recipes | SWEET SIMPLE STUFF

Cake pops are a wonderful thing, but have you ever tried cookie pops? These cookie pops are so simple … no baking required! Yesterday I wanted to make something that didn’t requiring turning the oven on … it was over 90° here in southern California. I decided to make cookie pops. I had made similar ones in the past using cream cheese, but did not feel comfortable about leaving them out of the fridge … did I mention that it was over 90°?

These cookie pops are made from cookies, therefore they are not as moist as a cake pop. My husband, the peanut butter addict, thought that they were wonderful.

You will need …

Lollipop sticks, sprinkles (optional) and chocolate for dipping!

Crush, crumble or smash the Nutter Butters … use a resealable plastic bag and rolling-pin or a food processor (I need to buy a new one) … you want crumbles not powder … pour them in a large mixing bowl …

Mix in the whole can of icing …

Prep a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parchment and melt about 1/2 cup of the chocolate. Roll the mixture into balls (3/4″ – 1″) … the mixture will be appear dry, but does firm up while you are working with it. Use a lollipop stick to “drill” a hole about half way into the ball … then dip the stick into the melted chocolate and insert it into the ball … lay on cookie sheet.

Put the tray of cookie pops in the fridge for 1 hour or until totally chilled. Prep a sucker stand (styrofoam) and chocolate for dipping … remove about 10 – 12 pops from fridge … start dipping making sure that you cover the entire ball all the way to the stick … tap off excess chocolate … add sprinkles (optional) and place in stand to dry!

NUTTER BUTTER COOKIE POPS

1 package of Nutter Butter cookies

1 16 oz. can vanilla frosting

1 pound of chocolate

Lollipop sticks

Sprinkles (optional)

Crumble cookies in resealable plastic bag (gallon size) and rolling-pin or use a food processor. Pour cookie crumbled cookies into a large mixing bowl. Add frosting and mix well. Prep cookie sheet with waxed paper or parchment and melt 1/2 cup of chocolate. Roll the cookie mixture into balls (3/4″ – 1″). Use a lollipop stick to “drill” a hole about half way into the ball, then dip the stick into melted chocolate and insert into the hole. Lay pop on cookie sheet and repeat until all mixture is used. Place tray of pops in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until chilled. Melt remainder of chocolate. Remove 10 – 12 pops from the fridge and dip into melted chocolate, making sure that the entire pop is covered in chocolate. Tap off excess chocolate, add sprinkles if desired and place pop in a lollipop stand or styrofoam to dry. Makes 35 – 40 pops

Do you love pie? I do … and I really love pie crust! I like to make my own crust, but sometimes I use ready-made refrigerated ones. So, while reading Womans Day magazine (April 1, 2011) I noticed this recipe that used refrigerated rolled pie crusts. I remembered that I had some in the freezer that “needed” to be used and I couldn’t resist. These are a nice treat with a cup of hot coffee or tea … need I say more. This is soooo easy …

You will need … refrigerated rolled pie crusts, jam, chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon … then sprinkle it on parchment paper. (note…the parchment paper is not burnt…my photo is not “bad”…I buy unbleached paper)

Unroll one crust, place it on the cinnamon-sugar mixture and press gently to help the mixture adhere to the crust.

Spread the jam evenly over the crust except for one edge section (the jam has a tendency to squish out when rolling) This is beginning to look like pizza!

Sprinkle the nuts on the jam and tightly roll it up, working toward the edge that is jam free. It is beginning to look like a big taquito … but where’s the guacamole? I must be hungry.

Trim the ends of each log, then cut into 1″ slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. They look like baby cinnamon rolls! I used 4 pie crusts and 4 different jams … I couldn’t make a decision … so made them all!

Jam Packed Pie Crust Pinwheels – adapted from Woman’s Day

For each flavor you will need:

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ready-made refrigerated rolled pie crust (room temperature)

1/4 cup jam

1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

1. Heat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle it on parchment paper covered work surface. Unroll one pie crust, place it on the cinnamon-sugar mixture and press gently to help the mixture adhere to the crust.

3. Spread the jam evenly over the crust (leaving an edge section free of jam) and sprinkle with nuts. Starting at the opposite the jam free end, tightly roll the dough into a log.

4. Trim the ends of each log, then cut into 1″ thick slices and stand them on edge on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.