Holiday Favorite Recipes: M&M's® Hot Chocolate Christmas Cake Recipe #repost #throwback #recipe

***This is a REPOST from November 2015 #throwback 
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeInTheFun #CollectiveBias

The holiday season is here and I'm very excited that I've already started my holiday baking. It's my favorite time of the year to share desserts and treats with family and friends. I have the most wonderful memories of my mother being busy in the kitchen, baking delicious pies, cakes, and cookies.

My mom would save her change in a jar all year round so that she would be sure to have enough money when Christmas came so that she could buy the ingredients she needed for her baking and candy making.

I like to think about her when I'm baking for my children and grandchildren, and they seem to love my baking, just like I loved hers.

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy the seasonal M&M's® I always find at Walmart, and sure enough, the other day I found M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavor. So, so good!! And I also bought the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix and Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting to make a yummy cake for my family.

It's so easy to whip up a cake with this cake mix and frosting, and I simply added hot chocolate mix and chopped M&M's® Hot Chocolate candies to the cake batter for a great hot chocolate flavor.

I also bought some M&M's® Holiday Peanut because peanut is my absolute favorite kind of M&M's®, though I have to say that all the other flavors are a close second.

When my four year old granddaughter saw this cake she said it was beautiful, and that is one of the reasons I bake, for love, for family.

I want her to remember her and I baking together, which we frequently do, and remember how much fun we had in the kitchen.

Simply add chopped candies and hot chocolate mix to the batter to give it that great hot chocolate flavor. I always make sure to use parchment paper and vegetable oil so that my cake doesn't stick to the pan, it works every time.

Put together and frost both layers of the cake, then the real fun begins! Decorate your cake with the sprinkles that come with the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting, and the M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavored candies.

This is really such an easy way to make a fun and festive cake that you can enjoy at home, or bring to a holiday gathering.

Recipe For M&M's® Hot Chocolate Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup hot chocolate powder
3/4 cup M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavored candies, roughly chopped

For frosting cake:

1 container Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting
additional M&M's®

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and place parchment papers (if using) into 2 8-inch round cake pans.
Combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add in chopped candies and hot chocolate mix, stirring well.
Divide evenly into the prepared pans. Bake 20-24 minutes until done, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans, put on a wire rack and let cool completely before assembling and frosting.
Decorate with sprinkles and candies.

My family and I drink a lot of milk, we can go through quite a few gallons in a week. I always appreciate the low prices on Great Value Milk at Walmart.

Having a glass of milk with dinner and dessert is something that many people take for granted. But many families with children aren't that lucky, and go without milk and it's essential nutrients because it's not typically donated to food banks, even though it is in high demand.

More than 46.5 million Americans – including one in every six children – rely on Feeding America food banks each year. And one of the most requested food items is milk. But sadly, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year.

But we can help out by making a small donation at pourmilklove.com. The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of milk – and all of the essential nutrients, including protein, that it provides – to a family in need in YOUR local community.

When you purchase two bags of M&M's® at Walmart ( 9.4 oz. bags or larger) up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive. What a great way to help get milk to children who need it. And you can also make a donation to the Great American Milk Drive here.

You can find all these products, and additional flavors of M&M's®, at your local Walmart. Check out the baking aisle for all kinds of great dessert and baking ideas.

Use this coupon to save $1.00 on any two (2) bags of M&M's® Chocolate Candies 8 oz. or larger.

Be sure to check out more delicious holiday baking recipes here. And tell me what your favorite holiday recipe, I'd really love to know.

Pumpkin Chicken Chili Fall Recipes #pumpkin #recipes

I know that pumpkin may sound like an odd ingredient to put into a chili recipe. But this chili is perfect for Fall night dinner, and certainly makes use of the stray can of pumpkin left over in the pantry.

No worries of your chili tasting like pumpkin pie, it won't, it will be unusual though, and I mean that in the best way.

This is the first time I have made Pumpkin Chicken Chili, but it certainly won't be the last. My family loved it, and the next time I make it, I'll make a double batch, and freeze half for another dinner.

I used chicken thigh meat instead of chicken breasts because I like the more flavorful dark meat. And it's less expensive, too.

Monster Hands for Halloween Day Art Project #Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! To keep your little ones busy today as they wait for trick or treating and attending Halloween festivals here is a last minute craft idea. Our Monster Hand Craft you can do in minutes!

All you need is washable paint, paint brushes, paper, googly eyes, a permanent marker and little hands :)

Share Halloween Treats With Your Dog and Make Fun Doggie Trick-Or-Treat Bags #ad #throwback #Halloween

#Throwback #Halloween Post from 2014 This post was originally compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TrickOrTreatEm #CollectiveBias

Halloween is such a fun time around our house. My grandchildren love dressing up, and this year they asked if our dog could have his very own dog costume. How could I possibly say no, so off we went shopping, and our Chewie ended up with a taco costume.

We know the kids get all the treats on Halloween, but why shouldn't our doggie friends get their own fun treats?

