Christmas is just around the corner and if you have kids like I do, you may be looking for a sweet, healthy and fun holiday treat.  These Santa strawberries are not only adorable, they are also delicious and kids of all ages are sure to enjoy them!  Easy to prepare, these whimsical Santa strawberries can be served as either an appetizer or dessert and though they will surely satisfy, they won’t weigh you down.  All you need to complete this recipe is 5 simple ingredients:  strawberries, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and mini chocolate chips.  The total preparation time is only about 30 minutes.

Check out this simple recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. (more…)

A reminder of those summer nights by the campfire.  A great dessert we found from “How Sweet It Is”  s’mores jar cakes have buttery graham crusts covered with fluffy double chocolate chip cake and pillowy marshmallow toppings that are so perfectly browned and bubbly you can taste the campfire and smell the midnight July breeze.

makes 4 16-ounce mason jar cakes

for crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs; 1/2 stick butter; pinch of salt; Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and mix in graham crumbs and salt. Mix until moistened. Spray 4 mason jars with non-stick spray and press graham crust into jars. I began by adding a tablespoon to each, and repeating until graham crumbs were gone. They don’t need to look perfect. I pressed the crumbs down firmly with the flat bottom of a clean screwdriver.

for cake: 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour; 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder; 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup milk; 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream; 1/2 cup butter, melted; 2 tablespoons sour cream

for topping: 1 bag of large marshmallows

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to mason jars one scoop at a time. You only want to fill them up about half way, and the batter should work evenly for 4 jars. Again – don’t worry if it is perfect. Place mason jars in a baking dish and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake is set.

Remove cake from the oven and press large marshmallows down on top, being careful not to burn yourself. There is no set number of marshmallows to use, I pressed down as many as I could, about 4-5 each. Heat the broiler on your oven and watching carefully, brown marshmallows for about 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not take your eyes off them! Serve immediately.