Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

April 16, 2019 Leave a Comment

Peanut butter and jelly cookies are a clever twist on a childhood favorite!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the quintessential childhood food. They’re perfect for school lunches, after school snacks, and even dinner on “one of those days.” (No judgement here!)

To be totally honest, I still love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a grown-up! My husband makes the most amazing pressed PB & J sandwiches on croissant bread. YUM!!

That’s why I love these peanut butter and jelly cookies — they remind me of my favorite sandwich, in bite-sized form! Plus, they’re easy to make using pre-made pastry dough.

Imagine this: fluffy pinwheels of golden pastry dough, swirled with creamy peanut butter and sweet jam. Need I say more??

This is such a fun baking with kids project because there are a lot of things they can help do: spread the PB & J, roll the dough, place them on the cookie sheet, etc.

My oldest daughter’s tutoring director at Huntington Learning Center here in Houston explained that baking is one of the best ways to practice math at home. Measuring and sequencing are just two of the many skills that kids can learn and apply in the kitchen.

And in my humble opinion, baking is WAY more fun than math worksheets! I’m pretty sure that your kids would agree too!

So let’s get baking!

— Stacey

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies Ingredients

Pre-made puff pastry sheets
Creamy peanut butter
Strawberry or grape jelly
Powdered sugar
Egg

A free printable copy of our PB & J Cookies recipe, along with full ingredient amounts, is available at the end of the post.

Kitchen Supplies Used:

How to Make Easy Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Preheat oven to 400 °F and prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mat.

Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, and egg, until creamy.

Unfold puff pastry onto a floured work surface.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll out puff pastry until it is about 20 inches wide.

Spread peanut butter and jelly in alternating stripes, diagonally across pastry sheet.

TIP: Using frosting decorating bags makes this step a breeze!

Gently roll pastry starting with the shorter end, rolling across the long side.

Wrap dough roll in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Once chilled, remove from plastic wrap and slice into about 18 slices.

Place cookie slices onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15-16 minutes, or until cookies just start to turn golden brown.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.

If you love peanut butter and jelly as much as we do, stay tuned because we’re making peanut butter and jelly cupcakes next!

Be sure to pin our Peanut Butter Jelly Cookies on Pinterest:

Grab a Free Printable Copy of Our Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies Recipe

Yield: 18 cookies

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Name: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 18 cookies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 sheet of puff pastry (1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package), thawed but cold; 1 cup peanut butter, creamy; ½ cup jam (any flavor) *strawberry is pictured; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 egg

Peanut butter and jelly cookies are a clever twist on a childhood favorite!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry (1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package), thawed but cold
1 cup peanut butter, creamy
½ cup jam (any flavor) *strawberry is pictured
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 °F and prepare a large cookie sheet.
Beat together the peanut butter, sugar, and egg, until creamy.
Unfold puff pastry onto a floured work surface.
Roll out puff pastry until it is about 20 inches wide.
Spread peanut butter and jelly in alternating stripes, diagonally across pastry sheet.
Roll up pastry dough, starting with the shorter end, rolling across the long side.
Wrap dough roll in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 30 min - 1 hour.
Remove plastic wrap and slice dough log into about 18 slices.
Arrange cookie slices onto baking sheet.
Bake 15-16 minutes.
Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

More of our favorite easy cookie recipes

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Patriotic Cake Mix Cookies

Candy Coated Jello Popcorn

April 12, 2019 Leave a Comment

Sweet and colorful — candy coated Jello popcorn is the perfect Spring or Summer treat! It would also make a fun lunchbox idea for kids!

Jello Popcorn

At Christmas every year we get a big box of treats from my aunt and uncle. The girls LOVE to open the box and see all the goodies inside!

One of the treats that is included every year is chocolate and caramel coated popcorn. Oh my goodness…it is absolutely amazing!!

We love chocolate covered popcorn so much that we make it at home regularly. It’s the perfect movie-night snack that both grown-up and kids alike enjoy.

Since flavored popcorn is such a hit in our house, I’m super excited to share this Jello popcorn recipe. It’s perfect for Spring or Summer because of the bright colors!

The Jello mixture forms a candy coating on the popcorn, so not only is it bright and festive, the Jello popcorn has a crave-able candy crunch.

You can customize this candy coated popcorn recipe by using any flavor of Jello you like. Wouldn’t it be fun to make for a birthday party or a baby shower?

Let’s get cooking!

— Stacey

Jello Popcorn Ingredients

9 cups popcorn, popped
9 Tablespoons butter
3 cups sugar
2-3 Tablespoons each: red Jell-O, purple Jell-O, yellow Jell-O
3 Tablespoons white corn syrup
3 tbsp water, as needed
Food dye, as needed

Tip: Be sure to use regular Jello (as opposed to sugar free) because the sugar is what makes that yummy candy coating!

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

Cookie sheet
Parchment paper or non-stick silicone mat
Medium saucepan

Keep reading for photo step-by-step directions. A free printable copy of this recipe is available at the bottom of the post.

How to Make Jello Popcorn

Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 300F. Spread 3 cups of popcorn out in an even layer on each cookie sheet. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 3 Tablespoons butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon white corn syrup and one color of the Jell-O powder. Bring to a boil.

TIP: If mixture is too thick, add a bit of water. You can also add food coloring to brighten. Both are optional.

Boil for candy mixture for 3-4 minutes, over one cookie sheet of popcorn.

Bake candy-coated popcorn for about 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Repeat with each color of Jell-O.

TIP: If you’re short on time, you can make one big batch of popcorn, all one flavor.

Try this next: make Jello popcorn balls by mixing melted marshmallows with your candy coated popcorn!

Be sure to pin our Jello Popcorn recipe on Pinterest:

Grab a Free Printable Copy of Our Jello Popcorn Recipe:

Jello Popcorn

Sweet and colorful — candy coated Jello popcorn is the perfect Spring or Summer treat!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

9 cups popcorn, popped
9 Tablespoons butter
3 cups sugar
2-3 Tablespoons each: red Jell-O, purple Jell-O, yellow Jell-O
3 Tablespoons white corn syrup
3 tbsp water, as needed
Food dye, as needed

Instructions

Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mat and preheat oven to 300°F.
Spread out 3 cups of popcorn on each cookie sheet.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 3 Tablespoons butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon white corn syrup and one color of the Jell-O powder. Bring to a boil.
Boil for 3-4 minutes then pour the candy mixture over one cookie sheet of popcorn.
Bake popcorn 8-10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Let cool before handling.
Repeat with each color of Jell-O.

More of our favorite colorful recipes for kids:

Jello Frosted Grapes

Rainbow Cookies

Mint Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream

April 8, 2019 2 Comments

Dairy free & naturally-sweetened, and oh-so-delicious, this mint chocolate avocado ice cream is more like “nice” cream!

Avocado “Nice Cream”

Mint chocolate chip is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream. However, since I found out I was lactose intolerant in college, I’ve pretty much had to say bye-by to this summertime treat.

While there are some truly delicious dairy-free alternatives in the frozen aisle these days, I’ve yet to find a nondairy mint chocolate chip ice cream that passes the test for me.

So why not just make our own?!

One of the things you have to look-out for when shopping for non-dairy ice creams is the sugar content. Just because they’ve omitted dairy doesn’t mean they’re actually healthy! Some of those dairy-free ice creams still have a lot of sugar.

That’s why I love this homemade avocado ice cream — not only is it dairy-free, but it’s sweetened naturally with honey, and only lightly so! That’s why we call it nice cream!

