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No Bake Mini Cheesecakes

No Bake Mini Cheesecakes

No Bake Mini Cheesecakes: A shortcut method to make delicious little cheesecakes, where you can use your favorite toppings and pie fillings, with an optional cheesecake filling from scratch.

Post originally published in 2016, updated in 2023.

No Bake Mini Cheesecakes on counter, with cherry pie filling on top.

When it comes to no bake recipes, these little individual cheesecakes are the perfect dessert for something quick after dinner or classy enough if you’re hosting a party, especially during the summer months! (But if you’re hosting a party, this walking dessert is a great idea too!) Or, this cherry yum yum is a great alternative if you are looking for a layered cherry cheesecake, though it does require a quick baking of the crust.

Now, if you’d prefer to make a whole, no-bake cheesecake, make sure you check out our Oreo Nutella Cheescake, this No Bake S’mores Cheesecake and this Oreo Cheesecake, too!

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Why This Recipe Works

  • No skills required: If choosing the pre-made filling and storebought mini graham cracker crusts, it’s really just a matter of putting the ingredients together! (However, even making the cheesecake filling from scratch, STILL makes this an easy recipe that beginners can be comfortable with.)
  • Make-ahead: If hosting, or just wanting to make a dessert ahead of time, this is a quick dessert idea that can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy!
  • Ready in only 5 minutes: If you’re using the pre-made filling, and using the storebought mini graham cracker crusts, this is ready to eat within just a few minutes!

Ingredients Needed

There are a couple of options to make mini cheesecakes, and I’ll be sharing how to make these with the simplest way (pre-made ingredients) and you’ll also see how to make the cheesecake filling from scratch if desired, too.

Ingredients For Shortcut Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients for no bake mini cheesecakes.
  • A Tub of No-Bake Cheesecake Filling – If you can find this in the refrigerator aisle of your grocery store, it’s a great shortcut for cheesecake recipes. Sometimes it can be hard to find but when you do, it’s lovely. It’s made by “Philadelphia” and I haven’t seen it offered by anyone else – but there may be generic brands that are just as good.
  • Mini Graham Cracker Crusts – Sometimes you can find these in the baking aisle in the grocery store.
  • Canned Pie Filling – What I love about this is that you can mix and match your favorite flavors. Apple, cherry, blueberry… pick your favorite or offer a variety!

From Scratch Cheesecake Filling

If you prefer to make your cheesecake filling from scratch, or you can’t find the pre-made cheesecake filling at the store, you’ll just need a few ingredients to whip this up, and don’t worry… it’s still super easy to make!

  • 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  • 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅓ cup lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make No-Bake Cheesecake Filling from Scratch

To see how to make this cheesecake filling from scratch, see the full instructions in our No Bake Cherry Cheesecake recipe.

Then, simply use the filling to fill your mini graham cracker crusts.
NOTE: Make sure to allow time for the cheesecake filling to “set” in the crusts, in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. (No need to allow time for chilling if using pre-made cheesecake filling.)

Substitutions

Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:

  • Graham Cracker Crusts – if you want to make your own mini graham cracker crusts, you can make them using a muffin pan and cupcake liners.
    – Preheat oven to 350 degrees (unless freezing crusts to set instead).
    – Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners.
    – Simply mix ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup melted butter and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar together in a bowl. Pour about 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in to each cupcake liner.
    – Bake for 5-10 minutes or place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Fill with cheesecake filling as instructed. This makes 12 graham muffin-size cracker crusts.
  • Pie Filling- you can use whatever flavor of pie filling you prefer, or top your cheesecake with different toppings. (See topping suggestions below.)

Topping Suggestions

If you’d like to use different toppings for your cheesecakes, here are some of our favorite topping suggestions that may be helpful:

  • Pie Filling – canned cherry, blueberry, strawberry or apple.
  • Fresh Fruits – peaches, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries.
  • Syrups – chocolate syrup, caramel, strawberry.
  • Candies and Sweets – chocolate chips, nuts, crushed candy bars, crushed cookies.
  • Whipped Cream – Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream on top can be a great option too.

How to Make These Mini No Bake Cheesecakes

If using the shortcut method, this no bake dessert only consists of two steps:

  • filling the graham cracker crusts with cheesecake filling
  • topping with your favorite toppings (if desired).

I suggest making these ahead of time if serving a large meal. That way they’re done, can be chilled and can be pulled out of the refrigerator and served when ready.

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

Gather your ingredients, and if using homemade, from-scratch ingredients as mentioned above, prepare those at this point, then proceed with step one.

Ingredients open and ready to make no bake mini cheesecakes.
Image 1
Cheesecake filling poured in to mini graham cracker crusts.
Image 2

STEP 1. Unwrap crusts, open cheesecake, and toppings. Begin filling graham cracker crusts with about ¼ cup of cheesecake filling, or desired amount. (Image 1).

TIP: Create a cavity, by pressing down in the center of the cheesecake filling with a spoon, to allow the pie filling, or your desired topping to sink in to, to prevent overflowing (Image 2).

Cheesecake filling poured in to mini graham cracker crusts.
Image 3
Cherry pie filling being poured by a spoon on to no bake cheesecake filling.
Image 4

STEP 2. Top with Topping. Once all graham cracker crusts are filled (6 of them, or the amount you’re making) start spooning on the pie filling. In this case, we used cherry pie filling, straight from the can but you can use whatever you prefer!

STEP 3. Chill or Serve. If enjoying right now, they’re ready to eat! If serving later, store the cheesecakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

No bake mini pies on counter.

TIP: If storing in the refrigerator for later, place the cheesecakes in a large container or on a rimmed baking sheet for easier storage. You can cover them with a lid or with plastic wrap to prevent refrigerator flavors from absorbing as much.

No bake mini cheesecakes on counter.

Recipe Pro Tips

  • Up-Level Pre-Made Ingredients: Don’t be ashamed for using shortcuts to make a delicious dessert. However, if you want to dress up this easy dessert, using different pie fillings on different cheesecakes, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with fancy toppings such as chocolate curls.

Recipe FAQs

Which is better no-bake cheesecake or baked?

It depends on which texture you prefer. They’re both delicious, however a baked cheesecake tends to have a more dense texture, where a no-bake cheesecake has a fluffy, airy, texture.

Why is my No Bake Cheesecake not firm?

No-bake cheesecake filling is more fluffy and airy than a baked cheesecake, so if a firm, no-bake cheesecake is desired, it’s best to allow 6-8 hours, overnight for the cheesecake to chill, to make sure it reaches a firmer texture. However, since it’s a no-bake recipe, it won’t achieve the firmness a baked cheesecake will.

Does no-bake cheesecake taste like cheesecake?

It definitely has the flavor of the cheesecake you’re used to, although the texture could be slightly different.

Storage

Store any leftover or made-ahead cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If using storebought cheesecake filling, it’s best not to freeze, as it doesn’t hold up well from freezing.

More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love

If you love cheesecakes, baked and no-bake, we think you’ll love these reader favorites:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

Recipe

No bake mini cheesecakes on counter, with cherry pie filling on top.
Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

No Bake Mini Cheesecakes

No Bake Mini Cheesecakes: A shortcut method to make delicious little cheesecakes, where you can use your favorite toppings and pie fillings, with an optional cheesecake filling from scratch.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 6 cheesecakes
Calories 241kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 6 mini graham cracker crusts or see post for mini graham cracker crust recipe
  • Storebought no bake cheesecake filling or use this no bake cheesecake filling recipe
  • 1 can pie filling we used cherry

Instructions

  • Fill mini graham cracker crusts with about ¼ cup of cheesecake filling, creating a cavity in the center with a spoon.
  • Top with a spoonfull of your favorite flavor of pie filling, or your favorite toppings. (See post for more topping ideas.)
  • Serve and enjoy or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

To Make Your Own Graham Cracker Crusts:
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees (unless freezing crusts to set instead).
– Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners.
– Simply mix ¾ cups melted butter, ¼ cup melted butter and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar together in a bowl. Pour about 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in to each cupcake liner.
– Bake for 5-10 minutes or place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Fill with cheesecake filling as instructed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cheesecake | Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Chip Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with a Creamy Chocolate Chip Frosting: Using a red velvet cake mix to make the cupcakes, this recipe is elevated by making this chocolate chip frosting to go on top! (Feel free to make your own red velvet cupcakes from scratch instead!)

Red Velvet Cupcakes with chocolate chip frosting, on cake stand.

If you’re a fan of red velvet desserts, then you’ll also love these red velvet donuts and these red velvet cake mix cookies!

But honestly, the fact that these red velvet cupcakes are topped with a creamy, chocolate chip dip, as a frosting… is absolutley incredible and it may just become your new favorite cupcake recipe.

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Why This Recipe Works

  • The frosting: I mean, a red velvet cupcake topped with any frosting, is going to be delicious. But the second that we topped these with this chocolate chip dip as a frosting, was the day our cupcake game changed.
  • Cake mix: Even though we used a cake mix for this recipe, you can absolutely use your own favorite red velvet cupcake recipe from scratch. However, if you choose to use a cake mix too, you can see what we did with our peppermint cupcakes to elevate the cake mix cupcakes!

How to Make these Cupcakes

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

If making the cupcakes for an event, make sure you allow enough time for the cupcakes to cool, before topping with the chocolate chip frosting.

TIP: Now is a good time to set out the cream cheese and butter, so it can have time to soften while you’re making the cupcakes.

Red velvet cupcakes on cooling rack.

STEP 1. Make cupcakes according to package directions, and allow to cool while making frosting.

Cream cheese and butter in glass bowl.
Cream cheese and butter mixed together in glass bowl.

STEP 2. Cream. Mix together the butter and cream cheese in a medium-sized bowl.

Sugars and vanilla added to glass bowl.
Sugars and vanilla mixed in with cream cheese and butter.

STEP 3. Add flavorings. Add in the vanilla and sugars and mix until combined.

Chocolate Chip Frosting in glass bowl.

STEP 4. Add chips. Stir in chocolate chips until blended.

Red velvet cupcakes with chocolate chip frosting, on cooling rack.

STEP 5. Frost cupcakes. Once cupcakes have cooled, top cupcakes with about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chip frosting (or however much you want – just make sure to leave enough to cover all the cupcakes) and enjoy!

Red velvet cupcakes with chocolate chip frosting, sitting on a white plate.

If not enjoying right away, chill the cupcakes in the refrigerator to make sure frosting stays in tact.

Red velvet cupcake with chocolate chip frosting, with a bite taken out of it, sitting on a white plate.

Storage

Store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator, due to the cream cheese in the frosting. Cupcakes do tend to dry out faster when stored in the refrigerator so if making ahead of time, it’s best not to make them a few days in advance.

TIP: If you prefer more of a cookie dough flavor for the frosting, you may want to try this edible cookie dough recipe!

More Easy Desserts

If you love easy desserts like we do, then you’ll also love these other easy recipes:

Recipe

Red velvet cupcake with chocolate chip frosting.
Print Pin
5 from 6 votes

Red Velvet Cupcakes with a Creamy Chocolate Chip Frosting

Red velvet cupcakes topped with a creamy chocolate chip frosting that's delicous and easy to make!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes
Calories 109kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • Red Velvet Cake Mix
  • The ingredients needed according to your cake mix directions

Chocolate Chip Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 stick butter softened
  • ¾ powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Cupcakes

  • Make cupcakes according to package directions, and allow to cool while making frosting.

Chocolate Chip Frosting

  • Mix together the butter and cream cheese in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add in the vanilla and sugars and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips until blended.
  • Once cupcakes have cooled, top cupcakes with about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chip frosting (or however much you want – just make sure to leave enough to cover all the cupcakes) and enjoy!
  • Chill cupcakes in the refrigerator to make sure frosting stays in tact.

Notes

You may have leftover chocolate chip frosting with this recipe. If you do, you can enjoy the leftovers with graham crackers or your favorite cookies, as a dip!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 261IU | Vitamin C: 0.05mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Strawberry Scone Recipe

Scones sometimes get a bad rap for being dry, dense, and plain. But add fresh berries and a quick glaze, and your family will go nuts for these Bisquick Strawberry Scones.

In only half an hour, these strawberry scones will be ready for a delicious breakfast or even fancy brunch, especially for a bridal shower or Mother’s Day.

Bisquick strawberry scone sitting on white plate.

I love scones. They just feel a bit fancy, especially when served on a small plate next to a mug of piping-hot coffee. They are a great option to keep in your recipe box because they come together quickly, unlike yeast bread options.

If you’re all about convenience, add these scones to a brunch spread that includes mini cheater cinnamon rolls with hash brown patties in the air fryer. Want a tart-sweet scone? Cranberry Orange is the perfect pairing.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Kitchen shortcuts: Bisquick isn’t only for biscuits! It’s the perfect scone starter as well.
  • Bright and cheery: Using soda gives these berry scones a citrus boost.
  • Ready in only 30 minutes: Unlike bread that needs time to rise, scones are a quick biscuit-like baked good that’s ready in no time.

Ingredients Needed

I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.

Labeled ingredients for Bisquick strawberry scones.
  • Bisquick – This is a great kitchen shortcut because it contains your flour, fat, and leavener all in one!
  • Butter – I normally use unsalted when baking, but salted works too.
  • Soda – Any lemon-lime soda works here, just make sure it is regular and not diet as this is the sugar in the recipe. (It’s not the first time I’ve used soda in a recipe like this. This 7up pound cake uses… you guessed it… 7up!)
  • Heavy cream – The thick liquid is necessary here to achieve the perfect dough.
  • Strawberries – Dice up fresh strawberries in even pieces so that your scones have berries throughout. Love strawberry flavor? These strawberry brownies (although made with a cake mix) are full of strawberry flavor!

Substitutions

  • Berries – strawberries not in season? Use any fresh berry you’d like. If your blackberries are exceptionally large, slice in half before using. Do not use frozen fruit as it will add too much liquid.

Variations

  • Swap the glaze – Add a touch of orange or lemon extract to the powdered sugar and then go slow on the milk. This will add a bit of extra flavor.

How to Make Bisquick Berry Scones

Do you stash butter in your freezer like I do? You’re in luck – you can use your butter straight from frozen!

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper to ensure the scones don’t stick as well as don’t spread out of shape.

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

Collage showing steps 1-4 of how to make Bisquick strawberry scones.

STEP 1. Grate butter. Grate the butter into the biscuit mix in a bowl (Image 1). Gently toss to coat.

Tip: You can even use your butter straight from the freezer! Keeping it cold is key here, and it also grates easier when frozen. So refrigerated or frozen, just make sure not to melt the butter with excessive handling.

Glaze ingredients for strawberry scones.

STEP 2. Mix. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine (Image 2). Do not over mix or your scones will be tough!

Spoon drizzling glaze on strawberry scones.

STEP 3. Shape. Gently pat the dough into a flat disc, about 2 inches thick (Image 3).

STEP 4. Bake. Cut the disc into scones, then bake until golden (Image 4).

Bisquick strawberry scones sitting on white plate, surrounded by whole strawberries.

STEP 5. Glaze. If desired, make a simple icing of powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over the top of warm scones.

Recipe Pro Tips

  • Allow to rest after baking. Let the scones rest for just a few minutes before adding glaze. This way they are still served warm, but the icing won’t melt right off.
  • Correct temperature. While it’s ok if your heavy cream is closer to room temp, the butter absolutely must be cold.
  • Different flavor. If it’s fall season, don’t sleep on the idea of making these pecan pie scones from one of my blogging friends too!
Close up of strawberry scones, sitting on white plate.

Recipe FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones?

A good scone is moist and flakey, and nothing boring or bland! The key is to use COLD butter and not over-mix or over-bake. Cold butter won’t melt until it hits the heat of the oven, which ensures flakey layers. If your butter is too warm or overworked, it will melt into the dough and your scones will be dense.

Can I freeze scones?

I don’t recommend freezing the raw dough here, as the berries will give off excess liquid when thawed, before baking. This makes a not-so-pretty presentation and may ruin the texture. You can wrap baked scones and freeze in an airtight bag.

Do I need to use heavy cream?

One of the keys to the best scone texture is a thick, rich liquid. So you can use cultured buttermilk or sour cream in place of heavy cream, but don’t go any lower fat than that. Using reduced-fat milk may make the scones tough and dense.

What to Serve with Strawberry Scones

I always feel better serving a somewhat dessert-like treat next to protein such as scrambled eggs. For meat lovers, throw bacon in the air fryer or sausage patties in the oven! Add more cut fruit on the side and it’s a complete meal.

Storage

Scones are best when warm and fresh, but you can enjoy the next day. Lightly toast in a toaster oven to revive them a bit, then top with butter. If you know you won’t finish them all at once, skip the glaze on the leftovers, otherwise, it will melt off when reheating.

More Baking Recipes You’ll Love

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

Recipe

Bisquick strawberry scone on white plate.
Print Pin
Be the first to rate!

Bisquick Strawberry Scones

Scones sometimes get a bad rep for being dry, dense, and plain. But add fresh berries and a quick glaze, and your family will go nuts for these Bisquick Strawberry Scones!
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8 scones
Calories 355kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Bisquick
  • ¼ cup cold butter
  • ⅔ cup heavy cream
  • ⅔ cup lemon-lime soda such as Sprite or Starry
  • 1 cup chopped strawberries

Drizzle

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Add Bisquick to a large bowl and grate the cold butter in. Give it a light stir so the butter is evenly distributed throughout and coated in the Bisquick.
  • Stir in heavy cream, Sprite and chopped strawberries.
  • Do not over mix. If you feel the mixture is too wet from the juice of the fruit you can add more Bisquick until it comes together
  • Lightly dust the countertop with some more Bisquick and empty the bowl out onto it.
  • Fold the mixture with your hands into a flat disc about 2" thick.
  • Cut it into 8 even triangles.
  • Place scones on the lined baking sheet and set on the middle rack of the preheated oven.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Drizzle

  • Mix the powdered sugar and milk together and drizzle over the scones.

Notes

  • You can use any fruit you’d like!
  • I don’t recommend freezing the raw dough, but you can easily wrap and freeze baked scones.

Nutrition

Serving: 1scone | Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 628mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 476IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg

Summer Drink Recipes

Summer is here and that means it is time to get outside and have a good time, and have some of the best summer drink recipes. If you are planning a pool party, or maybe even a BBQ, you are going to want to save this collection of 35 Summer Drink Recipes to inspire the menu at your party, or next to your summer dinner recipe.

This collection has cocktails that are cold, refreshing and perfect for sipping with your friends. Don’t forget to make these pretty ice cubes to go along with the drinks too and get some fun party favor ideas if hosting a party!

summer drinks

Save this post to your cocktails board so you can find these recipes easily.

From a lemon elderflower gin cocktail that is light and lovely, to a fresh raspberry margarita, this list has something for every occasion. I am certain you will find a few to try out this summer to beat the heat.

Lemon Gin Elderflower Cocktails by Masala Herb

These cocktails are gorgeous, light and so refreshing for a summer day. These are perfect for a garden party, or just to sip with someone special.

Watermelon Strawberry Basil Cocktail by  A Worthey Read

Mix up the best flavors of summer into one visually appealing and super refreshing cocktail. This is light, tasty and easy to mix.

Watermelon Wine Slushies  by Boulder Locavore

These chilly watermelon slushies are made with wine to give them a delightful boozy kick for adults. These are just the thing to make to beat the summer heat.

Blackberry Mojitos by The Healthy Epicurean

Mix blackberries, mint and rum and you have the coolest refreshment to share this summer. Use fresh picked berries and mint for the best flavor.

Rhubarb Cocktails by Pinch and Swirl

This light pink drink is a little tart, slightly sweet and has the perfect kick of rum to round things out. Make this for a sippable summer drink.

Pomegranate Fizz by India Phile

Pomegranate juice and gin come together to make an unforgettable cocktail. This recipe isn't too complicated to make at home for your home happy hour.

Frozen Mezcal Margaritas by Kelly Stilwell

This frozen margarita is made with mezcal for a really great smoky flavor. This is one drink to make when the temperatures start to soar.

Paloma Cocktails by The Suburban Soapbox

Give your happy hour a bright and vibrant flavor by mixing up a batch of these grapefruit palomas. They are made with mezcal for a smoky and tart cocktail that is perfect for summer.

Watermelon Vodka Slushies by Cup of Zest

Grab a few summer staple ingredients to make this silky smooth slushie. It is a great after dinner drink option that is cool and refreshing.

Blackberry Bramble by Sweet Tea and Thyme

Sweet, tart and gorgeous are the best ways to describe this easy to make cocktail. It captures the essence of sun ripened berries and tart lemon perfectly for a summer refreshment.

Spicy Skinny Margaritas by Ugly Duckling Bakery

These margaritas are made with spicy chili infused tequila and lime for a really flavorful cocktail that is lighter but so flavorful for summer.

Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita by Happy Hour Hacks

Adding some veggies to your summer cocktails make for a vibrant and delicious addition to happy hour. This recipe is both cool and refreshing and a little spicy to make things interesting.

Passion Fruit Martinis by xoxo Bella

This margarita recipe perfectly captures summer goodness in a glass! It is bright, sunny and so fruity for an after dinner drink.

Blueberry Sriracha Margaritas by Quiche My Grits

Bring big, bold flavors to your summer drinks with this easy cocktail. It is pretty, spicy and sweet for a total summer treat.

Frozen Gin and Tonic by Little Sugar Snap Peas

Get your classic gin and tonic fix in an icy cool form to beat the summer heat. This recipe is easy and so refreshing with the addition of raspberries.

Guava Mimosas  by Fresh Coast Eats

Give your tastebuds a tropical vacation with this cocktail hour upgrade. Guava and bubbly wine is sure to be a 2 ingredient favorite.

Gin Basil Smash by Encore More

Make this easy gin smash with fresh basil for a flavorful, savory cocktail that goes great with a summer meal.

St Germain Elderflower Spritz by Burrata and Bubbles

This light and lovely cocktail makes use of  French elderflower liqueur and sparkling wine for a bubbly drink that really  goes well on a hot day.

Mermaid Water by Easy Party Cocktails 

If you are having a pool party you are going to want to make a batch of this mermaid water! This light blue green cocktail is a fruity rum punch that is guaranteed to make a splash with your guests.

Blood Orange Mojitos by Best Served Vegan

This is going to be your favorite mojito recipe ever! Blood oranges offer the perfect citrus pop that makes these summer cocktails so easy to sip.

Tinto De Verano by Dollop of Dough

Add lemon lime soda to red wine to make this fizzy and sippable summer drink that is popular in Barcelona. 

Lavender Lemonade Cocktails by A Grill For All Seasons

Adding a sprig of lavender to this lemon cocktail is the perfect flavor enhancement and garnish! This pretty drink makes a crowd pleasing option for a summer gathering.

Grapefruit Basil Greyhound by Swift Fit

Basil and grapefruit are perfect partners for a refreshing cocktail that is delicious and different. Add vodka and fresh herbs for such a fancy feeling at home drink.

Limoncello Spritz by Maple and Mango

Make this spritz recipe with limoncello and prosecco for a fast and fruity cocktail that serves well with brunch or dinner.

Frozen Peach Cocktails by Spend with Pennies

If you love peaches, then this icy cold cocktail is the thing to make! It is made with champagne to make a party worthy drink that will impress your guests.

Pina Colada Mules by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

This cocktail brings two classics into one cup! You are going to love the tropical vibes of this cool mule.

Pink Sangria with Rose Wine by Barley and Sage

Sangria is always a good idea for sharing cocktails with friends. This recipe is a pretty pink color as it uses rose wine, vodka and loads of juicy berries for a great girls night drink.

Malibu Bay Breeze by Sugar and Soul

Give your cocktail hour a boozy kick with this malibu rum drink that is fruity, refreshing and fun to serve to party guests. You will love how easy these are to make.

Ombre Blueberry Cocktails  by Sinful Kitchen

This cocktail is layered with blueberry, ginger ale and gin to bring the wow factor everytime. You will love the effect and the flavor on a hot day.

Frose Cocktails by The Toasty Kitchen

Frozen rose wine makes for such a lovely slushie to serve to your friends before a nice dinner on the deck.

Fresh Raspberry Margaritas by Sprig and Spoon

This margarita recipe is frosty and so fresh with raspberries, lime and tequila to make the ultimate way to cool off after a day in the sun.

Jamaica Lime Margaritas by Sense and Edibility

Give your cocktail hour big vacation vibes with this Jamaica lime margarita recipe. It is like a grown up version of agua fresca that I know you will love.

Pink Starburst Shots by Britney Breaks Bread

If you love those tasty little starburst candies, then you are going to want to save this fun shot recipe that has all of the essence of an iconic candy with a boozy kick for adults.

Pineapple Coconut Mimosas by Regain Your Sparkle

These mimosas have a delectable pineapple coconut flavor that makes them perfect for a summer brunch with your besties. This recipe is so easy that you can make a few rounds in no time.

Lavender French 75 by Oh Sweet Culture Shock

Summer is the perfect time to indulge in a light, floral cocktail like this take on the french 75. I know you will love this for an elegant option that you can make for your at home happy hours.

Tips for making the best cocktails at home

  • Use fresh ingredients for the best results
  • Make sure to use a lot of ice to keep your drinks super cold and refreshing
  • Use high-quality spirits
  • Don't be afraid to mix things up and experiment to make something unique and delicious.

More Drink Recipes

If you love drink recipes, you can find all of my drink recipes in one spot!

Bloom Theme Party Ideas for a Girls Night or Shower

Favorite Things Party: “In Bloom” | The ULTIMATE girls night party you have to host this year.

It’s come and gone, and the Favorite Things Party for 2016 is in the books. With a month of preparation, color coordinating, drink experimenting, and other pretty little details… the party turned out exactly like I had hoped, with the bloom-themed setup.

Favorite Things Party - Summer Outdoor

The Invitation:

It all started with the “wow,” factor that I wanted to create this year. The invitation. If you missed the post highlighting how and what I hand-delivered to my guests this year, you can see all the boxed invitation details.

