Whoopie Pie Wednesday:Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Yessssss, now that it is December I can fully indulge in my absolute addiction love of all things peppermint(don't you worry, I am still eating pumpkin & caramel, as I've stated over & over, Fall is still on for another 15 days) Anyhoo, I found these mini peppermint marshmallows at Target and was confounded as to how to work them into a recipe and not just use them as a finisher for my hot chocolate. but hot chocolate IS my favorite, thus this flavor combo. And it was better than I hoped!

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix

1/3 cup veggie oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

3 packs peppermint hot chocolate mix

1 cup whipping cream

4-6 oz chocolate cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

1 cup mini peppermint marshmallows 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, 1 packet of hot choc & water in bowl, slowly mix in 1 cup of the peppermint marshmallows.(if it's way too dry, you may want to add a tsp of water)  

Drop by  tablespoon onto lined cookie sheet (leave about an inch between each cookie)

Bake 8-9 minutes

Cool on pan 5 minutes, move to wire rack and cool 15 more minutes

Beat softened cream cheese & fluff on low for a min or until fluffy, add 2 hot choc packets & 2 tbsp of whipping cream, beat on low till hot choc is fully incorporated into cream cheese and add remaining whipping cream, turn speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Let set in fridge for at least an hour before frosting. 

Place a dollop of frosting in center and top w/another cookie.

Notes***

if you can only find the cans of peppermint hot choc, 3 tbsp would equal one packet. And I just happened to have chocolate cream cheese on hand, regular should work fine too. You can forgo the marshmallow fluff in the filling, I made it that way too and it was tasty...but this just gives it a more "genuine" hot cocoa taste. If you can't find the mini marshmallows, just use andes peppermint pieces or even crushed candy canes. You could also just use the peppermint frosting that is out now and crush in the peppermint pieces.

You could make this so many ways. Can't really go wrong.

and as usual, I had some filling left over, I added a tsp of coffee extract, 2 more oz cream cheese and a little more whipping cream, whipped for a few minutes, put in freezer for an hour, placed in dip bowl and topped w/the mini marshmallows. 

Voila, Peppermint Mocha Dip

Served w/ apples, pretzels & graham crackers.

These are so good and pair perfectly with, what else, a peppermint dunkachino, or if you're one of those people and you love mochas, that works too;)

and today...six years later, I miss you, Jeremy, as much now as I did then. 24 years wasn't enough time, yet the mark you left upon our family will always be felt.

linking up today with:

and

Fluffernutter Cheesecake Dip

so simple. so good. and it made me slightly nostalgic for my childhood. Can I tell you something? I only ate one cold sandwich growing up(actually room temp, but let's not muse over details) and it wasn't a PB & J, nope, it was the delectable treat known as a fluffernutter. Oh, be still my heart. Goodness in a little girls life. So I've tried adapting the treat to a few of my favorite things, so far I've made whoopie pies, ooey gooey bars and then finally, this super simple dip.

Ingredients
4-6 oz cream cheese(softened)
2 tbsp peanut butter(melted)
2 tbsp marshmallow fluff(melted)
1 packet cheesecake pudding
1 cup heavy whipping cream
(or cool whip & milk to make pudding, I'll give those directions also)

place pb & fluff in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 5-10 seconds(be sure to watch carefully, there's nothing more gagifying than burned pb.trust me) then add to softened cream cheese and beat on low for roughly a minute, till the mixture is fluffy. Add half the packet of pudding and 2 tbsp of whipping cream. Beat to fully incorporate and then add remainder of whipping cream and beat till stiff peaks form. Place in fridge for at least an hour or until ready to serve. if you wanted to use cool whip, mix the pudding packet with 1 cup cold milk and after it sets up, mix with cool whip, then whisk together w/the cream cheese, pb and fluff.

These are great with graham crackers or apples and pretzels w/salt gives it a nice twist. I also use this as an "instant cheesecake" and pour mixture over pre made crust and put in fridge for 2 hours. It's also quite tasty rolled up in crescent rolls and baked for 10 minutes, maybe add some mini reese's. The ideas are endless.

Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

As I have previously stated: I have strange food tendencies, they have no rhyme or reason. pumpkin is a prime example- not a fan by itself. Ech is my normal reaction. However, in conjunction with caramel I am suddenly enamored with it. I have made several different versions lately, but this was the one that pleased my palate the most. Plus, I heart cheesecake dips, there's a plethora of variations you can put together and constantly create new flavor combinations...and they're relatively simple to make. I find I adore simplistic dishes that taste complex.


The inspiration for this particular one came about due to my cousin's allergy to...chocolate. Yes, she's that person, ruining it for the rest of us;) haha Anyways, I was heading over for her lil fatty's first birthday and I wanted to make some desserts she could consume. I am a good cousin. Are you reading this, B? You know this is a factual statement.


There are two ways you can make this; one is homemade and the other is more Sandra Lee "semi homemade" style. Which, I feel that if it has more than three ingredients and I make it at home, there's zilch that's semi about it, but you know, that's just my two cents.


Ingredients
version one uses cool whip(if you can find french vanilla, get that) softened
version two uses 6 oz whipping cream
4 oz softened cream cheese
2 tbsp pumpkin spice 
2 1/2 tbsp caramel sauce

directions
***To make whip cream: pour cold whipping cream into bowl and mix till peaks begin to form, add the 1/2 tbsp pumpkin & 1/2 caramel sauce at this point, mixing thoroughly/cool whip version- add 1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice & 1/2 tbsp caramel to the cool whip, be careful to fold and not over mix, as this will remove the "whipped" factor from the cool whip. Next mix together 1/2 tbsp pumpkin spice, 1/2 tbsp caramel sauce and cream cheese together. Then fold the cream cheese mixture into the cool whip/cream and add remaining pumpkin and caramel, folding lightly to incorporate fully. Refrigerate for at least two hours.  Drizzle top w/caramel sauce.

I like to serve this with either graham crackers or apples. It's good any time of the year, but fall obviously is where this tasty treat packs a more powerful punch. 


Here are a few other pics from Ethan's Mickey Party. Hot Dog Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog. If you have kids...you more than likely got that.

 Please excuse the sideways pics...I'll fix when I get to my computer, For some reason this one won't let me rotate.