While we were shopping at our local Fred Meyer for Chewie's costume, the kids and I thought it would be fun to make up some Halloween doggie treat bags to give to trick-or-treaters that would like to take home a treat for their own dogs.

Big Heart Brand Pet Treats come in several varieties, and Chewie really loves Pup-Peroni, Milkbone, and Milo's Kitchen. These are the treats we are using to make up our doggie treat bags, and these are really going to be some lucky dogs!!

You can have some doggie Halloween fun yourself on the Trick Or Treat Em website. Just answer a few questions and find out your pets Halloween personality, upload a picture of your pet in their Halloween costume to a fun Halloween picture frame, and get coupons to save on dog treats.

To make the treat bags, I just bought regular candy bags and filled them up with a Pup-Peroni stick, a Milo's Kitchen treat, and a few Milkbone flavor snacks.

I also made the orange tags that say 'doggie treats', and tied them on to the bags so that they wouldn't accidently be confused with regular bags of treats.

We live on a street with lots of dogs, and dog-loving owners, so I know these are going to be a big hit in our neighborhood.

I have to confess that I've never been a big dog lover, but getting Chewie changed all that. And I'm having so much fun with him, that buying him his own Halloween costume, and making his buddies treat bags is great.

I found Milo's Kitchen, Milkbone, and Pup-Peroni dog treats all at my local Fred Meyer store, located in the dog food aisle. I like the ease and convenience of picking them up here, and not having to go to a pet store, where prices are always higher.

My family and I can't wait for Halloween this year, and we're planning on taking Chewie the
Taco with us when we go trick-or-treating.

Be sure and give your own dogs a treat this year on Halloween, for all the love, affection and laughter they provide us all-year round.

How about you, do you have a Halloween costume for your dog, and do you take them trick-or-treating?

Celebrating Fall Hot Apple Cider And Candy Apples Recipes #HarvestFun #ad #throwback

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

This is a #throwback from 2013 of one of our favorite #shops we have done with #CollectiveBias

My favorite season is fall, and here, the leaves are already beginning to turn gold.

 I'm very excited about the fall baking that I will be doing, and making favorite fall recipes and discovering new ones, too.

I love making fall treats for family and friends. I'm a grandmother to four little ones, and they love it when I make or bake something delicious just for them.

This weekend I could feel fall in the air, so I decided to make candy apples with Candy Corn flavored M&M's, and some delicious Mott's hot apple cider.

I went shopping at Walmart to buy the new fall packaged M&M's. They come in four flavors, including Peanut, Peanut Butter, Milk Chocolate, and the flavor I bought, Candy Corn.

I have made candy apples with M&M's before, and they are always a hit. They are great for fall activities where a treat is needed, and the perfect cute spin on giving an apple to your child's teacher.

Candy apples are easy to make, and it's fun to find different ingredients to make the outside coating taste delicious.

Candy corn is something we always have on hand in the fall, so I knew the Candy Corn flavored M&M's would be great to roll the caramel apples in. I just used my mini Magic Bullet to chop the M&M's, dipped the apples in the melted caramel, and then rolled them in the candy.

I really love giving candy apples as an unexpected little gift, or a thank you. I almost feel guilty for how little effort it took to make them, when the receiver is so happy to get them.

These were a huge hit this weekend with my kids and grandkids, so I'll try the other flavors of the fall M&M's too, especially the peanut kind.

I also made some hot apple cider this weekend, and we sat outside on the deck with it in the evening. This could be the last time we will be doing that, as the evenings are getting quite chilly.

I like making my apple cider with a bit of a citrus twist, by adding orange juice and lemon juice to the Mott's apple juice. This recipe can be doubled or tripled for a larger group, and not only do the adults love it, but the kids do to.

And your kitchen will smell deliciously like cinnamon and spices.

I've been buying the Mott's brand of apple juice for years, and gave it to my children, and now to my grandchildren.

It's the base of this great tasting apple cider with a twist. I like heating a cup of this cider in the microwave for myself in the afternoon or evening.

For me, nothing says fall like apple cider. It's so easy to make your own, and it tastes so much better than the bottled kind.

I love how cute these apples came out, and my daughter thought they would make sweet gifts for the teachers on Back To School Night.


Recipe for Candy Corn Flavored M&M Candy Apples

Ingredients:

5 apples, washed and dried
5 popsicle sticks
1 11 ounce package Kraft Caramel Bits
2 bags Candy Corn flavored M&M's

Directions:

Insert popsicle sticks about half way into apples.

In batches, chop up M&M's in a Magic Bullet or blender. Heat caramel bits according to package directions.

Dip apples in caramel and twist by stick to  remove excess. Roll in crushed M&M's, then place on waxed paper. Place in fridge to set and cool.


Recipe for Mott's Hot Apple Cider With a Citrus Twist

Ingredients:

1 quart Mott's Apple Juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 table spoons cloves or cider spice mix
Additional cinnamon sticks for serving with cider

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine the first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat: simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
Strain, discarding cinnamon stick and cloves. Serve warm, garnish with additional cinnamon sticks.

Makes 5 cups.

For more great ideas visit the Fall Baking and Entertaining Pinterest Board.