Favorite Things Party Invitation Ideas - Spring/Summer party Hand Delivered Boxed Invitation

The party was hosted in our backyard, and the way our home is laid out, I wanted the guests to know the best way to get to the back yard, without having to walk through the house. I thought if the chalkboard wouldn’t catch their attention, this humungo coral balloon would!

Favorite Things Party Welcome Sign Chalkboard Back yard party sign "See you around Back!"

Greenery: Hobby Lobby

The weather was absolutely perfect, and the sun started setting not long after the party began, so it created the most beautiful lighting!

The invite mentioned “Sweets & Sips,” and boy did we have an abundant supply of both. I believe the words “Sugar Coma,” were used a few times, at the end of the night.

Dessert Table Details

Favorite Things Party Ideas: Outdoor Girls Party
Coral, pink, peach dessert table ideas: Favorite Things Party
Favorite Things Party Chic, outdoor styling
Favorite Things Party Dessert Table: Coral Pink
Favorite Things Party Food Ideas
Favorite Things Party Sweet Dessert Ideas, dessert table
Favorite Things Party Flower decorating; decoration ideas

Early Party Planning Tip: If you find yourself “stuck,” in getting started with the party planning process, simply look for that one small detail that captures the way you want your party to look. (Like the flowers were for me.)

Then, use those flowers to match color schemes, send to your vendors, etc. It will make the planning process a lot easier and will reduce the amount of “mismatched,” craziness that can happen when the party details really get to flowing.

Flowers and Garland: I found all of my flowers & greenery garland: Hobby Lobby.

(If you’re planning a party like this, far enough in advance, keep your eye out for the weekly sales on flowers, and stock up when the time is right!)

Paper Flowers Backdrop; pink, coral, peach Favorite Things Party Ideas

Paper Flower Backdrop: I honestly couldn’t imagine this backdrop WITHOUT the paper flowers. They were the perfect touch, and really gave the back the “pop,” it needed. I ordered my paper flowers from Declare the Hope Project, a mother & daughter team, where 100% of the proceeds go to help children in Haiti.

Paper Flowers: Declare the Hope Project

White Backdrop: I found a shower curtain online at Houzz that captured EXACTLY what I was looking for. I attached this to photo backdrop poles, and my backdrop was set!

The Sweets:

Flower cupcakes; carnation & hydrangea pinks, peaches, coral "Favorite Things" Party

Flower Cupcakes: I couldn’t believe my eyes when Jenny with Cookies and Frosting, delivered my cupcakes. They were STUNNING, and exactly the “look,” that I was hoping they would have. She absolutely nailed it. Wait until you see what else she did for me…

Cupcakes: Cookies and Frosting

Flower Cake Pops: Pink and white for Favorite Things Party Dessert Table

Flower Cake Pops: If you’ve been around here a while, Sweet.Sassy cake pops are old news. I use her for every “cake pop,” needed event. When I sent her an example of what I wanted the cake pops to look like, she didn’t disappoint…

Cake Pops: Sweet.Sassy

Mini white chocolate pies, in cookie cups for the dessert table at the Favorite Things Party

Mini Chocolate Pies: Cookies and Frosting went ABOVE and beyond, to make the perfect little mini pies. I couldn’t believe how adorable and delicious they were!!

Mini Chocolate Pies with Cookie Cups: Cookies and Frosting

Raspberry Lemon Tarts - Pink Dessert Table Idea

Raspberry Lemon Tarts: Speaking of adorable and delicious… the little tarts were to die for on the table! Lemon just so happens to be my favorite dessert. Wait until you see the other goodies that came from Sarah’s Cake Shop…

Raspberry Lemon Tarts: Sarah’s Cake Shop

Mini Dessert Shots for party table; Favorite Things Party

Dessert Shots: Yes, these are tiramisu dessert shots. Words cannot DESCRIBE how much deliciousness was in one cup!

Dessert Shots: Sarah’s Cake Shop

Glitter Bites for pink, coral, peach dessert table idea. Favorite Things Party Summer Edition

Glitter Bites: I mean, the name of these sweet little gems were good enough to have on the dessert table. But when I tried one five, I realized I’ll never be the same.

Glitter Bites: Sarah’s Cake Shop

Gold glitter donuts for chic & classy dessert table; Favorite Things Party

Glitter Donuts: Two days before the party, I was browsing Pinterest and saw the cutest glitter donuts. I thought, “I can do that.” So we did. “We,” because I had a good friend help me with these the day of the party. I bought white-icing covered donuts, and then applied edible glitter to the top of the donuts after brushing the tops with a bit of water, to make the glitter “stick.”

Donuts: Purchased from a local grocery store, “Schnuck’s,” and decorated by Fantabulosity {That’s us!}

Mini cannoli's for party dessert table: sweets cocktail party for "Favorite Things Party"

Cannoli’s: I don’t know what it is, but for some reason when I host a “sweets,” bar, I always include cannoli’s. I believe it’s because they’re usually so color-neutral, that they’ll work on any style of table that I design.

Cannoli’s: Local Grocery Store, “Schnucks“

Rainer Cherries for a pink & peach dessert table snack idea: Favorite Things Party

Favorite Things Beverage Bar:

Drink Station for outdoor party "Favorite Things Party"

I’m not even going to admit the hours that were put in to “taste-testing,” the beverages for this party. More than it should have been, (I’m sooo not a bartender) but in the end… I couldn’t have been happier with the way they turned out. I wanted color-coordinated drinks, along with a good “mix,” of different tastes.

Bar Station for Outdoor Party: Drink Dispensers with white (yellow), coral, and pink drink ideas

Cocktails: We had one side of the table holding three signature cocktails.

Shop similar drink dispensers here: Drink Dispensers

White Cocktail Recipe here.

Coral Cocktail Recipe here.

Dark Pink Cocktail Recipe here.

Non Alcoholic Drink Ideas for outdoor party in batches, with garnishes

Mocktails: For the non-alcoholic side, I simply put cucumbers, min, and water in one dispenser, and pink lemonade with watermelon in the other dispenser! Easy easy.

Drink Garnishes for Summer Outdoor Party

Each glass had a garnish, associated with each drink choice. Either pineapple, rosemary sprig, or these super cute swizzle sticks from “My Paper Romance.”

Pink Drink Stirrer Ideas for outdoor summer party: Favorite Things Party

Peony Swizzle Sticks: I couldn’t BELIEVE how quick and awesome the communication was between the two of us. I messaged about the swizzle sticks, and they were literally shipped out within a day. Now THAT’S service.

Peony Swizzle Sticks | Drink Stirrers from Etsy

Outdoor Party Cocktail Table Ideas: Favorite Things Party in the Summer

Cocktail Tables: The wine barrels came in super handy for cocktail tables. The gals were able to gather around, and place their drinks down, before they headed over to the photo booth.

I rented the wine barrels from a local party rental store, but believe I have my hubby in to buying me a couple. They have SO many uses!

Photo Booth:

Outdoor Photo Booth Idea for Summer Party

It wasn’t your typical photo booth, and that was EXACTLY the way that I wanted it. Natural, flowey, and cheerful. My friend and I, tied the backdrop to the tree limbs with twine and clothespins, and then draped flower garlands over it, to tie in the flower theme.

Outdoor Photo Booth Idea

I snagged a chair from our living room, and it suddenly became the photo booth statement piece. Perfect for sitting, and posing!

"Shoot it, share it, hashtag it..." Photo booth idea for outdoor party

I saw the cutest photo booth sign on Pinterest, saying “Shoot it, Share it, Hashtag it,” and thought it was DARLING. So off I went and made a sign, that had the signature flowers from the invites and other party signs.

Look at these darling cuties…

Favorite Things Party Photo Booth

Favorite Things Gift Exchange:

Gift Exchange ideas for Favorite Things Party

When the gals arrived, I had them place their gifts on the table, and fill their names out on three different sheets of paper. This way, when it was time for the gift exchange, we would be all ready to exchange!

Surprise Gifts!!!

This year, I wanted to do a little something extra, and surprised the girls with gift giveaways! Don’t worry… they were small items, but I still wanted to giveaway something, to add a little more “fun,” to the mix…

Favorite Things Giveaway

I kind of yelled “GIVEAWAY,” in my Oprah voice. (Again… the cocktails.)

I just gave away small items like my favorite notepads, thank you cards, planners, coffee cups, cake stands, etc.)

I may or may not have something up my sleeve for bigger and better giveaways for next years Favorite Things Party! 😉

Party Favors:

Favorite Things Party Favor Ideas

Macaron Jar Favors: We found the CUTEST little jars at TomKat Studio’s shop, and I cut out the word “sweet,” with my Silhouette Machine, and applied it to each jar.

Favorite Things Party Favors Macarons, small bottles of liquor
"Sweet" Jars for Favorite Things Party Favors

Then, to add to the cuteness, I found Mila Sweets who made crazy-delicious macarons. She had the PERFECT color scheme to go right along with my party colors!

Macrons: Mila Sweets

Favorite Things Party Favor Liquor Bottles

Elderflower Liqueur Bottle Favors: On impulse, the day before the party, I found the most “fitting,” little elderflower liqueur bottles. They were glass, classy, and perfect. All of a sudden, we had a second party favor on the table. It was a “must.”

Wrap-Up:

Favorite Things Party 2016-12
Favorite Things Party 2016-63
Favorite Things Party 2016-61
Favorite Things Party 2016-59

I wanted this year to be the best yet. But I must say, with the 3rd “Favorite Things,” party in the books, there’s one thing that remains the same, every…stinking…time:

The girls.  When you get your closest group of gal pals together for a night of unwinding, getting pretty, and spending time together…

it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Favorite Things Party Host

To see the other “Favorite Things,” Parties, you can jump over using the quick links below:

Favorite Things 2014

Favorite Things 2015

Wine Dinner Ideas for Hosting a Simple, Rustic Dinner Party

Planning a wine dinner at home doesn't have to be complicated. With a few simple food pairings, a relaxed setup, and easy menu ideas, you can create a beautiful wine dinner your guests will remember.

Whether you're hosting a casual night with friends or a more styled dinner party, these wine dinner ideas will help you keep it simple, cozy, and delicious.

Rustic Wine Dinner Party Ideas

Easy Wine Dinner Menu Ideas

Rustic wine dinner party

What Food Goes With Wine at a Dinner Party?

  • Red wine → cheese, beef, chocolate
  • White wine → chicken, seafood, fruit
  • Sweet wine → desserts
Cheese tray ideas for wine

Rustic Wine Dinner Party Setup Ideas

  • kraft paper bags
  • simple table
  • styling outdoor setup

Serving all of those options on a cheese board, you can’t forget the accompaniments! Crackers, toasts, and breadsticks are the perfect bite-size crunch you need. Get creative, and display them in something other than the bags that they come in, or a bowl… and you’ve just made a fabulous display!
(I simply used brown paper bags, folded/rolled down) to give the table the “rustic,” feel that I was going for!)

Bread Crackers Toasts for wine dinner party

Oh the place setting… I was ecstatic to see the looks on our guest’s faces as they walked on to our deck. They each had their own little personal “treat,” awaiting them. Simple little touches like this can make your guests instantly feel welcome in your home!

Place setting idea for dinner party: rosemary, favor bag, ribbon, bread
Rustic Wine Place Setting Idea

If you’re new around here, then you may not know that I have quite the “sweet-tooth,” so anytime that I can incorporate a little chocolate,  you can count on it. For an added “touch,” I created a party favor box for each guest, that contained dark chocolate-covered blueberries, that paired amazingly well with the 2014 Crowdsourced Cabernet! Red wine + Dark Chocolate = Happy, Happy Guests.

Dark Chocolate Blueberries
Wine Dinner Party Dessert Favor Box, dark chocolate covered blueberries

The overall place setting, and a glass of wine with dinner made this party a special one for the books!

Wine, favor box gift for party
Toasting wine Dinner party

One of our guests JUST had a baby, (only 3 sweet weeks ago), so she wouldn’t let me get a full photo of her, but she did agree to a “cheers,” to celebrate all of the amazing recent blessings, and to the release of the new wine. (Any reason to have a “cheers,” right!?)

Cheers

Once dinner concluded, we moved to the front lawn and ended the evening with small chatter. My husband loves nothing more than relaxing with friends on the front porch, with a glass of wine and a cigar.

Cigar and Wine

Me… well I like to visit on the front porch with a glass of wine too. There’s really no other way to end a busy day.

Fantabulosity with wine

Wine Dinner Party Back Patio Outdoor

DIY Patio Curtain Tie-Backs for $5.00!

DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs: How to make patio curtain ties for your patio, affordably and easily!

DIY Patio Curtain Tie-Backs

If you’ve been following along on my Facebook page or Instagram, you’ve probably noticed the talk about my new DIY Patio Curtain Tie-Backs that I’ve hinted around about. You know me, and when I find a good thing, I can’t keep it to myself. So this time it was no different, and I have been keeping you updated on the whereabouts of this project. Some of you have asked for me to share a tutorial, so you can do it too! So here we are:

DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs

Like with anything else, I headed to Etsy, the minute I needed something. I found EXACTLY the look that I was going for. A natural rope, (with a modern touch). Friends, I almost paid $50 for a pair of curtain tie-backs. I was trying to prepare myself to spend that much, when I realized that I may be able to make them myself.

I started “Pinteresting” and found that someone had already tackled the DIY brainstorming part, for me! (Call that COMPLETE luck.)  Crazy Wonderful had created a tutorial on curtain tie-backs that looked very similar to what I wanted, so I was able to play around with it, and make a trip to Home Depot to score the exact goods that I wanted. You all, I was able to make these for $5.00 a piece! That’s a HUGE savings, compared to what I was preparing to pay!

DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical - Rope, & metal couplings
How to make your own patio curtain tie-backs https://fantabulosity.com
White Patio Curtains!!! Looks like the beach! DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical
DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical - Rope, & metal couplings
DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical - Rope, & metal couplings
DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical - Rope, & metal couplings
DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs - Nautical - Rope, & metal couplings

DIY Tutorial Curtain Patio Curtain Tie-Backs

I called my momma when I had the supplies, and told her what my plan was. Thankfully, she invited us down for dinner and to have a little “craft session,” so she could help me assemble them. I thought it was going to be so much harder than it looked. Turns out, it was super easy… but the helping hand was nice, to get them finished sooner than I would have by myself!

DIY Patio Curtain Tie Back How-to and supplies

Type of String: The tutorial that I found, used twine to create the hooks. However I found this Twisted Mason Line, and thought that it may work better for my white curtains. Plus… I was hoping that this would hold up better outside in the rain, than twine would.

Type of Rope: I almost used manilla rope like she had used in her tutorial as well, but decided to go with a coated rope. I was a little nervous using regular rope, afraid that it could stain my white curtains. Plus, I’m hoping the coated rope and line will hold up better outside in the rain. She used a ¾ rope, but the coated type that I used was a bit different (close) in size, but not much. It still worked! I also had the super nice man from Home Depot, cut the rope in to 2 ft. sections. He then “burned,” the edges for me, to keep them from shredding.

P.S. My friend told me about a product called “Neverwet,” that I should use on my patio furniture and curtains. It keeps it from getting wet, and literally shoves the water right off of it. So I sprayed this on my patio curtains, hoping it would keep them from getting soaked and staining. Not sure if it will work with the “staining,” aspect, but it’s worth a chance!

White Rope to make Hook for patio curtain tie backs, from home depot
White Rope to make Hook for patio curtain tie backs, from home depot

Metal Couplings: I needed 9 curtain tie-backs, so I grabbed 18 ½″ Rigid Threaded Couplings, to use for the ends of the ties. (2 on each one.)

Threaded Coupling to make diy patio curtain tie backs

Start with cutting 3 strands of Twisted Mason Line, about 6 inches long. (The size can depend on how big you want your “hook,” to be.)

braid three strings of twisted mason line, to create the "hook," for the patio curtain tie backs https://fantabulosity.com

Using electrical tape, tape one end of the strings to one side, & one end of the rope.

braid three strings of twisted mason line, to create the "hook," for the patio curtain tie backs https://fantabulosity.com

Braid the three strands together, and tape the other end, (making a loop) to the other side of the rope with electrical tape.

braid three strings of twisted mason line, to create the "hook," for the patio curtain tie backs https://fantabulosity.com
Use electrical tape to tape the twisted mason line, to create a hook for the curtain tie back

Slide a coupling over the end of the rope, covering the tape and the extra stings, if any. Note: Since the couplings are rigid, it secures it on the rope a bit more! If you have trouble slipping the coupling on the rope, try “twisting,” it on. That seemed to work best for us.

Slide a ½ in rigid metal coupling over the end (over the electrical tape and line) for the patio curtain tie backs

The DIY patio curtain tie backs are done!

Then they were all ready to tie my new curtains back! Plus… I saved a TON of money doing it! It cost me $48 to make all 9, when I was going to have to pay $50 to receive two. That’s around $5 a piece! Woot! Success!!!

Pin this DIY Patio Curtain Tie Backs tutorial on Pinterest so you don’t forget!

Snack Ideas for Toddlers

Snack Ideas for Toddlers: Quick and easy snacks to kill the craving between meals for the kiddos, plus a free printable to keep handy for the store list! 

Snack ideas for toddlers, image collage.

In this busy house with two little boys, I’m always on the hunt for quick and easy snack ideas for toddlers and lunch ideas for toddlers. (Especially in the summer because we’re usually on the “go,” so this summer snack ideas list, comes in handy too!)

So to keep things quick and easy, I always make sure to have the staple items in our refrigerator and pantry, to create a snack that I can whip up in no time for the kiddos. Over time, I’ve compiled a list of ingredients and snack foods that work together really well, that can be used to create a lot of different snack recipes.

Healthy Snack Recipe Ideas for Toddlers

Snack Ideas for Toddlers

Although not perfect, and FAR from getting parenting 100% “down,”… my husband and I try to incorporate healthier choices in to our kids food & drink rotation. So if you’ve found yourself in a “rut,” and need a few new snack ideas for your toddlers, you may want to save my free printable, and take it with you, the next time that you head to the grocery store.

Save my free Toddler Snack List.

Healthy Snack Recipe Ideas for Toddlers

Toddler Snack Ideas

I couldn’t resist sharing some of our favorite toddler snack ideas with you below…

No Bake Cereal Cookies by Fresh Water Peaches

Toddlers are going to love these cookies! They need no baking and can be made with their favorite healthy cereal.

Fruit popsicles laying on cutting board.

3 Ingredient Yogurt Popsicles by Mae's Menu

These popsicles are so easy to make, and they are packed full of tasty and healthy ingredients to keep your toddler snacking on something good.

4th of July Rice Krispie Treats by Fantabulosity

These little treats are so much fun! Make them for the 4th of July or anytime this summer that snack time needs to be extra special.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Snack by Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons

This fruity snack pairs perfectly with story time. Kids will love to munch on this easy and healthy treat.

A bowl of powdered sugar puppy chow with M&M’s.

4th of July Puppy Chow by Fantabulosity

This snack is sweet! But, it is made with cereal for added vitamins and minerals. It is also so much fun to share with a little friend with a big appetite!

Pear fruit roll ups on cutting board.

Pear Fruit Roll Ups by Sustain My Cooking Habit

Skip the pre packaged fruit roll ups and make your own healthy and fruity ones at home. This recipe is loaded with juicy pear flavors for a fast favorite for little ones.

Honey Lime Fruit Salad by Fantabulosity

This fruit salad has the best honey lime dressing. Serve this to your toddlers for a healthy snack that they are sure to enjoy.

Homemade Goldfish Crackers by Strength and Sunshine

These goldfish crackers are allergy friendly and so tasty. Make these for a fresh twist on a classic kid snack.

Hard Boiled eggs on a plate.

Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs by Fantabulosity

You can't go wrong with a hard boiled egg for a healthy snack! These cook in the instant pot for perfect results and easy snacking every time.

Frozen Berry Breakfast Bark by Freezer Foodie

This easy breakfast bark starts with greek yogurt and fresh berries. Sprinkle a favorite cereal or granola over top for a perfect summer breakfast.

A platter of peanut butter banana brownies.

Peanut Butter Banana Brownies by Fantabulosity

Make a brownie for the kids that has plenty of goodies in the mix. With so much peanut butter and bananas, these are a snack you can feel good about offering, and kids will love these!

Peach popsicles on table.

Blueberry Peach Popsicles by Delicious on a Dime

These fruity popsicles have the flavor of summer in every lick! Make them with peaches and blueberries for an alternative to store bought popsicles that you can feel good about.

Easy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by Fantabulosity

Toddlers can't resist cookies, and this recipe is loaded with good for you ingredients like oatmeal and raisins to make a really good treat for kids. Bake a batch for wholesome eating.

Mango Popsicles by Maple and Mango

These easy homemade popsicles have the best flavor! Toddlers will love the flavor and color of these, and parents will love knowing exactly what their kids are eating, ingredient wise.

Banana chocolate chip cookies stacked on top of one another.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies by Fantabulosity

These cookies have enough chocolate chips to keep kids intrigued, but these are made with bananas to give them a healthy addition.

Yogurt Melts by The High Chair Chronicles

These yogurt drops are so easy to make! You won't even think about grabbing those handy little bags to offer your toddler as a snack after trying these.

Fruit Board by Fantabulosity

Offer your toddlers a healthy spread with this easy to assemble fruit board. It has a delicious dip that makes this fruit snack extra tasty!

Popsicles with apples on counter.

3 Ingredient Apple Pops by Flavours Treat

These homemade freezer pops are so easy. You are going to want to keep them in the freezer all summer long for a wholesome snack that kids are crazy about.

A fruit pizza that looks like an American flag.

American Flag Fruit Pizza by Fantabulosity 

Take a bite out of snack time with this appealing option. It is loaded with fresh fruit and has soft sugar cookie crust that is perfect for a summertime snack.

Homemade jello cut into heart shapes.

Homemade Healthy Jello by Food Meanderings

Skip the box mix and make homemade jello for the kids. This recipe hides spinach in the mix for an ultra healthy treat option.

Homemade apple sauce with cinnamon sticks.

Homemade Applesauce by The Forked Spoon

Who knew making homemade applesauce was so easy? This recipe is perfect for toddlers to munch on without the preservatives.

A platter of muffins sprinkled with oatmeal.

Banana Applesauce Muffins by The Dizzy Cook

These muffins are loaded with healthy ingredients like applesauce and bananas. Toddlers are going to love these as a snack or a breakfast.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars by Greedy Eats

This recipe makes the best oatmeal bars. They have plenty of summer strawberry flavor to grab a toddler’s interest for a healthy snack.

Monster Bites by Crayons and Cravings

These bites are made of apples, strawberries and peanut butter for a fun snack that kids are going to love munching on!

Apple Nachos by I Heart Nap Time

This recipe uses apple slices, peanut butter and chocolate chips for a healthy treat that kids are sure to enjoy.

Strawberry chocolate muffin on cooling rack.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins by Fantabulosity

These tasty little muffins use strawberries and chocolate chips for a fresh and flavorful snack option the whole family will love.

Instant Pot Banana Chips

Pop some banana slices into the instant pot for a really flavorful and healthy snack that kids of all ages will love.

Healthy Granola Bars by The Foodess

This recipe is loaded with healthy ingredients and a tasty secret ingredient. Make a batch of these to offer the kids a super healthy snack that can be customized to your preferences.

A bowl of peanut butter yogurt dip.

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip by Fantabulosity

Make this tasty dip to make fruit even more appealing! It has peanut butter and yogurt for the best flavor.

Healthy Fruit Pizza with Cream Cheese by Plant Based With Amy

This fruit pizza has a tasty cream cheese sauce and the best summer fruits. Make this for a fresh and easy snack that even toddlers are going to love.

Baked breakfast cookies on wire baking sheet.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies by Fantabulosity

Cookies for breakfast? Yes! This recipe is so healthy for a grab and go option the kids are going to love. You can also offer these for a healthy snack.

Sesame potato puffs on baking sheet.

Sesame Potato Puffs by Plant Based on a Budget

This recipe is perfect for a snack. It is so delicious that toddlers will even want to grab a second. These are vegan and so tasty.

Baked zucchini sticks.

Baked Zucchini Sticks by Zucchini Zone

This recipe makes an ultra healthy snack that everyone will love. Save this recipe for zucchini season so you can make them for a side or a snack.

Air Fryer Dino Nuggets by Air Fryer Everything

Make dino nuggets the healthy way; in the air fryer! Toddlers won't be able to resist this for a snack.

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Bites by Made in a Pinch

These bites have baked oatmeal and so many juicy blueberries. Make them for an easy snack or grab and go breakfast.

If you’re struggling to find new toddler lunch ideas, I’ve recently shared our favorite toddler lunch ideas. Traveling soon? Here are my favorite tips for traveling with toddlers.

I’d love to hear if you have a favorite snack ideas for your toddlers! Let me know what they are below in the comments!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Taco Party and Taco Bar Ideas

Taco Party and Taco Bar Ideas: A great and easy way to feed your guests for any event! Get the free printable list of taco bar items below!

Hi! My name is Bethany from Southern Couture and I’m so glad to be here on Fantabulosity today! It is my pleasure to throw this fiesta for you! 

These simple taco bar party ideas are not just for Cinco de Mayo but a perfect food bar idea for any family game night, birthday parties or a fun in-home dinner to change things up a bit.

Plus, if you have a lot of leftover taco meat… that’s not such a bad thing. There’s a great list of ways to use leftover taco meat if you make too much!

Combine a Taco Bar with a Nacho Bar Party as Jessica styled below, and you’ll be the hit of the town with your guests:

See the Nacho Bar Party HERE!

Nacho Bar Party Ideas

Taco Bar Topping Ideas

Note from Jessica: “I’ve actually created a free printable that you can print off, in case it would be easier for you to take it with you to the store while you’re shopping for ingredients! You can download the Taco Bar Topping Ideas list or you can just check out the list of topping ideas below!”

Taco Bar Topping Ideas Printable Download

Here’s the list in case you would rather copy & paste them into your grocery shopping list! 🙂

But First, Tacos!

