Sour Punch - Punchies

There's nothing more that I love than Sour Candy.  Sour Punch belts and straws have always been one of my personal favorites.  I like the Strawberry and Watermelon flavors the best.  So when I found out that Sour Punch made another product called Punchies, I knew I had to try them!  My friends at American Licorice Co. were sweet enough to send me some to review.  As soon as I got them in the mail, I had to try them immediately and loved them!

Punchies come in 5 different flavors:

Lemon

Strawberry

Tangerine

Blue Raspberry

Green Apple

I tried each one by one and even mixed the flavors for a fun and delicious twist.  Punchies are soft and chewy, super tart, and definitely sour!  I didn't know what to expect at first and thought they would be mini sour belts, but they were small circular shaped candies, with cute little faces on each one, and were super colorful.  

I first tried the lemon flavor, and as you may or may not know, lemon is typically always my go to flavor for candy or sweets.  One bite in, my taste buds took in the tart flavor and my mind thought I was taking a bite out of a real lemon because it was so juicy, flavorful and sour.  The lemon definitely reminded me of Lemon Heads, which I love, so this was absolutely my favorite flavor.

Strawberry was also delicious.  After a few bites, I could taste a fresh but sour strawberry in my mouth, and I thought I was eating a strawberry sour belt, minus the outside coating of sugar.  The aftertaste was  amazing since the fresh strawberry juice stuck with me.

Eating the tangerine tasted like I was sipping on a tangerine orange juice.  Super juicy, super sour, and super tart.

Next was the blue raspberry.  There was mostly a blueberry flavor with a hint of raspberry.  As with the others, this was extremely tart and sour.  

Lastly was the green apple.  This one tasted just like the green apple sour belts.  The strong and tart apple flavor mixed with sourness was just mouthwatering and made me want to pick some more green apples off of the tree and keep eating!

Eating these flavors solo or mixing them are both amazing decisions to make.  I'd definitely recommend these for any candy lover, especially sour connoisseurs like me!  My favorite mix was Strawberry and Lemon to make Strawberry Lemonade!  So sweet, tart, juicy, and flavorful.  Go buy some, you will not be disappointed.  Thanks Sour Punch for making my day that much sour, but in a good way!

Hot Chocolate Run 15k

First blog post of 2014!  That being said, note that my new motto is I only run for chocolate.  This week, I ran my first 15k and I did it all for the chocolate.  Previously, the longest I've ever ran was about 4 miles, and if you were unaware, a 15k is 9.3 miles.  I pushed myself to the limit and was able to build up my endurance to 9.3 miles and ran like the wind on race day, completed my goal, and got to eat chocolate.

My very good friend originally asked me to run this with her, and thought it'd be a great accomplishment for us both and would make the perfect blog post.  And now here I am, writing my blog post about my hot cocoa journey.  What drew me to the race obviously that it was called the Hot Chocolate Run.  There were only two options for lengths of the race, either a 5k or a 15k.  My friend and I decided to challenge ourselves and go for the 15k.  Although we were nervous, we did it!  

The day before the race, we got a few of our race goodies, including a black running jacket that says Hot Chocolate 5/15k run, our hot chocolate running bibs, and an adorable mug that says I only run for chocolate.  We made sure to eat a hearty dinner and get some good rest the night before.  

The morning of the race was so bitter cold outside, but after I started running, I of course warmed up.  I was so happy to be sporting my hot cocoa running bib and couldn't wait to receive my winnings afterwards.  During the race, all I could think about was finishing and getting my hot cocoa.  

To my surprise, after I crossed that finish line, I went straight to pick up my finisher's mug, which was so adorable!  It was a big brown mug that said America's Sweetest Race on one side and Hot Chocolate 5/15k on the other.  The best part was that the giant plastic mug was comprised of little sections, that included sweet treats in each spot, such as dipping chocolate!  It was a mini fondue kit, were the runners could dip their pretzels, banana, wafer, marshmallow, and Rice Krispie treat into the smooth and creamy melted chocolate.  And of course, in the center of it all was my own personal cup of hot cocoa.  I was so hungry after the race that I scarfed it all down as fast as I could and enjoyed every bite.  Not only did I complete 9.3 miles in the wee hours in the morning, I also was a finisher for America's Sweetest Race, and could not be more proud!  If you get the chance, definitely attend the Hot Chocolate Run!

Kissmas Wontons

Christmas is so close I can almost taste it!  Make sure you give your family members a hug and kiss, even a chocolate Kiss!  Here's another special and delicious holiday creation from The Sweetest Temptations.  Introducing Kissmas Wontons!  These treats are so festive, so easy, and so scrumptious!  Now let's get started!

Ingredients:

Pillsbury Pie Crusts

Hershey Kisses

Sprinkles

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Unwrap Hershey Kisses

Unroll pie crust on a cookie sheet

Use a wine glass to cut out perfect circle shapes, as many as you can fit, and place Hershey Kiss in the center of the circle

Peel off the excess dough

Roll the excess dough out with a rolling pin in order to make more dough circles until you've ran out

Shake some sprinkles over the cookies to make them extra Christmas-y

Then, pinch the two opposite sides of the circle to meet at the top of the Hershey Kiss

Then do the same thing with the other two ends to create a wonton shape and make sure each corner is tightly pinched

Once all of the wontons are wrapped, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top

Bake wontons in oven for about 15-20 minutes

Let cool and enjoy!

