Not a Dr. Seuss post...

So, no recipe today. You still love me, right?

I had a really super-cute Dr. Seuss post planned...but not photographed. I was going to do all that yesterday, but plans had to change.

My dad's in the hospital. He's okay, thank goodness. In fact, by the time you read this, he may be home. Here's for hoping. (There's something to be said for collapsing in your cardiologists office.)

This is the time when I am thankful I only live two hours away from my parents, instead of eleven, like when we lived in Arizona.

My mother-in-law and her husband are awesome. The immediately drove down to stay with Jordan. Because of course Mel left for Orlando yesterday.

Anyway, I'm not sure when I'm going home. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. I'm going to post when I can, and link to parties when I can.

You guys will all come back if I leave for a few days, right? (This is where blogging insecurity comes in...)

If I'm not back tomorrow...have a great weekend!

Rainbow Cookies {Slice and Bake}

Sometimes, in the middle of cold and flu season, I wonder if the feds are going to come and knock down my front door. They will take me away and interrogate me for my extra large purchases of Sudafed and search my house in hopes of finding my meth lab.

You know, the one I keep in my basement?

Just kidding, I don't have a basement.

Ever since they started carding for the little red miracle pills, I feel a little like a druggie every time I go to the pharmacy.

"Can I have the generic Sudafed please? A 96?" I ask.

"We're out of 96," replies the pharmacist.

"Okay, then two 48's?" I inquire, discreetly sliding my driver's license across the counter like I'm expecting to be slipped a little white packet or something.

I think I've bought Sudafed at least four or five times just this school year so far. And, with the way things are going, I anticipate needing to buy it a few more times before summer. (You all remember how I pop the little red pills at the first hint of stuffiness, to ward of ear infections, right? That I'm really not an addict?)

The problem is that they only let you buy two packages. Only one if it's the 96-pack. You can buy two 48-packs. But the thing I don't understand? They won't let you buy four 24-packs. Um, what's the difference between if I buy one 96 or four 24's? Oh well, no one ever said our government had common sense.

How does that relate to these cookies? It doesn't. It's just that I'm kinda in the middle of a Sudafed-fever-induced fog and couldn't thing of anything glittery and rainbowey with a side of unicorns to write about.

Have I mentioned my kid is a horrible sharer? Unless it's germs. Then she gives them away freely.

I made these cookies for Jordan's birthday party, but they would be perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Now, they take a little work but the overall product is totally worth it.

I swear, I think these are the best tasting (flavor and texture) sugar cookies I've ever eaten. The dough is a bitch to work with, it's very sticky and kinda gets everywhere, but you'll thank me, I promise. They are that good.

The secret is to freeze the dough before slicing. And then you freeze them again before baking, to reduce spreading.

I made clouds for some of my cookies. I dyed the batter white and rolled up little balls to place at the ends of the rainbow.

I also bent the rainbows a little to go with the clouds. They looked better that way.

Bake them, and try not to eat the whole batch. These are some seriously addictive cookies.

Kind of like Sudafed.

Rainbow Slice and Bake Cookies

by Crazy for Crust

Recipe from Good Life Eats

6018681

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups unsalted butter (4 ½ sticks)
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 6 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• Gel food colorings: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white (if you do not wish to have clouds, you can skip the white)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Combine butter and sugar in a stand mixer and beat well, for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, mixing until combined. Stir in vanilla and almond extract.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, about 1 cup at a time, stirring with the paddle attachment to incorporate. Dough will be sticky.
4. If you want clouds, separate ¼ of the dough into a separate bowl and color it white. Then equally divide the rest of the batter into six separate piles. (If you are not making clouds, just divide it into six portions from the beginning.)
5. Color each of the six portions of dough a different color, one for each color of the rainbow. I did this by using a hand mixer and rinsing the beaters and the bowl in between each color. Wrap each color individually in plastic wrap and chill for about a half an hour.
6. Working with one dough at a time, place each color between two sheets of wax paper and roll into a large rectangle. (The dough will still be pretty sticky at this point.) Once you have 6 flat rectangles of dough (each between two sheets of wax paper), chill them until they are firm, at least an hour.
7. Remove from refrigerator. Place the purple layer on a new sheet of waxed paper. Layer the colors: purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until very firm.
8. If you are making clouds: roll the white portion into small balls and chill.
9. When you are ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°. Remove dough from freezer and slice strips across the shorter side about ¼ inch thick and then cut each strip in half (or desired size). Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze again to minimize spreading while baking. (This dough softens up very quickly.)
10. If you want clouds, place a white ball at each end of the rainbow (I “bent” my rainbows a little before attaching the clouds) and press to resemble clouds. I didn't have enough clouds for the entire batch, but that was fine. I ended up with about 24 cloud rainbows and the rest were plain.
11. Bake for 6-10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve with smiles and green milk for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Have a Linky Party you want me to join? Add it HERE.

