This easy pineapple upside down cake which was way more delicious and exciting to make than I ever imagined.  I had never made one before and I had a whole pineapple that was sitting on my counter for over a week that needed to get eaten.  I was chatting with a friend and she talking about a pineapple upside down cake that her daughter had made and they loved it so much, they made it again a few days later.

So I was excited to try out this recipe that was really simple and to be able to use up my pineapple.  You most definitely can just buy canned pineapple slices if you don’t want to mess with cutting your own pineapple and I hear it is just as delicious

Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

• Yellow Cake Mix ( make cake mix according to directions)
• 1 large pineapple cut into slices (or use a can of sliced pineapples for quick and easy alternative)
• Marashino cherries
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, melted (one stick)
• 1 C light brown sugar

In your Cast Iron Skillet..

Melt your stick of butter in a cast iron skillet. Add 1 C light brown sugar and spread it evenly throughout the bottom of the pan.

Place pineapple rings evenly throughout the pan to cover.

Place a cherry in each ring.

Prepare the Cake Mix
Follow the directions on the yellow cake mix that you purchase. For this box, I whisked the following in a medium bowl:

• Cake Mix
• Water
• Eggs
• Vegetable Oil

Instructions

Pour the cake mix in the pan.
Cook the cake for 40 -45min or until fully cooked.
Remove the pan from the grill. Run a butter knife around the edge of the cake to help separate it from the pan.
Place a board or plate on top of the cake. Flip the cake to create an upside down cake.
Let the pan sit on top of the cake for 5 minutes or so while all the good brown sugar and butter soaks into the cake.
Remove pan and admire your beautiful creation.

I hope you try this sometime this summer! It is perfect to make with the kids and serve up for a family BBQ or fun get together.

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My grandmother used to make this Hello Dollies recipe and I honestly had forgotten all about it until Matt mentioned them the other day.  I love them with the butterscotch chips.  They are so rich and delicious with the coconut flakes.  I highly recommend this little treat!

Hello Dollies Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 stick of butter, melted in pan
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 (6oz) package butterscotch chips (you can also use chocolate chips)
1 (3.5oz) Bakers Angel Flake Coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Put all ingredients in 8×8 pan in order of recipe.  Pour milk over top. Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes.  Let cool for about 10 minutes and then cut into small squares.

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Okay, these might seem like your everyday brownies, but they are NOT. These are so simple, but so much more tasty than the norm! Trust me when I tell you to replace the water that is in the directions of your brownie mix with vanilla ice cream. OMG! It is so good!! I had so much fun making these festive Christmas brownies. Add your layer of red Oreos and then some candy cane crumbs or shavings on top and you are as festive as Santa!

Candy Cane Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 box of brownie mix
• egg s & oil as called for on the back of the brownie mix box (NO water!)
• ¾ cup vanilla ice cream
• Christmas Oreos about 16 cookies
• chopped candy canes optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven according to the directions on the back of the brownie mix.
• Combine the brownie mix, ice cream, egg(s) and oil in a bowl – mix well. Spray a square pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the pan. Lay out a single layer of Peppermint Oreos on top – spread the remaining brownie batter on top of the Oreos.
• Bake according to the brownie mix box.
• Cool for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped candy canes (optional).

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These dessert boards have been one of my new favorite things to make for the kids!  We love having friends over on the weekends and the kids think this is the coolest idea to have all their favorite candy and sweets available to them!  There are obviously tons of different ideas you can to do for these charcuterie boards including healthy versions, but since Spring is here, I thought one full of eggs, bunnies and little chicks with all the Spring time colors would be tons of fun!

We decided to have friends over Friday afternoon, so I used my Walmart + delivery membership benefit to quickly deliver all the goodies I would need.  If you have a Walmart + membership you get free shipping from Walmart.com with no order minimum (excludes freight & Marketplace items), free delivery from your store ($35 minimum, restrictions apply), member prices on fuel, and mobile scan & go when shopping in store.  I utilized the free delivery from our local store and shopped at home online in bed the night before and they were delivered to my door Friday morning.

Do you think they were excited or what???

The peeps were definitely a hit!  I just used some simple white bowls and a platter that I had around my house but you can obviously use any variation of items!  We covered the board with hall the fun pastel candy that we could find online at Walmart+.  You can find links to all the items at the bottom of this post.

Whoppers | Starburst Jellies | Marshmallow Chicks | Peeps | Muffins | Cupcakes | Spring M&Ms | Mini Cadbury Eggs | Chocolate Bunnies

I can’t wait for our next order!  I don’t know how I will out-do this dessert board, but maybe I will have to hunt or some extra special Easter basket fun!

If you want to the ease of Walmart+ for yourself to access their great prices without sacrificing convenience, you follow the instructions below!

How to Sign-Up for Walmart+

The price to sign-up for Walmart+ is $98 per year or $12.95 per month.

Go to www.walmart.com/plus > Click “Start 15 Day Free Trial” > Enter Address > Select Annual or Monthly Plan > Add credit card information > Submit by clicking “Start your 15-day free trial”

You will be shown a window with all the Walmart+ benefits available to you based on your address. Membership benefits vary based on your location.

Can’t wait to hear how you love Walmart+! It has been such a time saver for our family and hope it will help yours too!

Thanks to Walmart for Partnering this post!

:: Shop all the goodies below ::

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Directions

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We have made these for two years in a row now and they are always a huge hit!  I actually have to order my chocolate covered toffee bits off of Amazon because I can never find them in a store locally. Sometimes I will mix one pack of chocolate covered bits with just one pack of regular toffee bits and it still turns out delicious.

I just add a little red and green sprinkles to make it more festive.  You can add anything you want on top!

Holiday Heath Bar Cake

Recipe via Plain Chicken

Ingredients:

The post 5 Ingredient Holiday Heath Bar Cake appeared first on Home of Malones.

These Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies are a must make during the holidays. We did some baking this Christmas with the kids and had so much fun trying some new recipes.  We love delivering little homemade goodie bags to our neighbors and leaving them on their door steps with a special note from our family.  It is also fun to make bags for the UPS, USPS and Fed Ex Delivery men and women that are working over time delivering all of our purchases over the holidays.  I know they could use a little pick-me-up at 8:30pm when they are still making deliveries.

recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron found via

Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies
via Hello Adams Family

Ingredients
* 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese room temperature
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 3.9 ounces instant chocolate fudge pudding mix dry (unprepared)
* 1/4 cup white flour
* 1 18.4 ounces fudge brownie mix
* 1 3.5 ounces Ghirardelli peppermint bark bar
* 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
* Optional: 1/3 cup white chocolate chips, peppermint crunch sprinkles

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl fitted to a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. They must both be at room temperature — do not melt or soften in the microwave of your cookies will flatten more/ be less thick. Just leave out for about 45 minutes to an hour and they’ll be perfect!
3. Beat in the large egg and vanilla.
4. Beat in the pudding mix (do not prepare), and flour.
5. Beat in the fudge brownie mix. It will be extremely thick and takes a while to get a dough to form. This is intended. Just keep mixing and it will all come together even though it seems like it won’t.
6. Coarsely chop the peppermint bark bar. Stir in the chopped peppermint bark bar (reserve a few pieces to press in the top), chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips (if desired).
7. Scoop out cookies using a cookie scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat liner.
8. Bake for 13-16 minutes. Slightly under-baking these cookies gives them an awesome taste and texture like ultra fudge-y brownies so err on the side of slightly under-baking.
9. Optional: Make them pretty! Press a few pieces of the reserved peppermint bark bar or a few extra chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies right as they come out of the oven. Sprinkle the cookies with a bit of peppermint crunch sprinkles if desired (they stick to the melted chocolate chips).

** I would highly recommend under cooking them just a little. That way they maintain that soft, fudge center!

You won’t be able to resist one

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I made these cute mummy cookies (and also a few cupcakes) for Halloween with the kids last year and I realized I never shared the recipe. They were so easy, I wanted to make them with the kids again this year. These googly eyes are pretty much my favorite thing ever and I have gotten to where I keep them around the house year round for different projects. You can pick them up at craft stores and now usually Walmart or Target. How cute are the ones below with the little eyelashes???

Mummy Nutter Butters

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white chocolate candy melts or white chocolate
16 Nutter Butters
1 package small candy eyeballs (you can find at Target or Walmart usually)

DIRECTIONS

Put the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts until melted. Stir until smooth. 

Dip the cookies halfway into the melted candy. Let the excess drip off, then use a fork to smooth out the coating. Dip the fork tines in the candy melts and drizzle over the cookies, to look like mummy wrapping. Press on two candy eyes and then place on a baking sheet that is lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let sit until set, about 30 minutes.

What is one of your favorite Halloween Treats to make??

:: Other Halloween Treats We LOVE ::

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
Oreo Cats
Pumpkin Cheese Ball
Fall Pumpkin Pie Dip
Spookirita
Pumpkin Crumble Cake

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These little Easter nests are so cute and so yummy! I remember making these as a kid and I can’t believe I’ve never made them with my kids before. They loved stirring in the chow mien noodles and then placing each of the eggs on the nest!

Easter Nest Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• Wax paper
• 1 package  NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels
• 1/4 cup  creamy peanut butter
• 2 cans (5 ounces each)  chow mein noodles
• 30 to 60  candy coated milk chocolate mini eggs or speckled jelly beans, any flavor

DIRECTIONS

LINE trays with wax paper.

MICROWAVE morsels in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Stir in peanut butter until well blended.

ADD chow mein noodles to morsel mixture; toss until coated. Using ice cream scoop that measures about 2 rounded tablespoons, scoop and drop into muffin tin then immediately shape into nests. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Pop nests out of muffin tin (I used a knife to help). Before serving, place two or three mini Cadbury eggs in each nest. Store prepared nests in covered container for up to 1 day.

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I was the Mystery Reader in Brody’s class this week and since he has been on a Pete the Cat kick, I decided to read the Halloween version to his class.  I found this cute Oreo Cat recipe online that I thought would be adorable to bring in as a treat too.  They turned out so fun!! I wore my cat ears, used some eyeliner to draw a nose and whiskers on my face and the kids went crazy over the real LIVE Pete the Cat!! haha.

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Halloween Oreo Cats

Halloween Oreo Cats

via Thirty Handmade Days

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Mummy Nutter Butters

Here’s how to make the Mummy Nutter Butters

Makes 16 cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white chocolate candy melts or white chocolate
16 Nutter Butters or Milano cookies
1 package small candy eyeballs (Walmart and Target sell them)

PREPARATION

Put the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts until melted. Stir until smooth.

Dip the cookies halfway into the melted candy. Let the excess drip off, then use a fork to smooth out the coating.Dip the fork tines in the candy melts and drizzle over the cookies, to look like mummy wrapping. Press on two candy eyes and then place on a baking sheet that is lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let sit until set, about 30 minutes.

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PUMPKIN CRUMB CAKE

PUMPKIN CRUMB CAKE

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease one 9×13 inch pan.
2. Reserve 1 cup cake mix. In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry cake mix with 1 egg and 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix well, and then pat into prepared pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over crust.
4. In a small bowl, combine reserved 1 cup cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons softened butter. Crumble over pumpkin filling. Sprinkle nuts evenly over the top, if desired.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

{five}

TWO INGREDIENT PUMPKIN BREAD

TWO INGREDIENT PUMPKIN BREAD

And a Bonus Halloween Cocktail for the Parents

SPOOKIRITA

SPOOKIRITA

Makes 1 margarita

Kosher salt or coarsely ground sea salt (optional)
2 ounces (1/4 cup) silver tequila
2 ounces water
1 1/2 small limes (approx 1 1/2 ounces) fresh lime juice
1/2 of a medium orange  (about 1 ounce) fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
1 lime wedge or round, for garnish

Directions

Use this Black Salt and Neon Orange Food Coloring to make it festive.  The salt is for the rim and then just a tiny bit of this neon orange food coloring will make it bright orange.

Mix all ingredients together in a shaker.  Take cup, use lime to wet the rim, dip in black salt.  Pour margarita into glass.

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