Homemade Hot Chocolate (and Christmassy Chocolate-Dipped Marshmallows) *12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities-Day 7*

 

 

For today’s snacktivity I am sharing TWO ideas! I’m just counting the first one as the official ‘snacktivity’ because it is sooo easy and quick… the second one… not so much- thought it is definitely worth a try! We will call the homemade marshmallows a bonus.

I love homemade hot chocolate! My mom always used to make it for us when we’d come inside from playing in the snow! Handy thing about this recipe is that you can make it dairy-free by just using your favorite milk substitute- I like almond or coconut milk-rather than bovine juice. Wow. I’m really proud of myself for that disgusting term…”bovine juice.”

So this recipe can be dairy and gluten free for all you sensitive folk out there! AND it can be VEGAN too! (And it is STILL delicious!)

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Step 1: Mix 3-4 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt in your mug of choice. Mug choice makes a difference- let’s be honest.

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Try to get as many of the lumpy bits as you can broken up.

Meanwhile…

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Step 2: Microwave a cup of bovine juice (can’t stop saying it!!!) for a minute and a half-or until it is your preferred hot chocolate temp.

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Step 3: Slowly add a bit of the milk to your hot chocolate mixture, and stir it thoroughly, to remove any lumpers.

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Then add the rest of your milk- and yer done! No need to ever buy the cheap crud again! This still needed some Christmassy cheer on top…

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You can add your favorite toppings to this- pepperoniiiii, pineapple, etc. I just used mini marshmallows and some crushed candy canes! Notice the cup change? That’s cuz this one is so huge it is almost majestic…

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Not unlike the creeping panther that graces the front of it!

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This hot chocolate is so good, even the angels bask in it’s glory!

Okay- now for the bonus!!! Homemade marshmallows- dipped in chocolate- perfect for your new-found cup of hot chocolate!

I hope you remember my first marshmallow attempt:

 

Even though I failed that test miserably, I persevered and made these:

SO these little caramel marshmallow escargot were part of Buttercream Couture’s Caramel series. After I made them, I had a pile of leftover marshmallow:

That’s a big slab of fluffy, sticky goodness! Check out Melissa’s amazing (and hilarious!) recipe for homemade marshmallows here. 

I wanted to make these extra-special for the kids, so instead of just cutting out the typical square or circle marshmallows, I got out my holiday cutters!

Ya know- I don’t like baking much, but I love a good cookie cutter collection!

I used lots of powdered sugar to keep the marshmallow from stickifying the world!

The marshmallow was a bit thicker than my cutter, so I just had to manipulate it and push on the bottom to get the shape right.

And I still made some boring ones too- because there aint nothin boring about homemade marshmallows!

Now to make these extra-special!

I just melted some chocolate…

And one-by-one these guys took a bath. A bath that rendered them delicious.

Aww look at frosty standing proud!

And this cute little candy cane hangs perfectly off your mug!

I stuck em in the fridge for around 5 minutes to harden up the chocolate.

And then they were ready for bath # two… and a timely demise!

Don’t get too comfortable in that hot tub, young marshmallows!

This child may look cute, but he is a killer. He downed that snowman in minutes flat!

But we have to do the baby test right?! Well I guess he’s a toddler, but he is a shrimp and I’m not due with baby #5 until next year, so he is still a baby…

A marshmallow-testing baby!

He likes it!!! (surprise). Man I hope you all realize the sacrifice my family is going thru to bring you these 12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities! We are all gonna have blood-sugar issues after this! Ha! It’s worth it!

For the rest of my snacktivities, check out this picture link here:

12 days of Christmas Snacktivities

And check back for the nest 5 days for more quick, fun, easy, and festive ideas!

Happy Marshmallow Drowning!

~Dot

Posted in Christmas, Dairy-Free recipes, Dessert, Recipes, Snacktivities, Uncategorized, vegetarian/vegan recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Edible Christmas Lights *12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities-Day 6*

Check out these darrrling lil thangs:

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Aren’t they silly and cute?!?! Well, ignore everything your mama ever taught you about putting electrical equipment in your mouth, because these things are TASTY!