These are the fabulous parties I link to each week:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts, Creative Monday (Clairejustineoxox), Mix it Up Monday (Flour Me With Love), Things that make you say mmmm Monday (Cooking with Karyn), Mop it Up Mondays (I should be mopping the floors), Show me what you got (Our Delightful Home). Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training), Trick or Treat Tuesday (Inside BruCrew Life), Let's Do Brunch (My Sweet & Savory), Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets), Cast Party Wednesday (Lady Behind the Curtain), Famous Linkz Par-tay (Made-Famous-By), Bakes with Bizzy (Bizzy Bakes), From Dream to Reality (DIY Dreamer), Whip it Up Wednesday (Crockpot Ladies).  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents), Taking a Timeout Thursday (Mom on Timeout), Things I've Done Thursday (BearRabbitBear), (RHW Recipe Round-Up) The Real Housewives of Riverton, BFF Open House (The Answer is Chocolate), Recipe Round Up (Eat, Pray, Read, Love). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog), Foodie Friday (Not Your Ordinary Recipes), Dwell on Joy, Fun Finds Friday (Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons), Sugar and Spice. Saturday: Country Mom Cooks, Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos), You inspire me (Polka Dot Pretties). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Recipe Party (The Sweet Spot), Seasonal/Occasional Linkys: Moms Crazy Cooking, Southern Mom Cooks, Cheap Crafty Momma, Susie QT, Springtime Holiday Link Party (Michelle Paige)

Winner, winner come get your prize!

Wait...you're looking for Crazy Sweet Tuesday? Scroll down...

The winner of the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! #ToastRedCarpet prize pack is...

Linda· 5 days ago

What a sweet dessert. Loving your creativity. I am your newest follower.
My recent post Chris Madden Collection

Linda, from Life and Linda, you're the winner!

Thanks for entering the contest Linda! I'll get all your info and your prize will be on it's way to you.

Have a wonderful day everyone. Scroll down and link up at the party. Satisfy your sweet tooth!

Crazy Sweet Tuesday

It's Tuesday! Welcome to the Crazy Sweet Tuesday dessert party!

There were so many fabulous link-ups last week. You guys are awesome! I had such a hard time choosing. So picked. And then I picked some more.

Before we talk about the features...

Do you know what hotlinking is? Neither did I, until I read this post. And then this one. And I realize that I have been hotlinking all y'alls photos. I'm a stealer. I hope it doesn't involve jail? Because I don't think I'd survive without brownies, and I'm pretty sure they don't serve brownies in jail. And I look horrible in orange.

Hotlinking is when you copy and paste photos into a blog post; like I do with my features. I copy the URL, but (I think) it's the same thing. So, effectively, I'm stealing bandwidth. Oops.

So, from now on, I'm going to be sure and save the photos of the features and then upload them on my own. Maybe I'll get all crafty and make collages or something. Oh, wait, Picnik is going away. Right. Must get on that.

Onto our features for this week...

Maple Cream Cookie Blondies by Mis-Cakes Oven Adventures. You know those super awesome maple cookies you buy at the store? Yeah, she put them in blondies.

Thin Mint Knockoffs by White Lights on Wednesday. I know, I know. I have a living room full of them. BUT they won't last forever. And these are made with cake mix!!!

Peanut Butter Truffle Cupcakes by Tasty Sweet: Chronicles of a Cupcake Artist. A truffle on top. A truffle inside. Ohemmgee I needed a glass of milk from just reading the post.

Candy Land Cake by from Chapel Hill to Chickenville. Makes me want to go back and redo Jordan's birthday as Candy Land. Um, SO freakin' cute.

Oh, and some more awesome treats (if I put all the photos you'd give up and stop reading because the post would go on F-O-R-E-V-E-R):

Amazing Apple Fritters by Life is Sweet
Butter Pecan Popcorn Balls by Love on High Heat
Krispy Kreme Brownies by The Traveling Spoon
Breeseo Cups (Brownies, Reese's, & Oreos) by The Domestic Rebel
Samoas Fudge by Something Swanky
CookieMashe by Winnish
Nutella meets Fluffernutter by Hugs & CookiesXOXO
Rainbow Tie-Dye Cake by Bird on a Cake

And so many more!

Go ahead and grab a button if you've been featured.

Thanks to everyone for linking this week. If you see some features you like, go visit. Comment, pin, and stumble!

Let's get partying!

**Desserts only**
Please follow me and link back in some way.  Pretty please, with a cherry on top? Thank you!

Thanks for linking up, and be sure to come back next week to see the features. Linky runs through Friday.

Have a great week!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

Do you ever feel like you have a double identity? I do.

