Cookie Dough Dip

I’ve often wanted to try a cookie dough dip, but there are so many recipes out there, I didn’t know which to pick. After much research, I decided to use this one that was from Add A Pinch. It boasts to being the best out there, and I have to say it’s pretty dang good! Being an easy enough recipe, I actually had my lovely assistant chef Miss Megan make it under my guiding hand. We both gave it a thumbs up and brought it to a potluck event. Instead of regular chocolate chips, I used minis and I believe this made it better as far as the texture.

So, let’s get cooking with Megan!

With an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and softened butter. Mix in the powdered sugar and brown sugar, then the vanilla, beating well. You can see how satiny smooth this is!

Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Serve with any of these: Teddy grahams, honey grahams, chocolate grahams, animal crackers, ‘Nilla wafers. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cookie Dough Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

½ c butter, softened

1 c confectioner’s sugar

2 Tbl brown sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 c mini chocolate chips

Kahlua White & Black Pops

Ah, here we are with a Summer treat for the grown ups. ;) You don’t know how many times my kids asked if they could have these. And then asked why not. ;) These are nice enough to serve at a summertime party, and fine for a treat after a long hot day.

So, let’s get cooking!

In a medium bowl, mix the vanilla pudding mix and milk with a whisk. Add the Kahlua, vodka, and Irish crème liqueur, mixing well.

Pour into frozen pop molds. All I could find were these smallish ones. Use whatever you’d like.

Make sure you don’t put the mixture all the way to the top, or you won’t have room for the tops.

Mix up the Black Pops the same way, using the chocolate pudding mix, and adding the Kahlua and vodka.

Pour into frozen pop molds and add the top. Now freeze. I did mine overnight.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Kahlua White Pops

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1 ¾ c milk

1 oz Kahlua

2 oz vodka

1 oz Irish crème liqueur

Kahlua Black Pops

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix

1 ¾ c milk

2 oz Kahlua

2 oz vodka

*1 oz is 2 Tbl.

Ice Cream in a Bag

This recipe was fun to make because the kids got to make it in an unusual way. The recipe said it takes only 5 minutes to make, but we all agreed that was underestimating. For each child you’ll need Ziploc bags in gallon size and pint or quart size and enough ice to fill the gallon bag halfway. We added some chocolate chips, about ¼ c each child. Add whatever you’d like.

So, let’s get cooking!

Fill the gallon bags halfway with ice and add the rock salt. Add the half and half, sugar, vanilla, and any fruit or extras you want to the pint or quart size bags. Seal tightly. Check the kids’ bags; my Megan’s ingredients bag wasn’t sealed all the way and before I realized it, some of the ingredients had squeezed out.

Make sure the gallon bags are sealed tightly too. Have the children shake, shake, shake the bags! My kids’ hands got cold so after a couple of minutes they got cloth napkins and kitchen towels to hold the bags.

After maybe 4 minutes you can take one of the bags out so the kids can see how it’s doing and how much thicker or how slushy it is. Ryan showed us his.

Here is the frozen result. This was Megan’s; she shook hers the slowest and hers got done first, after about 7 or 8 minutes. Ryan and Timmy were shaking theirs like maniacs and theirs got done maybe 5 minutes later.

Inside the bag, it looks just like ice cream you buy.

The children can eat this ice cream right out of the bag!

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Ice Cream in a Bag

(Per Child:)

Ziploc bags: gallon and quart sizes

½ c rock salt

1 c half & half

2 Tbl sugar

½ tsp vanilla

¼ c mini chocolate chips

Fruit & Yogurt Frozen Pops

Well, Summer is in full swing here with hot weather and thirsty, hungry children! What’s a mom to do about this? Make ice cream! And frozen pops of all kinds! Coming up are some very simple recipes for ice cream and a variety of frozen pops that are easy enough for even smaller children to make, with your help. My kids loved doing these, and they loved eating the results even better.