It’s a guilt-free treat that the whole family will love!

–Stacey

Check out our quick recipe video to see how to make this Avocado Mint Chip recipe and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free recipe printable!

Avocado Ice Cream Ingredients

2 avocados, pitted and halved
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
Pinch salt
2-3 drops mint extract
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

Note: you can use mint extract or fresh mint – for fresh mint, use a small handful.

Kitchen Tools Used to Make this Recipe

A free printable copy of this recipe is available at the bottom of the post. Keep reading for photo step-by-step instructions and video tutorial.

How to Make Avocado Ice Cream

Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Scrape avocado flesh into high-powered blender or food processor then add honey, coconut milk, salt, and mint extract.

TIP: We suggest starting with 2-3 drops of mint extract because it is usually pretty strong, but you’re welcome to add more if you like your ice cream extra minty.

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Stir in chocolate chips by hand, then pour avocado ice cream batter into a small loaf pan. Use a silicone spatula to smooth the top of the ice cream.

Freeze 2-4 hours. Scoop as you would regular ice cream and enjoy!

Pin our avocado ice cream on Pinterest:

Grab a Free Printable Copy of Our Avocado Ice Cream Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Mint Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream

Dairy free & naturally-sweetened, and oh-so-delicious, this mint chocolate avocado ice cream is more like "nice" cream!

Ingredients

2 avocados, pitted and halved
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
Pinch salt
2-3 drops mint extract
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

Instructions

Add avocados (flesh only), honey, coconut milk, salt, and mint extract to blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
Stir in chocolate chips by hand, then pour batter into a small loaf pan.
Freeze 2-4 hours.

More of our favorite avocado recipes:

Healthy Baked Avocado Fries

Copycat Twinkie Cupcakes

March 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

These fun Twinkie Cupcakes are a spot-on copycat of the childhood favorite!

Twinkie Cupcakes

Remember a few years back when they temporarily discontinued Twinkies? Am I the only one who felt a little sad about seeing them stop making one of the most nostalgic childhood treats of all time?

I grew up with my mom packing Hostess and Little Debbie treats in my lunch every day, so even though I don’t eat them regularly as an adult, they hold a special place in my heart. (We made these Santa Belly Ding Dongs for Christmas last year – another fun copycat recipe with a festive twist!)

Fortunately for all the Twinkie fans out there, their retirement was short-lived and they are now available in supermarkets again.

However, we thought it would be fun to whip up a batch of Twinkies-inspired cupcakes. You know, just in case they ever decide to disappear on us again!

You guys…these are amazing!! The cupcakes are soft and moist (gotta love when you add pudding to baked goods!) and the frosting is beyond decadent.

Now you can satisfy that Twinkie craving anytime with this fun and easy Twinkie Cupcakes recipe — they really do taste just like the real thing!

Even if you’re not crazy about Twinkies, I’ll venture a bet that you’d love these Twinkie Cupcakes. They’re that good!

From now on, this recipe is a keeper on our dessert recipe rotation!

Keep reading for full photo step-by-step directions, or scroll to the end of the post for a free printable copy of our Twinkie Cupcakes recipe.

How to Make Twinkie Cupcakes

I broke this recipe down into two sections: filling and cupcakes. The filling is listed first, and you’re welcome to make it first too if that’s easiest.

I usually bake the cupcakes and make the frosting either while they’re baking or cooling. That way everything is ready to go at the same time.

Kitchen Supplies Used

Twinkie Filling Recipe

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup marshmallow creme
2 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine shortening, marshmallow, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl and mix until smooth.

TIP: Make the Twinkie filling while your cupcakes cool to save time. That way when your cupcakes are ready to fill, your frosting will be ready too!

Twinkie Cupcakes Recipe

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, instant pudding, and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into cupcake liners until they are about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

When cupcakes are room temperature, poke a hole or cut a slit in the middle of each cupcake.

Scoop your Twinkie filling into a frosting decorating bag or a plastic syringe and squeeze frosting into the hole in each cupcake.

Be sure to pin our Copycat Twinkie Cupcakes on Pinterest:

Grab a free printable copy of our Twinkie Cupcakes recipe:

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Twinkie Cupcakes

These fun Twinkie Cupcakes are a spot-on copycat of the childhood favorite!

Ingredients

Cupcakes Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
3/4 cup water

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup marshmallow creme
2 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To make the filling:

Combine shortening, marshmallow, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl and mix until smooth.

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F and place cupcake liners in muffin tin.
Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, instant pudding, and water in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
Pour batter into cupcake liners until 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool.
When cupcakes are room temperature, poke a hole or cut a slit in the middle of each cupcake.
Scoop your Twinkie filling into a frosting decorating bag or a plastic syringe and squeeze frosting into the hole in each cupcake.

More of our favorite cupcake recipes:

Tie-Dye Cupcakes

Cat in the Hat Cupcakes

Carrot Patch Cupcakes

March 14, 2019 Leave a Comment

These clever Carrot Patch Cupcakes are perfect for an Easter party and they’re a breeze to make!

Easter Bunny’s Carrot Garden Cupcakes

Let’s be honest here…frosting is the BEST part of cupcakes!

My four-year-old is notorious for eating the frosting off her desserts, and pretty much nothing else. Donuts, cupcakes, cakes, you name it!

That’s why we especially love these Carrot Patch Cupcakes – there is extra frosting inside to look like a carrot growing in the garden. Not only are they super cute, but there is so much yummy frosting!

You can whip these Easter Bunny Carrot Cupcakes up in a jiffy with a box cake mix, or if you would like to make them from scratch, we’ve provided a full recipe below.

Happy Easter my fellow frosting fans!

— Stacey

Carrot Patch Cupcake Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the vanilla buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Orange Food Coloring

Edible green Easter grass candy

Tip: To save time, you can use a box cake mix shortcut. If you prefer from scratch, we’ve also included a classic chocolate cupcakes recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Kitchen Tools Used

How to Make Easter Carrot Patch Cupcakes

Keep reading for photo step-by-step instructions to make these clever carrot patch cupcakes. A free printable copy of the recipe is available at the bottom of the post.

Preheat your oven and prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners. We found some super cute Easter grass cupcake liners on Amazon that are just perfect!

Bake your cupcakes, using your favorite recipe or a box mix if you’re short on time. We’ve included a classic chocolate cupcakes recipe in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

Once cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, use a knife or a frosting tip (shown below) to make a hole in the cupcakes. Be sure not to cut all the way through to the bottom, but leave some cake so that you have a small bowl in the middle of your cupcakes.

Prepare your orange frosting. You can use pre-made frosting as a shortcut, but I find that homemade buttercream holds its shape much better. We’ve got a recipe for you in the printable recipe below!

Use a frosting decorating bag to pipe your orange frosting into the holes you cut in your cupcakes. Then make a swirl of frosting on top.

We left a border of unfrosted cupcake so it would resemble “dirt” around the carrot (frosting).

Place a few strands of edible candy grass into the middle of your frosting, so that they look like carrots in the garden. You may need to trim the candy grass to the right size.

Allow frosting to set for a few minutes and enjoy!

