Peanut Butter and Pretzel Crispy Treats #SundayFunday

Looking for a quick easy snack to serve up or take to the Super Bowl gathering?  This Peanut Butter and Pretzel Crispy Treats are sure to be a hit.

Not only is it Superbowl Sunday but Valentine's Day is right around the corner so the Sunday Funday Bloggers have been cooking up some sweet and salty treats for you.......

Nutty Cracker Jack Pretzel Treats #SundayFunday

Cracker Jacks, Peanuts and Pretzel sticks combine with Marshmallow to make a quick, easy, no bake dessert that is sure to be a hit at your next pot luck gathering.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing No Bake Desserts today.....

S'mores Clusters for #BacktoSchoolRecipes

We are now in the middle of Summer and while the kids are enjoying their swimming pools, sprinklers, parks and beaches, the media begins reminding us that school will be starting soon and it is time to get prepared.

The stores are filled with back to school supplies; backpacks, pencils, folders, rulers, paper and lunchboxes.  Parent's see those lunchboxes and start thinking about how to create lunches that are nutritious but still appealing to their children.  You need to get just the right balance of protein and carbs.  You want to make sure that they eat their veggies and fruit and, of course, you want to give them a treat to finish off that lunch.

With this in mind, Cynthia of Feeding Big, invited us to post our favorite Back to School Recipes.  It has been a long time since I have made kid's lunches but I spent many years doing so and I don't think kids have changed much through the years.  My kids loved peanut butter and jelly, bologna and hard salami for their sandwiches.  Sometimes they would take hard boiled eggs.  Often they would have an apple or an orange.  Carrot and Celery sticks were another favorite, especially if those celery sticks were filled with peanut butter and sprinkled with raisins.  Of course there were always some cookies or a brownie or a purchased lunch box cake to finish the meal.

Fall doesn't make me think of school any longer but it does make me think of long hikes in the woods, the smell of autumn leaves and evenings around a bonfire.  These thoughts lead to memories of toasted marshmallows, topped with a square of chocolate and sandwiched between graham crackers.  Ahhhhhh.....S'mores....I can't think of a better treat to enjoy as the weather starts to cool.

While you can't pack a bonfire for your kids to take to school with them, you can send them all the flavors of S'mores with these delicious and easy to make clusters.

I got the idea for these wonderful treats while walking through a little store in our town called "The Sweet Tooth".  This little store has walls lined with all the candies that I enjoyed as a child. Jawbreakers, Swedish Fish, Jujubes, Bit o Honey's, Black Jacks, etc.  It also has an ice cream parlor and a glass display case filled with homemade chocolates for you to drool over.  One of the chocolates they offered were S'mores Clusters.  I was so excited because I knew that I had all the ingredients needed for these beauties sitting in my baking cupboard at home.

I pulled out some chocolate melts, stirred in some roughly crushed graham crackers, folded in some marshmallows and dropped them onto a silicone mat. Since it is not Fall, but is in fact, the middle of a sweltering Summer, I put them in the freezer for a few minutes to set and then transferred them to a plastic storage bag and kept them refrigerated until it was time to enjoy them.

Do you love S'Mores as much as I?  I am so crazy about them that I'm going to share two more S'Mores recipes tomorrow and Wednesday as we celebrate Back to School recipes.  Make sure you stop by and see what the others are sharing today.  You will find their links following this easy peasy recipe.

S'Mores Clusters

2 c. of chocolate melts

Peanut or Canola oil as needed.

1 sleeve graham crackers (8 full crackers), roughly crumbled

1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows

Place the chocolate melts in a large, microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir and continue microwaving in 15 second increments, stirring after each, until melted. You may add oil, a teaspoonful at a time if needed to make a smooth, creamy consistency.  

When chocolate is melted, stir in the graham crackers until coated.  Fold in the marshmallows and drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper or silicone mats.  Place on a flat surface in the freezer for a few minutes until set, if desired. Print Recipe

More Back to School Recipes

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Family Around the Table  
• Peanut Butter Maple Snack Mix by Cooking With Carlee 
• S'Mores Clusters by A Day In The Life On The Farm 
• Spaghetti Rings in Tomato Sauce by Palatable Pastime 
• Bunnies in the Garden by Feeding Big

It's a Chocolate Dipped Fantastical Food Fight

Welcome to the February edition of Fantastical Food Fight.  In this little contest we are all given a common theme or food and are challenged to make our best version of it.  May the best blogger win!!

This month's challenge was to create a chocolate covered treat to share with each other and all of our readers.  Very apropos since we just finished celebrating Valentine's Day.  These friendly little fights are a lot of fun.  If you are a blogger and would like to join us you can learn all you need to know at the information page.

As you can see, I am sharing some chocolate dipped pretzels that I made up for two of my favorite valentines, EJ and Raechal.  EJ and Rae, belong to my friend Tamie, but she is nice enough to share them with me.  They are great kids and we always have fun when they come to visit.  

On this occasion, Tamie and the kids, joined us for dinner and game night last Saturday.  We ate a lot, laughed a lot and played a lot.  These pretzel sticks were a great hit and took very little time and effort to make.  That is what I call a win/win.....when you can bring a smile to those you love with just a few moments work.

These easy little treats are perfect for any occasion.  You can use any color chocolate melts and any sprinkles that you like.  How about green chocolate with dark green shamrocks for next month?  Or the colors of your favorite team the next time you get together with friends to watch a game?  I have used pastel colors at Easter and Red, White and Blue for Independence Day.  There is no limit to the fun you can have.  

This is also a fun project to do with the kiddos.  Simply lay down some parchment paper, melt the chocolate in a cup, set out some sprinkles and let them loose to create their own masterpieces.  Hey....You could even have a Fantastical Food Fight and name a winner!

Don't forget to scroll past the recipe to see what the other contenders have brought to the fight.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Pretzel Rods

Chocolate Melts

Sprinkles

Place the desired amount of chocolate melts into a glass measuring cup.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and microwave in 10 second increments, stirring after each until melted and smooth. Tilt the measuring cup to bring the chocolate to one side.  Stick a pretzel rod into the chocolate, rolling to cover the top section.  Hold until slightly set, roll in sprinkles if desired, and set on parchment to set completely. Print Recipe

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