These healthy pops are made with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit, although frozen could be used also. You also can obviously use light non-fat yogurt. The original recipe calls for 2 Tbl honey. We used a little more yogurt and excluded the honey completely, and the kids loved them. We made both strawberry ones and mango ones.

So, let’s get cooking!

Wash the fruit and take off anything like leaves, or peel, etc. Cut the fruit into chunks.

Measure out the yogurt.

Place the fruit and yogurt into a blender and blend until well mixed. We stopped when the fruit was almost totally crushed up but there were tiny pieces of it still.

Pour into paper cups.

Add the popsicle sticks. This recipe is thick enough that they do stand up in the middle.

You can also use a hand blender like we did with the mango pops. 

Freeze. We let them go overnight. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Fruit & Yogurt Frozen Pops

12 oz vanilla yogurt

2 c fresh fruit

Salted Caramel Candy Corn Bark

This recipe comes from I Heart Naptime. It could have been made for Halloween, but also during the Fall, especially with Thanksgiving coming up, it could be a nice treat to set out for gatherings. Since I always try to make recipes more affordable for the average family, I switched some ingredients out for others that were still suitable and yet cost less.

The original recipe called for a 16 oz bag of white Candiquik coating, which was $3.74, so I substituted a 12 oz bag of Wilton’s white candy melts, which was $2.47. The difference in weight didn’t matter; the price per ounce was still less for the Wilton’s and I had plenty of them left for another recipe, making it even more thrifty.

Also, the recipe called for an 11 oz bag of Kraft caramel bits, which were $2.86, so I bought an 11 oz bag of Kraft caramels for $2.00. They were individually wrapped, but get the kids cooking with you. Even a toddler can sit and unwrap them to help.

The original recipe also called for a bag of M&Ms candy corn, which are white chocolate inside. I purchased a bag of M&Ms that were all yellow, orange, and brown and used those instead. I wanted the chocolate flavor because it would go well with the caramel. Doing it my way saved $2.13, and I had plenty of the candy melts and M&Ms left for another recipe I made, plus leftover caramels and the rest of the pretzels for the kids.

So, let’s get cooking!

Put parchment paper on a sheet pan. Line up the waffle pretzels. Melt the Kraft caramels in a saucepan on low heat, stirring frequently to help melt and prevent burning.

Spread the melted caramel over the pretzels.

While the caramel is cooling on that, use a double boiler to melt the candy melts. I just rigged up two pots that could go together with enough space in between and added some water to the bottom pot.

Spread the melted white chocolate over the caramel. I did half and then my lovely daughter Megan helped me press the M&Ms into the melted chocolate. This is another fun step for the kids, a great job for little hands.

I did half at a time because I didn’t want the melted chocolate setting up too firmly for the M&Ms to press in. Let it cool completely and cut with a knife to break up into pieces.

And you’re done! Enjoy! ~TMMF

Salted Caramel Candy Corn Bark

1 bag waffle pretzels
1 11 oz bag Kraft caramels
1 12 oz bag Wilton candy melts, white
1 bag M&Ms, Fall colors

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Cranberry Upside Down Cake? Wait, isn’t pineapple the fruit in an upside down cake??

No, with this holiday cake, it’s cranberries. This recipe is from Simply Recipes. I wanted to try it because it was different from the usual pineapple in an upside down cake, and it reminded me of something my Grammie would make. She made homemade whole berry cranberry sauce at the holidays, which always seemed so much more special than the canned. I think she would have liked this cake. I hope you will too, and that you make a wonderful holiday memory with it.

So, let’s get cooking!

In a small saucepan, melt the ¼ c butter with the brown sugar. Grease the 9” cake pan with butter. The pan has to be at least 2 inches high. This is important.

Pour the butter/brown sugar mixture into the pan and spread evenly. After you’ve sorted through the cranberries (a great job for young kids to help with), spread them evenly in the cake pan.