Pin our Bunny Carrot Garden Cupcakes on Pinterest:

Grab your free printable copy of our Carrot Patch Cupcakes recipe:

If you like this recipe, rate it! We’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Carrot Patch Cupcakes

Clever Carrot Patch Cupcakes are perfect for an Easter party or a treat for the Easter Bunny!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcakes Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Orange Food Coloring
Edible Green Easter Grass

Instructions

To make the chocolate cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a muffin pan with themed cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

For the vanilla buttercream:

Place softened butter into a bowl and beat in 2 cups of icing sugar. Add 2 Tablespoons heavy cream and vanilla.
Add remaining icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Add orange food colouring, if using.
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with no tip or a circular tip.
Swirl the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
1. In a small bowl, combine the coloring and frosting and mix well.
2. Next, using a knife or a frosting tip, make a hole in the middle of the cupcakes.

3. Using a piping bag, fill the hole with frosting. Then pipe a dollop of frosting on top of the hole into a peak to look like a carrot top.
4. Stick 4 little pieces of the edible Easter grass into the carrot top.

More of our favorite Easter recipes for kids:

Baby Chick Cupcakes

Easy Easter Egg Cookies

Easter Egg Cookies

February 19, 2019 Leave a Comment

Inside: These cute Easter Egg Cookies are easy for kids to make using a sugar cookie mix shortcut and colorful fondant! Keep reading for step-by-step photo recipe to make one of our favorite holiday desserts!

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

Decorating Easter eggs is a tradition in our family, as I’m sure it is for many of you. After all of our eggs are decorated, we hide them in the yard and the kids hunt for them.

Then we eat egg salad sandwiches for a week!

Don’t get my wrong, I love egg salad, but this year we thought it would be fun to decorate a sweet treat too!

Decorated Easter egg cookies are a fun activity for the holiday week, a cute gift idea for family and friends, or you could even make a batch to leave as a thank you for the Easter Bunny!

We provide a sample pattern here so you can get some ideas, but the possibilities are unlimited! You can use any color fondant, add sprinkles, or even incorporate edible markers.

Decorating Easter egg cookies is just as much fun (if not more) as decorating traditional Easter eggs…and they definitely taste more delicious!

— Stacey

Related: For another fun Easter activity, check out our Easter egg potato stamping!

Kitchen Supplies Used

Your favorite sugar cookie dough (we used an instant mix)
Yellow fondant
Pink fondant
Purple fondant
Egg-shaped cookie cutter (2 1/2 – 3″)
Wilton #11 tip
Rolling pin
Cookie sheet
Non-stick silicone baking mat

How to Make Easter Egg Cookies with Fondant Icing

A free printable copy of our Easter Egg Cookies recipe is available at the bottom of the post.

We’ve also provided step-by-step photos to show how we decorated our Easter egg cookies, but feel free to use your own ideas and let your imagination run wild!

For Your Sugar Cookies:

The ultimate shortcut is to use pre-made sugar cookie dough – and there’s no shame in it! This leaves a lot more time for decorating!
Want to try a unique sugar cookie recipe? Click here for our favorite Lemon Vanilla Sugar Cookie recipe!

First, prepare your cookies according to package or recipe and allow to cool completely.

While your cookies cool, roll your fondant out to 1/4 inch thickness.

We used our cookie cutter that we used to make our Easter egg cookies to cut a base layer of fondant to cover each cookie. We used yellow fondant for all, but you can mix it up or use your favorite color:

Use 2-3 other fondant colors to make decorations for your Easter egg cookies: stripes, polka dots, etc.

If making stripes, don’t worry about getting the length just right before you place them on your Easter egg cookies. You can trim the edges after you put the stripes on the cookies:

To cut out perfect small circles to make polka dot Easter eggs, we used the wide end of a frosting decorating tip:

We then pressed our fondant decorations onto our base layer of fondant:

Pin our Easy Easter Egg Sugar Cookies on Pinterest:

Grab a free printable copy of our Easter Egg Cookies recipe:

Yield: 12 cookies

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

These cute Easter Egg Cookies are easy for kids to make using a sugar cookie mix shortcut and colorful fondant! Click for photo step-by-step recipes.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 package sugar cookie dough
8-9 oz. yellow fondant
4-5 oz. pink fondant
3-4 oz. purple fondant

Instructions

Flour your work surface, as well as a rolling pin.
Place sugar cookie dough on flour, then roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.
Use an egg-shaped cookie cutter to make about one dozen Easter egg sugar cookies, or until all dough is used.
Bake cookies according to the directions on packaging, or your favorite recipe.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Roll out your yellow fondant so that it’s about ¼ inch thick. Using the same egg-shaped cookie cutter, cut out one dozen egg-shaped fondant pieces.
Press one egg-shaped fondant onto each cookie.
Roll out pink fondant so that it’s about ¼ inch thick, then cut into strips about ½ an inch wide and 3 inches long.
Place one pink fondant strip onto each cookie, on a slight curve. Trim any excess.
Roll out purple fondant to about ¼ inch thick. Using Wilton tip #11, cut out 60 small purple circle fondant pieces.
Place 5 purple circles on each cookie, just above the pink stripe. I recommend starting with the middle circle and working your way out - this ensures that the circles look even and centered.

More of our favorite Easter recipes for kids:

Easter Chick Cupcakes

Deviled Egg Chicks

Baby Chick Cupcakes – The Easiest Easter Dessert!

February 18, 2019 4 Comments

Not a “Pinterest Mom”? No worries! These cute and easy Baby Chick Cupcakes are the perfect party treat that the rest of us can pull off!

Easter Chick Cupcakes

Though I make my living as a food and craft blogger, I’ll readily admit that my husband got all the talent when it comes to the kitchen!

I can handle simple recipes, but when it comes to making elaborate Pinterest-worthy party treats, well…my results sometimes look like they belong on an episode of “Nailed It!”

That’s why I love to share easy recipes that anyone can do – kids included!

These bright yellow Easter Chick Cupcakes are super cute and super easy! Delicious from-scratch cupcakes and buttercream frosting, topped with adorable “chick” faces — kids will love to make them! And they are easy enough that kids really can make them!

— Stacey

Related: For another easy Easter recipe for kids, check out our Easter Egg Sugar Cookies!

Baby Chick Cupcakes Ingredients

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the vanilla buttercream and decorations:

2 cups butter
8-10 cups icing sugar
2-4 Tablespoons cream or milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Yellow gel food coloring
4-5 maraschino cherries or orange candies for beaks
48 mini chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut

How to Make Easy Baby Chick Cupcakes

Keep reading for photo step-by-step directions to make our easy Easter chick cupcakes. A free printable copy of this recipe with full ingredients and instructions is available at the bottom of the post.

First you’ll want to prepare your cupcakes. We’ve provided a from-scratch recipe in the recipe card below, but you’re welcome to use store-bought, box mix, or your own favorite cupcakes recipe.

Here are some of our favorite cupcake recipes:

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting and decorating.

For the buttercream frosting:

We’ve also provided a from-scratch buttercream recipe in the recipe card at the end of the post. If you’re short on time, you’re welcome to use pre-made frosting.

However, we find that homemade buttercream is firmer and holds up better during decorating.

To decorate your chick cupcakes:

Start by generously covering all of your cooled cupcakes with yellow buttercream frosting.

Next, fill a small bowl with shredded coconut. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring to your coconut flakes and stir to color them yellow. These will be the “feathers” on your chick cupcakes.

After frosting your cupcakes, roll them gently in the dyed coconut:

Add candy eyes and a candy nose to form your faces. We used chocolate chips and candied cherries, but you can use whatever you have available.