UPDATE: I found “But First, Tacos!” balloons while browsing online and I HAD to share them with you in case you want to spiff up your taco bar with these…

Standard Toppings for your Taco Bar:

Fun – Out of the Box Taco Topping Ideas:

  • Romaine lettuce for wraps
  • Ranch Dressing
  • Black Beans
  • Chili Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Cole Slaw Mix
  • Roasted Corn
  • Nacho Cheese
  • Cilantro Lime Rice
  • Feta Cheese
  • Blue Cheese Crumbles
  • Hot Sauce
  • Red/Green Peppers
  • Tofu
  • Bacon
  • Barbecue Sauce
  • Pineapple
  • Serve a hot taco dip to go along with the tacos!

Taco Bar Decorating and Styling Ideas

I usually just start with an empty table and start building from there with a tablecloth or no tablecloth depending on how I feel. For this party, I decided on no tablecloth and to keep it simple. With the temps warming up, I moved it outdoors on our back porch for a little more fun.

Simple Taco Bar Set-Up

Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas

Move It & Label It

I start placing all of my ingredients into different serving dishes and then place them on the table moving things around until I'm happy with the results.

To label each item (even though we know what everything is, it's just more fun), you could also place chalkboard stickers on the table beside each dish and then write with a chalk marker what each one is.

Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas
Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas

Different Heights:

Be sure to add different heights on your table as well for not only looks but also to make it easier when guests are trying to reach for all the deliciousness. 

Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas

Pops of Color:

To really add a pop of color, try making sombrero decorations made from terra cotta pots and pom-poms or even some tissue paper banners that are perfect for a fiesta.

You can find them on my blog where I shared my Cinco de Mayo Party: Decorations and Recipes. I hung some of the tissue paper banners around the table for some extra color.

Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas

Premade = Easy

And if that isn't enough goodness, the great news about a taco bar is that you can usually just buy everything you already need premade to make your life so much simpler and just place it in serving trays if you are pressed for time. You could even make this walking taco casserole to add to the table so they can scoop a big helping in to their plates!

Simple Taco Bar Party Ideas

A Couple “Must-Know” Taco Recipes

If you’re looking for something else that’s easy to serve next to a taco bar, we love these easy crock pot enchiladas!

Salsa Recipe:

For my salsa, I love a good, easy, homemade salsa recipe.

Guacamole Recipe:

I recommend Jessica’s best guacamole recipe. It is delicious and so easy to make. I highly recommend it!

guacamole recipe

3 Bean Salad – Mexican Style

Serve on the side, or serve on the taco bar so guests can pile this Mexican 3 Bean Salad on as a topping!

3 bean salad recipe - cilantro lime, black beans, dark red kidney beans, pinto

Then just for fun…

If you’re hosting friends, I think it would be super fun to wear this shirt that I found.

Thanks so much for having me over for this fiesta and I hope you enjoy your Cinco de Mayo! Be sure to eat an extra taco for me too.

Want More Party Ideas?

Then you won’t want to miss my favorite party posts, especially my easy party appetizers post where I share my favorites!

Originally published: April 2016

Updated photso and republished: March 2025

“Clink Clink” Pink Drink Ideas

Pink Drink Ideas: A non-alcoholic drink, that’s perfect for a pink themed brunch!

When planning a Spring Mother’s Day Cereal Bar Party the other day, I decided that the table needed a pink drink, but wanted to keep it simple, and non-alcoholic for my non-drinking mother.

Quickly after snapping the photos of this gorgeous little pink drink, my mind started swarming with fun ideas of ways to use it, for future parties!

Pink Drink Idea for Brunch:

Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!

Since this party was hosted in the morning, and was centered around “cereal,” then I knew the signature drink needed to include milk. After a few seconds of brainstorming how I could turn the milk pink, (instead of just using food coloring) I knew that Hershey’s made a strawberry syrup, and I actually already had it in the refrigerator!`Bonus! So I made the typical Strawberry Milk that some of you have probably been making for YEARS.  Pour it in a fun, stylish glass, and you’ve given a lot of “umph,” to a simple, every day drink, for your party.

See more pink drink ideas at the bottom of this post!

Style Up Your Strawberry Milk for Pink Drink Ideas

If you’re looking to put a twist on simple strawberry milk, I’ve brainstormed over some ideas for you:

• Pour strawberry milk in to mason jars, wine glasses, or milk bottles
• Add whipped cream to the top of the strawberry milk & top with sprinkles
• Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of the whipped cream topping
• Add Rumchata to the strawberry milk for an alcoholic version of a pink drink
• Insert a cute paper straw to accent the drink
• Blend the strawberry milk with ice, to create an “Iced Strawberry Milk,” drink

Quick Tip:

Instead of pouring milk in to a large container and stirring the syrup in, I put it in a mason jar, and shook the milk, and added more syrup until it reached the desired color of pink. After a couple of splashes, I had the pink color down to a perfect match of my party’s color scheme!

Or… you could get all crazy-like, and make your own strawberry milk by pureeing real strawberries, and adding it to the milk? What do you think?

Either way, pour it in to a fancy-schmancy glass, and you’ve added a ton of charm to a simple drink, for your party table.

Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!
Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!
Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!
Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!

I had been eyeing the new IKEA mini champagne glasses that I snagged during my recent Ikea shopping extravaganza, and I knew the pink drink would look FABULOUS in them, for the party. Right!?

Clink Clink Pink Drink Ideas - Strawberry Milk for a pretty in pink brunch!

Additional Pink Drink Ideas

If milk isn’t a “fitting,” party drink for your theme, here are a few other pink drink ideas you may be able to incorporate, either store-bought, or go all out and make your own for your party:

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Pink Lemonade
• Grenadine (very little) & Sprite
• Sangria
• Raspberry Sherbert Party Punch – By Natasha’s Kitchen
• Faux Pink Champagne – By An Alli Event
• Barefoot Pink Moscato
• Strawberry Cream Mimosa – By Swanky Recipes

“You Are my Sunshine, Valentine” Classroom Valentines

Valentine Sunglasses: Such a fun classroom idea for Valentine’s Day that’s a great alternative to sugar and sweets!

Red heart-shaped sunglasses with "You are my sunshine valentine" printable
Valentine’s Day Sunglasses

If you’re like me, I’m always trying to think of a way to create non-candy-related items for my son’s school treats, for classroom parties. They get SOOO much candy at school parties, and we are literally struggling on a daily basis at home afterward, explaining to my son why he can’t sit and just eat… and eat… and eat… candy.

So one year, I was determined to come up with Valentine’s Day treat idea, that his classmates would love but wouldn’t be just another sugary treat!

Valentine Sunglasses

Heart shaped sunglasses with yellow printable of a sun.

Perfect for everyone in the classroom, you can buy little heart-shaped sunglasses, usually as party-favors, very affordably!

Then, you can simply secure one of the little free printables I’ve provided below!

Now, you have a classroom valentine treat that the kiddos will love that’s not full of sugar.

Red heart-shaped sunglasses on table with yellow sun cut-out
Classroom Valentine Idea

Free Printable Options

When I first made these Valentine’s, I loved the idea of having the “sun” as the free printable tag to attach to the sunglasses.

However, I’ll be totally real…

Cutting out all of those little suns, with the little rays… can be a bit tedious. Possible, doable, but tedious.

So I wanted to create a second option for you, that would be easier to cut out and is just as cute!

Sun Printable

Such an adorable free printable tag and if you don’t mind cutting around all of the sun rays, you can get this sun printable tag here!

You are my sunshine, valentine free printable.

Heart-Shaped Printable

A much easier tag to cut out, these heart-shaped tags include the same message, with that “yellow” pop of color that looks adorable to tie in the color of the sun! You can get the heart-shaped tag here!

yellow hearts printable
Yellow heart shaped free printable tags

How to Assemble Sunglasses

You can either tie the tag on the sunglasses with adorable bakers twine, or you could even grab “glue dots,” and stick the tag on the sunglasses that way!

Tape will work as well, it just didn’t stick as well as I’d like when I tried it.

More Valentine’s Day Ideas

While you’re on the hunt for Valentine’s Day ideas, you’ll also love this “Booking it Over Here to Tell You…” valentine’s idea and the “You’re the Apple of my Eye” Valentine idea! Unless you don’t mind the sweets, then you’ll also love this Valentine’s snack mix!

Recipe

Yield: 12

"You Are my Sunshine, Valentine" Classroom Valentines

red sunglasses with yellow sticker

Heart-shaped sunglasses with free printable tag, for a classroom Valentine's Day idea!

Active Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Difficulty Easy

Materials

  • heart-shaped sunglasses
  • free printable tags
  • glue dots

Tools

  • scissors
  • printer

Instructions

  1. Purchase as many heart-shaped sunglasses as you need.
  2. Print off the free printable tag of your choice. (See blog post for options and link to download.)
  3. Cut out each tag (sun or the heart) and simply secure each tag on to a pair of sunglasses! (We prefer using glue-dots but can also use string to tie them on.)
© Jessica
Category: Valentine's Day

The BEST Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Rub Recipe

This easy beef tenderloin recipe is coated in an amazing rub and is then grilled to perfection!

Using common pantry ingredients like thyme, rosemary, paprika, salt, and pepper… it creates a rub recipe that is perfect for grilling and provides TONS of flavor, not too dissimilar to this recipe for grilled pork chops.

Grilled Beef Tenderloin
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I need to thank the creator… the man the myth the legend… Mr. Braxton, for allowing me to share the rub recipe with you all. Without a doubt, this is the BEST Meat rub recipe AND Beef Tenderloin Recipe, we have ever used and I know you’ll love it too!

If you love tenderloin recipes, don’t miss the roasted pork tenderloin and the fried deer tenderloin recipes!

We put this spice rub blend on just about every type of meat that we bake in the oven, smoke in the smoker, or grill on the grill! Especially on recipes like smoked chicken tenders, steak cooked in the oven, and have even been known to cook pork steaks in the oven with it! It really adds to the flavor of the meat!

Rub on Beef Tenderloin

First, I’ll share the rub recipe with you, and then you can also see the grilled beef tenderloin recipe in the recipe card below!

The following amount covers a 4-5 lb tenderloin.

  • ¼ cup dried Thyme 
  • 3 Tablespoons Paprika 
  • ¼ cup dried Rosemary
  • ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt (table salt is fine too) 
  • 1 teaspoon Pepper

(Easily reduce, double, triple, and quadruple, the batch as needed)

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Rub

Why is Beef Tenderloin so Good?

If you REALLY want to impress the heck out of your guests or have a special occasion to celebrate, like a holiday meal, cooking a beef tenderloin as a main course is an amazing choice.

It’s a cut of beef that is incredibly tender and is usually one of the most popular cuts of meat that gives amazing flavor!

It is an expensive cut of meat so we don’t have it TOO often but it’s definitely a great choice when entertaining or for holidays like Christmas!

And personally, we think grilling a tenderloin is the best way to cook it!

Sliced beef tenderloin on white platter

How to Cook Beef Tenderloin on the Frill

First, if you’re picking up a good beef tenderloin from the butcher, ask if they can cut the silver skin off for you.

Or, if you’re buying a whole tenderloin, pre-packaged from the grocery story, it’s best to cut off the silver skin and any extra fat it may have on it, before rubbing the spice blend on. See full recipe card at the bottom of this post for easy-to-read instructions!

  1. Preheat grill to 450 degrees
  2. For best results, allow the whole beef tenderloin to come to room temperature (but not a must, if you don’t have the time) before you cook tenderloin.
  3. Rub all sides of the beef tenderloin with the spice rub recipe that I shared above.
  4. Sear the tenderloin over that direct, high temperature on the grill for 15 minutes. This will help give it even more flavor and char and help seal in the juices.
  5. Lower grill temp to 325-350, (we shut two burners off, and leave the other two on) and grill for another 45 minutes over indirect heat.
  6. Pull the tenderloin off of the grill when the internal temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit when checked with a meat thermometer.
  7. Remove from grill and let tenderloin rest, wrapped in aluminum foil for 10-15 minutes, and serve. (On a cutting board, slice in to small pieces and place on a platter to make it easier to serve a crowd!)
  8. This cooking process will result in a "medium-rare" cooked beef tenderloin and we feel like it’s the perfect temperature for tenderloin!
  9. Note: the thickest part of the tenderloin ends up being a medium-rare finish, and the outside edges, a medium temperature.
Sliced pieces of grilled beef tenderloin

What to Serve with Beef Tenderloin

If you’re cooking for a crowd, make sure you check out my other easy recipes so you don’t have to stand in the kitchen all day! Or since the grill is already heated up, these grilled seasoned vegetables will be easy to cook alongside the tenderloin.

But our favorite side dishes to have with beef tenderloin are this side salad recipe, this easy green bean casserole, and this cold pasta salad when we’re having a summer cookout!

Beef Tenderloin Sliced on White plate

More Tenderloin Recipes

Being huge fans of any kind of meat, especially tenderloin, I want to make sure you also know about this baked pork tenderloin recipe that has amazing flavor and rave reviews!

But if you’re also a hunter or have venison in the freezer, make sure to check out our deer steak recipes, especially how we fry deer tenderloin and grill venison steaks (or tenderloin) with this deer marinade!

If you tried this recipe, I’d LOVE to hear and would always love a star review so you can help others decide if this recipe is great too!

Recipe

Beef Tenderloin Recipe
Print Pin
3.80 from 156 votes

The BEST Beef Tenderloin

Beef Tenderloin Recipe: This easy recipe causes our guests to come running when they hear what's on the grill. Using an incredible "rub," this beef tenderloin will be the hero of your table!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Resting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 631kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 4-5 pound beef tenderloin with the silver cut off

Beef Tenderloin Spice Rub:

  • ¼ cup dried thyme
  • 3 Tablespoons paprika
  • ¼ cup dried rosemary
  • ½ Tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat grill to 450 degrees
  • Rub all sides of the beef tenderloin with the Braxton Rub Spice Blend
  • Sear the tenderloin over direct heat on the grill for 15 minutes
  • Lower grill temp to 325-350, (we shut two burners off, and leave the other two on) and grill for another 45 minutes over indirect heat.
  • Pull the tenderloin off of the grill when the internal temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees fahrenheit.
  • Remove from grill and let sit, wrapped in aluminum foil for 10-15 minutes, and serve.
  • This will result in a “medium-rare” cooked beef tenderloin
  • This cooking time and process gives us thick middle parts that are medium rare, and the outside edges, a medium.

Notes

  1. On a cutting board, slice in to small pieces and place on a platter to make it easier to serve a crowd!
  2. This cooking process will result in a "medium-rare" cooked beef tenderloin and we feel like it’s the perfect temperature for tenderloin!
  3. Note: the thickest part of the tenderloin ends up being a medium-rare finish, and the outside edges, a medium temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (about ½ pound of meat) | Calories: 631kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 158mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 756mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 1315IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 6.1mg

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Mint Chocolate Brownies: Layers of mint between rich dark chocolate ganache and fudgy brownies. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, as a Christmas dessert, or any time of year!

If you're bringing dessert to a gathering, you'll find more easy options in my potluck dessert ideas.

Stack of mint chocolate brownies on green background.

Brownie recipes are the perfect option for hosting parties, holidays or even to enjoy on the weekends for a sweet treat.

Mint chocolate lovers are especially going to LOVE this recipe! Not only does it use a brownie mix (that we spiff up using simple ingredients) but these fudgy chocolate brownies have a delicious frosting layer of mint, and then they have a top layer that’s a melted chocolate ganache.

If you love all things mint flavored, make sure that these chocolate mint cupcakes and this mint buttercream are on your list too!

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⭐️ Why This Recipe Works

  • Flavors: Mint and chocolate together are the perfect combinations for tons of flavor!
  • Make-ahead: Since these are chilled, you can make them ahead of time, especially if you’re day is full of other cooking and baking. Chill until ready to serve.
  • Texture: The fudgy brownie base, combined with a fluffy filling, and a soft, smooth topping, gives so many different textures that everyone will love when taking a bite!

🧾 Ingredients Needed

I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.

Ingredients for crab pasta bake on white counter.
  • Butter – we used unsalted butter for this ganache, as we prefer that when combined with chocolates.
  • Green Food Coloring – Gel paste coloring is recommended over traditional liquid food coloring.
  • Heavy Cream – You may notice that “heavy cream” is listed in the ingredients, twice. This is because we add some to the brownie mix and to the ganache.

📖 Substitutions

Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:

  • Chocolate Chips – This recipe calls for semisweet chocolate chips but if you prefer a milk chocolate ganache, that’s ok to substitute too. We used them these brownies with cream cheese frosting too.
  • Box Mix – If you have a recipe for homemade brownies that you love, you can use that recipe instead of a box mix. Just make sure to allow it to chill after baking so it’s chilled enough for the mint frosting. (Similar to our brownie recipe made with cornflakes.)

🥘 Equipment

Missing something? You can make this Instant Pot brownies recipe if you have a pressure cooker.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to Make Mint Chocolate Brownies

Don’t let the layers fool you! This is an easy recipe, especially since it starts out by making a boxed brownie mix!

This mint brownie recipe is broken into 3 components:

  • baking the brownies
  • making/topping with the mint layer of frosting/filling
  • making/topping with the chocolate ganache

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

How to Make the Brownies

STEP 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. and line the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment to extend over the sides. (We like to cut small slits in the corners of the paper to help it fit nicely.)

Brownie mix in bowl with heavy cream, oil and egg, mixed together.
Image 1
Brownie batter poured in parchment paper-lined pan.
Image 2

STEP 2. Mix brownies together. Next, in a large mixing bowl mix the brownie mix, oil, ⅓ cup of heavy cream, and egg (Image 1).

STEP 3. Pour batter in pan. Then, pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan (Image 2) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Then allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then lift the brownies out of the pan and place them on a baking sheet.

STEP 4. Chill. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 20 minutes while you make the mint filling.

Tip: It's important to let the brownies completely cool before adding the peppermint and chocolate layers. This is important so they stay solid and don't ooze out. However, if you want to speed up chill time, you can put the brownies in the freezer, and this will reduce chilling time by more than half.

How to Make the Peppermint Filling

White baking chips mixed with heavy cream.
Image 3
Melted white chocolate chips with heavy cream, in clear glass bowl.
Image 4

STEP 5. Melt chocolate and cream. In a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) combine the white chocolate chips with the 6 tablespoons of heavy cream (Image 3) and heat for 1 minute, or until the chocolate is 85% melted, stir, and let it sit. (Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to melt, so give it another stir until the mixture is smooth in texture).

Cream cheese mixed in glass bowl.
Image 5
Green mint filling for brownies.
Image 6

STEP 6. Continue with filling. In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high spped until smooth and creamy, which is about 2 minutes (Image 5). Then, add the melted white chocolate, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring to the cream cheese, and beat for 1 minute, increasing speed to high for an additional minute, or until light and fluffy (Image 6).

Mint frosting poured on to center of chocolate brownies.
Image 7
Mint green filling spread on top of brownies.
Image 8

STEP 7. Top with mint filling. Frost the chilled brownie layer with the mint icing and place the brownies back in the refrigerator for 1 hour (Images 7 & 8).

How to Make the Chocolate Ganache Topping

Chocolate chips and butter in glass bowl.
Image 9
Melted chocolate chips in glass bowl, ready for spreading on top of mint filling.
Image 10

STEP 9. Mix butter and chocolate. Combine butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl (Image 9) and heat for 30 seconds, stir, and continue heating in 15-30 second intervals until the chocolate has a smooth and pourable consistency (Image 10).

Melted chocolate ganache, poured on top of mint brownies.
Image 11
Chocolate ganache spread evenly on top of mint filling, on top of brownies.
Image 12

STEP 10. Top with ganache. Pour the chocolate ganache over the peppermint layer (Image 11) smoothing it out with an offset spatula (Image 12).

STEP 11. Chill. Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 3 hours, to allow the chocolate layer to properly set.

Tip: Before cutting, you can let the brownies sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to allow the chocolate topping to soften slightly, as this will make them easier to cut, so the chocolate layer doesn't break or come off the peppermint layer. To ensure clean cuts in your brownie layers, clean and dry your knife before making each cut

Mint chocolate brownies cut in to squares on baking pan.

STEP 12. Cut into pieces. Cut into 12 equal-sized servings and keep in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Stack of mint chocolate brownies on green background.

💭 Recipe Pro Tips

  • Darker green. If you want your green frosting to be darker, you can use 2 drops of gel paste instead of one.
  • Even cut squares. This multi-wheeled cutter takes the guesswork out of trying to get equal-sized servings.
  • Andes Mints. If you love those mint chips or candies, you can add some of the top of the brownies.

📋 Recipe FAQs

What makes a brownie fudgier?

The fat content added to brownies can help make them fudgier. More flour can make brownies more cake-like.

What type of mint is used in mint chocolate?

Peppermint extract is typically used in mint chocolate recipes, however, spearmint extract may work just fine too!

What is the secret to moist brownies?

Using heavy cream in brownie mix, instead of water, can help make brownies moister.

Chocolate mint brownie on white plate with bite taken out of it.

❄️ Storage

How to store mint brownies: Brownies will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Freezer Instructions: This recipe freezes well. Simply cut into individual serving sizes and then wrap each piece in plastic wrap (or Press n Seal is our favorite for freezing) and place in a freezer bag and freeze. When you are ready to eat, let them thaw out on the counter for a few hours beforehand. 

Bite of mint chocolate brownie on a fork.

🍰 More Dessert Recipes

If you love easy desserts, then you’ll love these red velvet brownies but you’re also going to love these reader favorites:

Recipe

Stack of mint chocolate brownies with green background.
Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Mint Chocolate Brownies: Layers of mint between rich dark chocolate ganache and fudgy brownies. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, as a Christmas dessert, or any time of year!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Chill Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 734kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

Brownie Base

  • 1 box brownie mix (We used Ghiradelli)
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream

Peppermint Filling

  • 11 ounces white chocolate chips (312g)
  • 6 Tablespoons heavy cream
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (226g)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 drop gel paste food coloring (We used 'leaf green')

Chocolate Ganache

  • 12 ounces package of semi-sweet chocolate chips (340g) Make sure to use high quality chocolate
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

Instructions

How to Make Brownies

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. and line the bottom and sides of a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment to extend over the sides. (We like to cut small slits in the corners of the paper to help it fit nicely.)
  • Next, in a large mixing bowl mix the brownie mix, oil, ⅓ cup of heavy cream, and egg.
  • Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Then allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then lift the brownies out of the pan and place them on a baking sheet.
  • Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 20 minutes while you make the mint filling.

How to Make the Mint Filling

  • In a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) combine the white chocolate chips with the 6 tablespoons of heavy cream and heat for 1 minute, or until the chocolate is 85% melted, stir, and let it sit. (Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to melt, so give it another stir until the mixture is smooth in texture).
  • In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream cheese on medium/high speed using a handheld mixer until smooth and creamy, which is about 2 minutes. Then, add the melted white chocolate, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring to the cream cheese, and beat for 1 minute, increasing speed to high for an additional minute, or until light and fluffy.
  • Frost the chilled brownies with the mint icing and place the brownies back in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Chocolate Ganache

  • Combine the butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl (we use glass) and heat for 30 seconds. Stir and continue heating it in 15-30 second intervals until the chocolate has a smooth and pourable consistency.
  • Next, pour the chocolate ganache over the peppermint layer, smoothing it out with an offset spatula.
  • Return the baking sheet of brownies to the refrigerator and chill the brownies for 3 hours, to allow the chocolate layer to set properly.
  • Cut the brownies into 12 equal-sized square servings and keep them in the refrigerator until they're ready to eat.

Notes

IMPORTANT: Let the brownies completely cool before adding the peppermint and chocolate layers.
TIP: Before cutting, you can let the brownies sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to allow the chocolate topping to soften slightly, as this will make them easier to cut, so the chocolate layer doesn’t break or come off the peppermint layer. 
STORAGE: Store the brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownie (1/12 pan) | Calories: 734kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 742IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg

Grilled Pork Chops Recipe

Sweet and Smokey Grilled Pork Chops Recipe: A dynamite flavor combination for grilled pork chops, basted with a sweet herby glaze.

Hello! I am Renee Sitavich: owner, writer, photographer, and chief dishwasher over at Renee Nicole’s Kitchen. I blog about food, wine, and all things kitchen-related. I know how much you all love easy dinner recipes, so Jessica has asked me to share my recipe for these quick and easy, sweet and smokey, bone-in pork chops.

Sweet & Smokey Grilled Pork Chops

Sweet & Smokey Pork Chops Recipe

These pork chops are tender and juicy, with just the right balance between sweet and smokey.

Bone-In Vs. Boneless Pork Chops

Bone-in pork chops are best as they tend to cook a bit slower and lend a richer flavor to the meat, and we use those in other pork chop recipes, like in this easy broiled pork chops recipe. Even with the bone, these only require about 3 minutes per side to achieve the perfect medium finish. But if you only have boneless pork chops, you may want to try this slow cooker pork chops recipe, as they get so tender and the gravy gives the chops so much flavor.

Look for chops that are 1″ – 1 ½″ thick. I usually find them in the butcher’s case at the grocery store. If you do opt for boneless chops, cut about 30 seconds of cooking time off of each side. My instructions here are for the grill, but with a cast iron skillet you can get a great result on the stove top as well.

For complete temperature and timing guidance, see our full guide on how to cook pork chops in the oven.

Pork Chop Cooking Tips

The chops need about 20 – 30 minutes to come up to room temperature before cooking, so start by pulling your meat from the fridge. If you throw cold meat directly on the grill, the outside will cook much quicker than the inside, leaving you with a charred exterior and a raw interior.

While the meat warms up, preheat your grill and make the glaze. You want the grill grate to be scorching hot to sear the outside of the chops. So, turn it to high and give it plenty of time to heat. Mine takes about 15 minutes, so I use the first 15-minute rest to prep other veggies and sides.

Sweet & Smokey Pork Chops Recipe

The Glaze

Once the grill is on, start your glaze. In a small saucepan combine the honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, basil, paprika, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once it boils, drop the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened by half. It should have a syrup-like consistency and coat the back of a spoon. Once it’s done, remove it from the heat and set aside.