In a smallish bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

Zest the orange and set aside.

Now, in a mixing bowl, cream together the ½ c butter and the sugar.

Add the eggs and beat, then add the orange zest and sour cream and beat. You can alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk, but, um, I just dumped both in the bowl and mixed them in. Sometimes I’m a rebel like that. ;)

Pour the batter into the cake pan, covering the cranberries. The recipe said to preheat the oven to 350° and then when you put the cake in the oven, turn it down to 325°. I did do it that way, because sometimes I’m obedient like that. ;)

Bake for about 55 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes or so, and then loosen the cake edges with a knife. Place a cake holder or platter upside down on top, and flip over to get the cake out. Voilá! Enjoy! ~TMMF


Cranberry Upside Down Cake

¾  c brown sugar
¼ c butter
12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries
1 ¾  c flour
2 tsp baking powder
½  tsp salt
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 ½ c sugar
½ c butter
3 large eggs
1 Tbl orange zest
½ c sour cream
¼ c milk

Peanut Butter Cake & Frosting

Mmmmm, Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting! What could be better than that, along with a glass of cold milk? This is the recipe my mother made for our family when I was growing up, and I went on to make it for my own family. I love peanut butter; I consider it to be one of my four food groups, so yeah, I love this cake! And it is so easy peasy lemon squeezy, you got this covered.

I’m going to list several steps here because there are people who have never made a cake before who may have stumbled upon my tiny little blog and it would be helpful for them to at least see what each step should look like so they know they’re on the right track. That’s one of the reasons why I include so many photos with the recipes; as many years as I’ve cooked and baked, at restaurants, nursing homes, and in my own home, I’ve had new recipes I try out that give only a photo of the finished dish, and sometimes I don’t know if I’m doing a step correctly and feel like I’m just aiming blindfolded and hoping I hit it right. That’s partly why I started TMMF.

So, let’s get cooking!

First you’ll need to mix the dry ingredients together; the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix those together in a bowl and set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat the butter and sugar together.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter. You can see that I’m a little heavy handed when it comes to the peanut butter in this recipe. ;)

Beat together with the mixer until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients, along with the milk, and beat to mix well, about a minute.

Pour into a greased 9 X 13” baking dish. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll know for sure if it’s done by sticking a knife or toothpick in the middle, and if it comes out clean, it’s done.




While the cake is baking, you can make the frosting so it’s ready when the cake is baked and cooled off enough to frost. But you may want to hide it if you have young children like mine, or you may not have as much when it’s time to do the frosting. ;)

So, into the mixing bowl go the butter, vanilla, and peanut butter. I like to use natural peanut butter for everything just because I like it, but it’s not required for this. The only recipe I can think of that I believe requires natural peanut butter is the Reese’s Balls I posted here on TMMF.

Beat until well blended with the mixer. My mixer has faithfully served me, but alas--he lost a beater some time back. I named him Peg Leg Pete and we limp along with him doing the best he can with his lone beater.

Add the confectioner’s sugar, and the milk one teaspoon at a time, mixing until it’s the right consistency to be spread. I added 3 tsp. right off and then went from there, adding more as needed.




Finishing the frosting is where Peg Leg Pete gave up the ghost. I had to amputate and mix the frosting by hand the last minute or two. Viewing for Peg Leg Pete will be this Tuesday from 7-9. The funeral will be Wednesday at 10, with the eulogy given by Bobby the Blender, with whom Peg Leg Pete often hung out. Burial will be at 11 in the green trash can with the broken handle. ;)

Put the frosting on the completely cooled cake and spread evenly. I like to use a utensil called an icing spatula to spread the frosting, as it’s wider and longer than a butter knife.