Kissmas Wontons are a great new alternative to the way overdone Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss cookies that we all have eaten, many, many times.  Although they are good, this is something fun and new, and absolutely delectable!  They're so easy to make and are such a treat!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Peppermint Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Merry, Merry, Merry, brite and delicious!  One of my favorite things about Christmas is baking cookies and sweet treats with my family.  Today we made some Peppermint Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Want to learn how to make them? Let's go!

Here's what you need:

Crushed Candy Canes

Mini Chocolate Chips

Mini Marshmallows

Sugar Cookies (I made them from scratch and followed this recipe)

Here's what you need to do:

Follow a sugar cookie recipe or buy some already made sugar cookie mixes from the store

Place cookies on cookie tray

Crush the candy canes into small pieces

Mix candy canes, mini chocolate chips, and marshmallows in a bowl and stir like this:

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, take them out of the oven, then put the marshmallow peppermint chocolate mix on top of the cookies like this:

Bake cookies again for about 3-5 minutes so the toppings will melt.  

Let cool and gobble them up!

Now you have cookies for you, your family, and of course for Santa to enjoy!  Remember to pair them with a glass of milk, dunk, and savor every bite!

Merry Christmas!!

Candy Cane Marshmallow Bites

Ho ho ho! Christmas is almost here!  Hope you are all staying warm!  Today, we're making Candy Cane Marshmallow Bites.  They're adorable and delicious, easy to make and easy to eat!  They're perfect for the holiday season and kids will love them!  So let's get started, shall we?!

Ingredients

Mini Candy Canes

Vanilla frosting with a few drops of food coloring 

Marshmallows

Red and Green Sprinkles

Instructions

Unwrap candy canes and take marshmallows out of bag

Put three drops of food coloring in vanilla frosting and stir. (I chose green but red or blue could also work for the holiday season!)

Place the mini candy cane in the middle of the marshmallow

Spread the frosting on the whole lower half of the marshmallow and make sure to also get the bottom

Choose your sprinkle of choice, and shake it out onto the frosting

Eat and enjoy!

This is an activity that kids will enjoy and it's super easy!  They'll love eating these small bites and it will get them into the holiday spirit real fast!  Who doesn't love vanilla frosting, fluffy marshmallows, sprinkles, and candy canes!  And all four of these ingredients combined will keep you dreaming of sugary desserts all night long.

These are delicious eaten on its own, but if you'd like to step it up and use white chocolate instead of frosting and complete the rest of the steps above, you can create a White Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallow to enjoy with your hot cocoa!  You can hook the top of the candy cane on the side of the mug, sip, and enjoy!

And as Nsync says...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

DIY Waffle Cone Christmas Tree

Waffle cones are one of a kind.  They're pretty delicious right side up with a scoop of ice cream at the top.  But have you ever thought of turning it upside down and creating a Waffle Cone Christmas Tree?  You're welcome for giving you one of the best ideas ever!  I'll tell you how to turn an ordinary cone into an extraordinary Christmas tree.  Ready?  Ok!

Ingredients

Red and Green M&Ms

Vanilla frosting (with a few drops of green food coloring)

Waffle cones

Christmas Sprinkles

Instructions

Put 3 drops of green food coloring in the frosting to make a mint greenish color and stir.

Spoon the frosting all over the cone until the cone is completely covered.

Decorate with red and green M&Ms and sprinkles.

Take super cute photos.

Eat and enjoy!

Here's the final product below, look how merry and bright it is!  It takes about 5 minutes total to complete this fun candy craft.  It's beyond easy, cheap, and perfect for kids, with minimal effort and ingredients.  

Now go get your ingredients, blast some Christmas music and make some adorable Waffle Cone Christmas trees!  

Merry Christmas!

DIY Candy Christmas Ornaments

The holidays are here!  Christmas trees and decorations are continuing to pop up all over the neighborhood and are making the world oh so merry and bright.  It's always fun to decorate the tree with some of your favorite ornaments that have been collected throughout the years, but if you're wanting a fun craft to do with your girlfriends or kids, you've come to the right spot!  

Today, we're making Christmas Candy Ornaments!  They're yummy, festive, and delicious!  You can use any small candy you'd like but I'll show you how to make Nerds, Sprinkles, and Marshmallow Snowmen ornaments to be exact!

What you'll need:

Nerds

Sprinkles

Mini Marshmallows

Clear glass ornaments (Available at Walmart)

Construction paper

Pipe cleaners

Then, just fill the ornaments with candy!  It may be easier to use a small funnel to put the Nerds and Sprinkles into the ornament, because it gets pretty messy!  Then, use a pipe cleaner for a hook in order to hang it on the tree.  Look how pretty they are!  

Nerds ornament

Sprinkles ornament

As for the mini marshmallows, I cut them in half so they were easier to fit inside the ornament.  They do get pretty sticky if you don't cut them as well, so keep that in mind!  Once you're done stuffing the marshmallows, use the black construction paper to cut out two small circles for eyes, and about six even smaller black circles for the mouth.  Then, use the orange construction paper to cut out a small triangle for the nose.  Don't forget the pipe cleaner to hang it! Then use tape to stick the face onto the ornament and you'll have the cutest snowman ornament ever!

The Sweetest Temptations loves candy and Christmas so much so doing this fun candy craft will truly get you into the sweet holiday spirit.  Deck the halls with candy Christmas ornaments!