No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

Today is National Peanut Butter Cookie day. And where it might be too late (and hopefully too darn hot) for baking, these no bake cookies are sure to be the hit of any event. From Father’s Day (my dad LOVES his peanut butter) to 4th of July BBQ’s to just your everyday peanut butter celebration day, they are easy to make (your kids can help, or your cats if you don’t have kids) can probably be made with what you have already in your pantry, and disappear quickly.

These are low sugar but the sugar can easily be increased to up to 2x to appease the sweet tooths out there. And sugar substitutes are sure to work as well.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls
(Makes 24)

Just as good as Cookies, Heather’s No-Bake Peanut Butter & Pretzel Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup crispy rice cereal like Rice Crispies or Chex.
• 1 cup crushed pretzel sticks

In a large bowl mix the peanut butter and powdered sugar together till well combined. Add the chocolate chips and crispy rice cereal and also mix till well combined.

Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1″ balls and then roll in the crushed pretzels to coat.

Chill for 1 hour.

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

The Midnight Martini

Halloween Fun with Black Vodka

• 1 1/2 oz black vodka (Blavod, Belvedere, or Smirnoff)
• 1 oz Chambord (black raspberry liqueur)
• 1/2 oz vanilla vodka (Stoli or Smirnoff)
• Splash fresh lemon juice
• 1 box sugar
• 1 lemon (reserve rind for twist)

Place the glasses in the freezer to chill. Cut the lemon into wedges and use to rub the rim of the glass. After lemon, dip rim of glass into sugar. Prepare your twists with a garnish tool, or a potato peeler if that’s what you have handy. Drag across rind to shave off top layer. Drop them into a glass of water to curl. Add black vodka, Chambord, vanilla vodka and lemon juice to ice-filled shaker and shake well. Strain into chilled, sugared martini glass, add lemon twist, and serve!

Try adding a drop of cream, don’t blend, for a richer, smoother twist. You can also use different colors of sugar. 

Hot Spiced Cheer

• 10 whole cloves
• 4 3 inch cinnamon sticks
• 4 pieces crystallized ginger, chopped
• 1 gallon apple cider
• 4 cups pineapple juice
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• white rum, optional

1. Place first 3 ingredients on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely.
2. Combine cheesecloth bag, cider, and next 5 ingredients (cider through salt) in a large stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Discard cheesecloth bag. Serve with rum, if desired.

 

Applesause Squares

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease one 8×8 inch baking pan.
2. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat well.
3. Blend in cinnamon, flour, baking soda and salt; add raisins, nuts and applesauce. Mix well.
4. Place batter into the prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Ingredients

• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages microwave popcorn, popped
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 20 large marshmallows

Directions

1. Pour popcorn into a large bowl. In a glass or plastic bowl, combine the margarine, brown sugar, and marshmallows. Cook at 1 minute intervals in the microwave, stirring between each time, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in the peanut butter until well blended. Pour the melted mixture over the popcorn, and stir quickly to coat the corn before it cools.

Vampire Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins (you will need 18 cups total) with paper liners and set aside.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar and blend, using the paddle attachment (You can use a hand mixer, too).
Cut butter into 4 or 5 chunks and drop into the bowl with the flour mixture.Blend on low speed until mixture looks sandy and no large chunks of butter remain, 1-2 minutes.
In a large measuring cup, combine eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat lightly with a fork until combined. With the mixer on low, pour 1 cup of the buttermilk mixture into the bowl. Turn speed up to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed back to low and pour in the rest of the buttermilk mixture. Continue to beat at low speed for an additional 30 seconds, until liquid is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for a few more seconds, if necessary.
Divide evenly into prepared muffin tins, filling 18 cups as equally as possible.
Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cupcakes are light golden and a toothpick inserted into their centers comes out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed.
Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 18 cupcakes.

Filling
1 can cherry pie filling

Puree cherry pie filling – a syrupy mix of sugar and cherries, usually – in a food processor until fairly smooth. Very small pieces of cherries are ok.
Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.
Take the cherry filling and spoon about tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling it almost to the top with filling. Top off with the flat circle of cake you just removed to seal the hole and hold the “blood” filling in place.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:
In large metal bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Set bowl over pan of barely simmering water
and mix with handheld electric mixer at low speed. Gradually increase speed to high, beating until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Transfer bowl from pan to folded kitchen towel on counter and continue beating until mixture is cool and billowy, about 2 minutes more. Beat
in vanilla. (Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.)

Mummy Dearest Halloween Cupcakes

• 1 box (18.25 oz.) favorite cake mix
• 1 can (16 oz.) chocolate frosting
• 1 cup ground chocolate cookies
• 24 three inch soft lady fingers
• 1 cup vanilla frosting
• 1/4 cup mini M & M’s
• 1 tube black decorating frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide evenly between the prepared liners. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean; 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
2. While parents spread the chocolate frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes, kids can crumble the chocolate cookies in a zip-close plastic bag. (Use a rolling pin to break them up fine.) Kids can help roll the frosted cupcakes in the ground crumbs to coat.
3. Place a lady finger on top of each cupcake. Spoon the vanilla frosting into a resealable bag and snip a small corner from the bag. Pipe a line across the top third of the lady finger. Add the mini candies as the eyes. Pipe slightly overlapping lines all over the lady finger. Pipe black dots on the candies as eyes. (Parents may want to do this part.) Continue with the remaining ingredients.

Candy Apples

• 8 apples
• 8 wooden skewers
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup red cinnamon candies, like Red Hots

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Wash and dry the apples carefully. Remove the stems, and stick the skewers firmly in the stem ends.
3. Combine the water, corn syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then continue to cook, without stirring, until mixture reaches 250 degrees. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush occasionally to prevent crystallization.
4. Once the candy reaches 250, add the cinnamon candies and stir briefly to incorporate. Continue to cook, washing down the sides, until it reaches 285 degrees.
5. Remove from the heat and stir the candy so that it is smooth and even. Hold an apple by the skewer and dip it in the candy, tilting the pan at an angle and rotating the apple to cover it completely with a smooth, even layer. Bring it out of the candy and twirl it to remove excess, then set it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining apples.

6. Allow apples to cool at room temperature. Candy apples are best enjoyed within 24 hours.

Cajun Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup peach preserves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix thoroughly the ground beef, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, onion, bread crumbs, milk, and egg.
3. Form the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until there is no pink left in the middle.
4. In a small bowl, combine the barbeque sauce and peach preserves.
5. When meatballs are done, place in a serving dish and cover with the barbeque sauce mixture. Toss to coat.

Purple Haze Martini

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Chambord
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao

For two  drinks, shake all ingredients over ice and pour into chilled martini glasses. Add a twist with lemon or lime.