Sweet & Smokey Pork Chops Recipe

Prep the Pork Chops

When the grill is hot and the glaze is finished, it’s time to prep the chops. Rinse them off under cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Don’t skip this part. When introduced to heat, water makes oil scramble away. If you leave the extra moisture behind, it can cause the chops to stick even if the meat/grate is well oiled. Liberally season each chop with salt and pepper then drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Rub the olive oil, salt, and pepper evenly onto the chop and you are ready to go.

Sweet & Smokey Pork Chops Recipe

Grilled Pork Chops

Heading out to the grill, in addition to the chops, make sure to take with you a timer, meat thermometer, your glaze with a basting brush, and a clean plate.

These chops cook so quickly that having to go search for any of these can cause them to overcook.

Cook Time

Place the chops on the screaming hot grill and let them sit for 30 seconds, to get a good sear.

Flip them over and set the time for 30 seconds.

When it goes off, lower the temp to medium and grill for an additional 2 ½ minutes. Flip them over.

Brush the top side with the glaze and continue to grill for an additional 2 ½ minutes. Check the temperature in the thickest part of the meat, close to but not touching the bone.

Cook Temp

For medium chops, aim for a temperature of 135 degrees while on the grill. They will continue to cook as they rest, which should bring them up to the 145 degrees.

If they are ready, flip them onto the clean plate and baste the back side of the chops with the sauce. Take them in and cover them with foil to rest for 5 – 10 minutes. Give them one more baste with the glaze prior to serving.

Serve on the Side

I like these chops best served with a sweet potato puree and some grilled seasoned vegetables. Broccoli cooked in the oven, asparagus in the air fryer, or green beans (make sure to see how to make green beans taste better!) all work nicely.

If you want to dial it up a notch, serve them with a smoky Syrah/Shiraz or a peppery red Zinfandel.

These pork chops are tender and juicy, with just the right balance between sweet and smokey.

Cheers and Happy Cooking! Renee

Aw, thank you so much Renee! This recipe sounds absolutely amazing! If you’re here for the first time, then you must browse our other easy dinner recipes!

Thank you for swinging by, and enjoy your pork chops!

More Pork Chop Recipes You'll Love:

Recipe

Grilled pork chop on plate next to asparagus.
Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Grilled Pork Chops

Pork chops seared on the grill and covered in a delicious sauce, this Summer grill recipe is perfect for the family or entertaining guests. Pair with veggies for a wholesome dinner!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Resting Time 40 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Servings 2 pork chops
Calories 454kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1-½ teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1-½ teaspoon fresh oregano
  • 1-½ teaspoon fresh basil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 bone-in pork chops 1″ – 1½” thick
  • olive oil
  • salt pepper

Instructions

  • Pull the chops from the fridge and allow them to rest 30 minutes to warm up.
  • Heat the grill on high.
  • In a small saucepan combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, basil, salt, chili powder, and smoked paprika.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Once boiling drop heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The glaze should have an almost syrup-like consistency.
  • Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Rinse pork chops with cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
  • Season liberally with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil.
  • Rub salt, pepper, and olive oil evenly on the surface of the chops.
  • Place the chops on a screaming hot grill for 30 seconds to sear.
  • Flip and set the timer for another 30 seconds.
  • Drop the heat to medium and continue to cook for an additional 2½ minutes.
  • Flip the chops over, baste the top side with the glaze, and cook for an additional 2½ minutes.
  • Check the internal temperature to see if it’s reached 135 degrees. If you need to keep cooking make sure to flip them after each additional minute so that you don’t burn one side.
  • Once the chops reach 135 degrees, flip them onto a clean plate, baste with the glaze and cover with aluminum foil.
  • Allow them to rest 5 – 10 minutes, during which time they should come up to 145 degrees internally.
  • Baste them a second time, front and back, prior to serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pork chop | Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 693mg | Potassium: 657mg | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1.8mg

The BEST Guacamole Recipe

The BEST Guacamole recipe uses simple ingredients and has the freshest flavor! It will be ready in 10 minutes, and perfect to top your tacos with, or dip your favorite chips in to.

Guacamole Recipe Easy
P.S. I’ve updated the photos in this post, but kept this oldie but goodie image here so those of you who’ve made it before, know this is still the same one!

Guacamole Recipe: Easy, Simple and the BEST!

How to Make Guacamole - simple and easy recipe

I am confident that this is the BEST Guacamole recipe you’ll make.

At least in my house it’s the best… (and with over 100,000 pins on Pinterest, I’d say it’s a favorite of others too!)

And if you’re an avocado fan in general, then you’ll DEFINITELY want to see this amazing resource of avocado toast recipes that will blow your mind with all the ways to use your avocados!

“So how do you make guacamole?”

I can’t tell you how in the world I came up with this recipe, but somehow it “worked.” Feel free to scroll to the very bottom of this post to get the FULL recipe ingredients, instructions and all the details on the recipe card.

But I love sharing tips and photos along the way in case you’re a visual person, so you’ll find videos, photos and a lot of fun tips as you scroll!

This recipe is incredibly easy and really quick too! (Two of my favorite characteristics of my quick and easy recipes.) So let’s hop to it!

Authentic Guacamole Recipe

Mexico is my favorite place to vacation, and the first thing that I order when I arrive is authentic guacamole. (See one of my favorite all-inclusive Mexico Vacations, when I surprised my husband for his 30th birthday, by keeping this trip a secret for over a YEAR!) 

So when I started experimenting in the kitchen one Sunday afternoon, I knew I wanted to mimic that authentic guacamole as much as I could. I’m so happy to say that I love this recipe JUST as much, as I do when I’m sitting on the beach, soaking in the sunshine… margaritas… and beach, in Mexico.

Guacamole Ingredients

 Using everyday ingredients, (unless you don’t typically keep fresh cilantro on hand) this will make you love this guacamole dip even more. No running to a gourmet market to grab the ingredients.

As you’ll see in my video below, I kind of “wing,” it when I make it, and adjust ingredient quantities as needed. For instance, some avocados can be a lot bigger than others, so adding/subtracting ingredients like spices, may be necessary. Also, be cautious of adding too much salt, when serving with salty chips!

Guac Tip: This recipe is easy to double, triple, or quadruple if need be for a larger crowd!

Guacamole Dip - How to Make Guacamole

Video: Easy Guacamole Recipe Tutorial

If you have a minute, here’s a quick video of my guacamole skills in the kitchen, if you’re more of a “see it,” & “do it,” kinda person.

Video on how to make guacamole

Like cooking videos? Make sure to check out my YouTube Channel for other fun videos (some recipes, some “real life,”) too! I’d love to see you over there!

Photo Tutorial: Ingredients Step-by-Step

This makes about 1 ½ cups of guacamole but also depends on the size of your avocados, onions, and tomatoes. 

Guacamole Ingredients - Recipt is easy and the best!

Avocados

I start by peeling and slicing my avocados for the guacamole. You do not have to cut the avocados into small pieces, but I prefer to because it seems like it is much easier to mash up with a fork or stone in a molcajete.

Avocado Guacamole - how to make guacamole dip

Slice, remove the avocado seed (have you seen the Grow Your own Avocado Tree Kits? I totally want one) and slice into small chunks if you like. Or, just remove the peel and mash the avocados as they are!

avocados for guacamole recipe
How to make guacamole recipe - easy and the best. Slice avocados and mash
I like to cut my avocados to make mashing in a molcajete easier

Roma Tomatoes

Next, slice and dice your roma tomatoes. I prefer to remove any white membranes and juices from the tomatoes to protect the flavor.

Cut roma tomatoes in to small cubes for guacamole

Red Onion

Grab your onion, peel, and dice a quarter of it. If your onion is really big, you may prefer a smaller amount of onion… or, if it’s a small onion, you may prefer to do half. It really does depend on the size and your preference.

For this recipe, I used a large red onion and used a ¼ of it. I LOVE red onion too and the more the better. So hopefully that will help you gauge your guacamole recipe!

use a quarter of a red onion
Dice red onion up for guacamole

Fresh Cilantro

Now when I say a “pinch” of fresh cilantro…I mean a big ole pinch. I LOVE fresh cilantro and would probably put a ton of it in my recipe if other’s liked it as much as I do.

To help you decide how much to try the first time, I grab my thumb, and a couple of fingers and pinch off a section of leaves. (Probably about a ⅛ cup???) But of course feel free to add more if you taste test it at the end and can’t distinctively notice the cilantro!

Pinch of fresh cilantro in authentic guacamole
Adding ingredients in to guacamole - so easy and so pretty!

Spices

I prefer kosher salt, but if you have table salt… know that it is totally fine! Using kosher salt in most of my recipes is pretty standard for me, so you’ll find me using it in this one too.

I’ve heard that some have made this guacamole recipe with garlic cloves instead of garlic powder, and I bet that’s glorious. However, I rarely keep fresh garlic on hand, so garlic powder it is.

Standard black pepper is a staple for me too and have noticed myself increasing the amount each time I make this. I do love a good hint of pepper!

Adding spices in to guacamole recipe

Fresh Juice from a Lime

For no particular reason, I save the lime juice for last. I feel like it just finishes off the dish with a fun “twist”. (Haha, that was a really sad “mom joke” wasn’t it?)

Add juice from a lime in to the fresh guacamole recipe

Molcajete

In just seconds, I’m able to mash all of the guacamole ingredients together in the molcajete and it’s ready to eat!

Feel free to use a regular bowl and a fork/spoon to make your guac of course, but I’m such a sucker for the molcajete!

Use a molcajete to mash up the guacamole ingredients, or a fork!

Taste Test

Before serving, I always love to grab a chip to make sure it’s not lacking a certain ingredient. I’m usually adding more salt, (because I’m scared of adding too much) and more garlic powder… but I’d rather add more because it’s much harder to take it away!

In seconds you have fresh guacamole to eat or serve!

Remember, you can grab the full recipe at the end of this blog post. 

Basic or Kick it Up a Notch…

It’s a basic enough recipe that you can use it on its own with chips, or include it on a nacho bar! Or, take it along as a snack for a beach picnic for a filling and easy snack!

Then, if you like a little spice, feel free to add some chili powder for a kick! But we like it just as described below in the recipe! Other fun guacamole ingredients would be cottage cheese, hot sauce, cumin, sour cream, bacon, shredded queso, and so much more!

Having fun making your own spin on how to make guacamole!

Pro Tip: Serve with “hint of lime” chips and it’s dynamite!

What can I do with leftover avocados?

Did you buy too many avocados? Head over to find out how I keep my avocados fresh and from turning brown!

Making Guacamole (how to keep avocados fresh)

Want more quick and easy recipes to serve alongside your guac?

If you like quick and easy, then you’ve come to the right place. I wanted to make sure I caught you before you headed to the guacamole recipe details below.

Now, I know how to find my way around the kitchen, but I’m no professional chef.

So what this means is that I like to experiment, but the main goal is to keep it quick… tasty, and slightly-homemade if possible.

I’m a mom of two little boys, so a big extravagant meal doesn’t always take place in our home. But I do love food, so I want it GOOD. You can always count on a quick & easy approach, but tasty! See more easy recipes for more Fantabulosity Recipes, like our favorite Beef Tenderloin Recipe:

or The BEST Side Salad Recipe on the planet, with just a couple of secret touches.

Guacamole Dip - How to Make Guacamole

Did you make this along with the hundreds of thousands of others who did, on Pinterest? I’d love to hear what you thought of it in the comments below!

Originally published: September 2018
Updated and Republished: May 2025

Recipe

The best guacamole in a small bowl with fresh cilantro on top.
Print Pin
4.27 from 49 votes

The BEST Guacamole

How to Make Guacamole: Easy Recipe + The BEST! – This authentic homemade guacamole tops all guacamole recipes, using everyday ingredients to make a dip everyone will love!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 168kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 2 avocados peeled and pitted
  • ¼ red onion chopped finely
  • 1 roma tomato chopped finely
  • juice from ½ lime
  • pinch fresh cilantro leaves chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • pinch Kosher salt to taste
  • pinch black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Mash avocados, red onion, roma tomato, fresh cilantro, and lime juice in together, until the avocados reach a mild chunky texture. I love using a molcajete to make this!
    2 avocados, ¼ red onion, 1 roma tomato, pinch fresh cilantro leaves, juice from ½ lime
  • Add in salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
    1 teaspoon garlic powder, pinch Kosher salt, pinch black pepper
  • Serve immediately! Added tip: My favorite chips to serve with this guacamole is the Tostitos Hint of Lime chips! So so good!

Video

Notes

This makes about 1 ½ cups of guacamole but also depends on the size of your avocados, onions, and tomatoes. 
You can use dried cilantro if that’s all you have on hand but using fresh cilantro makes a BIG difference.
Fresh lime juice (from a lime) is preferred over the bottled lime juice.
You can also use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder if desired!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (about ½ cup) | Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 543mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 12.7mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.6mg
The Best Guacamole Recipe: Simple and Easy Authentic

Free Place Card Template: “Welcome” & “Thankful For”

Free Place Card Template: “Welcome,” and Thanksgiving Place Cards that are perfect for the holidays!

I’m more than excited to share a little goodness with you to help make entertaining in your home this year a bit easier! We entertain a lot in our home, and I’m always looking for ways to make a dinner party of 2, or a holiday party of 200, a little more personable.

Fall Dining Room Decorating Ideas

More Thanksgiving and Entertaining Ideas

If you’re hosting, some of our favorite hosting stapes are this side salad, fruit punch recipe, this easy bread pudding, and this Thanksgiving meal planner!

Free Place Card Template

Now listen… I hear ya on the “money-saving,” techniques that we all try to accomplish during party planning and hosting. So that’s why we wanted to create something that could be created in your own home, at the last minute, and could be personalized for your guests.

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

• Do you have a printer?  Perfect. You can just open it up in Adobe Reader, select the center, and type in a name. Print it on white card stock, kraft-colored card stock, or whatever your little heart desires. (I personally think the kraft card stock looks so classy and really “pops,” on white cloth napkins.) 

• Cut out the name card (napkin ring), and secure it around a cloth napkin.

• Place silverware in under the name card, and you’re good to go!

TIP: To change the font of the name that you enter, on a MAC, select inside the box, and push “command E” and a box should pop up, allowing you to change the font.

On a PC, “Control E,” should do the same.

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

Does your silverware need some spiffing up before the holiday? Here’s how to remove rust from silverware!

How to Secure the Name Card:

I had a little bit of time, so I decided that I wanted to punch a hole in each end of the name card, pull ribbon through the holes, creating a bow in the back (or bottom side) of the napkin.

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

If you’re pressed for time, you could easily tape the back, or staple it! Quick and Easy.

Also, if you have kiddos, you'll also love this Cute Thanksgiving Turkey Craft that they can make and place on the place setting, and make these Oreo turkey cookies while you’re at it!

Holiday Place Setting

If you’re planning to use these for Christmas, try adding an evergreen stem, and a few red berries, to really make it all “pop,” with color!

So CUTE! DIY Holiday Place Card FREE customizable printable!

I literally just placed the stem and berries inside the place card holder. You could tape them, glue them, etc. if you felt like you needed to secure them more!

 If you're planning to use these for Christmas, try adding an evergreen stem, and a few red berries, to really make it all "pop," with color!

 If you're planning to use these for Christmas, try adding an evergreen stem, and a few red berries, to really make it all "pop," with color!

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

For Thanksgiving, or for a “thankful,” occasion, here’s a  “thankful for,” place card, that you can customize and use for your dinner party! 

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!
Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

I can’t WAIT to see how you’ve used these name cards. Make sure to send me a photo! 🙂

Get YOUR PRINTABLE PLACE CARDS BELOW:

—–> Get the Thanksgiving and Welcome Name Cards HERE!

To Enter the Name of your Guests:

The link above will open into a new browser. Make sure you then save the place cards to your computer so you have the ability to type in the names.

If Using a Phone:

Note that if you’re wanting to access these printables with your phone, your phone may not allow you to save them and type in your guest’s names.

However, you can select the link to save the place cards above and print them from your phone. Then, you’d be able to handwrite in the name of your guests.

TIP: Email them from your phone to yourself, or to a friend to save them on a computer later so you can customize and enter the names later!

Customizable Name Cards. Free Printable!

Banana Bread Pudding

Banana Bread Pudding is a combination of two of the BEST desserts: Banana Bread and Bread Pudding! This is a great way to use up ripe bananas and day-old bread!

Slice of banana bread pudding on white plate

It only makes sense to combine two of our most popular recipes, banana bread, and bread pudding, to make this dish, so we did! So get ready for one of the most delicious dessert recipes ever!

You’ll also love this Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding for a no-baked dessert that’s great for summertime.

Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Pudding

Not only does this recipe use simple ingredients but it uses items that you may even already have on hand!

With this recipe being flexible when it comes to the type of bread you can use, feel free to use anything such as hamburger buns, hot dog buns, leftover rolls, muffins, donuts like we used in this donut bread pudding, etc. Or, if you are just craving this delicious dessert, you can use regular sliced bread!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this:

(You can also scroll toward the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredients and instructions all in one place.)

  • 6 slices (about 4-5 cups, loosely measured) leftover french bread, sourdough bread, buns, rolls, donuts, challah, toast, or another type of bread, like when we made this croissant bread pudding recipe – broken in to 1-inch cubes
  • 3 Tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon + 2 Tbsp
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 large bananas (if you only have fresh bananas, this is how you can ripen bananas quickly or take a look at this banana poke cake too.)
ingredients for banana bread pudding on white table

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and use 1 Tablespoon of butter to coat the inside of your 8 in. square baking dish. (Or, I melted the 3 tablespoon of butter at once, and poured about 1 tablespoon in to the dish.)
  2. Next, pour bread pieced in to dish.
Pouring butter in to dish
Pour 1 tablespoon melted butter
Pour bread pieces in to dish
Pour bread pieces in to dish
  1. Using your hand, spread the bread around in the dish, trying to make sure the butter is spreading and that the bread is even in the dish.
  2. Next, pour the remaining melted butter over the top of the bread cubes.
Spread bread around in dish
Spread bread around in dish
Pouring melted butter over bread
Pour 2 tablespoon melted butter over bread
  1. Crack eggs in to a medium bowl. (Big enough to hold the milk, eggs, etc. that will be added soon.)
  2. Whisk eggs until blended.
eggs in bowl with whisk
Whisk eggs in bowl
Whisked eggs in bowl
Eggs are whisked
  1. Next, add in milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar.
  2. Whisk together until evenly combined.
Ingredients in bowl with eggs
Add cinnamon, sugar, milk
egg mixture in glass bowl
Whisk until blended
  1. In a separate bowl or even a plastic zip-top bag, mash bananas.
  2. Carefully pour mashed bananas in to egg mixture and stir or slowly whisk.
mashed bananas in glass bowl
Mash bananas
mashed bananas in bowl with eggs
Add mashed bananas
  1. Right before pouring egg mixture over bread pieces, stir to make sure ingredients are blended as much as possible.
  2. Pour banana and egg mixture over bread pieces, as evenly as possible. Using spoon, gently press bread down to make sure all/most pieces of bread are coated in batter.
Pour banana mixture over bread
Pour banana mixture over bread
  1. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 45-55 minutes or until the top of bread pudding rises above dish (see below), becomes golden brown and springs back when touched. (If you pull it out, cut in to the middle of the bread pudding, and it still has liquid running, it’s not done yet. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes until the middle is no longer runny. However, it SHOULD be a custard-like, wet, texture.
Baked banana bread pudding in dish

Serve a slice of the banana bread pudding as a warm dessert, for a brunch recipe, or as an easy breakfast.

Banana bread pudding slice on white plate

If desired, slice any other remaining banana to top the banana bread pudding with for some extra banana flavor!

Bite of banana bread pudding on fork

Variations

Chocolate goes wonderful with banana – Try our chocolate bread pudding recipe for a chocolate chip banana bread pudding. Or, try butterscotch chips for a lovely flavor!

Caramel Banana Bread Pudding – drizzle in caramel pieces or caramel ice cream drizzle, in to the batter before baking.

Pineapple Bread – Could you imagine using leftover Pineapple bread for this? That would be some incredible tropical flavor!

Although this isn’t a bread pudding recipe, this blackberry banana bread is a must-make if you love bananas.

Banana Bread Pudding on white plate
Banana Bread Pudding Serving

Topping Ideas

Although this is absolutely wonderful to eat the way it is, right out of the oven, you may also decide to top it with some of your favorite toppings. Here are some ideas for you:

  • Caramel Sauce
  • Vanilla Ice Cream
  • Whipped Cream
  • Toffee Pieces
  • Banana Slices
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries

How to Store

If you have leftover banana bread pudding, allow it to cool off completely to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

To reheat leftovers the next day, place in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until heated through.

If you love easy, old-fashioned desserts, you’ll also love this egg custard, ugly duckling cake, and this gooey butter cake!

Recipe

Slice of banana bread pudding on white plate
Print Pin
5 from 22 votes

Easy Banana Bread Pudding

Banana Bread Pudding is a combination of two of the BEST desserts: Banana Bread and Bread Pudding! This is a great way to use up ripe bananas and day-old bread!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 240kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 6 slices stale bread french bread, buns, rolls, donuts, challah, toast or another type of bread, broken in to 1-inch cubes or 4-5 cups loosely measured cups of bread pieces
  • 2 ripened bananas (Here's a quick way to ripen bananas.)
  • 3 Tablespoons butter melted
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Pour about 1 tablespoon of melted butter in to 8×8 baking dish.
  • Next, pour bread pieces in to dish, and spread them out so they're evenly spread out in the pan.
  • Pour remaining melted butter over bread pieces, set aside.
  • Crack 4 eggs in to a medium sized bowl (one big enough to fit the remaining ingedients. Whisk eggs until combined.
  • Pour in sugar, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
  • Mash bananas in plastic ziptop bag or in a small separate bowl. Pour mashed bananas in to egg mixture and gently stir.
  • Pour egg, banana and milk mixture over the top of bread pieces, trying to cover all of them. Gently press any pieces of bread down, trying to make sure all pieces of bread have been submerged in to batter.
  • Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until bread pudding has risen above the baking dish, has turned golden brown and the top springs back when touched.(If you cut in to the middle and it's still liquid, it needs to cook longer. It should have a custard-like, wet, center but not runny.)
  • Serve warm!

Notes

How to Store Banana Bread Pudding
If you have leftover banana bread pudding, allow to cool off and place in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (⅛ recipe) | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 260mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 369IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 1mg

Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls

Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls make serving ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat just a little more fun!

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! What a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!

Hi fab friends! Keri back from Shaken Together with an easy way to add some fun to your holiday entertaining! ‘Tis the season for parties and get togethers, so your regular recipes and entertaining ideas are sure to get a work out. Instead of your stand by dessert, try serving ice cream sundaes (or any sweet treat) in these Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls – your guests will love them! And since I am the queen of quick and easy recipes, you only need 3 ingredients and about 15 minutes to give plain ol’ waffle bowls a delicious holiday makeover!

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! What a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!
  • Candiquik – this is my favorite dipping chocolate, but you can also use almond bark or chocolate chips
  • Peppermint Crunch baking chips – or crushed cookies, seasonal sprinkles, jimmies, coconut, etc.
  • Mini waffle cone bowls

Now let’s getting dipping!

Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls

I like to set up a dipping station before I get rolling so I can dip all of my bowls before the Candiquik sets up as it cools. So, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a shallow bowl with the peppermint chips (and maybe even some pretty sparkly sugar sprinkles). Then, once you dip your waffle cone bowls, you can easy move them to the baking sheet with minimal mess.

• First, dip each bowl into the melted Candiquik. Shake off any excess chocolate and immediately place the dipped waffle cone bowl into the peppermint chips. Push chips around the edge of the waffle cone bowl so they stick to the melted chocolate. Finally, carefully move each bowl to the baking sheet and set it dipped side down. (The parchment paper will prevent the bowls from sticking, so don’t worry!)

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! What a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!

I pop the baking sheet in the fridge to help the Candiquik set up, but if you live in a cool climate with minimal humidity (lucky you!), yours very well may set up on their own.

• The last step is to fill each chocolate dipped waffle cone with your favorite sweet treat! Think ice cream, pudding, no bake cheesecake, a snack mix or even candy. This was totally my chance to indulge in my favorite limited edition ice cream … Peppermint Stick!

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls are such a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!

You can easily exchange the peppermint chips for coconut or white/gold sprinkles for New Years, heart shaped sprinkles or red hots for Valentine’s Day and multi-colored sprinkles for birthdays … these chocolate dipped waffle cone bowls will be making an appearance at all of our celebrations this year 🙂

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls are such a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!

Recipe

Regular waffle cone bowls are way more fun when they are dipped in chocolate and peppermint chips! Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls are such a fun way to serve ice cream, pudding or any sweet treat!
Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Chocolate Dipped Waffle Cone Bowls

This waffle cone bowl is super simple to make and the perfect accessory for ice cream! Use sprinkles, nuts, or any toppings you desire in this easy waffle bowl recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 waffle bowls
Calories 181kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Candiquik can substitute with any dipping chocolate
  • ½ cup peppermint crunch baking chips can substitute with crushed cookies, seasonal sprinkles, coconut, nuts, etc
  • 4 mini waffle cone bowls

Instructions

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour toppings in a shallow dish and set aside.
  • Prepare Candyquik and dip waffle bowls into chocolate. Shake off any excess chocolate and immediately dip into toppings.
  • Move each dipped bowl to parchment paper-lined baking sheet dipped side down.
  • Place waffle bowls in the fridge for 10 minutes to help harden.

Nutrition

Serving: 1waffle bowl | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 14mg | Sugar: 19g | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Here are a few more fun holiday ideas from Shaken Together!

No Bake Eggnog Cookies from Shaken Together

No Bake Eggnog Cookies

Hope you all have a fantabulous holiday season!! See you again soon!

Small Town Girl & Salt Lake City

My heart is full. FULL you all.

Let me explain…

A few months back, I was invited to speak at the Pinners Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sharing my passion for throwing parties & entertaining, was on the agenda, and I couldn’t WAIT to get to the mountains.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

First Night in Camp

First day in town, we spent cruising around soaking in all that Salt Lake had to offer. Shopping ladies… TONS of shopping in Salt Lake.

