Mizzas (or Puffins) - You decide what to call 'em!

Snackers, beware! You'll be making these every time you have a craving for pizza...or muffins...or both!

Easy, cute and incredibly tasty little bites...and you won't have to fight your children for the pepperonis off the pizza slices!

Other combos that everyone wanted to try the next time(s) I make these would be our favorite pizza combos, such as Supreme (with a little bit of everything), Hawaiian (ham and pineapple), Four Cheese, Anchovy and Sausage, and my personal favorite pizza toppings - bacon, mushroom and onion!!

Dice some pepperoni (don't eat them all...) and shred some mozzarella (or cheat and buy pre-shredded like me!)

Combine flour, baking powder, egg and milk

Stir in the magic pepperoni and mozzarella

Place batter into mini muffin tin...and pop 'em in the oven!

Serve these little babies with warmed pizza or marinara sauce...mmmm!

Puffins

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup pepperoni, diced
1 small jar pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375. 

Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni. Let the mixture stand for 10-15 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

Warm the pizza sauce in the microwave or small saucepan.  Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Nutella Pumpkin Cake - A great snack for....

...after school and your kids are driving you bonkers.
...late at night when your stomach starts yelling at you that the chicken you had for dinner just didn't cut it.
...first thing in the morning when you're too lazy to even make a bowl of cereal.
...any darned time you want something really, really good.

Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar. Add an egg and vanilla.

Add some pumpkin.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

Mix in the flour mixture until just combined.

Spread batter evenly into the pan.

Drop tablespoons of Nutella all over the cake batter. Eat a few spoonfuls for yourself...go on, no one is looking!

Swirl, baby, Swirl!

Mmmm...snacky.

Nutella Pumpkin Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x13inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.


In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  

Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Drop tablespoons of Nutella all over the pumpkin cake batter. Swirl in the Nutella with a knife.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. 

Chocolate Clouds and Muddy Buddys

I'm still contemplating what goodies to make for the holidays.  We have our two or three "Have-To-Makes" but I like to try a few newer ones that the girls want to try or that just sound good.  I have to spread them out on a week-by-week basis as money does not flow like sands through the hourglass...

Years ago (like 15 or more) Pepperidge Farms used to make a simple treat called Chocolate Clouds. Simply chocolate wrapped in puff pastry. They were so good! Sadly, as it is with just about anything we like around here, they stopped producing them.  So we sometimes just made them ourselves with a sheet of puff pastry (yay - they still make that!), a divided Hershey bar and some sprinkled sugar.

You can simply fold the pastry squares into triangles or even get creative with the encasement of the chocolate if you have the patience for dealing with pastry. I, however, am lazy with the pastry end and just want to get to the chocolate eating part. There is just something about the combination of chocolate and puff pastry that enthralls me...

So I decided to try something a little different. Instead of just a Hershey bar, we used Nutella and mini marshmallows inside the puff pastry.  I liked it, but I might try either more marshmallows or maybe marshmallow fluff next time around because I couldn't really taste the marshmallow at all. The Nutella instead of a Hershey bar was different and good!

A quickie egg wash and 25 minutes in a 350 oven and you get this:

We've also tried this with Hershey Kisses, Andes Candies, Hershey bars with a caramel drizzle... The possibilities are truly endless! These days, every holiday comes with a new Hershey Kiss flavor or candy bar. You could even take the "fun-sized" candy bars like a Milky Way and wrap them in puff pastry! Hmm..I may just have to try that one!

Chocolate Marshmallow Clouds

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and cut into nine squares
Nutella spread
Mini Marshmallows
Egg wash (1 egg white plus 1 tablespoon water whisked together)
Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350. Place a teaspoon or so of Nutella in the center of each pastry square. Leave about a 1/4 inch border around the edges. Top with 3 or 4 mini marshmallows and fold over into a triangle. Crimp the edges with the business end of a fork.  Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes before devouring.  You can also dust cooled pastry with powdered sugar for an even bigger sugar buzz.

For extra brownie spousal points, I made one of Papa Bear's favorite chocolate snacks:  Muddy Buddys. A friend of Crazy Artist made these for her for Christmas one year and she shared them with Papa Bear and he has been a Muddy Buddy fan ever since!

These are super duper easy (like rice krispie treats easy) and are a favorite with the kids.

Muddy Buddys

9 cups of Chex cereal - any kind or a mixture of any available flavors/varieties
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a large (2-gallon) sized ziplock bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread onto waxed paper to cool.

The recipe on Chex boxes has an additional ingredient - 1/4 cup of butter - which I do not add.  The first time I made this, I accidentally forgot to add the butter to the chocolate and peanut butter during the microwaving. To me, it tasted just fine and no different that the batch made with the butter.  Feel free to add or omit the butter when you make your many, many batches...

Fathers Day Snackage - Roasted Bone Marrow

This little treat is one of Papa Bear's favorite things. If you have never tried this, we all highly recommend that you do so as soon as humanly (or inhumanly - we're not picky) possible. Roasted bone marrow is a rich and indulgent way to treat yourself...which is exactly why I made this today for Fathers Day for one of the best Dads I know!

Another plus to this dish is that it is extremely inexpensive. All of the bones were purchased for just a mere $2!! I think it actually may have cost more to run the oven for 20 minutes...seriously. Also, it is almost effortless to make.

I can't always find these in the meat section of my friendly neighborhood grocery store, so when I do see them, I snag a couple of packages and freeze them for when we are in the mood for them. Even Drama Queen and Little Lawyer love them!

I can certainly understand people being...squeemish...about trying this, but trust me.  If it helps at all, try not to think about what you are eating too much. Eat it for the experience and for the flavor. And yes indeed, I eat all the mainstream parts as well as the nasty bits, too. There's way more to eat out there than chicken breasts, people!! I've cooked and eaten (and loved!) oxtail, chicken liver, beef tongue, and every piece of an entire suckling pig, plus a whole lot more! I will never, ever say "Eww! No!" to trying something new or different because odds are I will like it; if I don't, I will know why and I don't have to eat it again. I never know what will be my next favorite thing either, so if I don't try it, I will never know if I'll love it!

The flavor of marrow is still meaty, but meltingly smooth, rich, gelatinous and oily (but in a good way). We can't sit down and eat a ton of it because it is so rich and heavy, but Papa Bear and I are usually good for about 3-5 bones apiece depending on the size.

So let's make some roasted bone marrow, shall we?

Preheat your oven to 450.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place bones marrow up on baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside.  You can certainly omit the oil here so the marrow has less of an oily-ness to it, but I happen to like it. Plus, the olive oil adds a little fruitiness to the marrow.

Slice a nice baguette (or your favorite bread) and you can either toast the slices in the oven for a few minutes before you cook the bones or choose not to toast them at all - we've done it both ways.  I have read that some people will place the slices of bread underneath the bones before putting them in the oven so that the bread will soak up the fat that drizzles out the bones while cooking.  I do want to try it this way, but honestly, I keep forgetting to do it. I usually don't remember to slice the bread until the bones have already gone in the oven...so if you do try it this way, please let me know how you like it!

Put the bones in the oven for about 20 minutes or so, depending on the size. What you're looking for here in the finished dish is a giving, loose marrow, but not yet melted away to nothing. And believe me, if you cook them for too long, it will all melt away and disintegrate into a gooey mess...not good.

Serve the bones with the toast/bread and a small spoon. Scoop the marrow from the bone (it should come out very easily) and spread it on the toast/bread. Season with "wet salt", which is just coarse kosher salt moistened with a few drops of water. Then eat and enjoy!!