buttons on the snowmen. The orange peanut butter candies perpendicular on the cookies made a great nose on the round snowman faces.
8. Use the licorice to make a scarf for the snowman.

Notes

The best part of these cookies is that you can decorate them however you want! Your imagination is the limit. My kids liked the snow globe, but my favorite was the snowman faces. Get creative.

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These would be perfect for neighbor goody plates this holiday season. My kids loved the snow globe cookie, but it wasn’t as pretty as I had in my head so I only did one of those. My favorites were the snowman faces.

Tips and Tricks I Discovered While Making Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies

• I loved that the cookie decorations were trapped in the melting chocolate after it hardened. It was less messy when my kids were eating them… and that’s definitely a win. You could definitely substitute the melting chocolate for frosting too, if that is more your style.
• I opted to just spread the melted chocolate on one side of the cookie because I like Nutter Butter cookies as they are and didn’t want to change the taste too much. I didn’t want the dipping chocolate to overpower the Nutter Butter cookie flavor. And it cut down on sugar a little bit.
• I used my little melting pot to keep the chocolate warm and melted. It worked great. A small slow cooker would probably work as well. Just make sure you don’t over heat your chocolate or it will get grainy. You can also just heat it in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it’s melted. If you have access to a melting pot, I would highly suggest using it.
• It was much easier to shape several hats before I started putting the chocolate on the cookies. Then I just had to grab one and stick it on. I didn’t have to worry about moving quickly before the chocolate hardened.
• Use a toothpick to help you place the little candies on the cookies. The candies are tiny and kind of hard to position with larger hands. My boys did great if I was steadying their hands. A toothpick lets you push the candies right where you want them.
• Use an orange peanut butter candy bit for the snowman face nose. Stand it up on the cookie to make it look more carrot shaped and give your cookie more dimension.

The post Nutter Butter Snowmen Cookies appeared first on While He Was Napping.

CARAMEL APPLE NACHOS

Ingredients:
– 1-2 Apples • I love green Granny Smith apples or Galas
– Caramel sauce • make your own or use your favorite ice cream sundae topping
– Chocolate sauce • I like a thicker hot fudge
– Knife
– Cutting board
– Plate
– Nuts, if desired

Directions:
– Core and slice your apples into thin slices with the knife.
– Layer the apple slices on your plate.
– Drizzle caramel sauce on the apples.
– Drizzle chocolate sauce on the apples.
– Chop up the nuts, if you want nuts.
– Sprinkle over the apples.
Serve and enjoy!

Check out the video to see just how easily this comes together. It is super simple and always a yummy treat.

The caramel and chocolate will start to soak into the apples the longer they sit. I like it that way, it’s like caramel infused apple slices; but, it doesn’t look quite as pretty. So, keep that in mind if you are thinking about serving them for a party or something.

Speaking of parties, I like to do this as a caramel apple bar of sorts when we have people over. Let your guests start with apple slices and build their own nachos. Everyone gets what they want and how much they want.

Topping ideas we love:
– mini marshmallows
– white chocolate chips
– cinnamon and brown sugar
– chopped nuts
– whipped cream

The post Caramel Apple Nachos appeared first on While He Was Napping.

It’s official… autumn is here!  Hooray!  I love summer, I really do.  But, since becoming a mom, autumn has slowly stolen my heart.  The colors, the traditions, the holiday season kicking off, and the foods.  Oh, the foods.  So many fabulous flavors come with the autumn season.  One of my favorites is apple and my sweet tooth has a soft spot for caramel.  How perfect is the caramel apple combination?  Perfect enough for some cupcakes!  Caramel Apple Cupcakes have some of autumn’s best flavors all in a delicious little cake just bursting with flavor.

I’ve got a killer recipe for you today that will make you taste buds scream “AUTUMN IS HERE!”  They are super easy to make – from a box!  Wanna make baking even easier?  Enter the #bakeinthefun sweepstakes by voting for your favorite submission.  You could win a KitchenAid!  Get the details!  Let’s get to baking those amazing autumn Caramel Apple Cupcakes, shall we?

CARAMEL APPLE CUPCAKES

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Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  22 mins

Total time:  32 mins

Serves: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes bursting with delicious autumn flavors - caramel apple. Soft, moist cakes full of apple flavor and topped with creamy tangy frosting.

Ingredients

• 15.25 oz Pillsbury Moist Supreme® Caramel Cake Mix
• ¼ cup Mott's® Apple Sauce Original
• ¼ cup oil
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup Snapple® Apple
• 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Spray lightly with cooking spray, if desired to help the cupcakes release more easily after baking.
2. Combine the cake mix, apple sauce, oil, eggs, water and Snapple® Apple in a large bowl.
3. Mix until well combined.
4. 
5. Fill each cupcake liner ¾ full.
6. 
7. Bake 22- 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
8. Cool 10-15 minutes before removing cakes from the pan.
9. Cool completely before frosting.

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You’ve got the cupcakes, now comes my favorite part of making cupcakes: the decorating!  When I think of caramel apples, I think bright green and that beautiful brown caramel color.  I wanted to put those on display on these cupcakes.  While I was at Walmart the other day, I saw these new M&M’s® I couldn’t pass up – M&M’s® Pecan Pie!  They were perfect with their fall colors to use as a garnish.