I propped my computer open, and was along for the ride, working & scouting out where I was headed the next day, for a little retail therapy. 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

We broke for lunch at the Market Street Grill, and I had to celebrate with a martini that was TO DIE FOR…

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

and a pound of shrimp cocktail. Yes, I shared with my hubby and friends… but I could have tackled this glorious pile of deliciousness on my own.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Our waitress was fabulous, and the food/drinks were superb. If you’re ever in the area… go. eat. here.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Change of Seasons in Minutes

My mind is STILL blown. After lunch, we headed out, and up the mountain to see the white stuff…

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

In just minutes of starting in beautiful, colorfully Fall leaves…

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

we were on top of the mountain, covered in snow. HOW? How in the world can you be in a warmer, colorful surrounding… and then minutes later, be freezing… surrounded by all the makings of Frosty the Snowman’s?

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful.

Trip Outtakes

Hungry for a local pizza, we decided to order a “little,” take out… while we were there. I don’t know about you, but my hubby and I LOVE having a pizza delivered when we are visiting somewhere, trying new styles & flavors. Well… not looking closely at the menu, my husband orders:

Just bring us the biggest one you got. Pepperoni.

I must say, we learned our lesson of double checking pizza-size in the future. A 36 inch pizza {think about how big that is for a minute. There are typically ONE of those little white stands, in the center of a large pizza. There were 6.} shows up at the front door. I’m pretty certain the box had to be turned sideways to fit through the front door. We never finished the WHOLE thing, but did put a hurtin’ on it at least.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Checking in on the blogs Facebook page on Day 2 of the trip, I noticed Fantabulosity’s FB page reached 5,000 followers!!! I celebrated with another martini. 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

A bit of “window shopping,” was on the agenda in Park City, and we found our inner snow bird “look.”

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

But they were $500 hats. We gently sat them back down after the photo opp., and ran out of the store, afraid we would be stuck with paying for something if we broke it. 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

On day THREE, I visited Home Goods and scored the cutest little table for my Party Styling 101 Class, and decided that I wanted to give it away as a BIG thank you for attending my class. Have I ever told you how much I love Home Goods?

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

On VIP night at the conference, I popped in for a bit, and ran in to Gloria from Simply Fit Board, and my hubby and I had seen her on Shark Tank the week before! I love success stories, and had to get my photo with her immediately.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

I gotta say… if we ever move to Utah, I’ll have a FABULOUS time, playing with fashion. Those Utah girls KNOW how to style it up, and if I could have packed more back home… I wouldah. My new faux vest and gray boots were my favorite purchase of the trip!

http://simplyfitboard.com/

Party Styling 101 

The day arrived, and I was more excited than ever. I opened my class up by admitting to them all:

I seriously thought there would be like 2 people in my class, considering I didn’t really know anyone in Utah.

I was ridiculously flattered…

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Party tips, party tips, & party tips! I spoke for an hour, but could have talked all day.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

If you weren’t able to attend, I’ll fill you in on one little secret I told them.

Adding “garnishes,” to your drinks can add fabulous “umph,” to your party decor.

Dip the ring of a glass, in to white Kayro syrup. Then dip the glass in to glittery sprinkles. The look is not only fabulous…. but it adds a “sweet,” touch! 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

I created a “mini,” tablescape for the audience, to show examples of how to stagger and add height to a display table…

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

“Think Outside of the Box,” is a common phrase of mine, and using this table that I scored from Home Goods, gave a great example of how you could utilize what you may already have at home, to create the perfect party tablescape.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

I have a new love of party goody supplies: Alexis Maddox Design let me use this cake topper for my class, and now I’m HOOKED! It added the exact “look,” that I was going for.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

I bought a few store-bought cupcakes, and added little party flags for an easy cupcake topper idea.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

While standing in the checkout at Home Goods, I saw yellow macaroons, and KNEW they’d look darling on my dessert table example. They fit perfectly in the little polka dot cups that I’m obsessed with.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

In my class, I gave the attendees a quick and easy way to add some pizzazz to party favors. I hope you’ll attend one of my classes one day, so I can teach you this little trick too! 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

So I’m back there… behind those people. After my class, person after person came up to chat & ask questions. I was so caught off-guard by the sweetness of everyone. You all are too incredibly sweet, and now I feel like I have a lot of friends in Utah. 🙂

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

No matter where I am, or when it is… It makes my DAY when someone comes up to me and says,:

Hey! It’s me! I follow you!

My heart skips a beat when someone makes a special trip to say hello. We both share a love for Stitch Fix, So I made her take a photo with me. 🙂

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

The special lady standing by me, won the little table that I gave away at the end of my class. She was so happy to receive it, and I was sooo happy to have her and the gals with her, to come up and get a photo!

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

I don’t know how I got so stinking lucky, to have met Toni with Design Dazzle. I had posted in a private FB group before heading out to Utah, that I was coming by myself, and didn’t know anyone. Toni took me under her wing, and made me feel right at home. Much love to her, and PLEASE visit her blog, because she’s not only the sweetest, but you’ll LOVE what she shares. {Especially her home decor ideas. OMG}

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

If you haven’t attended a Pinners Conference, you MUST! Good news… they’re expanding to Dallas Texas, and Phoenix Arizona in 2016! I can’t WAIT to go, and support Pinners in the new locations. Ticket… booked. 😉

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah
Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

After my class, I browsed around the expo at all of the different booths, and ran in to Lisa Bearnson… like the host on HSN… Lisa Bearnson. Yes, really! Guys… she’s as sweet and welcoming as you imagined!

I’m getting crazy excited for what she and Anthology has planned ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted on what fabulous things she has up her sleeve too!

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Literally on cloud 9 at this point… on my way home from Salt Lake City, where the mountains are breathtaking, the pizzas are HUGE, the shopping is PERFECT for a gal like me, and the people are incredibly wonderful.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Thank you SOOO much to everyone who came to my class, to the Pinners team, and to all of you for your support leading up to this point and the future. Without you all… I wouldn’t be living my dream.

Fantabulosity Party Styling: Pinners Conference Salt Lake City Utah

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones that use frozen cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest with a few other simple ingredients to create a breakfast pastry that’s beautiful for brunch and delicious enough for a weekend breakfast.

In only 30 minutes, you’ll have scones ready to enjoy with your morning coffee.

Stack of 3 cranberry orange scones.

For years, breakfast has been my favorite meal of the day to make. There’s something about feeding everyone when they wake up hungry, especially when they see warm, sweet treats on the table like these scones.

The flavors of the orange and cranberry together in these, are such a nice change from your typical flavors.

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Overhead shot of cranberry orange scones ingredients.

These scones are made with easy-to-find ingredients. Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients. See the recipe card below for the measurements.

  • Baking powder: Be sure to check the expiration date to make sure it’s fresh for optimal performance.
  • Frozen unsalted butter: Cube or grate the butter and keep it cold. Use cold ingredients, including chilled butter and heavy cream, to achieve a flaky and tender texture in the scones.

For another scone recipe, try these strawberry scones. You might also like all of my other easy breakfast recipes!

How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones

Here’s an overview of how to make these scones. You can jump to the recipe for full instructions.

Step by step instructions on how to make cranberry orange scones.
  • Preheat: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Dry ingredients + butter: Whisk together dry ingredients and then add cold butter. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to incorporate the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Orange + cranberries: Stir in the mixture.
  • Wet ingredients: Whisk together wet ingredients.
  • Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
Step by step process of making cranberry orange scones.
  • Shape: Shape the dough and slice.
  • Bake: for 12 – 15 minutes.
  • Make glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest.
  • Cool and drizzle: Allow scones to cool and drizzle.

Glaze Tips:
If your glaze is too thick, gradually add a teaspoon of orange juice until it reaches the desired consistency. If it’s too thin, gradually add small amounts of powdered sugar and mix in, until it reaches the thickness desired.

Overhead shot of orange glaze drizzled over scones.

Recipe Pro Tips

  • Handle the flour with care. Overmixing the dough can lead to dense scones. Mix until just combined to maintain a light texture.
  • Distribute. Distribute the cranberries evenly throughout the dough to ensure that each bite contains a burst of tartness.

Storage Instructions

Store leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. Refresh them by warming briefly in the oven or microwave.

What is the secret to making good scones??

Making sure your ingredients are really cold is key for scone success! You can even chill your equipment (bowls, etc.) to help keep the dough as cold as possible.

What can I use if I don’t have heavy cream or milk??

Mixing butter and milk together (whole milk or even half-and-half work best), you can make your own heavy cream! To make ½ cup of heavy cream, gently melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and then slowly whisk in 6 Tablespoons of milk. 

More Breakfast Pastry Recipes

Recipe

Stacked cranberry orange scones.
Print Pin
5 from 11 votes

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones that use frozen cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest with a few other simple ingredients to create a breakfast pastry that's beautiful for brunch and delicious enough for a weekend breakfast.
In only 30 minutes, you'll have scones ready to enjoy with your morning coffee.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 scones
Calories 446kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh orange juice Divided (1 Tablespoon + 2 Tablespoons)
  • zest of 1 orange (reserve 1 teaspoon for icing)
  • ½ cup frozen unsalted butter 1 stick – cubed or grated
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream cold
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup frozen cranberries halved
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Then add ½ cup cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to incorporate the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Stir in the orange zest and 1 cup of halved cranberries, ensuring they are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together ½ cup of heavy cream, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon of orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract until well combined.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; the dough should be slightly sticky.
  • Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently pat it into a circle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife or a floured round cutter, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges or as many rounds as you can make. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little extra heavy cream.
  • Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until the scones are golden brown.
  • While the scones are baking, whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of orange zest (if using) to make the glaze.
  • Once the scones are done baking, let them cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes. Drizzle the orange glaze over the warm scones.
  • Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy your homemade Cranberry Orange Scones with a cup of tea or coffee!

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1scone (with icing) | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 630IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 2mg

Let It Snow Ornament

It’s a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament! Each ornament is filled with sparkly snow and mini snowballs and sports a stamped tag with a cute baker’s twine bow!

Make them alongside these gingerbread ornaments and you’ll have a full holiday season of DIY and Crafting!

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

Let It Snow Ornament

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

I love handmade Christmas ornaments – there is just something about hanging those hand print reindeer and popsicle stick frames alongside with my rustic wooden nativity ornament and wood slice snowman. And this year, I’ll add a few Let It Snow ornaments to our tree … since that is the only snow we’ll ever get in Florida 🙂

Supplies

  • Plastic ornaments
  • Winter Snow (*see notes below)
  • Faux snow (*see notes below)
  • White card stock
  • Black ink pad and letter stamps
  • Small hole punch
  • Blue/white bakers twine
  • Ribbon for hanging
It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

*The Winter Snow is from FloraCraft – it is basically shredded foam that has a little sheen/sparkle. You should be able to find this or something similar at your local craft store. The Faux Snow (mini foam balls) was at my local dollar store.*

Cut a thin piece of white card stock and stamp “Let It Snow” on the tag. Use a small hole punch to add a small hole at the top of each tag.

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

Carefully remove ornament hanger and separate the metal hanger from the collar of the fastener and slide the tag onto the hanger.

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

While the ornament hanger is removed, fill each ornament about ⅓ – ½ full with the Winter Snow and Faux Snow. If you have a small funnel, that will help corral the snow as you fill the ornaments.

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

Replace the ornament hanger. Tie a bow with blue and white bakers twine around the ornament hanger. You can use a different color of twine to match your tree, but I love the blue, white and silver combo for these ornaments!

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

Finally, add a length of ribbon through the ornament hanger to hang the ornament. Easy right?

It is a DIY Christmas with this easy Let It Snow Ornament!

Nacho Bar Ideas

Nacho Bar Ideas: An easy “serve yourself,” style of food bar for a party or event. Topping ideas, and my favorite way to serve the cheese!

As a party planner at heart, I decided to style an easy nacho bar since food bars are my favorite!

Table with nacho bar toppings in bowls and on plates

We invited a few of our closest friends over on a Friday night, with a Facebook invite saying,

It’s Nacho Birthday, it’s his!

We then told them to plan on coming over to our house after school & work that Friday evening, for a nacho bar & some brew. (Juice boxes for the kiddos.)

Nacho toppings on table, easily for guests to grab and go

You’ll Also Love:

Everyone LOVED the nacho bar idea! They were able to make their own… just the way they wanted it, and it was the perfect way to vedge out, on a Friday evening.

The idea started, when I saw a sign out front of the party rental store in my home town that said,

“NOW CARRYING A NACHO CHEESE MACHINE.”

I just about rear-ended someone, because of my excitement. I literally planned this party days later. 😉

Nacho Bar Ideas

Nacho cheese machine

How to Make a Nacho Bar

I literally bought almost everything already pre-made and pre-cut. It was by choice to make the guacamole and pico de gallo. But a nacho bar is PERFECT for a last minute party idea because it was literally all ready in no time.

My easy guacamole recipe is a HUGE hit on Pinterest, and my top most-visited recipe post every year if you want to snag it too:

Guacamole Dip in white bowl

Type of Cheese for Nacho Bar

In the recipe card below, you’ll find instructions for making your own cheese for the nacho bar, or you can make our Rotel Dip with Ground Beef!

However, you can also look in to a nacho cheese machine rental, or you can usually also find the large cans of nacho cheese at grocery stores!

White dishes full of salsa, sour cream, green onions

Chips for a Nacho Bar

Feel free to use your favorite tortilla chips (corn or flour)! Or, add a variety of chips, such as nacho cheese chips (like I use in this easy Doritos nachos recipe, lime chips, or even something fun like black bean chips!

It’s fun to pour chips in to a basket, to serve them that way, instead of leaving them in the bags.

But if you don’t have a basket, they’ll also go great in a large bowl!

Chips in white basket

Toppings for a Nacho Bar

A nacho bar isn’t complete without salsal (try my rotel salsa), sour cream, and green onions.

White bowls filled with salsa, sour cream, green onions

(I had this wooden “plank,” left over from my son’s Nautical Birthday party,” and I thought it would work perfectly to add a little boost or height to the table.)

Shredded lettuce, black olives & Pico de Gallo…

Brown tray full of lettuce, black olives, pico

refried beans, fajita chicken, & jalapeños…

Refried beans, chicken and jalapenos on white plates

oh…. and guac. Guacamole. My weakness.

Guacamole on white plate

Mmmmm, & Chili. I do love a mean chili-cheese-nacho.

Chili in bowl

What to serve nachos in?

I found the cutest “boats,” & wooden utensils for the nachos, and they worked perfectly! No dishes to wash! (Well… besides the platters and small bowls on the table.)

Food boats
Wooden utensils in white cups

The best part? People were coming and going all night, and they were able to snack as they pleased. This will definitely be happening in our house again.

Nacho toppings in white dishes

Nacho Toppings Ideas:

  • Salsa
  • Sour Cream
  • Green Onions
  • Lettuce
  • Black Olives
  • Pico De Gallo
  • Refried Beans
  • Chicken Breast
  • Jalapeños
  • Guacamole
  • Chili

…of course don’t forget your chips & cheese.

If you’re able to rent a cheese machine, do it! The kids (AND ADULTS) loved the heck out of that thing. I’ll admit… I had “cheese,” with EVERYTHING the entire weekend, that I had this glorious invention, rented.

More recipes to serve, if desired:

If you’re looking to serve a few main dishes along with this, you may like the idea of these Crock Pot Enchiladas because they’re easy and can be in a slow cooker!

Nacho Bar for Birthday Party

Since you’re probably thinking of doing a nacho bar because it’s easy, then I wanted to make sure you saw my easy birthday cake that I did for my son. (In case you’re doing a nacho bar for a birthday party too!)

For my parties, I usually hire out for the cake, cake pops, or cupcakes. But this year, since a big “to-do,” wasn’t taking place, (and only our closest friends would “see,” the cake), I thought I’d give it a whirl.

Birthday Cake with little balloons!

Now… I can make a cake. That’s not the problem. It’s the DECORATING the cake. 

Birthday Cake with little balloons!

  There’s a cake on Pinterest, that had itty bitty balloons sticking out of it, and I thought… I can do that! I just grabbed wooden skewers, small balloons, and super glued them to the skewers, and stuck ’em in. It worked, right?!

Party Favors and Games

I couldn’t send our guests out the door empty-handed. While my normal “stroll,” through the Target dollar bin, I came across playing cards & play dough, and thought they’d be the perfect little items to throw into goodie bags and to keep the kiddos busy on the car ride home.

Easy Party Favors - Playing cards & Playdough

I placed a rolling cart that I have from World Market, by the front door, and stuffed the goody bags in it… with a sign that said, “Take 1.” It worked out perfectly, and there wasn’t ONE favor left, by the end of the night. 

Easy Party Favors - Playing cards & Playdough in wooden rolling cart

If you’re looking for birthday game ideas for your nacho bar party, these 40th birthday party games are fun to keep in mind!

So there it is! It was my “It’s Nacho Birthday, It’s His,” nacho bar party!

P.S. My little guy LOVED his cake… & the nachos. He’s a “cruncher,” like his momma and loves anything salty and sweet. Ok, ok… he’s like his momma because he’ll eat anything.

More Food Bar Ideas!

If you love hosting food bars like I do, then you’ll also love these 51+ Food Bar Ideas too!

Or, see some of our favorites, below:

Other Party Ideas by Fantabulosity

Recipe

nacho bar ideas
Print Pin
5 from 3 votes

Nacho Bar Toppings & Ideas

Nacho bars are SO fun and easy to serve for a crowd! Keep the toppings easy and use these tricks to make a spread worth inviting others to enjoy!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Mexican
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 16 people
Calories 108kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

If making your own cheese

  • processed cheese
  • 10 ounces diced tomatoes and green chilies Such as Rotel

Topping Ideas

  • salsa
  • sour cream
  • green onions
  • lettuce
  • black olives
  • pico de gallo
  • refried beans
  • cooked chicken pieces
  • jalapenos
  • guacamole
  • chili
  • chips

Instructions

Melting the Cheese

  • If making your own nacho cheese: Slice the processed cheese (Velveeta) and place into a microwavable bowl.
  • Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies. (Undrained)
  • Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Stirm and then cook again in 1-2 minute increments until melted.
  • To keep warm for nacho bar, place melted cheese in a slow cooker or in a food warmer.

Assemble Nachos

  • In small dishes or plates, start by placing tortilla chips down first. Pour cheese on top and top with favorite toppings!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 475mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 289IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 302mg | Iron: 1mg

Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Mussels in white wine sauce with garlic butter, that’s easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and ready in about 15 minutes.

An Easy Steamed Mussels Recipe

I don’t know if I’ll ever order mussels at a restaurant again, knowing how easy and delicious they are to make at home. Mussels are a fancy meal or appetizer, and look beautiful on the dinner table for a dinner party, a romantic dinner, or even if it’s just a seafood night at home.

Cooked mussels in pan with white wine sauce, and lemon slices on top, next to a glass of wine.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Which is the best way to cook mussels?

Steaming mussels in a seasoned broth is the best way to cook mussels. They open up from a closed shell, just after 5 minutes, and this allows for easier eating and or the flavors to seep in.

What do mussels go well with?

When cooked with a seasoned broth, butter-coated bread that’s grilled or toasted is delicious served along with mussels, for dipping in the white wine sauce.

How to tell if mussels are done?

When the shells open up, the mussels are done cooking and ready to eat.

How many pounds of mussels per person?

For an appetizer, plan on ½ pound of mussels per person. If serving as a main course, plan on 1 pound per person. Serve with toasted buttered bread for dipping to spread the portions out.

How to store leftover mussels?

Remove the mussels from their shells. (Remove meat from shell.) Store meat in a container and cover with white wine sauce, and refrigerate up to 2 days. To freeze, place meat in a freezer-safe container, cover with wine sauce, and freeze up to 3-4 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Cooked mussels in a white wine sauce, stacked on plate next to toasted bread.

Ingredients Needed: (See recipe card below for the full recipe)

  • mussels – Fresh mussels in their shell are used in this recipe, and are steamed in a white white, garlic butter broth. Make sure you’re not buying frozen, cooked mussels.
  • white wine – I use sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio for this recipe since I tend to have that on hand. However, any dry, white wine or cooking wine will work for this recipe as well.
  • lemon – When slicing the lemon, try to remove and discard any seeds.
  • oranges – If some of the pulp comes out while squeezing the juice in to the broth, that’s absolutely ok, and it will help add even more citrus flavor which is great.
  • garlic – Fresh, minced garlic is preferred.
  • chicken bouillon cube – 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder can be used instead.
  • sugar – A tablespoon of sugar will slightly sweeten the citrus broth, balancing the flavors.
  • butter – I use salted butter (as that’s what I generally have on hand) but unsalted butter will work as well.
  • basil & parsley – fresh herbs are highly recommended. If fresh can’t be found, herbal pastes are the next great substitute, and then finely dried herbs.
Ingredients in bowls and on countertop to make steamed mussels.

How to Make Mussels in a White Wine Sauce

Open the bag of mussels, look them over. Discard any that have opened, & scrub off any excess sand, then place in a bowl of cold water.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic.

Once the butter is melted, add the white wine, bouillon cube, and sugar. Stir until dissolved.

2 Process images - 1 with butter and garlic in pan and one with bouillon cube in melted butter.

Add the remaining ingredients (except mussels) and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes.

2 process images - one showing lemons, orange juice, butter and fresh herbs in skillet.

Drain the water from the mussels and pour mussels in to white wine sauce. Increase to medium heat, cover, and steam for about 5 minutes or until the shells open.

Ladle into a bowl and top with broth.

Steamed mussels in skillet with lemon slices on top.

Serve alone or with toasted bread for dipping in the white wine sauce.

How to Make Buttery Toast for Dipping

If you want to serve buttery toast with these mussels to dip in the white wine sauce, it’s really easy. Here’s how:

  1. Slice a French baguette in to ½-inch thick slices.
  2. In a cast-iron skillet, or nonstick skillet, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat.
  3. Place as many slices of bread that will fit in the skillet, down on top of the melted butter and let them rest for about 1-2 minutes or until the bread has turned a golden brown.
  4. Flip, and repeat on the other side. (Tip: Move the bread pieces around in any remaining melted butter in the skillet to help it soak in better.)
  5. Remove toasted bread from skillet.
  6. Repeat steps 2-5 until all of the bread is toasted.

Craving More Recipes?

Originally published: November 2015
Updated photos and republished: March 2025

Recipe

Mussels cooked in white wine and garlic sauce, stacked on plate, next to toasts.
Print Pin
5 from 2 votes

Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Mussels in a white wine sauce with garlic butter, that's easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and ready in about 15 minutes.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 419kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Equipment

  • skillet

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds fresh mussels raw, in the shell
  • ½ cup white wine
  • ½ lemon sliced
  • 2 juice from oranges
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 basil leaves chopped
  • sprig of parsley chopped

Instructions

  • Open the bag of mussels, look them over. Discard any that have opened, & scrub off any excess sand, then place in a bowl of cold water
    2 pounds fresh mussels
    Ingredients in bowls and on countertop to make steamed mussels.
  • In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the garlic.
    2 tablespoons butter, 3 cloves garlic
  • Once the butter is melted, add the white wine, bouillon cube, and sugar. Stir until dissolved.
    ½ cup white wine, 1 chicken bouillon cube, 1 tablespoon sugar
    Boullion cube in butter and garlic sauce in skillet.
  • Add the remaining ingredients (except mussels) and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes.
    ½ lemon, 2 juice from oranges, 1 teaspoon salt, 4 basil leaves, sprig of parsley
    Fruit and herbs added to garlic butter and white wine sauce in skillet.
  • Discard the water from the mussels, and add the mussels to the white wine sauce, and increase to medium heat, cover and steam for about 5 minutes or until the shells open.
    Fresh mussels added to white wine sauce in skillet.
  • Ladle into a bowl and top with broth.
    Cooked mussels with lemon slices in skillet.
  • Serve alone or with toasted bread for dipping in the white wine sauce.

Notes

Please refer to my FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (½ recipe) | Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 2397mg | Potassium: 970mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 889IU | Vitamin C: 64mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 10mg

Smoked Candied Bacon

In this Smoked Candied Bacon recipe, you’ll only need 3 ingredients, a smoker, and about an hour and a half to make bacon that has the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and smoky.

Millionaire Bacon

Bacon is already delicious, but adding syrup and brown sugar to give the bacon a sweet and salty combination, combined with the smoke flavor that seeps in, it creates an irresistible treat, that’s also sometimes called “Millionaire Bacon.”

It’s so enjoyable to eat by itself but it’s also fun to top classics with, like I did with these deviled eggs with candied bacon or what the bacon turns out like on top of the maple bacon brie.

Smoked candied bacon on platter, with syrup and brown sugar on top.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long do you smoke candied bacon?

Smoking bacon on a pellet smoker for an hour and a half at 210 degrees, or until the bacon is fully cooked.

Why is it called “Millionaire Bacon?”

The name originated from a saying, “This bacon tastes like a million bucks.”

Can you make candied bacon in the oven?

Yes. Bake candied bacon in a 375° F oven, for 30-40 minutes or until bacon is fully cooked.

Smoked candied bacon on the smoker.

Ingredients Needed: (See recipe card below for the full recipe)

  • bacon – thick cut bacon was used in this recipe, and is recommended. If using a thinner bacon, the cook time could be shorter.
  • brown sugar – using more or less brown sugar is optional.
  • syrup – real maple syrup or pancake syrup works for this recipe.
Raw bacon on a platter, syrup in a small bowl and brown sugar in small bowl.

Tip: If you’d like to have a bit of heat to your bacon, sprinkling crushed red pepper flakes on the bacon, at the same time you add brown sugar, is recommended.

How to Make Smoked Candied Bacon

Preheat the smoker to 210°F (or similar if your smoker doesn’t land at 210).

On a baking sheet or a piece of wax paper, place the bacon down, making sure not to overlap the pieces.

Using a pastry brush, brush maple syrup on to each piece of bacon.

Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each piece, trying to sprinkle it evenly.

