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Copyright 2015, The Prepared Pantry. All rights reserved.

The material herein is published by The Prepared Pantry for the private use of individuals and may not be used for commercial purposes without the express consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is believed accurate but the publisher makes no warranties, express or implied, and the recipient is using this information at his or her own risk.

A Guide to Holiday Party Snacks

Get into the holiday spirit, no matter what holiday it is, with this e-book. We’ve given you a ton of ideas for holiday party snacks for the 4th of July, Easter, Halloween, New Years and more.

Part I: Easter...............................................................................................2Spun Sugar Nest Easter Cupcakes..............................................................2Marshmallow Butterfly Topped Cupcakes...................................................4Coconut Nest Easter Cupcakes....................................................................6Candy Popcorn Easter Eggs.........................................................................7Part II: 4th of July and Summer BBQs........................................................8Firecracker Pretzel Sticks..........................................................................8Fireworks Patriotic Beverage......................................................................9Red, White and Blue Trifle..........................................................................9Red, White & Blue Chocolate Covered Strawberries..................................10Patriotic Surprise Cupcakes......................................................................12Chicken Fingers.........................................................................................13Easy Barbecue Beef Sandwiches................................................................13Sione’s Barbecue Chicken..........................................................................14Easy Lil’ Corn Dogs....................................................................................15Bacon Roasted Corn on the Cob..............................................................16Apple and Pear Coleslaw............................................................................17Part III: Halloween and Thanksgiving........................................................18Chocolate Halloween Cupcakes.................................................................18A Cup of Dirt..............................................................................................19Caramel Apple Dip.....................................................................................19Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples..........................................................20Simple Pumpkin Chips..............................................................................21Melissa’s Pumpkin Bar Cookies................................................................22No-Bake Turtle Pumpkin Pie.....................................................................23Part IV: Christmas and New Years............................................................24Cinnamon Vanilla Sugared Pecans............................................................24Cranberry Walnut Heavenly Hash.............................................................24Easy Mint White Chocolate Fudge.............................................................25Christmas Cookie Wreaths........................................................................26Christmas Butter Cookies.........................................................................26Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies...........................................................27Painted Christmas Cookies.......................................................................28Gingerbread Men......................................................................................29Holiday Cranberry Salad..........................................................................30Ham and Cheese Canapés.........................................................................30Deviled Crab Canapés................................................................................31Shrimp with Lemon Chive Butter Canapés...............................................31Six Great Snacking Cheeses to Serve with Fruit.........................................32Part V: Birthdays and Other Parties..........................................................34Root Beer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Frosting.........................34Kids’ Party Munch.....................................................................................35Soft Homemade Pretzels...........................................................................36Simple Homemade Cream Puffs................................................................38Dutch Babies in 14 Minutes.......................................................................42

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Part I: EasterSpun Sugar Nest Easter Cupcakes

By Casey Archibald

I was browsing the Internet for Easter cupcake ideas when I came across the cutest thing—spun sugar nests as cupcake toppers. Adorable, but harder than it looks. These delightful desserts are not for the faint of heart, but they are well worth the effort if you’re willing to give it a shot.

I’d like to say that everything we try in the kitchen works out perfectly, but the truth is we usually make quite a few mistakes before we get things right. This was our first time trying spun sugar and after one pot of blackened sugar, another of crystalized mess, a few singed fingers and several piles of knotted wisps of hardened sugar, we finally got it right.

The end result? A delicate nest of spun sugar topped with three blue Cadbury eggs sitting on a Bavarian cream-filled cupcake with

caramel frosting. They were spectacular.

Because we made a few mistakes along the way, we learned some tricks that we would like to share:

Use an ice bath to avoid burning the caramel. After burning our first batch of sugar, we decided to try something different. Place a thermometer in your pot of sugar so you can carefully monitor the temperature. The heating process starts slow, but once it starts getting closer to the goal temperature of 302 degrees, it speeds up. We placed a large, metal bowl full of ice next to our stove top and quickly placed our hot pot of sugar on top of the ice bowl so it would stop cooking.

Don’t leave your pot in the ice bath for too long. If you leave your pot in the ice for too long, it will start to cool and it will be very hard to spin. We found that out the hard way.

As soon as your temperature stops going up, take the pot of sugar out of the ice.

