Chocolate Candy Halloween Bark

Halloween-themed candy bark that takes five minutes to prepare and tastes sinfully delicious? Yes PLEASE.

All you have to do is melt some chocolate, add your favorite candy into it, and refrigerate it for about an hour to make a simple, sugar-filled bark. It’s a fun and different way to eat Halloween candy.

The nice thing about this bark is that you can tailor it to your dietary restrictions. Make it gluten-free by using certified gluten-free chocolate and candy (so leave out the Oreos and swap the pretzel M&M’s for crushed gluten-free pretzels). Make it vegan by using vegan chocolate chips, non-dairy milk, and your favorite vegan halloween candies. No Whey Chocolate makes vegan versions of pretzel M&M’s and Reese’s piecescalled NoNo’s that you can order online and use instead of the originals.

I made this candy bark in my dorm room microwave but couldn’t find vegan chocolate candy on my college campus. Thus, the chocolate was vegan but the candy was not so I just gave it to some friends.

There’s no reason not to make this chocolatey treat. It’s so simple that even the laziest college student can make it. As I said, I made it in my dorm room microwave! Plus, you can snack on the chocolate as you make it.

Gift everyone you know, from your friends to your arch-enemy, this treat (instead of a trick)!

makes 8 servings

this recipe was first published in my second Spoon University article!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 package pretzel M&M’s/ NoNo’s
• 1 package peanut M&M’s/ 1/4 cup peanuts
• 1 package Reese’s pieces/ Pea”not” butter NoNo’s
• 8 crushed Oreos

Instructions

Gather your ingredients.

Measure out chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet) and milk (I used soy) into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture to smoothen it out. Add in more milk as needed.

Add the candy to the chocolate and mix everything together.

Line a cutting board, piece of cardboard, or cardstock with plastic wrap. Pour the bark mixture onto the plastic wrap and smooth it out so it’s about a ½ inch thick.

Freeze the bark for about an hour, or until it’s hardened. Take out, break into pieces, and enjoy!

Happy Halloween! Eat all the candy you want today and have fun seeing all the trick-or-treaters! Let me know the coolest costume you saw.

Fall Travel Essentials

The temperature is decreasing in fall, and with these colder winds comes an itch to leave, to fly away somewhere warmer and summery. At least that’s how the birds and I both feel. As much as I like this crisp season full of everything pumpkin and falling leaves, I miss summer and crave warmth like you wouldn’t believe.

I don’t have any plans to travel THIS fall except to go to my real home for Thanksgiving break, but that’s only an hour away. However, I made a list of my fall travel essentials for those of you ready to jet off to somewhere exciting. Check out my travel advice and carry-on essentials, and let me know where you’re off to on your next adventure!

Travel Advice:

• Wear comfy clothing that you can sleep and relax in. My favorite travel clothes are leggings, a graphic t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. The pants from Betabrand are also great to travel in, and they have options from cute travel jeans to yoga pants.
  • Remember to keep in mind the temperature of the place you’re traveling to so you’ll be prepared clothing-wise when you land.
• Wear layers. The temperature in an airport can be hotter than the sun or colder than Antartica within the same hour . Wearing layers allows you to be comfortable at any temperature by either taking clothes off or putting them on.
• Bring a carry-on neck pillow so you can sleep more comfortably in the airport or on the plane.
• Bring a carry-on backpack full of travel essentials.

Here’s what’s in my carry-on backpack:

• an extra pair of clothing just in case my suitcase gets lost: a pair of pants, a t-shirt, and undergarments.
• activities for the plane
  • paperback books
  • my phone and headphones
  • journal and pens to write all about my travel experiences so I can share them on the blog! Check out my travel log on my trip to Guatemala here and my Asia trip log here.
• snacks
  • granola/ granola bars
  • nuts
  • dried fruit
• mini hand sanitizer
• lip balm and lotion because planes are SO DRY
• a water bottle

Want ideas of what to pack in your suitcase? Look here! Want more travel advice, especially about traveling on a special diet (like veganism)? Look here!

Good luck with your fall travel! Where are you going, or where would you like to go this fall?

4-Ingredient Microwave Cookies + an Announcement

Hey and happy Wednesday!

Let’s get right to it- I have an exciting announcement. Have you ever heard of Spoon University? If you haven’t, it’s a food writing website for college students by college students. Colleges have chapters, and each chapter makes articles and hosts cool events like this one. I joined my school’s chapter and published my first post today (!!!!).

I am so excited about being involved with Spoon. How excited you ask?

THIS EXCITED.

Here’s a pic of me and donuts the size of my FACE at an event our chapter hosted this past Monday. 

My article is a recipe of four-ingredient cookies that you can make in your microwave. They’re great for busy college students everywhere because they only contain four ingredients and take like six minutes total to make and bake. They’re healthy enough to make for breakfast, but they’re also a great healthy snack or dessert for those not wanting to gain the freshman 15. Give them a try and show “Cupcake Wars” that you don’t need an oven to make satisfying dessert!

Please check out my first article and tell me what you think! HERE‘S the link. 

 

Four-Ingredient Microwave Cookies

Makes 6 cookies

• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup nut butter of choice- I used peanut butter
• 3 100 calorie packets of oats (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Mash the banana in a small bowl or mug.
2. Stir in the nut butter.
3. Stir in the oats.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Form the cookie dough into 2 inch balls. Place on a (microwave safe) plate and heat in the microwave for a minute and 10 seconds.
6. Take out of the microwave, let cool for a few minutes, and enjoy!

I hope your day is as fun as you are.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies are the ugly duckling of the cookie jar. They seem to always be passed up for the more “appetizing” chocolate chip studded cookies. Poor oatmeal raisin cookies.

These oatmeal raisin cookies are not ugly ducklings. They are tender, perfectly spiced, and filled with plump raisins. The more raisins the better is my philosophy when it comes to these cookies because they add a sweet surprise to each bite.

I promise you that these oatmeal raisin cookies will not be passed up. They will be eaten faster than it takes for a grape to be turned into a raisin. Actually that’s a bad example since grapes take days to shrivel into raisins. How about these cookies will go faster than you can say, “Baby, it’s cold outside?” Yes, that’s better. And it’s true because baby it IS cold outside.

You know how you can warm yourself up though? By turning on your oven and making these cookies. They taste like fall, especially when paired with a pumpkin spice latte* (aka fall’s official drink). 😉 What are you waiting for? Go get out your mixing bowl and prove to the world that oatmeal raisin cookies are not ugly duckings with this cookie recipe. Enjoy!

makes 14 cookies

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 + ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp nondairy milk- I used almond
• ½ cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk them together.
3. Whisk in wet ingredients.
4. Add raisins and mix dough until just combined.
5. Spoon dough into balls on a cookie sheet, then flatten them a bit with your palm.
6. Bake for 8 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!

Happy Wednesday! Happy baking!