Raw bacon on baking sheet, with syrup and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

When the smoker has preheated, place each piece on the smoker, making sure not to overlap the pieces so it cooks evenly. Smoke the bacon for an hour and a half, or until the bacon is fully cooked.

Raw candied bacon on smoker racks.

Remove smoked bacon from smoker and serve while warm.

Smoked candied bacon on platter, next to bowl of brown sugar.

What to Serve Candied Bacon With:

As a topping: This candied bacon would be delicious served on top of these burgers made in the oven, on this chicken club sandwich, or on these Hawaiian roll breakfast sliders. Or, take a BLT to the next level adding it to these Avocado BLTs.

As a side dish: Serve millionaire bacon alongside these fluffy pancakes, these fried onions and potatoes, and this biscuit and gravy casserole.

Craving More Smoked Recipes?

Originally published: October 2015
Photos updated and republished: April 2025

Recipe

Candied bacon pieces on rectangular plate, showing syrup and brown sugar sprinkled on top.
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Smoked Candied Bacon

This Smoked Candied Bacon is a sweet and salty treat that's made in a smoker and is incredibly easy.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 1 pound of bacon
Calories 386kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 1 pound thick sliced bacon
  • ¼ cup maple syrup more/less if desired
  • ¼ cup brown sugar more/less if desired

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker to 210 degrees
  • Lay out each piece of bacon on a piece of wax paper or a cookie sheet
    1 pound thick sliced bacon
  • Drizzle maple syrup over each piece of bacon, spreading the syrup evenly on each piece of bacon, using a basting brush
    ¼ cup maple syrup
  • Sprinkle brown sugar over each piece, spreading evenly with the brush
    ¼ cup brown sugar
  • Transfer bacon to smoker racks
  • Smoke for 1-½ hours or until bacon is fully cooked.

Notes

See the posts for tips and ingredient notes to help make this recipe a success.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (about 3 slices) | Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 192mg | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Chilis Southwestern Egg Rolls Copycat & Sauce

Chilis Southwestern Egg Rolls Copycat: An easy recipe that is super popular at a favorite restaurant, along with the delicious dipping sauce that’s a must!

Quick Overview: These southwestern eggrolls, use simple ingredients, ready in about 30 minutes. After wrapping, they’ll be fried in oil for only 2 minutes!

Chilis southwest rolls copycat and dipping sauce
Chilis Southwest Rolls Copycat

Why you’ll love this recipe

If you’ve ever had the egg rolls at Chili’s restaurants, then you know how delicious they are. But I have to say, that the creamy avocado ranch sauce that comes with it, makes them even better! In this recipe, you’ll find out how to make BOTH! It’s one of our favorite copycat recipes to date!

Ingredients

  • Oil for deep frying (vegetable oil or canola oil)
  • Wrappers – either tortillas or eggroll wrappers

Filling:

  • 1 ½ c cooked chicken breast, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 c pepper jack cheese
  • 1 c spinach
  • ½ c canned corn, drained
  • ½ c black beans, drained
  • ⅓ c diced red pepper
  • 2 teaspoon lime juice
Ingredients on table for chili's egg rolls
Ingredients

Avocado Ranch:

  • ½ c mashed avocado
  • ½ c ranch
  • 3 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro
  • 2 ½ Tbs sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients for avocado ranch
Ingredients for Sauce

Instructions:

  1. Preheat 3″ of oil to 375° in a large pot, on the stovetop.
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine the shredded chicken, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder and salt. Once the chicken and spices are well mixed, add pepper jack cheese, spinach, corn, beans, red peppers and lime juice and mix to combine. Set aside.
Filling ingredients in white bowl
Filling ingredients
Mixed ingredients for filling
Mixed ingredients
  1. Next, place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 30 seconds to make them more pliable.
Tortillas on wooden cutting board
Warm tortillas
Mixture on center of tortilla
Place mixture on tortilla
  1. Place ¼ cup of the filling onto the center of a tortilla. Fold the outward sides towards the middle, then roll up. 
Hand folding tortilla
Fold together
Hands folding tortilla for egg roll
Fold again
  1. Brush the top edge with water to seal. 
Brushing edges to make tortilla stick
Brush to stick
  1. After all tortillas are rolled, let them sit for 1 minute before frying to allow the water to stick the edges together. 
Egg rolls on counter ready for frying
Ready for frying
Fried egg rolls on counter
Fried Egg Rolls
  1. Place 4 rolls into the preheated oil and fry for 1 minute, then flip and fry for 1 minute, until golden.  Once cooked, carefully remove the rolls from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the frying process with the remaining rolls. 
Chili's Copycat Egg Rolls on cutting board
Chili’s Egg Rolls Copycat

Easy Avocado Ranch Sauce

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado, ranch, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
  2. Mix until well combined and smooth.  Serve alongside the fried eggrolls. 
ingredients in small bowl for dipping sauce
Ingredients for sauce
Avocado ranch dipping sauce
Avocado Ranch Sauce
Open egg rolls with ranch sauce
Enjoy!

Storage

If you happen to have leftovers of these egg rolls, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat the egg rolls in the microwave or in the air fryer if you have one!

Substitutions

  • Cooked shredded chicken – If you’d like to use something other than chicken, you can use cooked beef, tofu, or cooked shredded turkey instead. However keep in mind that this could change the flavor.  
  • Cheese – If you want to use something other than pepper jack cheese, you can. Do note that this could change the flavor a bit. Some ideas for different cheese are, jalapeno jack cheese, monterey jack cheese)
  • Additional ingredients: If you’d like to also add other items to this recipe, you may want to consider: jalapeno peppers, cayenne pepper, green onion, green chiles, white or yellow onion, hot sauce
  • Dip: If you’re not a fan of the dipping sauce that goes with this recipe, you may want to consider dipping them in something like this Texas queso!
Open egg rolls
Chili’s Egg Rolls Copycat

Expert Tips

  • You can insert a toothpick into the filled roll before placing it in the oil to keep the roll closed while frying. 
  • For a smoother, creamier texture, you can use an immersion blender to blend the avocado ranch!

If you loved these chilis southwest egg rolls, and love easy appetizer recipes, then you’ll also love this elote dip, chicken empanadas, and this easy guacamole dip!

Recipe

Chilis Southwestern Egg Rolls Copycat
Print Pin
5 from 7 votes

Chili’s Southwestern Egg Rolls Copycat

Chilis Southwestern Egg Rolls Copycat: An easy recipe that is super popular at a favorite restaurant, along with the delicious dipping sauce that's a must!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 12 egg rolls
Calories 239kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • Oil for Frying

Wrappers

  • 12 Taco size – flour tortillas or egg roll wrappers 

Filling

  • 1 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups pepper jack cheese
  • 1 cup fresh spinach
  • ½ cup canned corn drained
  • ½ cup black beans rinsed and drained
  • ⅓ cup diced red bell pepper
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice

Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

  • ½ cup mashed avocado
  • ½ cup ranch
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
  • 2 ½ Tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat 3" of oil to 375° in a large pot, on the stovetop.

Egg Roll Filling

  • In a large mixing bowl combine the shredded chicken, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder and salt. Once the chicken and spices are well mixed, add pepper jack cheese, spinach, corn, beans, red peppers and lime juice and mix to combine. Set aside.
  • Next, place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 30 seconds to make them more pliable.

Assembly

  • Place ¼ cup of the filling onto the center of a tortilla. Fold the outward sides towards the middle, then roll up.  Brush the top edge with water to seal. 
  • After all tortillas are rolled, let them sit for 1 minute before frying to allow the water to stick the edges together. 

Frying

  • Place 4 rolls into the preheated oil and fry for 1 minute, then flip and fry for 1 minute, until golden.  Once cooked, carefully remove the rolls from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the frying process with the remaining rolls. 

Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce

  • In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado, ranch, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. M
  • Mix until well combined and smooth.  Serve alongside the fried eggrolls. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1egg roll | Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 635mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 679IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 199mg | Iron: 2mg

Baking Gift Basket

A baking gift basket full of cookie mixes, cookie decorating supplies, and even fresh-baked cookies, is such a wonderful gift idea to give to neighbors, families with small children, and more!

Holiday Baking Kit, DIY Christmas gift idea

Here’s how to make a cookie gift basket for anyone on your list!

We all know that the holiday season is all about giving, and being kind to others. It’s FULL of opportunities and excuses to perform acts of kindness with your littles!

To get in the full-blown holiday spirit, we made a surprise drop-off of a holiday baking kit at one of our neighbor’s houses. This neighbor goes ABOVE & BEYOND for us, anytime a need arises. It was a no-brainer when we were trying to decide who would receive our Holiday Baking Kit.

How to Make a Baking Gift Basket:

Gather the items you’ll want to put in the basket:

  • cookie mixes (you can also do cake mixes, brownie mixes, etc.)
  • cookie decorating supplies
  • frostings
  • cookie cutters

You may even choose to make your own favorite cookie recipes, to include in the gift basket.

Holiday Baking Kit, DIY Christmas gift idea

What to Use for Baking Gift Basket

For this one, I grabbed a cupcake box, took out the inserts, and staggered all of the items around… and plopped a treat bag full of the Peanut Butter cookies, right in front.

You could also use a basket, cookie sheet (secure the items on top with ribbon), a gift bag or a regular box.

Fun Tip: You could also print out a few sheets of a Christmas scavenger hunt for the families to do during the holidays as well!

I grabbed some ribbon, printed and cut the tags out, and our baking kit was complete & ready to deliver to the doorstep of our neighbor’s house.

When delivering this cookie gift basket, I texted my sweet neighbors (they weren’t home when we delivered) and told them that we left a package for them on their doorstep. A few minutes later, we received the sweetest text:

“Awe, it’s so cute! Our kids already tore into the box and are decorating the pre-made cookies!”

I grabbed some ribbon, printed and cut the tags out, and our baking kit was complete & ready to deliver to the doorstep of our neighbors house.

I had such a good time in my kitchen with my little guys. Just before bed, my son always likes to say,

Mom, what was YOUR favorite part of the day?

Needless to say, making cookies & delivering the treats was my answer. His response?

Me too.

Love giving little treats? These M&M gift treats are so fun to give to neighbors too!

Holiday Baking Kit, DIY Christmas gift idea

My kids LOVE “hands-on,” so creating a holiday baking kit like we did here… the kiddos are able to help in the kitchen & participate in the “gift-giving.” These DIY gingerbread ornaments are another fun activity to make during the holidays to give out!

DIY “Hot Chocolate” Gift

This post was sponsored by Regions Bank. All opinions are my own.

I can’t thank Regions Bank enough for sponsoring my little DIY Hot Chocolate Gift Idea that I’m sharing with you today, through Mom It Forward! #RegionsGreetings

Every year, I seem to over-do it financially, when it comes to gift giving.

Why?  Why in the world do we do that to ourselves?  This year, I’ve really thought about how I can still be the “gift-giver,” that I want to be, without breaking the bank.

This is SO cute! And easy... teacher gift, mailman, co-worker. Hot Chocolate DIY Gift Idea

DIY gift ideas are ALL OVER Pinterest.  I thought, “Why can’t I spend pennies, making something that would include a lot more “thought,” behind it, instead of buying someone another bottle of lotion or a candle that screams,

I totally just grabbed this, because I had to.”

Don’t laugh… you know what I’m talking about. 🙂

I was sitting in my dining room, staring at all of the recent goodies that I picked up, and a lightbulb went off.  Why couldn’t I go ahead and make a stash of DIY gifts, to hand out around Christmas time?  My wallet will thank me, and my crazy-stressed-out self, with thank me as it gets closer to gift-giving time.

I’ve had the CUTEST milk bottles, sitting around waiting for me to create something crafty out of them, so this DIY Hot Chocolate gift was perfect!

DIY Hot Chocolate Gift Idea

This is SO cute! And easy... teacher gift, mailman, co-worker. Hot Chocolate DIY Gift Idea

What you Need:

1. Milk Bottle

2. Individual package of instant hot chocolate mix

3. Mini marshmallows

4. Mini Chocolate Chips

5. Crushed peppermints

6. Cinnamon Stick

7. Gift Tag

Instructions:

• Pour the hot chocolate mix in to the bottom of the milk bottle.

• Next, layer the following in this order:

mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, and peppermints.

• Finally, angle the cinnamon stick on top!

(You of course can layer them any way you like, but I found that this order really broke up the colors and allowed the “red,” from the peppermints to “pop.”)

All the recipient will have to do is add hot water, and the all-in-one gourmet hot chocolate is ready to go!  Plus… they get to keep the cutsie little milk bottle too. 😉

(My milk bottles came with a lid, so I will put a lid on top for them, in case they aren’t ready to drink it immediately.)

This is SO cute! And easy... teacher gift, mailman, co-worker. Hot Chocolate DIY Gift Idea

I’m tempted to even make these for all of my guests who are coming to my “Favorite Things,” party that I’m hosting.  We will be having a hot chocolate bar, and I’m thinking these would make the most ADORABLE party favors for my guests… right!?

Or, if you want to make a variety of different gifts, this tea gift is perfect for tea lovers, or these DIY snow ornaments are adorable to give. Or, these fun little Christmas M&M jars with a free tag are super cute too!

This is SO cute! And easy... teacher gift, mailman, co-worker. Hot Chocolate DIY Gift Idea

Reuben Dip Recipe

This Reuben Dip is like the popular restaurant Reuben sandwich, in appetizer form! A mixture of flavors and textures using ingredients such as sauerkraut, corned beef, Swiss cheese, and a few other simple ingredients make this creamy dip a hit with chips, bread or veggies.

Reuben dip in white serving dish, with a cracker dipped in.

Other similar recipes that you may find online, may be too sweet. This one uses ingredients that help this one be more savory than sweet. Savory dips can be the perfect party food. You may also love making other dips with this one for a party, like this hot taco dip, pepperoni dip, and the classic Rotel dip.

[feast_advanced_jump_to]

Ingredients for Reuben Dip

This Reuben dip is made with easy-to-find ingredients. Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients. See the recipe card below for the measurements!

Overhead shot of ingredients for reuben dip, sitting on marble counter.
  • Dressing: Kraft Thousand Island brand is preferred and was used in this recipe.
  • Sauerkraut: You can use canned or bagged sauerkraut. However, it's important not to rinse the sauerkraut after squeezing the juice out to retain more flavor.  Also, don’t squeeze it until it is COMPLETELY dry. Just squeeze until it isn’t so wet and doesn't add too much liquid to the dip.
  • Corned Beef: What you see here, is corned beef that the butcher sliced in to ⅛ inch slices and then chopped at home so it wasn't too thin. You could also buy it deli sliced at the store for sandwiches and chop that as well.

How to Make Reuben Dip

You’ll be using the stove-top for the first part, to saute the onions but you’ll finish the dish by baking it in the oven. Make sure to see the recipe card below for all of the directions and details!

Overhead shots showing 4 steps to making reuben dip.
  • Cooking the butter and onions is the first step.
  • Next, mix the ingredients together to prep for baking.
  • Arrange dip in a pie plate, and bake!
Overhead shot of baked reuben dip, in white pie dish.

Reuben Dip in the Crock Pot

The crock pot is a great way to cook the dip or to serve it and keep it warm.  To cook in the crock pot, combine ingredients according to recipe directions and heat on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Storage:

  1. Refrigerate: Let the dip cool before refrigerating.  It should be refrigerated within 2 hours of serving and will keep in the fridge covered for 3-4 days.
  2. To Freeze: You can freeze leftovers, but with the cream cheese in the dip, the quality may not be as high after freezing.  The dip can be frozen for up to two months for best quality.
  3. Make Ahead: This dip can be made 1-2 days in advance before baking.  Follow the recipe directions before baking and place in the refrigerator in a covered container until ready to bake.
  4. Reheat: You can reheat the dip in the microwave or oven. Place the dip in a heat-safe container, in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes or microwave at 30-second intervals until warm.  
Reuben dip in white pie dish, and a spoon scooping out a serving.

What to Serve with this Dip:

There are many great options for dipping foods for a Reuben dip.

For dippers:

  • hearty crackers
  • toasted bread (such as this toasted Italian bread recipe)
  • pretzels
  • bagel crisps
  • multi-grain crackers
  • rye or pumpernickel toast
  • rye crackers
  • Triscuits or other thick crackers
  • pita chips
  • cucumber slices
  • celery sticks

If you like this hot and cheesy reuben dip then you’ll love this Frito chili pie, it’s another one of our game day favorites along with these cheesy broccoli casserole recipe! Or, if you love when beer is added to dips, this beer cream cheese pretzel dip recipe is amazing too!

Recipe

Reuben dip being scooped out of baking dish with metal spoon.
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Reuben Dip

Reuben dip is a twist on the classic, popular sandwich. Serve it as an appetizer with chips, crostinis, or veggies!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 308kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup Thousand Island dressing
  • 2 cups chopped deli-sliced corned beef about 12 ounces
  • 16 ounces sauerkraut or about 1 ¼ cups (Drained, squeezed dry)
  • 8 ounces Swiss cheese shredded
  • 2 Tablespoons dill relish
  • ⅛ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • chopped parsley optional, for garnish
  • coursely ground pepper optional, for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Place a skillet on medium-low heat and add butter to melt.  Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes until softened and translucent, turning frequently to avoid burning.  Transfer onions onto a plate to cool.
  • Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer and a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sour cream and Thousand Island dressing and mix to combine.
  • Stir in the remaining ingredients: the cooked onions, corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, dill relish, and Worcestershire sauce.
  • Pour dip and spread evenly into a 9-inch pie pan or baking dish.
  • Place the dip into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the dip is warmed through.
  • Add parsley and pepper garnish if desired.
  • Serve warm with a variety of foods for dipping including crackers, pretzels, bagel crisps, vegetables, and toasted rye or pumpernickel bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (with dipping bread) | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 855mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 639IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 255mg | Iron: 1mg

Cheesy Rice

This cheesy rice recipe, made using taco seasoning, a can of Rotel, and a few other ingredients topped with queso cheese, makes it an easy recipe that can be a side dish or easy dinner recipe when served with a protein like chicken.

Your favorite store-bought queso makes this recipe a breeze, where the ingredients can be kept on hand for a quick 30-minute dinner too.

Cheesy rice, Spanish rice covered in Queso cheese sauce.

Mexican dishes like I have at some of my favorite Mexican restaurants like these chicken street tacos, these chicken fajitas wraps or these steak quesadillas are some of my favorites to make at home.

Now, this cheesy Mexican rice goes perfectly with those dishes and even enjoyed by themselves.

Cheesy Rice Recipe Highlights

  • 5 Ingredients – With just a few simple ingredients, this dish is ready easily and quickly.
  • Shelf-Stable Ingredients – All of the ingredients can be kept on hand when you need something to store for those last-minute needs.
  • Great Base Recipe – Enjoy this recipe by itself or easily add your favorite additional toppings or mix-ins to make it your favorite. See additional ideas below.

Ingredients Needed:

Just a few ingredients are needed, and they’re simple! Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full lists of ingredients and instructions. I’ve provided a few notes about the key ingredients below.

Ingredients for cheesy rice, on a table.
  • Rice – I prefer the Spanish recipe saffron yellow rice,that comes with the seasoning. This adds so much more flavor to the rice. However, making regular rice, is possible, it’s best to check the package directions for how long to cook the rice, in case it’s a different type.
  • Taco Seasoning – A packet of taco seasoning is normally what I use but you can also use my homemade chicken taco seasoning recipe.
  • Queso – Using your favorite queso recipe is highly recommended. I prefer the white, blanco queso but you can use yellow if you prefer. You may even choose to use my Rotel Dip recipe or Cowboy Queso for an elevated Mexican cheesy rice.
  • Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies – I use “mild” but you can use “hot” if you prefer a spicier taco cheesy rice. I use half of a 10 ounce can. You can also choose to use 5 ounces of diced tomatoes if you don’t like the heat.
  • Chicken Broth – Usually this can be kept in the pantry when it’s in the can or in a box that hasn’t been opened. I didn’t have any of that on hand when I decided to make this, so I made my own chicken broth out of Better Than Bouillon.

How to Make Cheesy Rice with Queso

This is a recipe made on the stove-top, so it’s best to find a skillet that’s big enough to hold all of the ingredients required.

Broth and seasoned Spanish rice in a skillet.
Add seasoned rice and all other ingredients except queso to skillet.
Cooked Spanish rice in a skillet.
Cook rice – bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 25 minutes.
Cheesy rice on a fork, over a plate.
When rice is tender and cooked, top with warmed Queso cheese, either on individual servings or pour over entire batch in the skillet. Mix if desired.

Recipe Tips

  • Spice – This recipe, the way it’s made (mild Rotel, etc.) can pack a punch with spice. It’s not the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten but it’s also not spice-free. I recommend if making this for the first time, try a bite after cooking, and if needed more spice can be added such as red pepper flakes, etc.
  • Feel Free to Add – Add roasted broccoli, cooked chicken breasts, grilled shrimp, or strips of steak to round out dinner. This chicken bites recipe is so easy to make and goes great with cheesy rice.

Storage Instructions

Allow the cheesy rice to fully cool before storing in an airtight container and placing it in to the refrigerator. This can be stored but is best enjoyed within 4-5 days.

Recipe Tips

Can you use long-grain rice or jasmine rice to make cheesy rice?

You can. If you have the option to use a yellow rice that’s seasoned, it can add so much flavor. Where using a plain, white rice can have a more bland flavor.

What goes well with cheesy rice?

A protein such as these baked chicken cutlets goes well with a starchy side like this cheesy rice recipe. Or this roasted pork tenderloin pairs wonderfully with rice.

What can I mix with rice to make it taste better?

This recipe uses chicken broth to cook the rice in, giving it more flavor. Or spices such as taco seasoning, or garlic and cumin can season rice even more.

Love easy recipes like this cheesy rice? Then you’ll also love these:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

Recipe

Cheesy rice in plate.
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Cheesy Rice

Cheesy rice has a taco-seasoned rice with a white queso cheese on top or mixed in. So delicious and similar to the restaurant-style, favorite.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 611kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 5 ounces diced tomatoes and green chilies Half a can of Rotel, undrained.
  • 10 ounces yellow rice Spanish saffron rice recommended (with seasonings)
  • 2½ cups chicken broth
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil optional
  • 1 ounce packet of taco seasoning or this taco seasoning recipe
  • 15 ounces queso

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients except queso in skillet, bring to boil on the stove, and then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 min or until rice is tender and broth has been absorbed.
  • Fluff rice with a fork. Heat queso up in microwave or on the stove, and pour over rice.

Notes

  • You can use the entire can of Rotel if you prefer more spice and more tomatoes in the mixture.
  • If you only have plain rice (without the included seasoning packet in the type of rice suggested) that’s ok to use, and it just may result in a milder flavor. Adding more seasoning at the end of the cooking process is an option if you find it needs more flavor.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 611kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 2865mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1399IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 418mg | Iron: 2mg

Vintage Christmas Party Ideas (Easy Food & Dessert Table Ideas)

If you love old-fashioned holiday charm, these vintage Christmas party ideas are the perfect way to create a cozy and memorable gathering. From simple dessert table ideas to a hot chocolate bar and classic holiday treats, this setup is easy to recreate and always a hit with guests.

Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Oh how fun this Vintage Christmas party would have been.

Yes… I said, “Would have been.” 🙁

One of my kiddos came down with a fever a couple of days before our annual Santa Night Party this year. Unfortunately, his little body can’t handle fevers like some others can. He’s one of the not-so-lucky ones that has seizures. The morning before our party date, he once again had a seizure, and once the craziness calmed down… I immediately sent out notifications to our friends, letting them know that we had to cancel the party for this year, so we could take care of our little guy.

But, I quickly styled this Vintage Christmas Party a few days later, so I could share the ideas that I had with you all. Luckily, there wasn’t much to it, and we made sure the cookies and cupcakes didn’t go to waste. Put it this way… our neighbors were VERY happy.

Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Vintage Christmas Party Food Ideas

One of the easiest ways to pull off a vintage Christmas party is by keeping the food simple but nostalgic. Think bakery-style treats, classic cookies, and a cozy drink station that makes everyone feel right at home.

Store-Bought Cookies (With Easy Upgrades)

Don't overthink this-store-bought cookies totally work here. Arrange them on a cake stand or vintage plate and they instantly feel special. If you want to dress them up a bit, dust with powdered sugar, add a drizzle of melted chocolate, or place them in festive liners for a bakery-style look.

But we do have a delicious gingerbread man cookie recipe so you can make your own. Or, make these DIY gingerbread ornaments to hand out as party favors!

Gingerbread Men for a party! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Snowball Cookies

These are a must for that old-fashioned Christmas feel. The powdered sugar coating gives them that soft, snowy look that fits perfectly on a holiday dessert table. Whether they’re homemade snowball cookies or store-bought, they always look like you put in more effort than you did.

Snowball cookies for a party! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Thumbprint Cookies

The red and green centers are what make these perfect for a vintage Christmas theme. They add that pop of color to your table without needing extra decor, and they're always one of the first things people grab.

Oh how I wish I would have thought to make these cornflake wreath cookies to go with this party!

Red and green thumbprint cookies for a party! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Cupcakes with Vintage Toppers

Simple cupcakes can become the centerpiece of your dessert table with the right toppers. A vintage truck, Christmas tree, or classic holiday image instantly ties everything together and gives that nostalgic feel without needing anything complicated.

Vintage Hot Chocolate Bar Ideas

This is what really brings the whole setup together. A small hot chocolate station adds warmth and makes the party feel cozy and intentional.

Set out:

  • Marshmallows
  • Peppermint sticks
  • Whipped cream
  • Chocolate chips
  • Festive drink stirrers
  • Flavored syrups

Use simple kraft cups or mugs, and add a small tag or label so guests can help themselves. It's one of those little touches that makes everything feel extra special without adding more work.

Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar
Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar
This PILLOW!!! LOVE! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Once I had the pillow, I HAD to get the snow globe, right!? Besides, my kids are uber obsessed with the snow globe. It’s the little things. 🙂

EEEK, this SNOW GLOBE! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar
EEEK, this SNOW GLOBE! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Don’t forget the old-fashioned gingerbreadmen…

Alright… the cupcakes. The little vintage truck and Christmas tree cupcake topper, MELT my heart. I found a vintage truck and tree image to send my cupcake lady, and she NAILED it. Didn’t she? Now… if I could only learn how to do this too!