Voilà! Or Viola, as people sometimes get mixed up and say. ;) It always makes me giggle. ;)

Serve it up with some cold milk and watch the smiles. Enjoy! ~TMMF


Peanut Butter Cake                              Peanut Butter Frosting

1/3 c butter                                           ½ c peanut butter
1 ½ c sugar                                          ¼ c butter                          
1/3 c peanut butter                                1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs                                                  3 c 10X sugar
1 tsp vanilla                                          3-5 tsp milk
2 ¼ c flour
1 Tbl baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c milk

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dessert Lasagna

This little recipe is one I found online and just had to try. I feel like I don’t do enough sweets here at TMMF, but I guess it’s because I’m not really into the sweet taste; I’m more of a savory, sharp, or spicy person. So I wanted to try this, especially since it’s got peanut butter and chocolate in it, and it’s frozen. What a tasty way to cool off in all this summer heat!

So, let’s get cooking, er…baking? Oh my, that’s not right either. Let’s get assembling! ;)

First spread one third of the Cool Whip on the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal evenly on top.

Heat up the Nutella in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to make it looser, and drizzle over the top of the cereal.

Now for the next layer. Spread another 1/3 of the Cool Whip on top.

Sprinkle the Cocoa Puffs or Reese’s Puffs evenly over the whipped topping.

Warm the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds or so and drizzle on top of the cereal.

Use the last 1/3 of the Cool Whip to spread on top.

Put about ¾ c Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in a bag and crush with whatever your little heart desires. I used a huge wrench that was in the kitchen. ;)

Sprinkle over the top, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze.

When completely frozen, serve. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dessert Lasagna

1 16 oz container Cool Whip
1 1/2 c Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
1 1/2 c Cocoa Puffs or Reese's Puffs cereal
1/2 c Nutella
1/2 c peanut butter
more Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for top

*Just a little note: I saved money by buying the store brand of Nutella, Cool Whip, peanut butter, and the bagged copycat of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I didn't have Cocoa Puffs or Reese's Puffs, but I had the bagged Marshmallow Cocoa Mateys, so I picked the marshmallows out and used the puffs. Or "Mateys." ;)

Almond Joy Brownie Bites

Chocolate and coconut…bring it on! This is an easy recipe I found online and of course the kids wanted me to make it. Megan and Timothy helped with it, especially afterwards when tasters were needed! ;) We actually made these twice, Caitlin helping the 2nd time, because I sort of played with the recipe a little, as I am sometimes wont to do, and instead of melting the chocolate chips and drizzling that onto the bites at the end, I thought I’d just sprinkle the chips on top for the baking process. They were yummy, but Caity suggested using mini chocolate chips instead, which did turn out to be better.

First, mix together the brownie mix as directed on the package. Yes, I could have made homemade brownie mix for this, but no, I did not. I have been so busy lately, the ease of the packaged mix was a blessing. ‘Nuff said. ;)

Place cupcake papers into several muffin tins. Scoop brownie batter into the papers, only enough to fill halfway. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 12 minutes.

While they are baking, mix the flaked coconut in a bowl with the sweetened condensed milk.

Chop the almonds. I didn’t want to spend so much money on the almonds, so I managed to find a small bag of Fisher’s slivered almonds for…something like $1.50 or so, and it was plenty enough for this recipe with a little left over. If I had a few other recipes needing almonds, I would have bought the cans with more ounces, and of course more money, but I didn’t, so this would do.

When the brownie bites are done, remove from the oven and spoon about 1 Tbl of the coconut mixture on top of each. I used one of my smaller scoops that equaled about 1 Tbl. Make sure to tamp it down a little, to spread it over the whole of the top of the brownie.

Sprinkle the chopped almonds on top of the coconut mixture, then the chocolate chips.

Put the muffin tins back into the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes.

When cool enough, remove from the muffin tins. Serve and watch the smiles! Enjoy! ~TMMF


Almond Joy Brownie Bites

1 box fudge brownie mix
   (family size)
3 c flaked coconut
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
¼ c almonds
1 c mini chocolate chips

O'Henry Bars

Oh my goodness, you are going to love this recipe. Not only are they easy to make and relatively quick, they’re also scrumpdiddlyumptious. (yes that’s a made up word) My mother made these bars when I was growing up and I made them for my own children. It’s like bringing another piece of my past with me to the future. I hope my kids will make them for their children, too.