Pin this Easy Baby Chick Cupcakes recipe on Pinterest:

Grab your free printable copy of our Easter Chicks Cupcakes recipe:

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Baby Chick Cupcakes

These cute and cheerful Easter Chick Cupcakes are guaranteed to brighten anyone's day! Easy dessert recipe perfect to make with kids.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcake ingredients:

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the vanilla buttercream and decorations:

2 cups butter
8-10 cups icing sugar
2-4 Tablespoons cream or milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Yellow gel food coloring
4-5 maraschino cherries or orange candies for beaks
48 mini chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut

Instructions

To Make the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tray with your chosen liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Place the two eggs in a separate bowl and beat for 30 seconds before slowly adding in the white sugar.
Once the egg and white sugar mixture is light and fully beaten, beat in the vanilla and oil.
Add half of the dry ingredients, mix completely, then add half of the buttermilk. Repeat.
Fill the muffin liners halfway full and bake 12-15 minutes and cool in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

For the buttercream frosting:

Combine the butter, sugar, 2 Tablespoons of cream and the vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Mix for 2 minutes and adjust the consistency with the addition of more sugar or cream.
Dye the buttercream yellow with a small amount of yellow gel coloring.
Place the coconut in a second small bowl and dye to the same color with the yellow dye.

To decorate:

Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag and cut off the tip to be at least 1" wide.

Pipe a big dollop of frosting in the middle of the cupcake, and then smooth it down into a dome shape using an offset spatula dipped in water.
Roll the cupcakes in the dyed coconut to imply feathers.
Add candy eyes and a candy nose - in our case, a small piece of candied cherry.
Repeat for all remaining cupcakes.

More fun Easter cupcakes:

Minnie & Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies

February 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

A fun Valentine’s Day cookie recipe, these Minnie and Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies will make any Disney fan’s day!

Mickey Mouse Valentine’s Day Cookies

We are a Disney family – we have been to Walt Disney World eight times and are currently planning our first trip to Disneyland Paris; we have themed movie nights complete with Disney recipes for kids and themed crafts; and we have more than a handful of Disney decor items in our home.

The mouse has taken over our house.

But even if your family isn’t as Disney-crazy as ours, your kids will probably still love these super cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse cookies as a sweet Valentine’s Day treat!

These cookies would be cute for Valentine’s Day or any Disney-themed party. I think they would also be cute as a classroom treat if your kid’s class will be having a Valentine’s Day party.

I hope your kids love these Disney-inspired cookies! If you make them, be sure to tag us on social media so we can see your creations!

— Jennifer

PS – Be sure to check out our Mickey Mouse donuts too!

Mickey Mouse Cookie Ingredients

For the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered icing sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda

Royal icing ingredients:

4 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
3 cups powder sugar, plus extra as needed
2 teaspoons almond extract
Pink, black and red gel food coloring

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

1 large heart cookie cutter
1 cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper
4 frosting piping bags fitted with a number 2 tip
3 squeeze bottles

How to Make Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies

A free printable recipe card is available at the bottom of the post, with full instructions.

Keep reading for photo guide and our shortcut tips, or keep scrolling for the printable recipe card.

Shortcut Tips to Save Time:

While the royal icing method listed below is easier than it looks, it does take a bit of time to allow the cookies to dry in between steps. To save time, you can alternatively dip these cookies in melted chocolate or candy melts and garnish as desired with candies or writing icing.
You can also use pre-made sugar cookie dough instead of making these Mickey Mouse heart cookies from scratch.
If you need to make these sugar cookies in advance, I recommend either freezing the dough or the baked cookies, and then waiting to decorate them after thawing. (Freezing the decorated cookies can cause the frosting colors to run or the frosting to take on a different texture).

Photo Guide to Decorating:

Here’s a look at how we used royal icing to decorate our Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies:

The steps to make Minnie Mouse Heart Cookies are similar, but you use pink frosting instead of red and finish with polka dots:

Grab your free printable copy of our Mickey Mouse Valentine’s Day Cookie recipe:

Yield: 24 cookies

Minnie & Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies

A fun Valentine's Day cookie recipe, these Minnie and Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies will make any Disney fan's day!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered icing sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Royal Icing Ingredients:

4 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 cups powder sugar, plus extra as needed
2 teaspoons almond extract
Pink, black and red gel food coloring

Instructions

Cookie directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter, powder sugar, vanilla, and egg using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
Gradually add dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing as you go.
Lightly flour a cutting board and knead the dough just a few times until all the flour is combined.
Dust the cutting board with flour again and roll out the dough to about 2 inches thick.
Use your heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies until all dough is gone.
Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before placing them onto a different (cool) cookie sheet. Leave about 2 inches of space between cookies.

Royal icing directions:

Using a standing mixer, mix together the egg whites, powdered sugar, almond extract and cream of tartar until combined.
If your royal icing mixture is still a little soupy, add in another cup of powder sugar (max 2 cups) until your icing starts to thicken.

Continue to mix until white and stiff with peaks (about 5-7 minutes).
Divide the icing among four small mixing bowls.
Add a couple drops of pink gel coloring into one bowl, red gel into a second bowl, and black gel into the third bowl. Leave the fourth bowl plain (white).
Stir your frostings until you have rich pink, red, and black icing. Add more food coloring as needed.
Scoop a little bit of each color into their own piping bag, leaving the rest in the bowls.
Add 1-2 tsp of water into each bowl of frosting, stirring until you have a thinner icing.
Pour the thinned icing into squeeze bottles and set aside.

Decorating directions:

Using the black piping bag (thick icing), pipe an outline around the top half of all the cookies, to make the "ears."
Split your cookies into two groups: Mickey Mouse heart cookies and Minnie Mouse heart cookies. Outline half of the cookies with thick red icing and half with thick pink icing.
Fill in the black outline on all of your cookies with the thinned black icing. Allow to set.
Next, fill in the pink outlines with thinned pink icing and red outlines with thinned red icing. Allow to set.
Using the white piping bag, draw polka dots on top on the pink icing. Allow Minnie Mouse heart cookies to dry fully (about 2 hours).

Using the white piping bag, draw Mickey's buttons onto his pants (the red part of the cookies). Allow the Mickey Mouse heart cookies to dry completely (about 2 hours).
Allow cookies to dry at least 12 hours before bagging or stacking.

Pin our Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies on Pinterest:

These Disney-inspired cookies are a sweet treat for your Disney-loving Valentine! Which is your favorite: Mickey or Minnie?

For more delicious Disney desserts, check out our Toy Story Green Alien Cupcakes or our Edible Chip Teacup from Beauty and the Beast.

Valentines Day Treats – Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels

February 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

What’s inside: How to make Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels, quick and easy Valentines Day Treats! One of our favorite No-Bake Valentine’s Day dessert ideas that kids can make!

Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels

My daughter loves any excuse for a theme and holidays are no exception!

She loves making handmade cards and treats for her friends, so I thought these simple Cupid’s Arrow Valentine’s Day treats would be perfect for her to help make.

While heating the candy melts (or white chocolate, if you prefer) does involve the use of the microwave, kids can help with pretty much every stage of this recipe – from cutting the sour candy rainbow to placing the gummy heart “arrow heads” on the pretzel stick, and sprinkling on a garnishing of pink sprinkles.

The best part about this recipe will be how proud your little chef is of their final creations and how much joy they will get out of giving them to their friends on Valentine’s Day.

This Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels recipe is a cute addition to a Valentine’s Day party, or it makes a sweet homemade Valentines Day treat!

