Halloween Candy Bars

October 16, 2015October 16, 2015

Halloween has to be one of the most fun-loving holiday’s we have! I thought I would come up with a project to do with my kids that reflects that! And because it’s Halloween, there needs to be sugar involved in said project… Soooo, I took sugar wafer cookies (yum), chocolate (yum), and candy (more yum) and I put them all together in one super yummy festive treat!

All you need to do is pick up a couple of packages of sugar wafers (I got three flavors), two kinds of melting chocolate (or colorful melts if you like), and a selection of candy. My kids LOVE m&m’s so those had to be there, then to make it extra Halloweeny, some candy corn of course and the rest were just random selections that suited my fancy!

This no-bake treat is inexpensive, easy and fun, let me show you how I did it…

Here are all the ingredients I used... You can swap any of this out, get creative, taylor it to your tastes!

Here are all the ingredients I used… You can swap any of this out, get creative, tailor it to your tastes!

I chose bittersweet chocolate because it helps to off set some of the sweetness.

I chose vanilla melts for the contrast in color.

Three different types of sugar wafers… the classic vanilla, chocolate and strawberry… but there are lots of different flavors out there, again, get creative!

I used sweetened coconut flakes, you could use unsweetened or even toasted if you want to cut some of the sugar.

Candy corn is a non-negotiable if you are making these for Halloween! Even if they are just on a few, it really helps to doll them up… Now, if you are making these for let’s say Christmas or Easter, you might use candy canes or peeps!

I chose mini m&m’s because their cute little size fit with the wafers, also, because they are small, we could get more color… and as I already mentioned, this is a family favorite!

I picked up a cookies and cream candy bar and chopped it up… My kids love Oreo yogurt and so I knew they would just love this one!

I reserved some of the vanilla chips for decoration.

I also picked up some peanut butter cups, um, yum… obviously if you are making these to bring into a school or somewhere there might be a peanut allergy, I would leave these out.

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment. You want to place on something mobile so you are able to move your bars to a cool place to set up.

Place your vanilla melts in a microwave safe bowl and heat for one minute to start, then stir as well as you can.

Place in the microwave again for 10-15 seconds at a time, stir after each time… until you come to this level of melt. Then allow any random bits to melt with the rest of the meltiness.

just plop each sugar wafer into the pool one at a time. With the vanilla chips, I start with the vanilla so that if some crumbs fall in, it doesn’t sour the batch.

Gently coat and allow to drip so you don’t get over coverage.

Once they are coated, place on your tray.

Some vanilla crumbs did get in, but they really aren’t seen, so I continue with the strawberry.

While still warm, start sprinkling on candy.

Get creative, let the kids have at it, there is no wrong way to do this!

Once you are done with the vanilla chips, move on to the chocolate… I like to do one at a time because it only stays warm enough to coat for a short time. So, pop this in the microwave for one minute and this is what it looks like after that minute. Mix as well as you can and pop it in for an additional 10 seconds at a time until you get to the next level…

Once you are mostly melty, mix and allow the rest to naturally melt… You don’t want to over heat, then you end up with burned chocolate, no fun!

The real chocolate will be much more liquidy, making for a more even coating.

Again, just have at it with the candy.

I had some left over chocolate, so I used it to further doll up my vanilla bars.

Halloween Candy Bars

Serves: 16

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips, melted

8 oz. vanilla chips melted, plus more for decorating

16 sugar wafer cookies

1/4 cup sweetened coconut

1 cup candy corn

1 Cookies and Cream candy bar, chopped

2 peanut butter cups, chopped

1/8 cup mini m&m’s candies

(use any candy you like)

Directions:

Cover a cookie sheet in parchment or wax paper, set aside.
Melt chocolate or vanilla chips (one at a time).
Dip and cover each sugar wafer, gently.
Decorate with candy.
Set on tray to cool and set up.

Portuguese “French” Toast (Fatias Douradas)

April 22, 2015May 19, 20153 Comments

Portuguese “French” Toast… Growing up, this was just plain ole french toast to me! I didn’t realize it was “Portuguese style”. My mother would make this with whatever bread we had in the house, usually some type of portuguese vienna bread (as you see here) or pop seco roll. But, it wasn’t unheard of to make it with plain old sliced bread either. The key is the crispy fried goodness that soaks in all that sugar and cinnamon.

