No Bake Oatmeal M&M Balls

I recently found this recipe on Pinterest and they are SUCH a delicious treat that is a little healthier than a cookie.

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups oats

1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I did 1/2 cup of each)

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini M&Ms

Mix in a large bowl and then roll into balls. I refrigerate mine, but it is not necessary.

Enjoy!

XO,

Sarah

Festive Fruit Pizza

Happy holiday weekend! Almost every year I make a fruit pizza for the fourth of July! I love how you can arrange the fruit in so many different ways, and my favorite fruits happen to be very patriotic colors (strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries). Fruit pizza is the perfect summer treat because it's fresh and light, and perfect for a hot day. It is always a crowd pleaser!

This year I wanted to try something a little different and little more personalized instead of one big cookie you had to cut into. I decided to make individual little fruit pizzas. I used little springform pans to make them which can be found here (I used the smallest size) and they worked great! I stacked four of them into a cake and then did a couple more on the side - you can do it either way!

Here is the recipe:

Crust:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cream of tarter

Bake 8-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting:

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 small pkg. (8 oz.) Cool Whip

Make sure the cookie crust is completely cooled before frosting. Arrange the fruit on top and enjoy! Keep refrigerated before you serve!

Have a safe 4th of July weekend!

XO,

Sarah

Mini Blueberry Pies

Crust:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup shortening

4-6 tbsp. cold water

 This recipe is for 2 crusts (top and bottom). You will need 3-4 crusts for 5-6 mini pies. You could also buy remade crusts and use those also.

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in shortening using knives until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water 1 tbsp. at a time. Flour should be moist and dough should be able to be formed into a ball. Form into ball and divide in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 45 minutes or until the dough is firm and cold. If you refrigerate any longer, let it sit out at room temperature before rolling out. Flatten out the crusts using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. 

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

6 cups fresh blueberries

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. butter

I made 5 mini pies and used one recipe of the filling and 3 crusts (one and a half recipes of above). You could also use this filling recipe to make one 9 inch pie.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a bowl. Carefully stir in blueberries. Sprinkle with lemon juice. 

Grease pie tin and place bottom layer of crust down. If there are air pockets, make small holes in the crust with a knife or fork to let the air out. Fill with blueberry mixture. Cut the butter into small pieces and sprinkle on top of each pie. Put top lattice pie crust on alternating over, under for each strip. Sprinkle some sugar or cinnamon sugar on top before baking. 

Bake for around 25-30 minutes. Start with tin foil on top of each pie and remove it when there is about 15 minutes left.

Enjoy!

XO,

Sarah