If your sugar cools too quickly, you can reheat it. The sugar you are spinning should be very much a liquid. If it starts to harden, heat it up slowly, until it returns to a liquid form.

Try using a tiny sauce bowl to help shape your nest. We flipped over a very small bowl and shaped our nest to it as we spun the sugar.

For the CupcakesOne package of our Vanilla Bean Baby

Cakes. Make the cupcakes as directed on the package and let cool.

For the FillingBavarian Cream Pastry Filling

Caramel Frosting1 c. caramel ice cream topping, warmed

1/2 c. butter

1-1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. caramel flavor

2-4 tbs. milk or cream

Directions1. Fill the cooled cupcakes with the

Bavarian Cream filling.

2. To make the frosting, scrape the soft caramel into the bowl with your stand-type mixer. Make sure the caramel is not too warm to melt the butter and add the cold butter to the caramel and beat.

3. Add the powdered sugar and flavor and beat in. Add enough milk or cream to reach the right consistency.

For Spun Sugar Nests (makes 12 nests)

2 tablespoons corn syrup

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup water

1/8 tsp caramel flavor

36 blue chocolate Cadbury eggs (3 for each cupcake)

Directions1. In a large saucepan, combine the

corn syrup, sugar and water. Heat on medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves.

2. Increase the heat and boil until the temperature reaches 302 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. Once it reaches the proper temperature, remove from the heat and

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Ingredients½ cup blue Gatorade

½ cup white, pina colada flavored Sobe

½ cup cranberry juice

¼ cup ice cubes (use a star-shaped ice cube tray)

Red or blue Pop Rocks

Directions1. Pour the Pop Rocks onto a plate. Wet

the rim of the glass with a little water and dip the rim into the Pop Rocks so they stick.

2. Carefully pour the cranberry juice in the bottom of a glass. Make sure the drink with the highest sugar content is on the bottom. Add the ice.

3. Then add the pina colada Sobe, or the drink with the second highest sugar content. Pour slowly and carefully so it doesn’t mix too much with the cranberry juice.

4. Slowly add the Gatorade, or the drink with the lowest sugar content. Enjoy!

Yield: Makes one glass.

Part II: 4th of July and Summer BBQs

Firecracker Pretzel Sticks

The 4th of July is coming and it’s time to make new memories with these fun and delicious red, white and blue treats. It’s gotten me in a patriotic mood, and we hope it does the same for you!

By Casey Archibald

IngredientsPretzels rods

White chocolate melting wafers or chips

Red and/or blue food color

Patriotic sprinkles

Pop Rocks

Black licorice rope

Directions1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-

safe bowl in 30 second intervals until completely melted. Stir the chocolate between each interval. Add the food color until the desired color is reached. Stir in the color. (If you want red, white and blue, melt the chocolate in separate bowls, one for blue, one for red, and one without food color.)

2. Dip the pretzel rods in the chocolate, leaving enough space at the bottom for people to hold onto with their fingers. Lay the dipped pretzels onto a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface.

3. Quickly, before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the rods with the patriotic sprinkles and the Pop Rocks.

4. Snip pieces about a ½-inch long of the black licorice rope and attach to the top of each rod on the melted chocolate. If the chocolate is too hard, dip one end of the rope into the bowl of warm chocolate to glue it onto the pretzel rod. Let harden and serve.

Fireworks Patriotic Beverage

Red, White and Blue Trifle

What You'll Need1 Prepared Pantry Vanilla Baby cakes

mix, made according to directions

1-2 drops of red food color

1-2 drops of blue food color

Whipped cream (see following recipe)

Strawberries, washed and sliced

Blueberries, washed

Directions1. Make the cake mix according to the

directions. Divide the batter in half. Use the red food color to dye one half of the batter and the blue food color to dye the second half. If the 1-2 drops of dye aren’t enough add some more.

2. Bake the cake in two 8-inch round pans according to directions, until done.

3. Let the cake layers cool and then cut into 1-inch chunks using a bread knife. It’s okay if the chunks are a little messy or uneven, it will still look good in the finished product.

4. In a trifle dish, layer half of the blue chunks in the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of whipped cream, and then a layer of blueberries.