And they are freakishly easy… perhaps the most simple treat I have ever made.

IMG_7953All they require is 2 different candies- Mike N Ikes and Peanut or Almond M&M’s. I saw this idea on Pinterest- I believe the original creator was Hungry Happenings. (I love them!)

So let’s get it started in here!

IMG_7954Step 1: Cut the green Mike N Ike’s in half. You can let the kids try this with a butter knife and a lil supervision 😉

IMG_7955Step 2: Fire. Melt the Mike N Ike half over the cut end for a couple of seconds- just until it starts to melt.

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Step 3: Squish those two candies together in sweet matromonious love.

IMG_7961Step 4: Let the kids play!!! Draw a house and a set of lights, or a Christmas tree, and let them place these candies all over the place! My kids had fun for a good 45 minutes… and then they got to eat em!

I can’t believe I am halfway done my 12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities! That means Christmas is just around the corner!!

Here is a picture link to the table of contents for this series, so check that out for quick reference:

12 days of Christmas Snacktivities Happy Electrical Equipment-Eating!

~Dot

Posted in Christmas, Dessert, Recipes, Snacktivities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pretzel Kiss Candies *12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities-Day 5*

My husband just challenged me to a race… who can finish their job quicker- my job is writing this post. His is doing the dishes. GO!

For day 5 of my 12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities, I am going to show you how to make something you have probably seen kicking around on Pinterest! Nice and easy, deliciously satisfying Pretzel Kiss Candies.

So grab your favorite child, and get ready.

IMG_7225 Such a cute lil helper ❤

IMG_7226ALLL you need to make these are some small pretzels (I have tried to find the circle or waffle-squareish ones for years and I just don’t think they make em in Canada- but if you can find those- use them- they look better.), some assorted Hershey’s Kisses (I used original and peppermint), and finally, some Christmassy-colored M&M’s! That’s it! Let’s go!

IMG_7227Step 1: Line a lightly greased cookie sheet or two with pretzels and unwrap your kisses (Keep the wrappers- I’ll show ya why in a second.)

IMG_7229Step 2: Place the kisses on top of the pretzels like so.

IMG_7232Step 3: Cook in a 250 degree oven until the kisses are JUST melty…max 4 minutes- Apparently the white chocolate ones melt faster… maybe put them on a separate sheet next time, Dot!

IMG_7233Step 4: As soon as they are out of the oven, squish an M&M into the kiss, and voila!

Step 5: Cute, huh? (Yes, saying ‘Cute, huh?” is part of the step.) Just stick em in the fridge for a few minutes to harden up again, and serve!

IMG_7249So lovely and delish. Such a good kid-helping snacktivity, as usual.

Now- back to the kiss wrappers!!! I was about to toss them, when I had an idea!

IMG_7228They are just so… SHINY. Too shiny to throw away! It is the season of shiny things, is it not?!?!

IMG_7235So we crumpled up all the wrappers…

IMG_7236Dropped em into a glass ornament…

IMG_7242And sealed it with a bow!

IMG_7709Well, that turned out pretty awesome for… garbage!

AND my daughter also came up with something to do with the little Hershey’s tags:

IMG_7246She got out her trusty glue, and gave Santa a beard!

IMG_7250So fun!

Well I hope you enjoyed Day 5 of Busted Button’s 12 Days of Christmas Snacktivities!!!! Remember to stay tuned every day for the next 7 days to get some more ideas for fun, festive and easy treats to make with the kids this year!!!

IMG_7293Beauty Shot. Mmmm.

Dangit!! My husband won!!! Why did I have to get so distracted by the shiny lovely wrappers ? 😥

Welll once again, here is a picture-link to the table of contents for this whole series:

12 days of Christmas Snacktivities Check that out if you want to see all of my recipes and tutorials in this series (so far.)

Happy wrapper-compacting and shiny-distracting… and pretzel candy making… ya…that’s what we were here for…

~Dot

Posted in Christmas, Dessert, Recipes, Snacktivities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments