Candy Corn n Peanut Butter Bars

Butterfinger candy bar lovers will find this candy irresistible! Who would have thought that a melted mix of candy corn, mello pumpkins, and peanut butter would make a mock Butterfinger bar. This recipe is a great way to use up extra, or leftover, candy corn. 

Ingredients

3 cups candy corn and mello pumpkins
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter 
12 ounces chocolate almond bark


Directions

• Line a 9"x 9" pan with waxed paper. 
• Place the candy corn in a large microwave-safe bowl.
• Microwave the candy corn for one minute.
• Stir briefly.
• Microwave 30 seconds.
• Stir briefly. 
• Microwave 25-30 seconds.
• Stir again until the candy is completely melted and smooth.Mixture will be stiff.
• Add the peanut butter to the melted candy mix and Stir until it is well blended.
• If mixture becomes too stiff, microwave the candy for 10 seconds and stir. Be careful to not overcook or the mix will stiffen up on you.
•  Using a sturdy spoon, empty the candy out into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. I patted it down with my hand and then smoothed it with the bottom of the spoon.

• Following the package directions, melt the chocolate almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl.
• When it is melted and smooth, pour it over the peanut butter candy mixture.

• Smooth the topping.
• Place pan in the refrigerator until the topping and candy are completely set.
• Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Carefully remove the hardened candy from the pan.

• Slice with a large knife into desired size and shape.

Enjoy eating some homemade happiness on a plate!

Sallee'sSix - The Brownie-Blondie Edition

Brownies. One word that makes me think: crinkled, chewy, chocolate squares of fudgy deliciousness.

Blondies. Buttery, tender squares of sweet richness. Okay, I have to stop or start pulling blondie ingredients off of the pantry shelves.

Non-chocoholics rejoice because this recipe list includes blondies for you.





1. Zucchini Brownies   Gardeners, your zucchini plants are producing like crazy. You are tired of making zucchini bread, zucchini relish, etc... How about some zucchini brownies? Trish, over at "Mom on Time Out", has a wonderful zucchini brownie recipe just for you!

2. Dulce de Leche Brownies  Special occasion coming up and your short on time? Try these brownies that start with a Ghiradelli Brownie Mix and are topped with Dulce de Leche Milk Caramel Spread.

3. White Chocolate Decadence Brownies  I promised non-chocoholics that I would include some brownies for them. Here is my first offering, a platinum blondie from Leigh Anne over at "Your Homebased Mom".  Six ingredients for the blondie and five ingredients for the frosting. Decadent and easy. 

4. Caramel Crunch Blondies  Dorothy Kern, from "Crazy for Crust",  made these blondies to send to an Armed Forces member in a care package. Dorothy has more blondie recipes that you may like, Lemon Coconut Blondies and Nutter Butter Butterscotch Blondies. Three blondie recipes from one link. Woohoo! Now you know why she is one of my favorite six for the brownie edition. 

Tip: This recipe uses caramels and mini-chocolate crunch bars. Bookmark this recipe or post,  and bake blondies using those left over Halloween candy bars that your children received.

5. Brown Butter Caramel Toffee Chip Blondies  My mouth is watering just from typing the name! Luscious, buttery, and richness (singing voice) are playing a melody to my taste buds. Stephanie, over at "Back for Seconds" is a sweet genius! 45 minutes to sweet satisfaction! PLUS she has a yum-a-liscious Snickers Brownie .

Tip: The Snickers brownie recipe uses mini-candy bars. Use those extra Halloween candy bars that the kids received. 

 6. My Kid's Favorite Brownies  From Shelly over at "Cookies and Cups",  a simple brownie recipe that will transport you back into childhood. 

Balloon Flower Bouquet

A lovingly crafted bouquet for my dad, Richard.

An Original Sallee Bonham Creation

 During my photo browsing, I've seen several balloon wreaths and that fueled my idea for the balloon flowers in my candy bouquet. As far as I know, the balloon flower idea is an original Sallee Bonham creation because I haven't seen it posted on Etsy or Pinterest. 

 My mom received a candy bar bouquet from Bill and I on Mother's Day and I didn't want my dad feeling left out, so I created a Father's Day bouquet just for him. Dad appreciates a good cup of coffee and a piece of  hard candy, so the coffee candy was an easy choice. Likewise, the candy bars shown are his very favorite.



