Butterfinger Mix

Serving a snack that's called a "Butterfinger" Chex Mix probably isn't ideal when you're talking a menu for the Super Bowl. Clumsy Butterfingers and football don't mix. 

But, since the Chiefs aren't in contention this year, I am not overly invested in the game's outcome. So, if one of the teams has "butterfingers," so be it.

Of course, we will still watch the big game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. I'm probably leaning toward the Seahawks. If only former K-State Wildcat standout Tyler Lockett were still there ... Cheering for the Seahawks will also make Randy's cousin and my Pacific Northwest blog friend happy, so there is that. 

But let's get real. This year - like most of America - I'm mainly there for the snacks and the Super Bowl ads. 

This was the second Christmas season that I added Butterfinger Chex Mix to the snack mix repertoire. Our family enjoys the treat, and I also gave away some for gifts. 

 

It's super easy, especially if you use the the Butterfinger Bits. Another option is smashing up regular-sized or mini Butterfingers if you can't find the Butterfinger Bits. If your store stocks them, they are likely in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips and other mix-ins.  

Enjoy - whether you're watching the big game or just need a sweet, decadent snack! It would be a sweet treat for your Valentine, too!

Butterfinger Snack Mix

 

5 cups Chocolate Chex or regular Rice Chex cereal

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups Butterfinger Bits (or crushed candy bars)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

 

Preparing the coating: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the mixture is smooth and fully melted. Add vanilla and stir. 

 

Place the Chex cereal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently fold to coat evenly. Sprinkle the Butterfinger candy over the coated cereal and fold again to distribute evenly. 

 

Transfer the coated cereal into a large resealable plastic bag or a bowl with a lid. Add the powdered sugar; seal and shake until the cereal is fully coated. (I used an extra-large Tupperware bowl for mixing the whole recipe and just added my powdered sugar at the end.) 

 

Spread snack mix out on parchment paper or waxed paper. Cool and dry. Once set, transfer to a serving bowl or store in a sealed bag or bowl until serving.

 

NOTE:

• For the Butterfinger Snack Mix I gave away at Christmas, I mixed red and green Christmas M & Ms in to add a festive color. You could do the same, adding the colors of your favorite sports team.  

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Need other ideas for your Super Bowl party?

 

Click on the links for the recipes pictured below. Looking for something else? Type "bar cookie," "snack mix," "cookies," "sandwiches," "soup," etc., into the blog search engine. The search engine is found in the upper lefthand corner of the blog post.

Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs AND Sweet & Sour Baked Beans

BBQ Meatballs - Make them full-size or bite-sized

Chili Lime Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa 
Homemade Guacamole

 Cheesy Pull-Apart Sliders

 Zesty Italian Wraps

Turkey Club Pinwheels

Crescent-Wrapped Cranberry & Brie

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Lemon Muddy Buddies

Super Snack Mix-Up

  

Brownies for a Crowd

Butterfinger Blondies

Peanut Butter S'Mores Bars

 

Southwest Ranch Cheese Dip

 

Mischief Munch Crunch

Are you crunched for time? Your family or gift recipients might enjoy "crunching" this mix. And bonus! It's quick and easy.

I have lots of favorite snack mixes - probably too many, if I'm honest. This year, I asked my family which were "must-haves" for our Christmas gathering. Some of them require baking time or extra things like popping popcorn. 

While none of them mentioned Mischief Munch Crunch, I had written a note to myself last year that the mix was popular both at home and at the extended Moore family Christmas. Since we have a nut allergy at the Moore gathering, it is also a good one when you are avoiding things like peanut butter or nuts.

And it requires no baking at all so it is quick and easy to add to your arsenal of snacks at the last minute. Let's face it: The last minute is about to arrive. On second thought, it's probably already here.

Mischief Munch Crunch

Modified from Facebook

2 cups Golden Grahams cereal

1 cup Cookie Crisp cereal 

2 cups Life cereal

2 cups micro-mini pretzels

1 cup mini marshmallows

1/2 cup red and green M&Ms

12 oz. white chocolate/almond bark

2 tbsp. holiday sprinkles

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

 

In a large bowl, combine all cereals, pretzels, mini marshmallows and M&Ms. Melt almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. (I used 50 percent power so I wouldn't burn it.) Once melted, pour over cereal mixture, stirring to coat everything. Transfer mixture to lined baking sheet; top with holiday sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. Allow to set up before breaking into pieces.  

For gift giving, portion into decorated plastic bags or holiday tubs. 

Notes:

• The original recipe called for French Toast Crunch cereal. I can't find that in my area, so I used Golden Grahams.
• I cut back a little on some of the cereal and added the mini pretzels. I found mine at Glenn's Bulk Foods. I have seen the micro-mini size in discount stores, but I couldn't find them this year. I like the little bit of "salty" in a sweet mix. The amounts in the recipe are the amount I used.
  
• My almond bark had 24 ounces in the package, so I doubled the cereal/other ingredients and used the whole package of almond bark. Easy, peasy! And then I did it three times! I give a lot of snack mixes for gifts.
   

Ho, Ho, Holiday Baking!

  

I had good intentions. I was going to try a new holiday cookie recipe in time to blog about it this week. But I had an all-day meeting in Hutchinson on Tuesday and then finished up my Christmas shopping afterwards.Then I spent the bulk of the day helping with a funeral dinner at church on Wednesday. And even though I multi-tasked at the church by stuffing Christmas letters and cards in envelopes, I still didn't get a new recipe tried.