My Vavó (grandmother) used to call these Sopas Fritas, which doesn’t make much sense because literally translated it means Fried Soup. But, if you understand a bit of Portuguese food history, it will. The Portuguese make a soup with milk and put stale bread in it called “Sopas de Leite”. Instead of soup, here we beat eggs and add milk to the beaten egg mixture and dunk day old bread to make fried, well, bread… but it was her quirky way of referring to this delightfully delectable dish. This was traditionally served on Fat Tuesday before lent for those who could not afford to make Portuguese Malasadas (a portuguese fried dough). Now, we eat it for breakfast, brunch, parties or just as a fun snack. Kids and adults alike love Fatias Douradas!

Whatever you call them, they are a simple and delicious start to the day. Definitely a dish the kids can help with! And one they will surely gobble right up. Just one more note before we get started. I have since realized what “actual” french toast is made with sliced bread and topped with maple syrup… this is a bit different and definitely is meant to be eaten sans syrup. (This is a habit my husband had to be broken of) But, if you must, you must… just try to enjoy it as is first! 🙂

Start by adding about 1/4 cup of oil to a large skillet. This one is non-stick… a cast iron skillet will work well here too.

Grab a large Vienna bread… or any somewhat crusty loaf of bread. Vienna bread has a medium crust. A good substitution if you don’t have this available would be an italian loaf.

Slice it pretty thickly. These are about 1″ slices.

Place 6 eggs in about 1/8 – 1/4 cup of milk.

Beat eggs vigorously.

Prepare your sugar and cinnamon. This is one cup of sugar and 2-3 T. cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Mix that with a fork until combined.

Now, set that cinnamon mixture up near your empty platter that will be ready to receive your cinnamon sugar encrusted slices.

Also, set your egg mixture near your prepared, preheated skillet. Proximity really matters in this recipe.

Quickly dunk your bread… you don’t want to over saturate the bread here… so this needs to be done as you are ready to place it in the pan.

Now… fry the egg dunked bread slices in the oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Until golden brown on both sides. Hence the term ‘golden slices’ which is the literal translation to ‘Fatias Douradas’

Immediately dunk fried bread into the cinnamon sugar… do not drain first… you need the oil to soak in the sugar and cinnamon. Then place on your platter. You may notice that some of it melts in… nothing could be better!

Whether you name these Portuguese ‘French’ Toast, Golden Slices, Fatias Douradas, or Sopas Fritas… be sure to call it delicious! Enjoy!

Recipe for Portuguese ‘French’ Toast:

(serves 4)

1 large Vienna bread loaf (or loaf of your choosing)

1 c. white sugar

1/4 c. veg. oil

3 Tbs. cinnamon

6 eggs

1/8 c. milk

Directions:

Pre-heat pan with oil on med/high.

Prepare ingredients: In a shallow medium sized bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon, set aside. In a medium bowl beat eggs and milk vigorously, set aside.

Quickly dunk bread. Fry on both sides for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Immediately dunk in cinnamon sugar mixture. Plate.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Hair Bow

April 21, 2015April 25, 2015

Little girls love hair bows! I wish fun things like this were around when I was a kid! Handmade hair bows are all the rage right now. This is something really fun to do with your daughter, granddaughter, niece or any little girl you have in your life this spring break or summer vacation!

Here’s how I did it:

Gather your supplies. You will need two plain clips, one length of polka-dotted pink ribbon, one length of green ribbon with a white stitch accent and one length of black sparkly ribbon.

Clips. I ordered these in bulk on-line… But any craft store will have them or something similar. I use these specifically because my daughter is a year and a half old and her hair is still baby fine and these hold great!

Next, measure your black ribbon. To do this open the clip and place the ribbon along the full length of the inside of the ribbon and allow for enough ribbon to run along both the top and the bottom of your clip and be sure it is able to come right around to the squeezy part of the clip.

You’ll want to run glue along the inside of the clip first. Then pop the ribbon in being sure not to close the clip until you have the ribbon in place or you will glue everything together, not fun. Then continue along the top and the bottom and finally at the end where the squeezy part is. Your entire clip should be encapsulated with ribbon at this point both inside and out.