— Jennifer

Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels Ingredients

Pretzel Sticks
Rainbow Sour Belt Candy
Gummy Heart Candy
1 cup Pink Candy Melts
1 teaspoon shortening or coconut oil
Pink sprinkles, optional

Tip: swap out the colors or decorations for your personal preferences or what you are able to source. Who says Cupid’s arrows can’t be blue or purple? Or even gold!

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

Kitchen scissors or knife
Small microwave-safe bowl
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mat

How to Make Cupid’s Arrows Valentine’s Day Treats

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

Cut sour belt rainbow candy into 1-inch long pieces. To make the “feathers,” cut out a small triangle on one end and cut the other end to a point, then finish by cutting little slits along each side.

Melt pink chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir in shortening or coconut oil. Heat in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and handle carefully, as the bowl may become hot. Grown-ups should do this step!

Roll each pretzel stick in the melted chocolate until coated, then lay on your prepared cookie sheet.

TIP: Non-stick silicone baking mats also work really well for chocolate dipped treats!

Repeat with all pretzel sticks.

Place a gummy heart on one end and the rainbow tail on the other end while candy melts are still wet.

If desired, add some pink sprinkles to the pretzels.

Let dry completely, about 20 minutes.

Be sure to pin these simple Valentines Day Treats for kids on Pinterest:

Grab your free printable recipe for our Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels:

Yield: 12-24 pretzels

Cupid's Arrow Pretzels

How to make Cupid's Arrow Pretzels, quick and easy Valentine's Day Treats! One of our favorite No-Bake Valentine's Day dessert ideas that kids can make!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 17 minutes

Ingredients

Pretzel Sticks
Rainbow Sour Belt Candy
Gummy Heart Candy
1 cup Pink Candy Melts
1 teaspoon shortening or coconut oil
Pink sprinkles, optional

Instructions

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and set aside.
Cut sour belt rainbows in 1 inch pieces. Then cut out a small triangle on one end and cut the other end to a point. Cut little slits in-between to create the “feathers”.
Put pink candy melts in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir in shortening or coconut oil. Repeat until all are melted.
Next, dip a pretzel stick in the pink chocolate. Get a nice even coat and lay on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat with all pretzel sticks.
Place a gummy heart on one end and the rainbow tail on the other end while candy melts are still wet.
If desired, add some pink sprinkles to the pretzels.
Let dry completely, about 20 minutes.

Notes

Can use white chocolate instead of the pink candy melts.

These super simple Valentines Day treats are a total crowd-pleaser! It’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty with crunchy pretzels and chewy candies. A delicious and adorable holiday mash-up dessert!

For more fun Valentine’s Day desserts, check out our Teddy Bear OREOS or our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts.

40+ Cutest Valentine’s Day Recipes for Kids

February 2, 2019 1 Comment

What’s Inside: More than 40 adorable Valentine’s Day Recipes to make and enjoy with kids.

Our Favorite Kids Valentine’s Day Recipes

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite occasions to celebrate with the kids because of the fun food! We like to make Valentine’s Day goodies to give to our family, friends, and teachers…and of course enjoy at home too!

This is a collection of some of the special treats we’ve made, as well as Valentine’s Day recipes from our favorite kid food bloggers around the web.

Since it’s a pretty big list, we broke it down into categories for easier navigating.

We hope you enjoy all of these super cute Valentine’s Day recipes as much as we do!

Crush-worthy Valentine Cookies for Kids

Classic cookies and new ideas – so many fun Valentine’s Day recipes to bake!

Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Oreos (recipe on In The Kids Kitchen)
Pink Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies (pictured above – recipe on In The Kids Kitchen)
Nutella Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies (recipe on In The Kids Kitchen)
No Bake Valentine’s Day Wafer Cookies (recipe on In the Kids Kitchen)
Mickey Mouse Heart Cookies (recipe on In the Kids Kitchen)
Valentine’s Day Heart-Shaped Stained Glass Cookies With Jolly Ranchers (recipe on Crayons & Cravings)
Jelly Sandwich Stained Glass Heart Cookies (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
Valentine’s Tic-Tac-Toe Treats (recipe on The Inspiration Edit)
“Sealed with a Kiss” Red Lips Cookies (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
Valentine Bird Nest Cookies (recipe on Red Ted Art)
Heart-Shaped Macarons (recipe on Sugar Spice & Glitter)
Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies (recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod)
Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Bun Crackers (recipe on Sugar Spice & Glitter)
Conversation Heart Stamped Cookies (recipe on Playground Parkbench)

Healthy Valentine’s Recipes for Kids

You can let the kids eat as much as they want of these healthy Valentine’s Day snacks!

Strawberry Ladybugs (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
Love Bug Fruit Cups (recipe on Crayons & Cravings)
Heart-Shaped Whole Wheat Crackers (recipe on Mama Papa Bubba)
Berry Bracelets (recipe on Sugar Spice & Glitter)
Cupid’s Arrow String Cheese (recipe on Arts & Crackers)
Apple Love Bugs (recipe on Eats Amazing)
Grape & Tomato Heart Skewers (recipe on Eats Amazing)

Loveable Lollipops

Lollipops are fun to make and fun to give! Perfect for classmates and teachers.

Conversation Heart Marshmallow Pops (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
Rainbow Striped Heart Lollipops (recipe on Thrifty Jinxy)
Valentine Rice Krispie Treat Pops (recipe on Pint-Sized Treasures)
Heart-Shaped Rice Krispie Treat Pops (recipe on Pint-Sized Treasures)
Valentine Dipped Marshmallow Lollipops (recipe on Sugar Spice & Glitter)

Cute Candy Ideas

If you want to skip the store-bought varieties, try these fun homemade Valentine’s candy recipes to make with kids!

Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels Valentines Day Treats (pictured above – recipe on In the Kids Kitchen)
Heart-Shaped Gumdrops (recipe on Thrifty Jinxy)
Homemade Fluffy Valentine Marshmallows (recipe on Steam Powered Family)
Valentine’s Chocolate Spoons (recipe on Red Ted Art)
Heart-Shaped Peppermint Creams (recipe Red Ted Art)
Chocolate Pretzel Bites (recipe on The Life of Jennifer Dawn)
Cupid’s Arrow Candies (recipe on Crayons & Cravings)
White Chocolate & Strawberry Valentine Popcorn (recipe on Eats Amazing)
Heart Cake Pops (recipe on The Best Ideas for Kids)

Cakes, Cupcakes, & More!

Even more Valentine’s Day recipes that kids will love!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts (pictured above – recipe and video on In the Kids Kitchen)
“Queen of Hearts” Homemade Strawberry Pop Tarts (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
5-Minute Pink Peppermint Fluff (recipe on In The Kids Kitchen)
Honey Bee My Valentine Cakes (recipe on Pint Sized Treasures)
Love Bugs Brownies (recipe on The Inspiration Edit)
Cherry Donut Cupcakes (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)
Valentine Cake Push-Pops (recipe on Thrifty Jinxy)
Heart-Shaped Strawberry Sweet Rolls (recipe on Sugar Spice & Glitter)
Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Hearts (recipe on The Soccer Mom Blog)

We hope you enjoyed this collection of Valentine’s Day recipes for kids!

What are you favorite Valentine’s Day recipes? Share in the comments below!

Be sure to check out our collection of Valentine’s Day Cupcakes too!

No-Bake Valentine’s Day Wafer Cookies

January 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

These white chocolate dipped Valentine’s Day Wafer Cookies are an easy no bake treat that’s perfect to make in a pinch for classroom parties and gifts! Colorful and super tasty too!

White Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Wafer Cookies

We love to bake together as a family, but sometimes when you have to make a big batch of treats (say for a classroom party), it helps to have shortcuts. (Shhhhh…)

I love these chocolate dipped wafer cookies because:

There’s no baking required (saves time!)
They are dipped in white chocolate (more yum!)
Kids can help make them (easy!)

For some reason wafer cookies are one of those things I don’t think to buy very often, but I used to LOVE them as a kid! There was just something about those alternating layers of crunchy and creamy – I would literally let them melt in my mouth.

When you dip them in a thick layer of white chocolate, they taste even more amazing!

Related: If you are looking for an easy cookie recipe to bake with your kids, try our Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies! They would taste amazing dipped in white chocolate too!

Happy decorating!

— Stacey

How to Make Valentine’s Day Wafer Cookies

A free printable copy of this Valentine’s Day wafer cookies is available at the bottom of the post, following our quick shopping list and prep tips.

Valentine Wafer Cookies Ingredients

Look how easy! Only 3 ingredients!

Kitchen Supplies Used:

Double boiler
Non-slip silicone baking mats

Prep Tips:

We used strawberry wafer cookies because they’re pink and the perfect festive color for Valentine’s Day. However, you can absolutely use any (or all) of your favorite flavors!
If melting white chocolate in the microwave, be sure to use a microwave safe bowl and handle with care. Heat in 20 second intervals, stirring between, until melted. (Grown-ups should handle this step for younger kids).
When we make chocolate dipped treats, we love to use our silicone baking mats on top of a cookie sheet to dry our chocolate. When the chocolate hardens, it pops right off the non-stick mats! These baking mats are one of the most versatile kitchen tools!

Pin our White Chocolate Dipped Wafer Cookies on Pinterest:

Grab a free printable copy of our Valentine’s Day Wafer Cookies recipe:

Yield: 1 dozen

No-Bake Valentine's Day Wafer Cookies

These white chocolate dipped Valentine's Day Wafer Cookies are an easy no bake treat that's perfect to make in a pinch for classroom parties and gifts! Colorful and super tasty too!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pack strawberry wafer cookies
1 bag white chocolate wafer or chips
Assorted Valentine's Day sprinkles

Instructions

Using a double boiler, melt the white chocolate until smooth and creamy.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Dip one half of the wafer cookie into the melted chocolate and place on prepared cookie sheet.
While the chocolate is still warm add sprinkles to each wafer cookie.
Allow to dry completely before serving or storing.

See all of our favorite Valentine’s Day treats for kids:

Valentine Teddy Bear Cupcakes

January 18, 2019 Leave a Comment

So cute and so much chocolate! These Valentine Teddy Bear Cupcakes are a sweet treat that will delight your little sweethearts!

Teddy Bear Cupcakes

Teddy bears and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. But then afterwards there’s not much you can do with them!

That’s why I love these adorable Teddy Bear Cupcakes – they’re delicious and don’t end up in the stuffed animal pile later!

To make our Teddy Bear Cupcakes, we started with a classic chocolate cupcake and layered it with luscious chocolate buttercream frosting.

Then we created teddy bear faces using our favorite chocolate and peanut butter candies. (Actually these teddy bear faces make a super cute treat all by themselves!)

We took the same idea for our Teddy Bear Oreos, and made them into oversized Teddy Bear Cupcakes! Except this time we used Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for our teddy bears.

Because chocolate and peanut butter go together like teddy bears and Valentine’s Day!

Finally, we put it all together to make a towering teddy bear cupcake that’s just bursting with chocolate and peanut butter goodness!

Yes, our teddy bear cupcakes are little over the top, but that’s what makes them so much fun! Valentine’s Day is an occasion that is known for its sweet treats, and these Teddy Bear Cupcakes are guaranteed to get ooh’s and ahh’s!

So grab the kids, grab lots of chocolate and candy, and get creating! I promise you’ll have just as much fun making these teddy bear cupcakes as you will eating them afterwards!

— Stacey

Kitchen Supplies Used

Grocery List

Flour
Baking soda
Baking powder
Granulated sugar
Salt
Eggs
Whole milk
Vegetable oil
Vanilla extract
Unsalted sweet cream butter
Powdered sugar
Cocoa powder
Heavy whipping cream
Reese’s peanut butter cups
Whoppers
Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers
White candy melts
Black candy melts
Candy hearts

The above is a quick guide of what we used to make this recipe. A free printable copy of our Valentine Teddy Bear Cupcakes recipe with full ingredient amounts is available at the bottom of the post.

Be sure to pin our Teddy Bear Cupcakes on Pinterest:

Prep Tips:

When melting your chocolate, use caution, as it will become hot. You can pour the candy melts into microwave safe bowls to melt and then scoop into the decorating bags. You can also skip a step and melt directly in the bags (make sure the bags are microwave safe – this won’t work if you use regular ziplock bags).
Feel free to use your favorite cupcakes recipe for your teddy bear cupcakes or even a box mix to save time. If you want extra peanut butter flavor, try these Reese’s surprise cupcakes.
Likewise, you can also use your favorite frosting recipe or even store-bought frosting. Keep in mind that homemade buttercream frosting tends to hold it’s shape better than store-bought.

Free printable copy of our Teddy Bear Cupcakes recipe:

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Valentine Teddy Bear Cupcakes

So cute and so much chocolate! These Valentine Teddy Bear Cupcakes are a sweet treat that will delight your little sweethearts!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temp
1 cup whole milk, room temp
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
3 cups + 1/2 cup powder sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoon vanilla
3-5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Peanut butter cup teddy bear:

Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Whoppers
Peanut butter or milk chocolate wafers, used for the ears and mouth
1/2 bag of white candy melts
1/2 bag of chocolate candy melts
Candy hearts

Instructions

!To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract.
Using an electric mixer, add bowl of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, beating on medium until the batter is smooth.
Gradually add the boiling water, milk and oil and blend together until the batter is smooth.
Using a medium scoop fill the paper lined cupcake tins with the prepared batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to wire racks.

!Chocolate Frosting Directions:

Beat together powdered sugar, butter and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl.
Add the vanilla and chocolate until well incorporated.
Add in the heavy whipping cream, and continue to mix until stiff peaks form.
Scoop the frosting into a decorating bag with a star tip.
Generously cover each cupcake with chocolate frosting. You'll want enough to place your Reese's cup bears into so that they are secure.

!Candy Teddy Bear Directions:

Pour each color of candy melts into their own plastic decorating bag and cut the tip so there is a small opening.
Take one peanut butter or chocolate wafer for each bear, then cut them in half. Use the black candy melt as glue, to affix the chocolate wafer halves to the top of your Reese's cups as "ears." Hold wafers in place until the chocolate sets.
Draw a large dot of the melted chocolate candy onto the back of a whole peanut butter or chocolate wafer and the place in the middle of the Reese's cup. This will be the nose.
Use your melted white chocolate to draw eyes on the bear's face. Allow to dry.
Use the melted dark chocolate to draw a pupil on each eye.
Carefully turn your Reese's cup bears sideways, and press the bottom into the chocolate frosting on top of your cupcake. Make sure the bear is securely in place before letting go.
Add two Whoppers on either side of the Reese's cups to be your bear's arms.
Finally, place a candy heart into the frosting between your Whoppers.

