Valentine's Day Heart Shaped Hot Cocoa on a Stick

Well, a few reasons for making up this recipe.

1. I bought the heart shaped molds for the fruit snacks and really wanted to make sure they did not become as Alton Brown say's "a uni-tasker"

2. The triplets are really into anything they can eat on a stick. Recently I have been putting a stick in their morning yogurt and freezing it and it has been a big hit.

3. The triplets also really like coffee. What?! Let me explain. The only way I have been able to make it through the last 2 years with out falling asleep on the spot has been mommy's little helper: caffeine. So, every morning during breakfast when the kids eat, Mommy has her coffee. Well, the triplets started asking/demanding coffee of their own. So, on occasional morning I make one cup of warm cocoa and split into 3 mugs. They love to have there morning "coffee" with mama.

4. I was looking for cute valentine's day gifts for friends and family

5. I needed something chocolate ASAP.

Hot Chocolate on a stick-

- 8 ounces of chocolate (any kind, I used Lindt 80% cocoa)

- 7 Ounces (half a can) of sweetened condensed milk

- molds or ice cube trays

- sticks

Heat the condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat - do not boil. Add the chocolate and let melt. Stir gently. Take of heat and carefully put into piping bag or spoon into molds. Add sticks.

I put into the fridge overnight to let set. Below is the finished product. They have a kind of matte finish and I would have liked them a bit shinier. Maybe a different kind of chocolate or a heating it over a double boiler would have helped? These tasted great, and melt smoothly into a glass of warm milk. Just need to work on shiny and I will probably try these again because they have been a big hit.
Baby A loved swirling his into warm milk and then eating the melted chocolate. Please note that is frozen yogurt in his other hand not a giant Marshmallow. Although, a Marshmallow on a stick would be a great addition to this recipe, hum, please see my marshmallow post for ideas. Also, please don't call Joan River about my lovely non match sleep-wear. What, you thought I did all this in heels and an apron? ha.
In fact this little guy loved these so much, I even let him have a second one.

Yum.

No Bake- Snow Day Cookies

So, due to the ice storm, we have been stuck up in the Perry House for over 2 days now..... and looking for activities. I was so desperate for activities, that I even let them play with play-dough for the first time. Actually, they had a blast and were really good about keeping it on the art table. So, I thought making cookies would be fun. I was looking for a recipe that did not require eggs (safe to lick the bowl), one that they could "roll" the dough like play-dough, and that only required ingredients that we already have in the house. Oh, and of course I would love to throw a few healthy ingredients for my picky trio.

So, I did a little web surfing and adapted this recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker.

No Bake Chocolate, Peanut-Butter- and Oats cookies-

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan

2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.

3. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.

5. Once this cools a bit and can be handled by toddlers drop by spoonful onto wax paper (we were out of wax paper, so I just put them on a cookie sheet).

6. Let toddlers lick the bowl. No eggs in here, so no worry about them eating it.

7. Last, let your cookies set. I explained to baby B that we needed to let the cookies rest before we can eat them. So, he waved to them and said nigh night cookies- so cute.
They should set in about an hour, but you can put them in the fridge if you NEED them sooner.

Enjoy.