Faux Thin Mints out of Ritz Crackers

I saw this receipe at

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-your-own-thin-mints.html

and had most of the ingredients, so I thought I would give it a try. The taste was surprisingly similar to the Thin Mints that you buy from the Girl Scouts, but was chewy. Who would have thought a cracker could me made into a cookie!

I tweaked the ingredients from the original recipe as I did not have Milk Chocolate Chips by using the full bag of Dark Chocolate Chips and adding 2 TBSP margarine and 2 TBSP milk.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 box of Ritz Crackers
• 2 TBSP Margarine
• 2 TBSP Milk
• 2 TBSP Peppermint Extract

My recipe resulted in 30 cracker/cookies.

Melt the margarine and chocolate chips in a double boiler (or the equivalent) then add in 2 TBSP peppermint extract and mix.

Add in 2 TBSP milk and stir until fully mixed.

To coat the crackers, I put them in the chocolate and lightly turned them over and covered each with chocolate with a spoon, then put on a parchment lined piece of wax paper to cool. After they cooled off for about 5 mins, I stuck them in freezer for about 10 minutes then served them.

Easter Bunny "Carrots"

An Easter treat/basket stuffer without the sugar overload.

I was looking for ideas for things to put into basket that did not have sugar in them and was inspired by the following post. http://www.nofussfabulous.com/?p=4587

Items used:

• 1 quart size Ziplock bag (original project used Wilton disposable icing decorator bags)
• Orange crackers (original project used Goldfish crackers, I used Cheez-It Twisters)
• Green crepe paper (original project used green rick rack) or green rubber band(s) if you want to make just the stem.
• Scissors
• Sewing machine with thread
• Tape or glue

My project makes 4 carrots from one bag. I have enough crackers left that I probably make another 4 carrots.

Sew down the center of the bag on the sewing machine, starting at the bottom and stopping just before you get to the ziplock seal.

Sew a diagonal on each side, but with enough space so you can still fit crackers into the small opening at the top, then stitch another about 1/8th inch away from the original stitches. This is what it will look like after you are done doing that.

Cutting in between the stitches to separate the bags from each other.

This is what the bags will look like once you separate them.

Fill each bag with the crackers at the ziplock seal, two of the bags will be filled from the "top" of the carrot, and two from the "bottom" of the carrot.

To make the carrot tops, cut crepe paper into approx 3 inch strips for the top of the carrot.

Cut strips across the top of strip of crepe paper about 1/4 of an inch part but not all way through, just to about a 1/4 inch from the bottom of the strip.

Attach the crepe paper topper to the "top" of the carrot, you could use tape or glue (I started out using double sided tape but it did not stick well to the crepe paper and resorted to using glue)

If the opening turns out to be to small at top to insert the crackers, as this one was, cut the top open, fill it from the top and secure with a large green rubber band to make it look like the stem of the carrot.