OMG! These cupcakes are ADORABLE! Vintage truck and tree for a party! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

I bought precious little to-go, “kraft,” coffee cups from Shop Sweet Lulu, and I thought a little Christmas party needed a little “hot chocolate station.” Right!?

I created a little tag, by using my stamps, to create a “hot chocolate,” tag. Tie it around the jar with baker’s twine, and now your guests will know EXACTLY what it is.

Such a cute idea! Hot chocolate station on a dessert table! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Have you thought about using fabric tape to wrap around your beverage cups? You wouldn’t BELIEVE how often I do this. It add just the right amount of detail to plain jane cup, and it’s an easy & quick way to make it happen!

Such a cute idea! Hot chocolate station on a dessert table! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar
Such a cute idea! Love these drink stirrers. Hot chocolate station on a dessert table! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Thank you SO much for coming by, and checking out my “What would have been,” Vintage Christmas Party.”

Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

If you’re hosting a Christmas party like this one and want to throw in a Christmas movie night as well, then the Christmas spirit would be so thick in your home!

Ahh! Such an adorable theme! Vintage Christmas Party Ideas: Truck with Christmas Tree, cupcakes, red green and white, hot chocolate bar

Favorite Things Party Ideas

How to host a favorite things party! This holiday party (or any time of year party really) is so fun, and easy to host. Everyone goes home with something new!

There’s just something about all of your gal pals getting together for one night, to sip on cocktails, eat fancy foods, and chatting all night long. Throw in a gift exchange of your favorite items…

…it’s hard to beat.

Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange

Favorite Things Party: Winter Edition

If you saw my Favorite Things party last year, then you may already have a good idea of how it works. (At least how we do it at my house. I’ll give more party “how-to” tips below.) Head over to that post to How to Host a Favorite Things Party, to see how we did the gift exchange!

Last year was the first “Favorite Things Party,” and before the night was over, we were already saying how we couldn’t wait to do it again. So… this year rolled around, and it was a no-brainer. It all began with my current obsession of “plaid.” Red, black & white were the colors, and plaid was EVERYWHERE.

Favorite Things Party Food Ideas

When it’s just the gals getting together, I like to keep it classy. Most of us are moms, so we spend the majority of the time, covered in spaghetti o’s, and graham cracker crumbs. This is a night about “us,” so creating a menu that screams a little “fanciness,” makes all of us a feel a little more “human.”

(I ordered two plaid blanket’s from Target, to position down the center of my table, to tie in the plaid theme. Plus… I get to keep the blankets and use them in my living area now. WIN!)

Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Appetizers

We had an assortment of appetizer-type goodies, along with a few items to tame our sweet tooth cravings.

Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Meatballs: Stick a mini fork in them, and all of a sudden, they’re a classy cocktail appetizer… and not a Superbowl side dish.

Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Caprese Rosemary Skewers: I saw my gal Ree, from the Pioneer Woman whip these up, about two weeks before my party, and I knew they had to be on my menu. For goodness sakes they’re adorable and delish.

Caprese skewers on rosemary sprigs Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Bruschetta: Oh the bruschetta. How I love thee. I literally make this about once a week, and just have it for dinner, by myself. Here’s where you can get my easy bruschetta recipe!

Bruschetta Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

French Bread Pizzas: Gotta give it up to the Pioneer Woman again. She had french bread pizzas on a recent show, and well… one of my “favorite things,” is pizza, so it had to be on the menu. I did slice mine in to smaller pieces, so they’d be easier to handle. My favorite? I made one with Canadian bacon and pineapple. THIS, will be on my weekly dinner rotation from here on. We also had tomato/basil, and pepperoni & black olive options to choose from.

French Bread Pizzas for cocktail party style. Finger foods for Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Tortellini Skewers: Cheese and pasta. Pasta and cheese. Arrange it on a skewer, and cover it in a little bit of pesto. I actually served these chilled, rather than warm, for a little twist on the usual.

Cheese tortellini skewers with pesto. Perfect appetizer for cocktail party. Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Dessert

Oreo Peppermint Bark: Oh dessert! My “favorite,” part. I’m part of a “mastermind group,” of bloggers, where we share some of our blog posts with one another… and one of my blogging gals posted a recipe for Oreo Peppermint Bark, about 3 days before my party. “Red, black, and white!?” Plus… it was easy to make? I totally made a last minute addition to the menu. Thank you A Pumpkin and a Princess!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Reese’s Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes: When I saw these little glorious mini cheesecakes from “Best Recipes Ever”, they were a MUST for our dessert portion. I mean, bite-size… peanut butter… chocolate… cheesecake… cute as can be…. done. My gal pal Kate made these for me, because she knew I was pressed for time, and well because, she’s just plain fabulous.

Reeses Mini Cheesecakes. Perfect dessert for cocktail party. Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Cupcakes: Ahhh…. plaid cupcake wrappers. During my online shopping craze for this party, if it was plaid… it was in my cart. Besides, who doesn’t love a good ole fashion cupcake? (That you don’t have to share with your toddler.) 😉

Cupcakes with plaid liners or wrappers! Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party fantabulosity.com

Mini Chocolate Cakes: Don’t ask me where this idea came from. Perhaps my abundant love of chocolate? I picked up a DELICIOUS looking chocolate cake at a bakery, took small pieces, and put them in to mini martini-glass shaped dishes, topped with a little whipped cream, and layered on another bite of cake. Easy, classy, and decadent. 

Bite Size Chocolate Cake for cocktail party Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange

Martini Bar

Did you see me on TV a few weeks ago? I was telling you how I always love to have a “WOW,” factor at all of my parties. You don’t have to go crazy to make your party memorable. Sometimes I think that people stress themselves out, by making sure everything they do, is top-notch and crazy over the top. But really, if you have one big “WOW,” factor??? Odds are, your guests will love that one thing so much… that the rest just flows around it, looking all fabulous-like too.

This is where my Martini Bar came in. I wanted a little “umph,” in my cocktail options this year. I may, or may not have also wanted a cocktail selection that didn’t require too many sips, to make the “moms,” relax a little quicker. Martini’s usually do that for me, and I had never seen a “martini bar,” created before… so my “WOW,” factor was born.

Martini Bar Ideas fantabulosity.com Red apple martini and White Chocolate Peppermint Martini

To keep things simple, and not to overwhelm my guests…

I had TWO martini options that the gals could choose from. A classy, smooth, semi-tart, Red Apple Martini or a sweet, dessert-like, White Chocolate Peppermint Martini.

With the directions printed out, they were able to create their own as needed.  Believe it or not… I think they had a little fun, being their own bartender. Creating something for your guests to “do,” for themselves at your party, can bring out their creativity, and will make them feel a little more comfortable and “at home,” for the rest of the party.

Drink Garnishes

If you saw my post of the Red Apple Martini,

Red Apple Martini for Favorite Things Party

…you saw how I lined my martini glasses with coconut flakes. The red martini and the coconut, made the cocktail look a little like a Santa hat, and since it was close to Christmas, it worked perfectly. I lined a few more of the martini glasses in crushed peppermint, and left a few plain, for those who weren’t fans of the “extras.”

Martini Bar Ideas fantabulosity.com Red apple martini and White Chocolate Peppermint Martini

Cranberries on Rosemary, {not gonna lie: kind of a pain to put together} were AH-dorable. Since this was my first time creating these for drink garnishes, I couldn’t help but die laughing, when I looked over and saw one of my gal pals getting slapped in the face with the HUGE rosemary sprig, while she took a sip. God love her. Guess next time I’ll make sure the rosemary sprigs are smaller. 😉

Martini Bar ideas, cranberries on rosemary sprigs. Love! fantabulosity.com

I always look for a reason to set out chocolates. I was so excited to see that some of my guests put a piece of chocolate candy in their White Chocolate Peppermint Martini. How brilliant are they!?

Martini Bar ideas! Chocolates to go with the sweet martinis. Love! fantabulosity.com

You can’t have a martini bar without blue cheese stuffed olives. They’re a total fave of mine, and sadly, our local restaurant in town, knows that when I walk in, I want a lemon drop martini with a side of blue cheese olives. I know… they don’t pair well together, but I can’t help myself. Blue Cheese olives are just my “thang.”

Martini Bar ideas! Chocolates to go with the sweet martinis, and blue cheese stuffed olives for the others. Love! fantabulosity.com

The party started at 7:00, and by 7:01, these gals were bartending. I love my friends. There are just so many things that we have in common. 😉

Martini Bar Ideas White Chocolate Peppermint fantabulosity.com
Martini Bar Ideas Red Apple Martini fantabulosity.com

Favorite Things Party Favors

You know my love for party favors. If you saw on my Facebook page a few weeks ago, I shared a sneak peek of what I was snagging at IKEA, to give away as party favors. IKEA had these ah-dorable little fleece blankets for around $3 a piece. I purchased red and gray to go with my plaid theme, wrapped some ribbon around them, created a party favor tag, and attached a little piece of spruce {from a tree in my parents yard}, to each one. By FAR, my favorite party favor creation, EVER.

I styled them on my gold bar cart from Target, placed it by the door, and each guest grabbed one on their way out!

Fleece Blankets with ribbon and spruce sprigs and tags. Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party Favors

Get the “You’re My Favorite,” party favor tags, You’re my Favorite” Party Favor Tags!

You're My Favorite, Party Favor Tags for Favorite Things Party. Black, Red, White Plaid
Fleece Blankets with ribbon and spruce sprigs and tags. Favorite Things Party Ideas - How to Host Favorite Things Party Favors

I also gave you a sneak peak a few weeks ago, of the sign that I created for the Favorite Things gift exchange.

Adult Coloring: Party Signs just look more "custom," when they're drawn or colored. Love this!

How the Gift Exchange Works:

• Each guest brings 3, wrapped, $15 gifts. (Total of $45.00) The gifts can all be different, or can all be the same thing.

• When guests arrive, they write their own name down, on three sheets of paper. {Or gift tags, if you wanna get a little fancy}

• When you’re ready to begin the gift exchange, decide who will go first. That person will draw three names from the basket, and give those three people, the three gifts {favorite things of theirs}, out to them. When doing this, tell them “WHY,” it’s your favorite thing.

• Go around the room, and everyone will go home with three different gifts! It’s an ABSOLUTE blast.

Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange

My favorite photo of the night.  If this doesn’t capture how fun, and exciting it is to get someone’s “favorite thing…” I don’t know what does.

Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange
Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange

Aren’t these gals all adorable? They’re my fave. No doubt about it. THEY… are my favorite thing.

Favorite Things Party Ideas! How fun, for a girls night and gift exchange

After hosting last years Favorite Things party, I’m LOVING seeing others that I know, hosting their own! I’d love to hear about yours. How did you do the gift exchange?  What kind of food did you have? What gifts did you give? What did you get? Eeek, fill me in!

Favorite Things Party: Summer Edition 2016

Ahem… I may, or may not have already started planning my Favorite Things party for 2016.

As busy as everyone is around the holidays, I have decided to host “Favorite Things Party #3,” during the Summer. That way, we won’t have to juggle schedules, and fight with prior commitments of the holidays. Besides, I kind of have some FABULOUS ideas for a Summer party outdoors with my gal pals…

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites are now a new go-to favorite to make when needing an appetizer recipe to take to a party or serve at your cocktail party. They’re easy to make, use simple ingredients, and are ready in under 30 minutes!

Chicken bacon ranch crescent roll bite on plate.

My Hawaiian roll chicken, bacon, ranch sliders, (or in bigger form, these shredded chicken sandwiches), and this bacon, ranch, chicken pasta recipe are a few other variations of using these same flavors.

When taking an appetizer to a party or holiday celebration, it’s great to take classic recipes like this Rotel dip with Velveeta Cheese or something like these BBQ Crockpot Little Smokies but why not make something that the others will be surprised by and fall in love with! These cheesy chicken appetizers will make the others swoon.

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Why You’ll Love These

  • Easy Recipe – It only takes a few steps to make these chicken ranch bites. Simply place crescent rolls in a mini muffin tin, mix the filling, and bake!
  • Flavors – Bacon, ranch, and cheese together tend to be a favorite in many party recipes, and in homes all over for a family-friendly dinner.
  • Make Ahead – Mix together the filling ahead of time, so all you have to do is assemble and bake these bites for a really quick appetizer. I’d even say it would be a good idea to make the filling in the crock pot ahead of time (like I did with these crack chicken sandwiches) and then prep these as directed.

Ingredients Needed

The ingredients for this recipe are simple and easy to find in most grocery stores! I’ve provided notes about the key ingredients below.

Ingredients on table for making chicken bacon ranch bites.
  • Shredded Cheese: Pre-shredded cheddar cheese works for this recipe but for best results like with most recipes, shredding block cheese can have a much better result, since it melts better and has better flavor.
  • Bacon: You can bake bacon in the oven, whether it’s baking turkey bacon or regular. Or, if you have an air fryer, you can even cook bacon in the air fryer.
  • Parsley: Fresh is highly recommended here but if you only have dried, that’s fine to use too.
  • Ranch Dressing: Using your favorite storebought ranch dressing works here. My favorite to use is making it at home with the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing packet with buttermilk and mayonnaise.

How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Crescent roll in a ball sitting on cutting board.
Ingredients in bowl for mixing and filling crescent roll cups.

Pinch off small pieces of the crescent rolls and form into small little bowls and place in muffin cups.

Next, mix up all of the ingredients (besides the crescent rolls) in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Crescent roll dough in mini muffin tin.
Crescent roll cups filled with chicken bacon and ranch.

Fill each greased mini muffin cup with the chicken, bacon, and ranch dressing mixture and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown and the filling is heated through.

Baked chicken, bacon, ranch cheese bites in muffin tin.

Recipe Tips

  • Pre-cooked chicken: Rotisserie chicken and crock pot shredded chicken, are my secret for easy recipes like this. I always try to keep one on hand or in the freezer for quick recipes. Or you can even see how to boil chicken breasts on the stove if you need an easy way to cook chicken.
  • Spice things up by using this jalapeno ranch recipe to use instead of storebought.
  • Large Quantities: This recipe is easy to double if feeding a large crowd for a big event.
Chicken, bacon, ranch and cheese bites in crescent rolls.

Storage Instructions

Leftovers: Once the baked chicken ranch bites have fully cooled off, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Reheat: If you have an air fryer, reheating them in the air fryer is a great option so they’ll have less chance of being soggy. You can also place them back in the oven and reheat them at 350°F, for a few minutes until heated through. Tip: You can also cover with aluminum foil so the crescent rolls won’t burn before heating through.

I love entertaining and I LOVE food, so you’ve come to the right place! Browse my easy party appetizers for more ideas! Or, here are other favorite appetizers:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

Recipe

Chicken bacon ranch crescent roll bite on plate.
Print Pin
4.86 from 7 votes

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bites

Chicken bacon ranch bites are a delicious filling made of ranch dressing, chicken, bacon inside of a crescent roll cup, making this an appetizer recipe that will go quickly!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 24 mini muffin tin sized
Calories 116kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 2 rolls refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 1 rotisserie chicken chopped (we just used the breast meat)
  • ½ cup ranch dressing or use this jalapeno ranch dressing recipe
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 green onion diced
  • 1 sprig of fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 3 strips bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Mix all the ingredients (except crescent dough) into a bowl.
  • Open the crescent dough and form into a ball. The dough is easier to work with if used right out of the refrigerator. If it gets too warm, it will be sticky.
  • Pull off small pieces of dough and flatten it (in your hand) out to a circle shape.
  • Press the dough down into a greased mini muffin tin.
  • Spoon a scoop of the chicken filling into each cup. Top with a little more cheese if you wish!
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crescent is golden brown.

Notes

For make-ahead instructions: If you’d like to make this ahead of time, I recommend making the filling only, ahead of time. Then, when ready to serve, assemble the crescent roll cups, fill, and then bake.
Add-on Ideas: Love extra flavors? Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, or drizzle with extra ranch dressing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1crescent bite | Calories: 116kcal | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 46mg | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Christmas Movie Night Ideas

Christmastime is filled with exciting parties, thoughtful gifts, holiday games, and memories made for a lifetime! If your family holds a Christmas movie night each year, and you’re looking for fun ways to celebrate, we’re sharing a list of easy ideas to make your movie might the best!

A big part of any Christmas movie night is the food, and having easy snacks and drinks ready makes it even more fun.

Collage of Christmas movie night ideas.
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The Joy of Christmas Movie Nights

In a world of phones, video games, and all kinds of distractions, having a tradition of a Christmas movie night can be a great way to bring your family or group of friends together to celebrate the Christmas season, and spend quality time together.

Now, although spending time with others will be amazing in itself, you can make the night epic by adding in some of these suggestions to make it the best movie night ever!

Atmosphere

Creating the perfect atmosphere before the movie even starts can help get everyone in the mood!

  • Cozy, cozy, cozy. We’re talking fuzzy blankets, pillows, bean bags, sleeping bags, or whatever else your room will need to make everyone feel cozy and comfortable during the movie.
  • Smells. Whether you’re making your favorite Christmas cookies recipe, simmering a pot of holiday smells, and that’s what’s adding the comforting smell to the room, or you have your favorite candle or air freshener (we use a Pura and use the seasonal scents), the smell of the room can help put the Christmas spirit in the air!
  • Decorate. If you have Christmas lights, a tree, tinsel, or garlands, you can decorate your space with any of these to help add some Christmas cheer!

Christmas Movie Night Snacks

You can’t have a Christmas movie night without yummy snacks! You can do a themed food night, like foods from the movie “Elf” or even do something fun like a taco bar or a nacho bar!

These easy snack ideas are perfect for a Christmas movie night and make hosting simple without a lot of prep.

Or, if Christmas-themed snacks are on the menu, here are some of our favorites:

Christmas Movie Night Drinks

Keep the holiday spirit alive with drinks for the kids and even the adults! From punch recipes, hot drinks, and even cocktails, these are our favorites for serving alongside movie night food:

Christmas Pajamas

Part of the Christmas tradition in our house is buying new Christmas pajamas for the kiddos to open on the night of Thanksgiving. (TIP: Buy pajamas that are Christmas colors but not necessarily “Christmas” specific, so they can wear them all year!)

Where to get Christmas pajamas? We love getting them at Old Navy or The Children’s Place for the kids and the adults.

Christmas Movies

There are so many fun movies to choose from for a Christmas movie night! Whether romance is in the air, comedy, or more of a heartwarming feel, here are some great Christmas movie night ideas to choose from:

Classics:

  • “It’s a Wonderful Life”
  • “A Christmas Story”
  • “A Christmas Carol”
  • “Miracle on 34th Street”
  • “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
  • “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
  • “Scrooged”
  • “Meet Me in St. Louis”

Family Favorites:

  • “Home Alone” series
  • “The Polar Express”
  • “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
  • “Jingle All the Way”
  • “The Santa Claus” series
  • “Elf”
  • “Fred Claus”
  • “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
  • “The Muppet Christmas Carol”
  • “The Polar Express”
  • “Jack Frost”
  • “Deck the Halls”
  • “Christmas with the Kranks”

Adult Comedy and Romance:

  • “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
  • “Four Christmases”
  • “Bad Santa”
  • “Love Actually”
  • “The Family Stone”
  • “The Holiday”

Activity Ideas

Love doing an activity while watching movies? This could be making crafts, exchanging gifts, or playing games! Here are some of our favorite ideas for keeping the fun going during the movie or after it’s over:

Christmas Party Ideas

Or if you’re watching a holiday movie during your annual Christmas party, here are some of our favorite Christmas parties that we’ve hosted, to give you some ideas:

Party Favors & Hostess Gifts

When guests arrive, it would be a lot of fun to give them their own movie night box! Fill it with goodies like candy-covered chocolates, a bottle of soda with a festive paper straw, popcorn (in a cute little jar), and brown paper bags to make their popcorn!

Red Box Movie Night Gift Idea fantabulosity.com

This holiday baking kit (on a smaller scale) would be so cute to give as party favors! Or, package up some of the Christmas Sugar Cookie Fudge in small plastic bags would be a great treat to send them with!

If you have a hostess, easily whip up this DIY Sangria Gift Kit that will be the gift that keeps on giving!

Wrap-Up

No matter if your movie night is full of guests, treats, activities and funny movies… or if it’s a low-key night at home with your loved ones, watching your favorite heartfelt movie, remember the reason for the season and have a wonderful evening!

BBQ Chicken Pasta

BBQ Chicken Pasta: An easy dinner idea that is ready in a flash, especially when using a rotisserie chicken and bottled bbq sauce!

If you love chicken pasta recipe as much as I do, this Marry Me Pasta is a dish you’ll want to make as soon as possible too!

My husband said that I HAVE to make this again. It's so easy, so SURE! BBQ Chicken Pasta Recipe
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BBQ Chicken Pasta Recipe

More Recipes You’ll Love:

Tip for a Fast Dinner

Using rotisserie chicken that you can buy at certain grocery stores, can save TONS of time in the kitchen. (Plus, you can make the most of that rotisserie by boiling the bones and carcass to make a chicken stock.)

Or, you could cook chicken in the slow cooker to save for future quick recipes like this one!

One-Pot Dish

Not only do I love the flavor or this recipe but the fact that it can all be cooked in one-pot, is even better, similar to our Blackened Chicken Alfredo and this crockpot chicken pasta.

After cooking the bacon, the rest of the ingredients (even the uncooked pasta) can be added right to the same dish and cook together!

My husband said that I HAVE to make this again. It's so easy, so SURE! BBQ Chicken Pasta Recipe

This is the glorious deliciousness of the pasta before adding the BBQ sauce and shredded cheese.

Recipe

My husband said that I HAVE to make this again. It's so easy, so SURE! BBQ Chicken Pasta Recipe
Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

BBQ Chicken Pasta

Whip up this quick and easy weeknight meal in under 30 minutes. Cheesy BBQ pasta with bacon and chicken makes the ultimate comfort meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 439kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 3 slices bacon cut in to small pieces
  • 1 cup shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped
  • ½ cup red onion chopped
  • 16 oz penne pasta
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • pinch red pepper flakes optional
  • salt and pepper to taste ( I used 1 teaspoon kosher salt & 2 pinches of black pepper)
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese plus more for garnish; optional
  • fresh parsley for garnish; optional

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan, cook bacon
  • Add chicken, garlic, and red onion, and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes to allow everything to cook and flavor together
  • Add in pasta, chicken broth, heavy cream, and spices
  • Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover
  • Let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender
  • Add in BBQ Sauce and shredded mozzarella, stirring gently to combine
  • When cheese is fully melted, Serve
  • Garnish with extra BBQ drizzle, shredded mozzarella, and parsley if desired

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (⅛ recipe) | Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 359mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 415IU | Vitamin C: 7.6mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 1.4mg

What to Serve with BBQ Chicken Pasta

If you’re whipping this up on a busy weeknight, then keeping your side dishes easy is ideal too, right? Here are our favorites to serve with this pasta:

Spicy Crackers Recipe

Spicy Crackers Recipe: Seasoning saltine crackers with spices that are full of flavor, is so easy and they’re the perfect snack recipe for the holidays or just to snack on during game night!

Seasoned, spicy, saltine crackers in white bowl.

My aunt introduced me to this recipe years ago, and it’s still one of my favorite snacks and I can’t resist them when they’re on the counter.

These spicy saltine crackers are not only easy but they are ready to eat in about an hour.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It uses a few ingredients: With only 5 ingredients, this recipe uses items that you may even have on hand.
  • Make-ahead recipe: Did you know that you can make this recipe in advance if you want to? It’s true! Make them in advance so it’s one less thing you have to do when entertaining.
  • No Bake Recipe – no oven required, and it’s a simple mix-and-dry recipe!

Ingredients Needed

I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.

Labeled ingredients for spicy ranch crackers.
  • Oil – We use canola oil for this recipe but don’t go out and buy it just because we say so. If you have others on hand, it’s ok to use them too. See the substitutions section below for tips.
  • Garlic Pepper – You should be able to find garlic pepper in the spice aisle, and we love to use Lawry’s but any brand will do.
  • Ranch Seasoning – if you plan to make these a lot, you can usually find the bulk ranch dressing seasoning in the plastic jars in the store. Otherwise, the small individual packets will do.

Substitutions

Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:

  • Oil – if you have vegetable oil on hand, this can be used instead of canola oil. You can also try olive oil but we’ve found that it can give the crackers more of a bitter taste if you don’t use a higher quality olive oil.
  • Crackers – These can be made with Oyster crackers or saltines! But I prefer the saltines for easier grab-and-go snaking.

How to Make Spicy Crackers

This seasoned crackers recipe is broken into 2 components:

  • Seasoning the crackers
  • Allowing the crackers to dry

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

Place crackers in a large bowl or container. One that’s large enough for gently stirring to mix the oil/seasonings.

Steps for how to make spicy ranch crackers.

Step 1. In a separate bowl, add in oil, ranch seasoning, garlic pepper & red pepper.

Step 2. With a spoon, mix oil and seasonings until evenly combined.

Step 3. Pour mixture over crackers and toss every 15 minutes until crackers are coated well.

Step 4. Spread crackers out on wax paper and let dry for an hour.

Store in an airtight container.

Allowing spicy ranch crackers to dry on counter.

Storage

Once these crackers have air-dried, it’s best to store these crackers in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Spicy ranch crackers close-up.

Food Gift Wrapping Idea

Around the holidays, giving food gifts is such a great idea. These spicy crackers are the perfect food gift idea! Simply store them in an airtight container, or a little box, and tie a ribbon around it.

Spicy ranch crackers in box for gift.

