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My new year’s resolution…

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{recipe} mint chocolate cookie bark~easy and frugal no-bake holiday treats

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I got it several years ago from my friend Amanda, and to this day, our circle of friends calls the recipe “Amanda Rocks.” I just didn’t put that in the title because you’d have no idea what it is, plus, not very SEO friendly, ha ha. I have made it every year since I got the recipe from her. I don’t have it written down anywhere, I keep it in my head.  I don’t know if I should call it mint chocolate cookie bark or candy or what.

This can be a very cheap recipe. I found Nestle morsels on sale for $1.99 and I had a bunch of $1 coupons. I found the Oreos on sale for $2.50 each when you bought 4 or more. I go through more than 4 packages each holiday season. So for about $4.50, I can make one nice sized batch of treats to take to a gathering. My family insists that I bring it every year, and for the first few years they didn’t believe that I had actually made it. The extract tends to be very expensive and I haven’t found a good way to keep it from evaporating year to year. Just buy what you need, because it does evaporate quickly.

Once you make it once or twice, you’ll see that it’s very easy to either double or triple, or cut in half. It’s also easy to add in your own variations and special touches. There are different versions of it online, this is how I make it.

 

All my ingredients ready to go. Sonoma Cutrer optional.

My cookies, all mashed up.

I did one batch with white chocolate.

mint chocolate cookie bark
 
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Total time

 

One of the easiest recipes you’ll ever find. Try it once and it will become a tradition in your household.
Author:
Recipe type: easy, dessert, candy, frugal
Cuisine: American, holiday, candy
Serves: 20

Ingredients
  • 1 regular sized packages of Oreos
  • 2 11 oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 T of peppermint extract

Instructions
  1. Put the Oreos in a big bowl and I mash them up with a hand masher.
  2. I suppose I could use my food processor, I’ve never tried. My boys like doing this part anyway.
  3. In separate dish, melt your chocolate chips. I usually use the microwave, but am going to start using the old-fashioned double boiler, because I always have my chocolate “seize” when I use the microwave and then have to fix it.
  4. When chocolate is smooth and can be stirred easily, stir in extract.
  5. Mix all together–crushed cookies and chocolate/extract mixture.
  6. Spread onto a baking sheet that has been covered in wax paper.
  7. Chill.
  8. Cut or break into bark/bite-sized pieces. I put sandwich bags on my hands for this to prevent getting fingerprints in the chocolate.

Notes
Be careful of packaging. Some companies have changed their packaging to only include 9 or 10 oz of chocolate chips, instead of 11 or 12. You will notice a difference–you’ll find that it doesn’t spread as easily with less chocolate. There are many ways to add in your own variations. I prefer peppermint extract and dark chocolate. But you can use milk chocolate, white chocolate, semi-sweet or dark. You could also choose spearmint or mint extract, or a different flavor. I also have topped mine with holiday sprinkles to make it look more festive. When I serve it on a holiday platter, I also toss a few mint Hershey’s Kiss Truffles, or Mint M&Ms or Peppermint Patties, to make it more colorful. You could also use wrapped Andes, wrapped Lindt mint truffles and so on.

 

{recipe} easy, make-ahead French Toast bake using King’s Hawaiian rolls

I first met the lovely folks from King’s Hawaiian at Bloggy Boot Camp back in May. If you follow my blog, you know that I’m hardly a gourmand or a foodie. Simple, frugal, hearty, yummy, budget friendly….those are my criteria. So keeping my core concepts in mind, I came up with this French Toast Bake.

I’ve tried several similar recipes that I found online, and was never able to find one that wasn’t soggy. I just really dislike soggy, mushy French Toast or French Toast Bake. You will find that this one is considerably drier than others you’ve had, but I prefer it that way for the toppings.

I am going to do this next week, because many of the steps can be done ahead of time so that all you have to do in the morning is assemble it and bake it. Perfect for the holidays or special occasions!

 

easy, make-ahead French Toast bake using King’s Hawaiian rolls
 
Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Cuisine: breakfast, easy, frugal
Serves: 6

Ingredients
  • Package of 8 King’s Hawaiian sandwich rolls
  • 8 eggs-use more for soggier/moister bake
  • ½ cup of half & half (milk or cream will do)
  • 2 tsp of vanilla
  • sprinkled cinnamon/sugar mixture
  • Can/jar of prepared pie filling or canned fruit topping, I chose the jarred apples from Cracker Barrel.
  • Optional-3 T of butter

Instructions
  1. There are two ways to prepare this, with or without the butter.
  2. Preheat over to 350. Lightly spray a baking dish (8×8 or round) with non-stick something.
  3. For both options, you break apart the rolls into large bite-sized pieces. For option one, you then sauté those bites in a pan with butter, sprinkling with the cinnamon/sugar mixture until browned. Once that step is complete, toss into your baking dish.
  4. I tossed my pieces right into the baking dish and sprinkled, skipping the butter step.
  5. In a dish, mix the eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix it well, I prefer a hand mixer.
  6. Pour over the bread crumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve with the fruit topping that you chose.

Notes
Since the rolls are sweeter than a regular bread, I chose a tart cooked apple topping. I would recommend something that is on the tart or sour side, to contrast the sweet flavor of the bread. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. I also had this leftover, warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds and served with maple syrup and it was good that way too. This recipe doubles easily and you can do the bread the night before and keep it in a sealed plastic bag. I also have done my egg mixture the night before in a sealed container. Then, the next morning all I had to do was a quick stir and assemble it for baking to save time. Great for holiday breakfasts.

kings hawaiian, french toastfrench toast bake