 Bouquet Items

20 party size balloons

bamboo skewers

16-18 fun size candy bars

1 small bag of hard candy

narrow ribbon of your choice

clear or invisible tape

4" or 5" container of your choice

Balloon Flowers

1. Skewer Stem 

•  Cut to your desired length, tie four or five balloons around the middle of each "stem." I didn't measure these stems, I just "eyeballed it", but I did start with 10" skewers.

 2. Balloon Flower

•  Cut the balloon stem off, snip a tiny hole in the top center of the balloon, repeat until you have the desired number of "flowers"
• Slide a skewer "stem" through the snipped hole in the top of a balloon until it meets the tied balloons.
• Tape a fun size candy bar above the balloon flower
• Gently pull the balloon up and around the candy bar. Slide tied balloons on stem up or down until the balloon flower and the tied balloons meet and hide the bamboo.
• Make a ribbon bow under your candy bar bloom. Trim ribbon to a length that pleases you.

Assembly

•  Fill container with a random arrangement of candy bars and hard candy.
• Place your ballon flowers as desired. I arranged the candy around the "stems" of each flower to hold them in place.

Happy Crafting!

Spring "Blooms" Candy Bar Bouquet

When I can construct a budget, friendly gift for someone to enjoy it is a win-win situation. I love to make economical gifts for my family and friends. Last time I made a candy bar bouquet, I finally remembered to take pictures as I worked.

Materials

Floral tape           12 inch or 10 inch bamboo skewers          green tissue paper          Invisible scotch tape      

3 packages of snack size candy bars (18 candy bars)         low-temp glue gun          glue sticks

Pinking shears or decorative scissors       4-inch ceramic pot           wired ribbon     

Filler for ceramic pot - I recycled pieces of styrofoam, but you can use floral foam, swim noodle pieces, etc. A batch of plastic wrapped rice crispy treats will even work!

 

 

Step 1 - Preparing Materials

·         Take 18 bamboo skewers and cut five to 6" length; five to 8" length; and eight to 10" length

·         Wrap skewers with floral tape. Start about 2" above the pointed end and wrap to blunt end.

·         Cut eighteen 1"x 1/2" rectangles from the green tissue paper. I didn't measure, I just estimated.

·         Cut eighteen 3"x3" squares from the green tissue paper. Again, I didn't measure, I just estimated.

Fill ceramic pot with filler. Stop about a 1/2 inch below the rim. (I like to place crumpled green tissue paper on top of the filler and poke the skewers through it.)

Step 2 - Assembling Your Candy Bar "Blooms"

• Place a line of hot glue down the skewer from the blunt end. It should be about half the length of your candy bar. WAIT a couple of seconds, then place the skewer against the back of a candy bar. If you don't wait a couple of seconds, you could shrivel the candy bar wrapper, or melt the chocolate. Impatient? Then use tape, but the result won't be as cute, in my opinion.
• Then, put a couple drops of glue on top of the skewer and place a green rectangle over it.
• Continue until all eighteen skewers are done.
• Poke a skewer through the center of a 3" tissue paper square. Then slide the square up to the candy bar. Gather the tissue paper gently around the skewer and tape it into place with invisible scotch tape.

Step 3 - Arranging Your Bouquet

• Start with the 10" or 12" skewers and stick them into the pot, starting with one in the middle and space the rest evenly around the pot. I like my bouquets to be balanced and pretty from all sides. Just place and replace skewers until you're happy.
•  After all the skewers are placed, arrange" leaves" and fill in any bare spots with more tissue paper.

• Cut a length of wire ribbon; fold each end in half and clip diagonally from the fold to the open edges. Look at the picture to see your result.

Tips

·         Make your bouquets smaller or larger by using less or more candy bars. Smaller bouquets would need 4" skewers, 6" skewers, and 7" skewers. This will create a nice shape for your bouquet. Larger bouquets would need more 6" and 8" skewers.

·         Use raffia instead of ribbon.

·         Use full size bars for 6" - 8" pots.

·         Use scratcher tickets in place of the candy bars.

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Thanks for the mounds of love and all the joy you have given me. Your worth $100,000!