More Snack Recipes You’ll Love

Whether you need snacks for a party or just for munching on during the holidays, you’ll love these other snack recipes:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

Recipe

Spicy ranch crackers in white bowl.
Print Pin
4.17 from 53 votes

Spicy Crackers Recipe

Spicy Crackers Recipe: Seasoned crackers that are the perfect party snack. Sometimes called "firecrackers" or ranch crackers, this no bake recipe has tons of flavor.
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 29 servings
Calories 70kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces saltine crackers
  • 1 ½ cup canola oil
  • 1 ounce package ranch dressing seasoning
  • 3 Tablespoons garlic pepper
  • 1 Tablespoons red pepper flakes

Instructions

  • Place crackers in a large bowl or container.
  • In a separate bowl, mix oil, ranch seasoning, garlic pepper & red pepper.
  • Pour mixture over crackers and toss every 15 minutes until crackers are coated well.
  • Spread crackers out on wax paper and let dry for an hour.
  • Store in an air tight container.

Nutrition

Serving: 5crackers | Calories: 70kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 778mg | Potassium: 13mg | Vitamin A: 80IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Red Apple Martini Cocktail

This post was sponsored by Libbey as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review, using martini glasses to make my red apple martini!

I will say, there’s definitely an advantage to planning a party. Especially a party that I have to experiment with signature drink recipes…

Red Apple Martini for Favorite Things Party

My Favorite Things party, will be a “plaid,” theme… laying a little heavy on the red. So I knew I wanted at least ONE red drink on my table, so a Red Apple Martini soon became the “one.”

When I’m hosting, I ALWAYS want to create a wow factor for my guests. It’s the best part of entertaining for me! I want my guests to feel “welcomed,” and to hopefully give them the thought:

I’m so glad that I came.”

Last year, for my Favorite Things party, I created a Champagne Bar for the girly girls, and WHEW! They LOVED & DEVOURED it. So this year, I decide to create the same “Wow,” factor but mix it up a bit. (Ha… no pun intended.)

Martini Bar

This year I will be creating a martini bar for the sweet gals, with a couple of signature martini’s that they can easily whip up.

During the search for martini bar goodies, I found the PERFECT martini glasses, just in time. They’re the Libbey® Glass Perfect Signature™ Auden Martini Glasses, from Bed Bath and Beyond. They have that tall, skinny stem, that screams a “modern,” look, which will look fabulous, displayed with all of the goodies on the table.
When I was shopping around, I kept seeing other martini glasses that had chunky stems, zigzag stems, and some that had a “cloudy,” look. They just weren’t cutting it for me. Then… I found these lovelies. You may not think so, but what your glass looks like, can make a BIG difference in what your whole martini bar looks like.

Red Apple Martini for Favorite Things Party

Since my Favorite Things party is hosted right around the holiday’s this year, I added a little coconut to the rim of the martini glass, and with the Red Apple Martini deliciousness… it looks like an upside-down Santa hat, right!? Eeeeek! Super fun. I cannot WAIT to get these in front of my gal pals.

Red Apple Martini

Red Apple Martini for Favorite Things Party

This martini could definitely be served any time of the year.

• It’s fruity enough for a Summertime Martini

• “Fitting,” enough for a Fall Martini

• and the PERFECT color for a Winter Martini

How to Rim the Glass

I found the CUTEST idea, to rim the glass with coconut from Blue Ribbon Kitchen.

Light corn syrup is my best friend, when it comes to lining glasses. It has a sweet taste, and with it being almost transparent, you can barely see it.

In a small plate, combine coconut flakes and white sanding sugar or small white sprinkles, if desired.

In another small plate, add a little light corn syrup.

Lightly dip {or you’ll have excess syrup rolling down your glass} the outside edge of the rim into the corn syrup.

Recipe

Red apple martini in martini glass.
Print Pin
4.34 from 6 votes

Red Apple Martini

This simple cocktail recipe only requires 3 ingredients and tastes super delicious. Cheers to that!
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 martini
Calories 247kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 1 shot (1.5 ounces) shot red apple schnapps
  • 1 shot (1.5 ounces) plain vodka can substitute with apple flavored vodka
  • 1-½ shots (2.25 ounces) cranberry juice
  • shredded coconut garnish; optional

Instructions

  • Add ice to a cocktail shaker
  • Add in above ingredients
  • Place lid & cap on, then shake
  • Remove cap and pour into martini glass. Garnish with coconut flakes (optional).

Nutrition

Serving: 1martini | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 51mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin C: 6.2mg

Then dip the rim of the glass into the coconut flake/sprinkle mixture.
{Just like rimming a margarita glass for salt!}

Milk and Cookies Party Ideas (Easy Cookie Bar + Setup Guide)

A milk and cookies party is one of the easiest and most fun ways to host a cozy gathering, whether it's for kids, a holiday party, or a simple get-together. With a mix of store-bought and homemade cookies, a simple milk bar setup, and a few creative touches, you can create a party that feels special without a lot of work.

Usually, around once a month, a group of us moms will bring the kiddos together for a play date, and I wanted to put a little spin on the most recent, for Christmas time.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

How to Set Up a Milk and Cookies Party

  • Include napkins, plates, and simple decor
  • Use a table or cart as your "cookie bar"
  • Offer a mix of cookies (soft, crunchy, chocolate, classic)
  • Serve milk in jars or glasses for easy grab-and-go
  • Add labels so guests can see flavors
Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

Milk and Cookies Party Food Ideas

Here’s a quick rundown of food ideas for your milk and cookies party. I’ll show you more of this below…

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

I filled the table with cookies, styled them in adorable little jars and baskets, and then it was time to get to creating. I also created little snowman tags, listing which cookie was in each container.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle
Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle
Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle
Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

In a “sweet” mood, I had some time to create a little special treat for each kiddo that was coming. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffles. I wasn’t sure if they’d work out like I had pictured in my head… but to my surprise, they turned out quite darling! (And were actually VERY easy.)

The kids went NUTS when they saw their own personal snowmen.

I’ll give you the full tutorial & recipe below, and show you how to make the No-Bake Nutter Butter Truffles AND also show you how to create your own Snowman truffle! (I even made a video, if you’re more of a “see-it and do-it,” kind of person like myself.)

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

I think the desire to throw a milk and cookies party, started when I found these adorable mini milk jugs. Why is everything cuter when they’re mini…

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

…and everything is more adorable when it’s in a milk bottle, with a cute colorful paper straw.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

Milk & Cookies Party Favors

I can’t host a party without having party favors. Big or small, I can’t help but send a little something out the door with our guests.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

I created little snowman favor tags, to tie on to the polka dot bags, that were filled with snack size cookie packs. You could also make these DIY gingerbread ornaments for a fun party favor.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle


What little kiddo wouldn’t love a milk and cookies party?  These little guys sure did, and my son is ready for another one already.

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

I love using the little snack boxes of cookies that I used. They’re the perfect size for stocking stuffers, and you could even tie a precious little tag around the box and hand them out as gifts!

No-Bake Nutter Butter Truffle Recipe:

Found original recipe idea on High Heels & Grills.

Ingredients:


• 16 oz. Nutter Butter Cookies
• 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese
• 16 oz. package of white almond bark, or white chocolate

Instructions:


1. Crush your Nutter Butter cookies, either with a food processor, or place in a zip-top bag, crushing the cookies using a mallet.
2. Pour crushed Nutter Butter cookies in to a bowl.
3. Add in your cream cheese, and mix. (You can use a hand mixer, or I used my stand mixer.)
4. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Begin rolling the mixture in to small, round balls, placing them on a cookie sheet, covered with wax or parchment paper.
6. If making my snowman truffles, place truffles in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until hardened. If just serving truffles like they are, you can cover in white chocolate immediately.
7. Melt white chocolate or almond bark, according to package directions.
8. Dip each truffle in to the white chocolate, covering them evenly.
9. Store in the refrigerator, if not serving immediately.

Snowman Truffle Tutorial:

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

Step by Step Snowman Truffles…

• Complete steps 1-7 above, to make the Nutter Butter Truffles.
• Pull truffles from refrigerator, grabbing two truffles to work with.
• With one truffle, gently flatten the bottom, where it will allow the snowman to balance more easily.
• Dip one end of a toothpick into the melted white chocolate, and place into the top of the truffle you just made for the base of the snowman. (When the chocolate hardens, this will secure the truffle on the toothpick, more securely.)
• Dip the other end of the toothpick into the melted chocolate, placing the 2nd truffle on to the toothpick, making your snowman, and set aside.
• Place a small dollop of the melted chocolate in the center of a graham cracker. (This will help secure the snowman to the graham cracker.)
• Moving quickly, dunk your snowman into the melted chocolate, letting as much excess chocolate drip off of the snowman, before standing it up on to the graham cracker.

Turn them into Snowmen!

  • Begin applying all of the snowman’s features, gently but quickly, before the chocolate hardens.
    – Hershey Kisses (Hat)
    – Mini Candy Canes (Sled)
    – Mini Choc. Chips (Eyes)
    – Mini M&M’s (Orange nose)
    – Peel-a-Part Candy (Scarf)
    – Graham Crackers (Sled)
  • To make the sleigh, place a small amount of melted chocolate on to the bottom of two mini candy canes, placing them on the sides.
  • Repeat until you’ve reached the desired amount of sleigh-riding snowmen!

IMPORTANT: Since the toothpick is hidden inside the snowmen, make sure your guests know to be cautious when eating!

Snowman Truffle Video Tutorial:

Tips

If you have leftover or extra candy from making these, save them and make this holiday snack mix with them!

Keep the kiddos busy by also turning on a movie and making it a Christmas movie party too!

Pin this Image to Remember:

Milk and Cookies Party Play Date Ideas. Snowman Nutter Butter Truffle

20 of the Best and Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes

Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes: Best of the best, cookies for the most popular time of the year. Perfect to serve Santa, a cookie tray for an exchange or a holiday gathering, or to enjoy on a Christmas movie night!

Image collage of Christmas cookies recipes.

What is it about Christmas, that makes me think that I can, and NEED to make every Christmas cookie out there?

But instead of spending a million hours in the kitchen doing that, I think I’ll just stare at these 20 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes… AND share them with you. Less calories that way too. 😉

Best Christmas Cookie Recipes

Cookie recipes specifically for Christmas and some traditional recipes that are hard to leave out on Christmas!


More Christmas Recipes

If you love easy cookie recipes, then I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you love easy dessert recipes too?

Here are some of the tastiest Christmas recipes here on the blog:

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites: There is no dessert more “fall” than pumpkin pie and these deliciously bite-sized pumpkin cheesecake bites will give your traditional pumpkin pie a run for its money!

Halloween and Thanksgiving are two holidays where pumpkin seems to be the star of the show, so we wanted to make sure you were fully prepared with all things pumpkin, and this pumpkin cheesecake recipe will fit the bill!

Post originally created in December 2015, and republished and updated in October 2023, with a new recipe.

Pumpkin cheesecake bites on wooden cutting board.

Can’t get enough of fall pumpkin desserts? Me either. I think you’d love these Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars as well as this Pumpkin Poke Cake!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It uses easy-to-find ingredients: All of the ingredients listed for this perfect fall dessert recipe are easy to find and you might already have most of them in your pantry!
  • New take on a classic: These pumpkin bites pack in all of the flavors of traditional pumpkin pie into a delicious bite-sized serving with a yummy classic graham cracker crust.
  • Topped to perfection: Top these delicious cheesecake bites with whipped cream and caramel for a yummy treat.

Ingredients Needed

I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.

Labeled ingredients for pumpkin cheesecake bites.
  • Canned Pumpkin – We suggest traditional canned pumpkin puree for this recipe.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice Extract – This is what really brings that pumpkin flavor to these yummy pumpkin cheesecake bites.
  • Sour Cream – The combination of cream cheese and sour cream is what makes for a luxe cheesecake flavor.
  • Cream Cheese – Using room-temperature cream cheese will make the process so much easier. If the cream cheese is chilled I recommend beating the cream cheese for a few minutes before adding the brown sugar.

Substitutions

Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:

  • Pumpkin Pie Extract – If you cannot find this ingredient, feel free to skip it. If you do not have pumpkin pie spice extract, increase the amount of pumpkin pie spice to 1 tsp.
  • Vanilla Powder – The vanilla bean powder can be left out, the powder gives the cheesecake an added vanilla flavor you can double the amount of vanilla extract. Again, if you cannot find this ingredient, feel free to skip it.
  • Butter – I use unsalted butter, you can substitute salted butter or margarine. If using, reduce the salt by half.

Variations

I used a standard-sized cupcake pan for this recipe, you can use a mini cupcake pan. Reduce the baking time to 15-20 minutes.

Also, if you’d like, you could turn this recipe into a large single cheesecake instead of bites. Instead of the muffin tin, use a large springform pan or 9-inch cake pan for the cheesecake shape!

How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Making this mini pumpkin cheesecake recipe is so easy.

These Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites are broken into 3 components:

  • making the crust
  • making the cheesecake filling
  • baking to perfection

We suggest making this recipe ahead of time as it does need to set for 2 hours after baking, so keep that in mind!

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

First up, grease and line a mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake papers, and then preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now to make the crust!

Collage of steps 1-3 for making mini pumpkin cheesecakes.

STEP 1. Crush the graham crackers. Add the graham crackers to the bowl of your food processor, and pulse to slightly break up the graham crackers to become graham cracker crumbs.  (Image 1).

Tip: If you do not have a food processor, do not worry! You can also throw the Grahams into a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

STEP 2. Combine. Add the brown sugar, salt, and butter and pulse until the graham crackers are coarse crumbs. (Image 2).

Tip: If you are not using a food processor, add the graham crackers to a large bowl and mix together with the above ingredients.

STEP 3. Form and Bake. Add a small amount of the graham cracker mixture to the cupcake pan. It's about 2 tablespoons if using a standard-size muffin pan or about 2 tablespoons if you're using a mini muffin pan. (Image 3).

Using a measuring cup or your fingers, press them down so the crumbs are packed down and secure. **If they're not packed down enough the crust will crumble when baked. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Steps 4-7 of how to make pumpkin cheesecake bites.

STEP 4. Start the Cream Cheese Mixture. While the crusts are baking add the cream cheese and brown sugar to a bowl and using an electric hand mixer beat until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. You could also use a stand mixer. (Image 4).

STEP 5. Continue the Cheesecake Filling. Add the pumpkin, sour cream, and salt. Beat until well combined making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so all of the ingredients are well incorporated. (Image 5).

STEP 6. Finish Up the Filling. Add in the egg, vanilla, vanilla powder, pumpkin pie spice extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat well so all of the ingredients are well combined. (Image 6).

STEP 7. Distribute Into Cups. Evenly distribute the pumpkin pie cheesecake filling onto each of the crust-lined cups. (Image 7).

STEP 8. Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites. Place the muffin tray on a baking sheet with some water (this will act as your water bath). Bake cheesecakes at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the cheesecake has set completely.

STEP 9. Cool. Allow them to cool for about 45 minutes then refrigerate for 2 hours or until overnight.

Baked pumpkin cheesecake bites in muffin pan.

Recipe Pro Tips

  • Allow to fully cool and set. This recipe is best after cooling and chilling for 2 hours.
  • Correct temperature. Make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature and soft for this recipe to turn out.
Baked pumpkin cheesecake bites on wooden cutting board.

Recipe FAQs

How to prevent cheesecake from cracking?

I tested this recipe by baking the cheesecakes without a water bath and cracking did happen! Make sure to bake them using a water bath. That's as simple as adding water to a baking sheet and placing the muffin tin on top.

How to make pumpkin pie seasoning?

To make pumpkin spice seasoning, all you have to do is combine ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves in a bowl.

What to top pumpkin cheesecake with?

You can top your mini pumpkin cheesecakes with a variety of delicious options, such as whipped cream, caramel sauce, chopped candied pecans, a dusting of cinnamon, or even a drizzle of melted white chocolate for an extra touch of sweetness.

Do I have to use cupcake liners for mini cheesecakes?

Using cupcake liners makes it much easier to remove and I really recommend using them.

What is the secret to the best cheesecake?

To make the best cheesecake, start with a graham cracker crust, blend a creamy and well-seasoned cheesecake filling, bake it in a water bath for a perfectly smooth texture, and allow it to chill thoroughly in the fridge before serving. The water bath is what prevents cracking!

Can I make these ahead of time?

You can make these ahead of time up to 3 days ahead of time. Be sure to not top them with whipped cream or caramel until you're ready to serve them.

What to Serve with This Pumpkin Mini Cheesecake Recipe

This Creamy Cheesecake Bites Recipe goes well with even more pumpkin deliciousness. Try out this Pumpkin Fluff recipe for a yummy topping!

Pumpkin cheesecake bite on white plate.

Storage

Store the mini cheesecakes in the fridge covered with as much of the air removed from them in plastic wrap for up to 4 days.

To freeze, place in a freezer-safe, airtight container, labeled for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before serving.

More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love

Pumpkin recipes will give you that fall feel year-round. Here are some yummy pumpkin-y treats that will bring fall to your kitchen!

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

If you’re looking for more of a traditional cheesecake recipe, then you’ll also love this strawberry crunch cheesecake that has become a household favorite!

Recipe

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites on wooden cutting board.
Print Pin
5 from 7 votes

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Pumpkin cheesecake bites are a deliciously easy pumpkin dessert that packs in yummy fall flavor all in the palm of your hand.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 12 cheesecakes
Calories 146kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 1 sleeve graham crackers
  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted

Cheesecake Filling

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie mix
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla powder optional
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice extract optional
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Toppings

  • whipped cream (optional)
  • caramel sauce (optional)

Instructions

  • Grease and line a mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake papers
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Add the graham crackers to the bowl of your food processor, pulse to slightly break up the graham cracker.
  • Add the brown sugar, salt, and melted butter and pulse until the graham crackers are coarse crumbs.
  • Add a small amount of the graham cracker mixture to the cupcake pan. It's about 2 tablespoon if using a standard size muffin pan or about 2 tps if you're using a mini muffin pan.
  • Using a measuring cup or your fingers, press them down so the crumbs are packed down and secure. **If they're not packed down enough the crust will crumble when baked.
  • Bake the sweet graham cracker crust at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
  • While the crusts are baking add the cream cheese and brown sugar to a bowl and using an electric mixture beat until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the pumpkin, sour cream, and salt. Beat until well combined making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • Add in the egg, vanilla, vanilla powder, pumpkin pie spice extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat well so all of the ingredients are well combined.
  • Evenly distribute the cheesecake filling onto each of the crust-lined cups.
  • Place the muffin tray on a baking sheet with some water (this will act as your water bath).
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the cheesecake has set completely.
  • Allow them to cool for about 45 minutes then refrigerate for 2 hours or until overnight.
  • Top with whipped cream, whipped topping, or caramel and freshly grated nutmeg.

Notes

  • I used a standard sized cupcake pan for this recipe, you can use a mini cupcake pan. Reduce the baking time to 15-20 minutes.
  • Using cupcake liners makes removing it much easier, and I recommend using them.
  • I use unsalted butter, you can substitute salted butter or margarine. If using, reduce the salt by half.
  • Using room-temperature cream cheese will make the process so much easier. If the cream cheese is chilled I recommend beating the cream cheese for a few minutes before adding the brown sugar.
  • The vanilla bean powder can be left out, the powder gives the cheesecake an added vanilla flavor you can double the amount of vanilla extract
  • If you do not have pumpkin pie spice extract, increase the amount of pumpkin pie spice to 1 tsp.
  • Wait to top the mini cheesecakes with whipped cream and caramel until you're ready to serve them.
I tested this recipe baking the cheesecakes without a water bath and cracking did happen! Make sure to bake them using a water bath. That's as simple as adding water on a baking sheet and placing the muffin tin on top.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cheesecake bite | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1732IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Butterfinger Puppy Chow

This Holiday Dessert Bar post, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and NESTLE®. All opinions and ideas are mine alone, pinky promise! #NestleHoliday #CollectiveBias

Creating a dessert bar doesn’t have to be complicated… Really!

We invited our closest friends over for dinner, and since we hadn’t seen them in what felt like AGES, I wanted to do a little something special to make it up to them, and surprise them with a dessert bar.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

Yes, I know what you’re thinking:

Jessica, you’re crazy. Who has time to do something like that during the holiday season?

But I’m so ecstatic to tell you that you TOO can create a dessert bar, with a few simple tips and tricks that I have up my sleeve.

What a fabulous “Wow,” factor that this will create, when your friends walk in the door. They’ll feel extremely special that you “spent all of that time,” creating something just because they were coming over. But little will they know, it didn’t take hardly any time at all. 😉

Side note: If you’re planning on hosting the holiday’s at your house this year, PAH-leese don’t tackle that task without my Holiday Party Planner. I use it for all of my parties and others swear by it:

Save it here: Holiday Party Planner

Holiday Party Planner Download. Checklists, menu planner, guest list tracker...

Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

Let me show you the details of the dessert bar that I created here, and I’ll fill you in on easy ways to make it happen. PLUS… I’m sharing a BUTTERFINGER® Puppy Chow recipe & a Chocolate Chip Surprise CRUNCH® Cookie idea, at the end!

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

#1. Tip: Use what you already have.  I say this time & time again… but I mean it. If you’re creating a holiday themed dessert bar, pull Christmas decorations from other parts of the house, and fill your table with decor. I guarantee your guests won’t even notice it used to be elsewhere.

Do you see that glorious BUTTERFINGER® Puppy Chow? Yeah… recipe below.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

#2. Tip: Keep the serve wear neutral.  Since I entertain a lot, I usually keep my eye out for “good deals,” on white or kraft-colored serve ware. That way, when I decide to host a gathering, I’ll typically have what I need on hand, and can use it at the drop of a hat. Sticking with white & neutral will typically allow you to easily color coordinate with the theme you have going on.

Yes, that’s fudge.  The NESTLE® CARNATION® Famous Fudge Kit came in super handy, because I was able to whip it up in no-time, add a few festive pieces of peppermint, and it all of a sudden went with the holiday theme.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

#3. Think Pre-Made.  Desserts are EVERYWHERE. Buying something premade, or semi-made, and adding a special touch to it, making it your own… can put a nice spin on something, and you’ll be a shining star with your creativity. I literally dashed in to Walmart, grabbed a few of my favorite NESTLE® goodies, and my dessert bar menu was a go. They always know how to make life easy for a busy gal on the go.

Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

The Chocolate Chip Surprise CRUNCH® cookies below?  Totally snagged a tub of the NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough, rolled it in to small balls and inserted one of the NESTLE® CRUNCH® Jingles in the center and baked it. Yep… I was the dessert hero, and it hardly took any time. Tutorial for this cookie below too!

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

#4. Mini is in.  Serving the desserts in small portions, is always a hit with my dessert bars. Guests are able to quickly pick up the item they want and walk away with it. The small portion sizes allow them to snack on a little bit of everything.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

#5. Fill the table UP!  I have a problem with leaving a dessert table with blank spaces. I used to be a firm believer that you couldn’t overlap anything, and everything had to be lined up perfectly. That’s just not the case. A dessert table doesn’t have to be completed covered in desserts… but if you’re left with empty spaces, fill them up with “something.” This gives the appearance that it’s “all put together.” Rather than a, bare… plain looking table, that’s lacking a little somethin’-somethin’.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

So if you follow me on Facebook or Periscope, you may have seen the the little sneak peak video of how I was setting up my holiday dessert bar. But in case you missed it, you can see that below:

Sneak Peek of Holiday Dessert Table

My Dessert Bar Recipes

So although my dessert bar looks extravagant, it actually didn’t take a long time to prepare at all. The recipes and items that I chose were so easy to create, and looks FAB on the dessert bar.

BUTTERFINGER® Puppy Chow

“Amazing…” — My friend Ashley.

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

Recipe

Butterfinger Puppy Chow, OMG that sounds ah-mazing.
Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

BUTTERFINGER® Puppy Chow

Butterfinger puppy chow is a delicious dessert snack mix made with the buttery goodness of Butterfinger bars!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes
Servings 20 servings
Calories 461kcal
Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

  • 10 ounce Pkg BUTTERFINGER® Bars
  • 12 oz. box of square rice cereal
  • 1 ½ cup milk chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Place cereal in large bowl.
  • Unwrap BUTTERFINGER® bars, place in a zip-top bag, and crush each candy with a mallet or similar, once until it breaks the candies in to large pieces. Pour crushed candies over cereal. Keep in mind, you'll still want the candies big enough to pick up with your fingers when eating the puppy chow.
  • In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave for 1 minute, and stir. If chips are not completely melted, place back in microwave for 30-second intervals until completely melted.
  • Stir in vanilla extract.
  • Pour chocolate mixture over cereal/candy mixture.
  • Stir gently until cereal is evenly coated, being careful not to break too many pieces of the cereal and candy.
  • Once coated, sprinkle half of the powdered sugar on top of the cereal/chocolate mixture. Stir gently until evenly distributed.
  • Pour remaining powdered sugar over the mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
  • Store in an airtight container until ready to serve!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 299mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 6mg

Chocolate Chip “Surprise,” CRUNCH® Cookies

“What is that in the middle? YUM!” — My friend Christina

Surprise Cookies with Crunch Jingles

Chocolate Chip “Surprise” CRUNCH® Cookies

Chocolate Chip Surprise Crunch Cookies

Only 2 Ingredients, friends…

• NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Refrigerated Cookie Dough

• 1 Package NESTLE® Jingles

Directions:

• Grab a spoonful of dough, and place an unwrapped NESTLE® Jingle in the middle of the dough, wrapping the cookie dough completely around the Jingle.

• Bake as directed on the tub of cookie dough.

So what else was on the menu for our friends?

We made it an Italian night, and munched on one of my favorite pizzas:

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN® Crispy Thin Crust Pizza, Sicilian Recipe

{This pizza is so good, that I don’t think my guests even knew it was a frozen pizza.} 😉

How fun would this be to create for even a small gathering at home!? Simple Tips for Creating a Holiday Dessert Bar

Then we also had:

BUITONI® Refrigerated 3 Cheese Tortellini, with the BUITONI® Refrigerated Pesto Sauce. Holy Moly. THIS.WAS.DELISH.

BUITONI® Refrigerated Pastas & Sauces, 3 Cheese Tortellini

It was such a fun night. My friends were so excited about the dessert bar, and we’re already planning our next one. Guess what my job is? Another dessert bar… 😉

For other tasty recipes, check out one of my favorite Pinterest boards, NESTLE®’s Flavorful Moments.

Until next time,