More Valentine’s Day Cupcakes for Kids

Click here to see ALL of our favorite Valentine’s Day cupcake recipes!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts (w/ Video)

January 16, 2019 Leave a Comment

Inside: These no bake chocolate chip cookies dough hearts are a fun and easy Valentine’s Day treat that kids can make!

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

My girls love to make chocolate-dipped desserts – we make them for every occasion!

Many times we use cookies because they’re already made and easy to dip, like our Polar Bear Oreos or Valentine Teddy Bear Oreos.

This time we decided to try something a little bit different by making our own cookie dough and then dipping it in chocolate, without baking. I mean, who doesn’t love to eat cookie dough right out of the bowl?

PS- There are no eggs in our chocolate chip cookie dough, so it’s safe to eat without baking!

This is a super easy recipe and since there is no oven involved, kids can help every step of the way.

We’ve included a helpful video tutorial in the recipe card at the bottom of the post so you can see exactly how we made our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts.

Make a batch for your favorite teacher, grandparents, neighbors, and friends. Be sure to do plenty of taste-testing as you go…wink, wink!

— Stacey

Related: Click here to see ALL of our favorite Valentine’s Day treats for kids! There’s over 40 recipes!

Watch our quick recipe video to see how easy these chocolate-covered cookie dough truffles are to make, and then don’t forget to scroll down for the printable recipe:

Kitchen Supplies Used

Grocery List

Heat-treated flour
Baking soda
Kosher salt
Unsalted sweet cream butter
Granulated sugar
Brown sugar
Vanilla extract
Mini chocolate chips
Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers
Valentine’s Day sprinkles

The above is a quick guide of what we used to make this recipe. A free printable copy of our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts recipe with full ingredient amounts and video is available at the bottom of the post.

No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts

Safety Note: Because raw flour poses the risk of food-borne illness, always use heat-treated flour or bake your flour for 5 minutes at 180°F before mixing into your cookie dough.

If your cookie dough is still a bit dry after mixing, you can add 2-3 Tablespoons of water to soften it.

After you add chocolate chips to the cookie dough batter, you may want to finish kneading by hand.

TIP: If you can’t find Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers in your grocery store, you can also use regular chocolate chips for the coating.

When dipping your cookie dough hearts in the melted chocolate, chopsticks are one of our favorite tools. However, you can also use a fork or spoon – whichever is easiest for your kids to handle.

We love these non-stick silicone baking mats becuase when the chocolate dries, your truffles will just pop right off! You can also wash them and reuse them over and over!

Allow chocolate to set for at least 30 minutes before enjoying – you can place the cookie dough truffles in the fridge to speed up the process if you like.

Storage Info: Store your chocolate chip cookie dough hearts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Pin our Cookie Dough Hearts on Pinterest:

Free printable copy of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts Recipe

Yield: 12 truffles

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts (with Video)

No bake chocolate chip cookies dough hearts are a fun and easy Valentine's Day treat that kids can make!

Prep Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup flour (plus 2 Tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
6 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
1 mini heart cookie cutter
8oz bag of Ghirardelli melting chocolate wafers
1 container of V-day sprinkles

Instructions

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. If dough is still crumbly, mix in 2-3 Tablespoons cold water.
Stir chocolate chips into batter.
Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mats. Set one aside.
Place dough onto one cookie sheet and flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.
Refrigerate cookie dough for 20 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge and using the cookie cutter, cut out your hearts.
Place chocolate chip cookie dough hearts onto a plate and refrigerate an additional 10 minutes.
Using a microwave safe bowl, melt the Ghirardelli wafers in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring in between. Handle with care, as bowl may become hot.
Dip each heart into the melted chocolate and turn until completely coated. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, then place hearts on your second prepared cookie sheet.
While chocolate is still soft, coat the top of your hearts with sprinkles.
Allow chocolate to set for at least 30 minutes before enjoying.

More of favorite Valentine’s Day treats for kids:

XOXO Valentine’s Day Cupcakes

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Valentine Teddy Bear Oreos

January 15, 2019 7 Comments

Inside: A super easy Valentine’s Day party treat, these Teddy Bear Oreos will steal your heart!

Teddy Bear Oreos for Valentine’s Day

If you loved our Oreo Polar Bear Cookies, then you’ll adore these sweet Teddy Bear Oreos we made for Valentine’s Day!

Aren’t the heart noses just the cutest??

Chocolate-dipped treats like these are perfect to make with kids because the cookies are already pre-made (no baking required!) and all you have to do is decorate (the fun part!!)

Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Oreos Ingredients & Supplies

1 package of “Double Stuf” Oreos
2 bags of dark chocolate melting wafers
1 bag of pink chocolate melting wafers
1 package of small edible eyes
1 container of Wilton jumbo heart sprinkles
1 cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mat
toothpicks and/or chopsticks

How to Make Teddy Bear Oreos

Makes 18 cookies. Free printable copy of this recipe available at the bottom of the post.

Prepare the chocolate:

Melt 1 bag of dark chocolate melting wafers using a double boiler.

Note: You can also melt in the microwave – heat in 20 second intervals, stirring in between. Be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and handle with care, as bowl and contents may become hot.

Assemble the bears:

Carefully separate the double stuffed Oreos.

Dip a toothpick into melted chocolate and add a dollop onto the creme part of the Oreo, where the ears will go.

Place a non-melted chocolate wafer onto the melted chocolate dollop and gently press down.

Add a larger dollop of melted chocolate into the center of the creme and place the top half of the Oreo cookie back in place.

Repeat steps with remaining Oreos and place into the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

Decorate the bears:

Remove Oreos from fridges and dip each one into the melted chocolate. (Chopsticks work great for this step, or you can use a fork). Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before placing on a cookie sheet to dry. (Be sure the cookie sheet is lined with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone baking mat so you can peel the finished cookies off easily).

Repeat until all teddy bear Oreos are coated in chocolate.

Use a drop of melted chocolate to attach a pink chocolate wafer to the middle of each Oreo.

Then use another drop of melted chocolate to attached a red candy heart to the middle of each pink candy melt.

Use melted chocolate to attach edible candy eyes to the teddy bear Oreos. Repeat until all are decorated.

Allow chocolate to fully set (about 1 hour) before peeling off the cookie sheet. You can place in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.

Be sure to pin this adorable Valentine’s Day Oreo Cookies recipe on Pinterest:

Grab a free printable copy of our Oreo Teddy Bear Cookies recipe:

If you like this recipe, rate it! We’d also love to hear what you think in the comments below.

Yield: 18 cookies

Valentine Teddy Bear Oreos

Cute chocolate covered Teddy Bear Oreos for Valentine's Day

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 22 minutes

Ingredients

1 package of "Double Stuf" Oreos
2 bags of dark chocolate melting wafers
1 bag of pink chocolate melting wafers
1 package of small edible eyes
1 container of Wilton jumbo heart sprinkles

Instructions

!Prepare the chocolate:

Melt 1 bag of dark chocolate melting wafers using a double boiler or microwave. (If using microwave, heat in 20 second intervals, stirring in between. Be sure to use a microwave-safe bowl and handle with care, as bowl and contents may become hot.)

!Assemble the bears:

Carefully separate the double stuffed Oreos.
Dip a toothpick into melted chocolate and add a dollop onto the creme part of the Oreo, where the ears will go.
Place a non-melted chocolate wafer onto the melted chocolate dollop and gently press down.
Add a larger dollop of melted chocolate into the center of the creme and place the top half of the Oreo cookie back in place.
Repeat steps with remaining Oreos and place into the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

!Decorate the bears:

Remove Oreos from fridges and dip each one into the melted chocolate. (Chopsticks work great for this step, or you can use a fork). Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before placing on a cookie sheet to dry. (Be sure the cookie sheet is lined with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone baking mat so you can peel the finished cookies off easily).
Repeat until all teddy bear Oreos are coated in chocolate.
Use a drop of melted chocolate to attach a pink chocolate wafer to the middle of each Oreo.

Then use another drop of melted chocolate to attached a red candy heart to the middle of each pink candy melt.
Use melted chocolate to attach edible candy eyes to the teddy bear Oreos. Repeat until all are decorated.
Allow chocolate to fully set (about 1 hour) before peeling off the cookie sheet. You can place in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.

More of our favorite Valentine’s Day Treats for Kids:

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

20+ Gorgeous Valentine’s Day Cupcakes for Kids

XOXO Valentine Cupcakes

January 8, 2019 Leave a Comment

These XOXO Valentine Cupcakes are just gorgeous! They’re perfect for a kids Valentine’s Day party or a grown-up soirée too!

X’s and O’s Valentine’s Day Cupcakes

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! I’ve loved it since I was a kid and my dad would bring us each a box of chocolates when he came home from work.

Now that I have a family of my own, we have our own special traditions. My girls and I celebrate the occasion by creating lots of fun Valentine’s Day crafts and Valentine’s Day recipes.

Each year we think of new ideas and have a blast making them in the days and weeks leading up to the big day.

These Valentine’s Day cupcakes turned out beautifully, and they are easy enough for kids to help prepare.

We’ve included a from-scratch cupcake recipe in this post, but you can totally use a box mix shortcut!

The chocolate letter molds that we used for our Valentine Cupcakes can be reused for all sorts of other recipes too! Use the letter molds for Back to School Cupcakes or use them to spell out a name!

Happy Valentine’s Day and happy baking!

–Stacey

Related: For a no-bake Valentine’s Day treat, try our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hearts!

Kitchen Supplies Needed:

Grocery List:

Milk
Sour cream
Vanilla extract
Egg whites
Butter
Baking powder
Baking soda
Granulated sugar
All-purpose flour
Vanilla frosting

The above is a quick guide of what we used to make this recipe. A free printable copy of our XOXO Valentine’s Day Cupcakes recipe with full ingredient amounts is available at the bottom of the post.

XOXO Valentine Cupcakes Recipe

Keep reading for photo step-by-step instructions and prep tips. A free printable copy of the the full ingredients list and recipe follows.

To save time, we made our chocolate pieces while the cupcakes baked. There is a from-scratch cupcake recipe at the bottom of the post, but you can use a box mix too!

Our cupcake recipe makes about 12-14 Valentine’s Cupcakes.

If you prefer chocolate, try our Thin Mint Cupcakes recipe – they’re delicious!

TIP: Placing your chocolates in the fridge will speed up the setting process.

Feel free to use your favorite white frosting recipe or store-bought for the cupcakes. A frosting decorating bag allows you to make pretty swirls:

When your chocolates are solid, you can place one in the center of each cupcake. I found similar molds on Amazon:

You could also check your local craft stores for the molds.

Be sure to pin our Valentine’s Day Cupcakes on Pinterest:

Grab a free printable copy of our XOXO Valentine Cupcakes recipe:

If you like this recipe rate it! We’d also love to hear what you think in the comments below.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

XOXO Valentine Cupcakes

Cute cupcakes with chocolate hearts, X's and O's just perfect for a Valentine's Day party!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 egg whites
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups vanilla frosting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine butter, egg whites, sugar, sour cream, milk and vanilla extract with an electric mixer.
Mix in the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Prepare a 12 count muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Fill each muffin liner about 1/2 way with cupcake batter.
Bake 18-20 minutes.
Insert a toothpick around 18 minutes, if it comes out clean the cupcakes are done.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling pour each of the Wilton candy melt colors into separate microwave safe bowls.
Place each bowl in the microwave one at a time - heating in 30 second increments, stirring occasionally until melted. Use caution when removing from microwave as bowls may become hot.
Scoop each color of the melted chocolate into its own plastic decorating bag, cutting a small hole in the tip of the bag.
Gently squeeze the melted chocolate from each bag into your silicone mold, filling the X's, O's and Hearts.*
Allow the chocolate to set in mold until it hardens. To speed up the setting process you can place the molds in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Repeat this step for as many chocolates as you need.
Generously frost each cupcake with vanilla frosting.
Carefully pop the chocolate hearts and letters out of the silicone molds and place one on top of each cupcake.

More Valentine’s Day Recipes for Kids

Be sure to check out ALL of our Valentine’s Day Cupcakes and our collection of Valentine’s Day Kids Treats!

4-Ingredient Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

January 1, 2019 3 Comments

These pillowy soft strawberry cake mix cookies with creamy white chocolate chips are the perfect EASY Valentine’s Day dessert! Only 4 ingredients!

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…

As corny as Valentine’s Day might seem, I absolutely love it! Maybe more than my kids do!

And why not?!

Who doesn’t love an excuse to celebrate, especially when it involves delicious and festive treats, desserts, and goodies!

Growing up, I looked forward to Valentine’s Day and the big box of chocolate my dad would bring home for each of us kids and my mom.

While my siblings were better at rationing, I usually polished off my entire box in two days tops. I loved Valentine’s Day treats then, and I still do! (Though I don’t eat quite as much of the chocolates at once anymore!)

My husband loves to cook, so instead of buying chocolates (not that there’s anything wrong with that at all!) we like to make Valentine’s Day treats as a family.

These strawberry cake mix cookies are super soft and moist, and sprinkled with creamy white chocolate chips.

The best part is they are super easy to make! You only need 4 ingredients!

I love cake mix cookies because even if you’re not an experienced baker (I’m not!), you can totally pull them off! Since they’re easy, these Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies are also perfect to make with kids too.

Even if you are a whiz in the kitchen, sometimes a shortcut recipe really comes in handy when you’re in a hurry, as we often are around the holidays.

Did I mention these Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies are absolutely delicious?!

That’s the most important part, after all!

Hope you love them as much as we do!

— Stacey

Strawberry Cake Cookies Ingredients & Supplies

Strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white chocolate chips
Stand mixer
Cookie Sheet
Non-stick silicone baking mat

Make about 3 dozen cookies.

Free printable copy of our Easy Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies recipe available at the bottom of the post.

How to make Easy Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the strawberry cake mix, oil, and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (You can also use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer if that is what you have in the kitchen).

Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.

Add white chocolate chips and fold into dough by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Use a small ice cream scoop or melon-baller to scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough onto a prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Tip: You can use parchment paper, or we love these washable silicone baking mats. They’re reusable and non-stick!

Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.

When done, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and let sit for a minute or two before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Optional: For a festive Valentine’s Day treat, while cookies are still warm, press conversation heart candies into them!

Grab a free printable copy of this Valentine’s Day Cake Mix Cookies:

If you like this recipe, rate it! We’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

4-Ingredient Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Pillowy soft strawberry cake mix cookies are only 4 ingredients!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the strawberry cake mix, oil, and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.

Stir in white chocolate chips by hand, using a spatula or wooden spoon.

Use a small ice cream scoop or melon-baller to scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough onto a prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Allow to sit for a minute or two before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

More of our favorite Valentine’s Day Recipes for Kids:

Be sure to check out our list of the most adorable (and delicious) Valentine’s Day cupcakes from top food and family bloggers around the web!