With Sprinkles on Top

These were one of my first baking projects that I really mastered and loved.  They’re easy to make, but a little time-consuming because there are three parts. They’ll be the hit of any party or bake sale!

Yield: 24-36 bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

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One of my all-time favorite recipes!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the rice krispies:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies

For the peanut butter fudge:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tea. vanilla
• 1 pound powdered sugar

For the chocolate fudge:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1-2/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 tea. salt
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Make the Rice Krispie treat layer:

1. Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan.

2. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

3. Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated. Grease a 9x13" baking dish and press all of the rice krispy treats into the bottom of the pan.

4. Flatten as much as you can into the pan. Refrigerate while you move on to the next step.

Make the peanut butter fudge layer:

1. Microwave the butter and the peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave for another 2 minutes.

2. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture. Stir until well mixed.

3. Pour over the Rice Krispie treats in the pan and spread evenly. Let cool in the fridge while you move onto the next step.

Make the chocolate fudge layer:

1. Combine butter, milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; cook for 4-5 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Stir until well-mixed and smooth.

3. Pour over peanut butter fudge and spread evenly.

4. Place in the fridge for 2 hours and cut the bars into 1-inch pieces.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you cut your bars.

Recipe credit: Joy the Baker

Today I went through my recipes and pulled those that I want to bake in the coming weeks. Lucky for me, Mike will take all of my finished products to work with him — otherwise I think I’d gain 20 lbs eating all the yummies! Today I made chocolate butter cookies, because some people from Mike’s work actually requested them. See, that’s how GOOD these things are. And it’s a Paula Deen recipe — and while her southern accent drives me nuts sometimes, I do enjoy her more-butter-is-better philosophy. ;)

Print Recipe

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. brick cream cheese, at room temp
1 egg
1 tea. vanilla extract
1 box moist chocolate cake mix
Powdered sugar for dusting

Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer. Beat in egg, then beat in the vanilla. Beat in the cake mix (add a little mix at a time). Cover and refrigerate for 2hrs. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll chilled batter into tablespoon-sized balls and roll them in powdered sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

I’m home in Wisconsin until the 28th. I think I will be doing a lot of baking to pass the time. :) Here is today’s project:

Shiny cupcake liners were from Crate and Barrel.

I was asked to make Tinkerbell cupcakes for Malayna’s 2nd birthday party. Finding ANYTHING Tinkerbell-related that could be plopped on the top of a cupcake proved to be quite the task. But I prevailed, thanks to the Giant Party Mart of Chicago. The vivid frosting colors are thanks to AmeriColor Neon Food Coloring.

Happy Halloween! I baked today!

The inspiration for these cupcakes came from a lot of different sources — Good Housekeeping magazine, various books, and some ideas of my own (like the purple graveyard and the candy corn circles). The cake mix and frostings were store-bought and colored with gel food coloring, which I highly recommend. You can get much brighter and saturated colors if you use specialty gel coloring instead of the stuff you find in the grocery store. I bought my food coloring from Country Kitchen.