Monday 23 June 2014

Chocolate Honey Squares

The after-school snack is a pivotal time of day when you are eight.  A bad day at school can be transformed by the quality of the after-school snack.  While my eight year old self rarely turned down any kind of snack (unless it was, let's say, a tuna fish sandwich), some snacks are most definitely 5 star. While homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies hot out of the oven reign supreme, saltine crackers topped with peanut butter and rainbow sprinkles are good in a pinch. These, however, were one of the best after-school snacks ever.  This blew my mind when I was a kid - chocolate rice krispy squares? Mom sure raised the bar for snacks that day.  I believe this recipe originally comes from a Fry's cocoa recipe booklet - a well-used, stained slip of paper - the trademarks of a great recipe.



Chocolate Honey Squares

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup honey
3 cups mini marshmallows or 30 large marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups rice cereal

Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Blend in cocoa.
Stir in honey and marshmallows.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.
Remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla.
Add rice cereal, and stir until well combined.
Press lightly into a greased 8 or 9 inch square cake pan.
Cool, cut into squares.

Sunday 8 June 2014

Cheaters Black Forest Cupcakes

Ok, I totally cheated.  I needed a dessert to bring into work for a pot-luck and it was a busy week.

Here is the simplest black forest cupcake ever.  And it doesn't need to be refrigerated, as we swapped traditional whipped cream frosting for the regular kind.  Always helpful for potlucks.


Whip together cake batter.  Divide into 24 cupcake liners.  Spoon 1-2 tsp of cherry pie filling on top and pop in the oven following cake mix instructions.

While baking, chop or shave dark chocolate and prepare your favourite vanilla frosting.

Once cupcakes are cooled, frost cupcakes, scoop out a cherry from the cherry pie filling and plop on top, and sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.  Ta-da.

You need:

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • chopped dark chocolate (plus some for eating)
  • vanilla icing (enough for 24 cupcakes)


The rest of the cherry pie filling can be used in this recipe - it's almost as good as the blueberry version.