5. Next, place a layer of red cake chunks, followed by a layer of whipped cream and a layer of sliced strawberries.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the top of the trifle dish is reached.

7. Make sure the top layer of the trifle is whipped cream, then top with strawberries and blueberries in a creative design.

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Part III: Halloween and ThanksgivingChocolate Halloween Cupcakes

A Cup of Dirt

This is really easy and the kids will get a real kick out of it. It is perfect for a kids birthday party or a Halloween party.

What You'll NeedPaper cups

Chocolate cookies (such as oreos), crushed

Chocolate ice cream or pudding

Chocolate syrup

Gummy worms, or other candies

Directions1. Crumble some chocolate cookies and

put them in the bottom of each cup.

2. Spoon chocolate ice cream or pudding on top of the cookies.

3. Pour chocolate syrup over the ice cream.

4. Crush some more chocolate cookies. Sprinkle the crumbs over the chocolate syrup until you have a cup of dirt.

5. Garnish with gummy worms or other candies (use your imagination for a Halloween theme).

IngredientsChocolate cupcake mix, like our Very

Fudgy Baby Cakes or a recipe

Chocolate Ganache (use following recipe)

White frosting

Green food coloring

Candy pumpkins

Directions1. Make the cupcakes as directed.

2. Let the cupcakes cool.

3. Dip or spread the tops of the cupcakes in the chocolate ganache.

4. Decorate the tops with the green frosting by using a piping bag with a tip, or using the cut corner of a ziplock sandwich bag. (see image)

5. Top the cupcakes with a candy pumpkin.

Easy Chocolate GanacheGanache is a simple chocolate sauce that is luscious, easy to make, and very versatile. By altering the ratio of whipping cream to chocolate, you can make it thin for an ice cream topping, thick like a paste for a sandwich filling between two cookies, or somewhere in between to drizzle over a cake. Light corn syrup is sometimes added to create glaze for drizzling. The following recipe will yield a thick, paste like ganache. You can thin it by adding more cream.

Ingredients1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces

4 tablespoons butter

Directions1. Bring the cream and vanilla to a boil.

2. In a medium bowl, pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the butter.

3. Let the ganache cool until it reaches the desired consistency.

Caramel Apple Dip

One way to get kids to eat fruit is to sweeten it up. Apple wedges with caramel dip are a favorite of adults and kids alike. This dip is lighter than most—almost a milky caramel. We think you will enjoy it.

This is an easy, three-step recipe. To serve this in a lunch, pack a small tub full of dip.

Ingredients1-1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions1. In a heavy saucepan, mix the sugar,

cornstarch, and about 1/4 cup of the milk together. Stir until mixed and dissolved.

2. Add the remaining milk and corn syrup. Cook until bubbly then cook and stir for two more minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and add the butter and extract. Let cool.

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Part IV: Christmas and New YearsCinnamon Vanilla Sugared Pecans

Our son brought back some cinnamon and sugar coated pecans from the mall. We liked them and set out to make our own. The result was this cinnamon and vanilla rendition. Give them a try.

We love this recipe with the cinnamon vanilla but if you don’t have cinnamon vanilla sugar, you may use a cinnamon and sugar mixture for a very nice snack. For a cinnamon sugar mixture, use one tablespoon cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar. Be sure to use good quality cinnamon.

Ingredients1 large egg white

3 cups pecan halves

1/3 cup cinnamon vanilla sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

DirectionsPreheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Whisk the egg white in a cup. Pour the egg whites over the nuts, stirring until the nuts are coated with egg white.

2. In a small bowl, stir the cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and salt together. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture to the nuts, a little a time, while stirring.

3. Spread the coated nuts on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes without stirring. Use a spatula to remove the nuts from the hot baking sheet immediately. Allow to cool thoroughly before storing in tightly closed container. Store in a cool place.

Easy Mint White Chocolate Fudge

This is easy. Melt the chocolate with the sweetened condensed milk, add the goodies, and put it in a pan. It’s surprisingly good for such an easy recipe. Be sure to use good quality chocolate.

Ingredients1 pound (about three cups) white

chocolate wafers or other quality white chocolate

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon mint flavor

2 drops green food coloring

1 cup walnut pieces

Directions1. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with foil.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk until the pieces are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in the mint flavor, food coloring, and walnuts. Pour the fudge into the prepared baking pan. Cover and freeze for four hours or until firm.

2. Holding the edges of the foil, lift the block of fudge from the pan. Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the fudge into squares. Store your fudge in the refrigerator or freezer.

Variations: Consider this recipe a template. Try white or dark chocolate. Add nuts, raisins, candy pieces, or candied fruit. For dark chocolate variations, use vanilla or almond extract.

Baker’s note: This fudge can get sticky if left on the counter for too long so keep it in refrigerator or the freezer for best results.

Cranberry Walnut Heavenly HashUse your microwave to make this easy candy. This fudge-like candy tends to be soft and needs to be refrigerated to stay firm.

Ingredients1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed

milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup walnut pieces

1 cup dried cranberries

3 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions1. Line a 9 x 9-inch pan with aluminum

foil and then coat the foil with butter.

2. Place the sweetened condensed milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the mixture in the microwave for about two minutes, stopping once or

twice to stir. The mixture should be hot but not boiling.

3. Add the chocolate chips and cocoa powder and stir. Let sit for a minute and then stir again. In the heat of the mixture, the chocolate chips should melt. Stir until smooth. If the chips don’t melt, reheat the mixture.

4. Stir in the vanilla. Add the cranberries, nuts, and marshmallows and stir until evenly distributed.

5. Scrape the candy mixture into the prepared pan. Press the candy down into an even block with your greased fingers, a sturdy spatula, or a sheet of waxed paper. Place the pan in the refrigerator and let harden for several hours or overnight.

6. When you are ready to cut the candy, remove the pan from the refrigerator and the candy from the pan by grabbing the edges of the aluminum foil and lifting. Peel the aluminum foil from the candy. Place the block of candy on a cutting board and cut into even squares with a sharp, serrated knife. Store in the refrigerator.

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Root Beer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Frosting Chocolate Butter Frosting

3/4 cup butter

about 5 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Additional milk as required

Directions1. Cream the butter. Add half the

powdered sugar and two tablespoons milk. Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, beating as you go. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate. Add more milk as required to reach a spreadable consistency.

Part V: Birthdays and Other Parties

It was a family party, Grandma Maloney’s birthday party—barbeques and salads and Mike’s homemade root beer. We were to bring the cakes. We couldn’t bring just any cake so we started experimenting.

We had some root beer soda left over from our camping trip. Why not use that? The carbonation will create bubbles in the batter. We added buttermilk. Buttermilk is an acid and will react with soda, an alkaline creating additional leavening.

Three cakes later, we had a very good cake. It was surprisingly light and moist with just a hint of root beer flavor. We wanted it chocolaty but not so much that it overwhelmed the root beer flavor. This worked.

The cake got a thumbs up—from youngest to oldest. You’ll want to add this to your recipe collection.

This interesting cake has just a touch of root beer flavor but it comes out light and moist.

Ingredients3/4 cup shortening

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa, or good quality cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 12-ounce can root beer, non sugar-free

DirectionsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust with flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

1. Cream the shortening and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat for five or six minutes so that the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla.

2. In another bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda together.

3. In three or four additions, add the dry ingredients and the liquids to the creamed mixture alternately starting and ending with the dry ingredients. (Each time that we made this, we added the buttermilk first then one half of the soda and finally, the rest of the soda.) Mix only until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool completely before frosting.

Baker’s Note: When making a cake such as this, you are mixing oil (shortening) and water (soda pop and buttermilk)—which don’t mix. The egg yolks act as an emulsifier, a bonding agent between the oil and water molecules and the flour absorbs much of the water. That is why you start with the flour addition—so that the water doesn’t overload the fat mixture before the flour is there to start absorbing water. It’s also why you add the liquids in stages between the flour additions.

Kids’ Party Munch

This works as an after-school snack, a trail mix, an after-lunch dessert, or, as the title implies, a party munch. Collaborate with your children to use the ingredients that he or she likes best.

Ingredients2 cups Chex-type cereal

1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

1/2 cup M&M’s

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Options: Any of the following may be added or substituted in the recipe—other nuts, coconut, miniature marshmallows, peanut M&M’s, dried fruit, miniature pretzels or any other item you would like to add.

1. Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl. Store in a tightly covered container.