So, I searched Kim's County Line for some tried and true holiday ideas. Just think of it as the Ghost of Christmases Past ala The Christmas Carol. But these ghosts are yummy - not scary. Click on the links to find the recipes.

Happy Baking! I definitely have that on my weekend to-do list! These just represent a few of the treats I've featured since 2010. You can also search for specific things by typing "cookies," "bar cookies," "quick breads," "snack mixes," etc., into the blog's search bar found near the upper left.

Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars

Admittedly, these Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Bars aren't on the same level as the frosted sugar cookies my sister, Lisa, rolls out and turns into Santas, ornaments, stars and stockings each year. On the other hand, these sugar cookie bars take about a 10th of the investment of time. And they still:
1) Taste good.
2) Look pretty on a cookie tray.
Score and score! 

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Decorated Sugar Cookies

We've all been there: You see a cute idea in a magazine or on Facebook or Pinterest and think, "How hard can that be?" And then your version needs a caption to explain what you were attempting. But, this time, I think the County Line versions turned out pretty cute, though not as perfect as the air-brushed magazine photos.

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Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies look fancy. But there's a secret. They use a cookie mix for the base. 

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Fruit and Nut Chews (Date or Apricot Balls)

 These always look pretty on a cookie tray and would also work great for a cookie exchange! And you make them in a skillet.

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Frosted Shortbread

Even though I originally made these with fall-themed sprinkles, they could be easily adapted to Christmas.

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Caramel Chip Bars

These bars are really more candy than cookie. This recipe is one of those "must-make" ones on the holiday baking list.

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Chocolate Coffee Toffee Snack Mix

 Immeasurable Christmas Mix

Bonus! There are links to several snack mixes if you click the link above. (They just aren't decorated for Christmas.)

Super Snack Mix-Up

This is one of those "required" snack mixes at our extended family's Christmas celebration. (That's my problem: There are too many "required" treats. Perhaps that's why I didn't get a new one tried.)

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I'm linked today to Weekend Potluck. I was thrilled to see that my blog post from last week, Ham and Cheese Pinwheels, was one of the recipes featured. Click on any of the hostesses' links to see what's cooking for holidays in cooks' kitchen across the U.S.!

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Frugal Family Favorites ~ Tabitha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary

Peek Into the Manger

Great Bend First United Methodist Church

The light  makes the scene glow like sapphires, emeralds and rubies. The scene is perfection in that light: Each little piece of glass comes together perfectly to make a beautiful picture.

It would be easy to think that's what the Nativity is all about ... beauty, perfection, peace.  It's Advent. At our church, we pull out the perfectly-white porcelain Nativity scene and light the candles.

Nativity made by Dorothy Newell, Stafford UMC

In another church, the glow of stained glass catches the light of gold threads which run through the elaborate clothing garbing Mary, Joseph and the angel. 

Trinity UMC, Great Bend

In sanctuaries across the world, the winter light streams through stained glass windows, showing an idyllic, pristine scene. Mary glows. Joseph beams. Baby Jesus is bathed in the star's light. 

Holy Cross Catholic Church, Hutchinson, KS

But then I remember. Mary was likely 13 years old (or so). Maybe she wasn't so different from the girls in middle school choir, the ones I witness from the piano bench. Yes, the same ones who are nice as pie one day and then moody and withdrawn the next. (Who am I kidding? You don't have to be 13 to be like that.)

Mary was a young, unwed mother. She had just had her first baby - not in a well-appointed delivery room - but in a stable with animals all around. She laid Him in a manger filled with straw, not a crib with sheets that match a nursery theme. It wasn't all that pretty.

Jesus was born to a family that possessed little and worked hard to make ends meet.

How can we, in the midst of our culture's conspicuous consumption and demand for perfection, turn our focus on the Child who was born into poverty as a sign of hope and salvation for a broken world? While it may seem the world demands perfection, the Gospel message demands nothing from us. Rather, God invites us to gather around the manger just as we are: unfinished lists, burnt pies and all. No matter our imperfections, great or small, God invites us to peek into the manger and gaze at the real Christmas message: That Christ came for us all to be a beacon of hope for the hopeless and to bring peace.

Rev. Amy Slater, Stafford UMC newsletter, Christmas 2012

So, when the list seems overwhelming ... and the oven timer is ringing at the same time the dryer bell is sounding ... and there's too much to do in too little time: Remember it's not about perfection. It's about grace. And, like teenage Mary, listening for God's voice in our lives, then obeying.

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Gifts don't have to cost a lot of money to be meaningful. I enjoy giving gifts from the kitchen to family, friends, the mailman, the choir director ... the list goes on!

Snack mixes don't take much time to make, but they can be something that your gift recipient can use for unexpected guests or their own family gatherings. And, kind of like stained glass windows, the bits and pieces come together to make a delicious whole! Here are a few tried-and-true recipes that we enjoy at our house and I've given as gifts. Click on the links for the recipes and ENJOY!

Banana Cinnamon Snack Mix

Chocolate Coffee Toffee Snack Mix

Pumpkin Pie Crunch Mix

Immeasurable Snack Mix

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This is my December post from Lovely Branches Ministries. Click on this link to read my friend, Suzanne's, ideas for simplifying Christmas.

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I'm linked today to Michelle DeRusha's Hear It On Sunday, Use It On Monday. Check out what other bloggers of faith are saying today by clicking on the link.