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Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time:  10 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Serves: 24 cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes

Tart apple and sweet caramel combine in this delicious cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

• 2 sixteen oz cans Pillsbury Supreme Creamy® Cream Cheese Seasonal Frosting
• 2-3 Tbsp caramel sauce (I used a store-bought ice cream topping, but you could make your own)
• Lime green gel food coloring
• M&M's® Pecan Pie flavored for garnish
• M&M's® Milk Chocolate Harvest for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare a pastry bag with a large round icing tip. The larger, the better.
2. Place the empty pastry bag inside a tall glass and fold the top of the bag over the rim of the glass.
3. 
4. If you want to create a marbled effect in the frosting, draw lines or dots inside the bag with the gel food coloring.
5. 
6. Fill the bag with the Pillsbury Supreme Creamy® Cream Cheese Seasonal Frosting. Add a small squeeze of food coloring into the glass as you put each scoop of the frosting into the pastry bag. When the bag is full or the frosting is all in the bag, remove it from the glass.
7. Squeeze the frosting around a bit to help mix up the food coloring. You just want it streaked, not completely mixed; don't squeeze and mix it too much.
8. 
9. Pipe the frosting onto a cupcake, starting at the outer edge and moving inward in a circular pattern, ending with a point in the middle.
10. Put the caramel sauce inside a zip top bag. Snip off just the very point of one corner of the bag.
11. Drizzle the caramel sauce on the cupcake. I put it between the lines of frosting, which helped hold it where it needed to be and kept it from dripping all over. If you frost the cupcakes with a knife, you can drizzle little zigzags of caramel sauce on the tops of the cupcakes.
12. Garnish the tops of the cupcakes with M&M's®.
13. 
14. Place the cupcakes in the fridge until ready to serve.

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I really love the way these cupcakes turned out.  The apple is just tart enough and the caramel just sweet enough… it’s a perfect combination.  It’s autumn in a little cake.  I can’t think of a better way to start out the season!  Grab everything you need at Walmart to make these delicious treats and check out these other delicious recipes!  And don’t forget to enter the #bakeinthefun sweepstakes!

MARS Bake In The Fun Sweepstakes

Grab your ingredients for these deliciously Harvest-inspired cupcakes on your next trip to Walmart. All ingredients can be found in the grocery section of the store.

The post Caramel Apple Cupcakes appeared first on While He Was Napping.

While Big J is at school and Baby N is napping, I’ve been trying to capitalize on my time with Little J.  The differences between his and Big J’s learning styles have thrown me for a serious loop.  Big J is such a quick and easy learner.  Little J would rather climb something.  He doesn’t care how to count or what letters are in his name.  I’ve had to get creative.  One thing the boy does love is sweets.  This last week we’ve been learning about the letter W and what better way to reinforce the learning with a tasty treat?!  We made creepy crawly pudding cups, complete with wiggly worms.

WIGGLY WORMS TIC-TAC-TOE

Before I jump into the delicious pudding cups, I’ve got a couple printable activities we did to help with letter recognition, colors, sequencing and taking turns.  You can click on the image to download your own copies.

I had Little J help me circle all the w’s in the sentence and then we used the gummy worms to trace the large letters.  We talked about other words that start with w, specifically our last name.  And then he ate the gummy worms.

A couple days later, we played a game with the leftover gummy worms.  First we matched the colors of the worms for a little color recognition practice.  Then we played tic-tac-toe with the worms.  He played with one color of worms and I played with another.  He didn’t quite get the game, but it was still fun.  Big J played when he got home and loved it.

Now, for Little J’s absolute most favorite part… dessert!

GO-PAKS! CREEPY CRAWLY PUDDING CUPS

Print This Recipe

Go-Paks! Creepy Crawly Pudding Cups

Prep time:  10 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Serves: 1 Go-Pak!

Taking the "walking taco" trend into the dessert world. A fun snack for anyone who loves bugs!

Ingredients

• OREO Go-Paks!
• Chips Ahoy Go-Paks!
• Chocolate Snack Pack Pudding
• Chocolate Vanilla Snack Pack Pudding
• Reddi-wip Original
• Sour Gummy Worms
• 

Instructions

1. Open the Go-Paks! Use a fork and break up the cookies.
2. 
3. You want chunks about the size of a pencil eraser, give or take a little. Use caution while you're breaking up the cookies... you can break the container. Not that this happened... but, yeah it did.
4. Open the Snack Pack Puddings. I put a Chocolate Vanilla container in with the dark OREO cookies and the Chocolate with the Chips Ahoy to help darken it up.
5. 
6. Mix the cookies and Snack Pack Pudding until they are well combined.
7. 
8. Top with the Reddi-wip and some gummy worms.
9. 
10. If you let the Go-Paks! sit in the fridge for a little while, the cookies will soften up. If you do wait, add the Reddi-wip and gummy worms right before you serve.

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Ready to make your own creepy crawly snack?  I grabbed all the ingredients on a recent trip to Walmart and we made our fun buggy snack. Create your own with the directions above.  This was so perfect for our study on W and the treats were enticing enough that even Little J – my boy with a .0003 second attention span, love of heights and all things mischief – was engaged through out the activity.  Total mom win.

Want more delicious treat ideas?  Be sure to check out these very yummy Go-Paks! creations!  Which one are you dying to try?

The post Wiggly Worms Tic-Tac-Toe and Go-Paks! Creepy Crawly Pudding Cups appeared first on While He Was Napping.