So, let’s get cooking!

Using your mixer, cream the sugar and butter together.

Add the Karo syrup, vanilla, and oats. If you’d like to, you can use the mixer to blend in the Karo and vanilla, then use a wooden spoon to mix in the oats.

Grease a 9 X 13” baking dish and press the oat mixture into the pan. It’s going to be sticky, so here’s a little tip: spray a rubber spatula with cooking spray and then use it to pat the oat mixture down into the pan.




Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 15 minutes exactly, no more and no less. Cool for ten minutes.

While that is baking, you can make the topping. Simply put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. I don’t use a double boiler; besides the fact that I don’t own one, it’s easier to just heat it and stay with it, stirring, for the few minutes it takes to melt and blend together. You can be a little heavy handed with the chocolate chips and peanut butter, but what would I know about that; I always follow a recipe to the letter of the law. Bwahahahahaha! ;)

When the oat mixture bottom has cooled for 10 minutes, pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture on top and spread evenly. When completely cooled and set, cut into 24 pieces. You can help the process along by placing in the refrigerator for a while, but these bars don’t need to be stored in the fridge.


I gave my 9 year old two of these for dessert and he begged for a third. Yours will too! Enjoy! ~TMMF

                                                        O’Henry Bars

                                                        2/3 c. butter
                                                        1 c. brown sugar
                                                        ½ c. light Karo syrup
                                                        3 tsp. vanilla
                                                        4 c. quick cooking rolled oats
                                                        6 oz. (1 c.) chocolate chips
                                                        2/3 c. crunchy peanut butter

*Notes: Use real butter. Paula Deen has it right with the butter thing. ;) Margarine is like putting plastic into your veins, but butter is a “whole” food. Don’t pack the brown sugar down. I stopped doing that decades ago. You don’t need the extra sugar, and trust me on this, it’ll be sweet enough. Use natural sugars if you can. If you want it to be really awesome, use natural peanut butter (Teddy and Smuckers both make it with just peanuts and salt). Your recipe will have less sugar in it and taste better. These are just some things I have learned from decades of cooking, messing around with recipes, and creating my own recipes in both the home and professionally in restaurants and nursing homes. Just take these little nuggets and run with them. ;)

Almost Candy Bars

Almost Candy Bars are similar to Magic Cookie Bars, but with a few little twists. Definitely more chocolate involved here, so chocoholics can get their fix! This recipe is one that I first had at a family gathering with in-laws, and it was so good I had to ask for the recipe. These bars are a treat to make for your family, and also great for a party or gathering.

Easy, easy, easy: empty the devil’s food cake mix into a bowl. Add the butter. You don’t have to soften the butter; it can be room temperature or even refrigerator cold. Which in our house is basically the same thing. ;)

Using a pastry knife, cut the butter into the cake mix until crumbly.

Sprinkle the mixture evenly in an un-greased 9 X 13” baking dish and lightly press it down.

Chop the nuts smallish and measure out the other toppings.

Evenly sprinkle on the chocolate chips, peanut butter or butterscotch chips, coconut, and nuts. I have made this with the butterscotch chips and it’s just as yummy, but this time I used peanut butter chips. I also used pecans this time, because they’re my favorite.

Next, pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the whole thing.

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350°, until light golden brown on top. It may bubble up over the edges around the pan and that may look somewhat ugly, but those pieces will be the chewiest! Cool sufficiently and cut. Enjoy! ~TMMF

          Almost Candy Bars

          1 pkg. devil’s food cake mix
          ½ c. butter
          1 c. chocolate chips
          1 c. butterscotch or peanut butter chips
          1 c. coconut
          1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
          1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk