Tag Archives: snack

Sweet & Simple: Fluffernutter Nilla Wafer Sandwiches

Sometimes, I stare vacantly into my pantry or fridge for what seems like hours on end. My face is void of expression, and my breathing slows until I enter a trance-like state. During this intense process, my mind is calculating, my eyes frantically scanning the food storage system in front of me as if it could spontaneously generate food from air alone. When at last this process comes to an end, I will snap back into consciousness, exhale with great vigor, and then come to the conclusion:

“THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT.”

Has this ever happened to you? It’s an all too common occurrence in a human’s every day life. We don’t really mean it in a literal sense. Clearly, if I’m staring into a fridge full of food, then there is plenty to eat. I’m just not in the mood for any of it.

On the other hand, there can be plenty of items in your fridge or pantry, but no conceivable way to make a meal out of it. You’ll look at the box of pasta and the fresh garlic and think, “I could make spaghetti,” only to then realize you have no form of tomato. For the duration of time you find yourself gawking into your fridge or freezer like a zombie, you are making these calculations, linking foods together to try and form a conceivable whole.

I found myself in this exact situation earlier this afternoon when my stomach cried out for a snack. I stared into my pantry for a good five minutes before informing my dog, Reese, that there was nothing (I think conversing with animals is a sign of starvation).

There was a cornucopia of foods in the kitchen, and I knew there was a way to bring it all together, I just had to figure out how. So, I stuck my head back into the pantry and assessed my options. I started weaving things together into a delicious web. Peanut butter…a snack pack of pudding I’ll probably never eat…Nilla wafers…Fluff…AHA!

Fluffernutter Nilla Wafer Sandwiches.

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Milk & Cookies Parfaits (or Trifle)

Cookies & Milk: A Tale of Love at First Dunk

Many moons ago, there was a time when cookies and milk had not yet been united. They were separate entities, living it two different worlds, unaware of the other’s existence. They wandered through life with no one to count on, no one to spend their days with. It was a dark time when cookies were dry and milk was devoid of crumbs.

Alas, then came the fateful day when one brilliant soul sat down to eat his cookies and said, “These cookies makes me thirsty, but I have not a drink to quench my parched tongue.” He person entered his fridge where he found a cold bottle of milk just begging to be poured. And poured it he did.

When he sat down to continue his cookie-consuming quest, he brought the cookie to his mouth and paused. He looked from the cookie to the milk, from the milk to the cookie. And suddenly, it all made sense.

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Bake Off: Tollhouse vs. Pillsbury Cookie Dough

There is not a crumb of doubt when it comes to the fact that scratch-made chocolate chip cookies are worlds better than any store-bought cookie dough. However, there are times when you don’t have the time or ingredients to bake from scratch. Also, a lot of people just don’t like full-on baking. It’s not everybody’s thing. Well, if you insist on buying the premade dough from the grocery store, then you should at the very least buy the tastiest kind you can. So, who makes better chocolate chip cookie dough: Tollhouse or Pillsbury?

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Sweet & Simple: 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Contrary to what some people may think, having a food website does not mean you cook and bake elaborate eats every single day. In fact, with life constantly forging ahead at full-speed, I usually wind up eating quick and simple things more than I do the fancy and indulgent. This is especially the case when it comes to dessert. I rarely have time to make a fancy dessert, so I find myself getting creative. If you want a delicious dessert to curb your craving for something sweet at the end of your day but don’t have time to bake, then you’ll have to work with the time you’ve got.

That, my little cookies, is where this 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Rice Pudding comes in. You need only 2 things to whip it up: pumpkin butter & a rice pudding snack pack. Stir it up and eat up! And, if you’re feeling extra indulgent, you can add a dollop of whipped cream.

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White Chocolate-Walnut Blondies w/ Maple Butter Sauce

There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones with an insatiable sweet tooth, and the ones who could care less about dessert. If you’re a dessert junky like myself, then you’ve often pondered how the latter category can exist. How can anyone not be obsessed with sweets??? They’re so delicious and…sweet! But those people are out there, my little cookies, and, chances are, you know a couple of them. You might even be one yourself.

In most cases, it’s not that those people are dessert-haters; it’s just that they can live without it (although, there are some people who really just don’t like sweets, and they are a complete and utter mystery to me). If you’re like me, then you can’t imagine a life without dessert; it’d be like a life without love. But we must be respectful of each other’s eating preferences and, therefore, not force sweets upon those who do not have the sweet tooth.

My sweet tooth took some time to grow in. I would eat dessert from time to time when I was younger, and I would enjoy it, but my ability to go to sleep at night didn’t rely on whether or not I’d eaten dessert. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment at which this changed; all I know is that dessert gets me through the day. And, as much I LOVE cooking, I will always love baking a little bit more.

Ever since my sweet tooth came in, I’ve been participating in an ongoing battle with my mother. You see, she’s one of those people, the kind who doesn’t care much for sweets. She’s just not a dessert person (her words, not mine). It always disappoints me a little when I bake and she doesn’t get as excited as I do. She always loves my sweet treats, don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t elicit the same reaction as it would’ve if I’d made her a cheeseburger instead.

With the exception of when I made my Soft Pumpkin Cookies, I’ve always found it hard to excite my mother when it came to desserts. I’d pretty much given up on her and just accepted that she would never care for dessert, that is, until I made these blondies.

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Seriously Cereal: Lucky Charms is Magically Delicious For All Ages

The frazzled cry of, “They’re after me lucky charms!” still rings in the ears of many American adults. As children, we grew up watching Lucky the Leprechaun endlessly fleeting from greedy children with no sense of boundaries. They were, indeed, ALWAYS after his lucky charms. Poor Lucky never caught a break. Even today, he is still on the run. The children are as determined as ever, in hot pursuit of that colorful, marshmallow-studded cereal. But really, who can blame them?

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Sweet & Simple: Nutter Butter & Jelly Wafer Sandwiches

The dynamic duo of peanut butter & jelly is perhaps one of the most iconic in America. It is a childhood staple, and almost impossible not to like. It’s a taste we learn to love at a young age and an adoration we never really lose. In theory, it may not make sense. Grapes & peanuts? Nonsense! But when put together in reality, a perfect salty-sweet symphony results. No other combo compares.

I find that people are always looking for new ways to fuse together PB&J without stuffing them inside the same old sandwich. My quick & easy snack, Nutter Butter & Jelly Wafers, is a tasty new twist on that classic combo. Simply sandwich jelly in between two crisp & airy, PB-stuffed Nutter Butter Wafers, and you’ve got a sweet & simple snack that’s full of awesome PB&J flavor. It’s an easy and delicious snack, perfect for serving to your kids when they get home from school or to yourself when you’re yearning for a sweet & salty fix!

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Seriously Cereal: Cascadian Farm’s Organic Cinnamon Crunch Cereal

Seriously Cereal is a new series to The Smart Cookie Cook. It explores all things cereal & is devoted to all you cerealists (cereal-enthusiasts) out there. We’ve got to stick together!

I’m sure that many cerealists like myself will agree when I say that General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of the greatest cereals of all time. Those crunchy squares sprinkle my memories of childhood with sweet cinnamon-sugar bliss. Is it their pleasant crisp texture that made them so delightful? Is it their ribbed surfaces, all the more better for trapping sweet coating? No, as important as these components are, it is clearly that visible layer of cinnamon-sugar cradling each square that made them so darn tasty. What person, especially a child, doesn’t love pure sugary goodness?

Just because I’m technically an adult doesn’t mean I don’t still adore Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Age doesn’t affect deliciousness. I’m crazy about cereal, and I’ll still happily shovel in spoonfuls of the sweet stuff. However, if you’ve ever looked at the nutrition facts on Cinnamon Toast Crunch, then you know it’s pretty horrifying:

A teeny-tiny 3/4 cup serving has:

  • 130 calories
  • 3 grams of fat
  • 10 grams of sugar

Now, let’s consider the fact that most people are probably going to eat TWICE that. Then we’re looking at almost 300 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 20 grams of sugar, and that’s not even counting the milk. Moreover, the ingredient list contains many scary, unidentifiable words, which is never reassuring.

When you’re a kid, none of this matters. You can inhale a swimming pool of ice cream or gallons of soda and not receive the slightest consequence, or judgment for that matter. When you’re an adult, it’s different. According to cultural standards, you aren’t supposed to eat sugary, indulgent things for breakfast. Plus, your metabolism starts taking time off and you find yourself becoming more health conscious.

So what do you do when you need your crunchy, cinnamon-sugar cereal fix?

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Sweet & Simple: Easiest Ever Chocolate Mousse

Light. Fluffy. Rich. Decadent.

These are the things that chocolate dreams are made of. What dessert give us all of this in one complete chocolate-infused package? Chocolate mousse. Unfortunately, this dessert has been forgotten over the past couple of years. You used to be able to find chocolate mousse on any dessert menu. Now, it has taken a step out of the spotlight, and I hardly ever see its name in lights. Well, who decided chocolate mousse wasn’t worthy of playing the all-important role of dessert? Is it not “cool” anymore? I’m sorry but, for me, food never goes out of style. It’s like creme brulee or the shadow soon to fall on cupcakes; they may no longer be a “trend,” but they are no less delicious than before.

I remember Chocolate Mousse. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I still love it.

So what do you do when you find yourself craving chocolate mousse at 8 o’clock at night with little desire to actually make some?  (8 o’clock for me is like midnight for normal people). I’ll tell you what you do: you make the Easiest Chocolate Mousse on the face of the Earth. There’s only 2 ingredients. Two. That’s it!

A rock could make this mousse.

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Pumpkin S’mores

When most of us said goodbye to summer, we also bid farewell to short shorts, flip flops, cookouts, and s’mores. With a heavy heart, we realized that it would be another long year until such things came back into our lives again. And so, we turned to embrace Autumn. Well, my little cookies, grieve no longer. Although I cannot give you warm weather or a society that approves of wearing sandals in October, I can give you s’mores. With this special autumn twist, they are limited to summer no longer.

Behold: Pumpkin S’mores.

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