There's the way I am in the outside world and the way (I think I'm) perceived by others. And then there's the way I am inside, where the little voices talk.

Often, I wonder if the people who see me on the outside know how I am on the inside.

Recently I hosted a mom's night in at my house. Vodka was served. The inside Dorothy made quite an appearance, from what I recall. I think some of my friends were a little shocked.

But the funny thing? Is that's the way I am all the time. Inside my head.

I just don't have the nerve to say it all out loud. To people. Lest they judge me and not like me for making teenage boy jokes when someone says something about a long stick. (I told you. My sense of humor is all my mom's fault. Blame her.)

I do, however, have the ability to do it in writing. Good thing I'm a blogger.

Hence the whole double identity thing. These cookies also have a double identity. Peanut butter on one side, chocolate on the other. It can't decide what it wants to be, either.

These cookies could also be called "secret identity cookies." Because they have a secret.

They're made of cake mix. Yellow cake mix.

Both sides. The peanut butter side AND the chocolate side. One box of yellow cake mix.

I didn't want four dozen cookies, so I didn't want to use two cake mixes. And Google failed me. No where on the internets could I find a recipe for a chocolate cookie made with a yellow cake mix. I cannot believe I'm the first one to ever do it.

(Pssst...it was easy. I just added some melted chocolate.)

(Pssst again...these cookies were inspired by lots of other versions. Like Maria's. And Robin's. And Jessica's.)

What's your double-identity secret?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

by Dorothy Kern

Keywords: peanut butter chocolate cookie

6014628

Ingredients (24 cookies)

• 1 yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super-Moist)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (2 one ounce baking squares), melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons water, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Using a hand-held mixer, beat cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl just until combined. Place half of this mix in a new bowl.
3. Make the peanut butter cookie side: in the original bowl, add peanut butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon water to half of cake mix. Beat until combined. Set aside.
4. Make the chocolate side: add the melted chocolate to the second bowl, along with the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Beat until combined.
5. Roll 1 tablespoon balls of the peanut butter dough. Add one tablespoon of the chocolate dough to the side of each peanut butter ball. Roll in your hands slightly to make them stick together. Place on cookie sheet and press down slightly. Repeat for the remaining dough. Use a fork to make crisscrosses on each cookie. (The cookies will not spread much.)
6. Bake 8-10 minutes until the peanut butter side is slightly golden. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets, then move to a rack to cool completely.

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Have a Linky Party you want me to join? Add it HERE.

These are the fabulous parties I link to each week:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts, Creative Monday (Clairejustineoxox), Mix it Up Monday (Flour Me With Love), Things that make you say mmmm Monday (Cooking with Karyn), Mop it Up Mondays (I should be mopping the floors), Show me what you got (Our Delightful Home). Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training), Trick or Treat Tuesday (Inside BruCrew Life), Let's Do Brunch (My Sweet & Savory), Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets), Cast Party Wednesday (Lady Behind the Curtain), Famous Linkz Par-tay (Made-Famous-By), Bakes with Bizzy (Bizzy Bakes), From Dream to Reality (DIY Dreamer), Whip it Up Wednesday (Crockpot Ladies).  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents), Taking a Timeout Thursday (Mom on Timeout), Things I've Done Thursday (BearRabbitBear), (RHW Recipe Round-Up) The Real Housewives of Riverton, BFF Open House (The Answer is Chocolate), Recipe Round Up (Eat, Pray, Read, Love). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog), Foodie Friday (Not Your Ordinary Recipes), Dwell on Joy, Fun Finds Friday (Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons), Sugar and Spice. Saturday: Country Mom Cooks, Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos), You inspire me (Polka Dot Pretties). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Recipe Party (The Sweet Spot), Seasonal/Occasional Linkys: Moms Crazy Cooking, Southern Mom Cooks, Cheap Crafty Momma, Susie QT, Springtime Holiday Link Party (Michelle Paige)

Red Carpet Viewing Party #ToastRedCarpet

Hey everyone!

I hope you're having an awesome weekend. The Oscars are tonight and I'm super excited to watch.

But the best part of the Oscars is the red carpet, right? Don't forget that I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Is hosting a red carpet event today on Facebook, at 3:00 PST, hosted by Brooke Burke, Carson Kressley, and Molly Sims, with Hollywood-Inspired recipes by Katie Lee. You won't want to miss this first-of-its-kind online red carpet viewing party. Will you watch along with me?

Click here for the link to the party!

If you want to follow along with the party, be sure to check out the chatter on Twitter at #ToastRedCarpet.

And you still have until tomorrow to enter my giveaway, sponsored by I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! You can win some pretty cool stuff! Click here to enter!

See you tomorrow with more fun recipes! I'm rooting for The Help, how about you? (Of course, since I have a kid and no babysitting, it's the only one I saw. That and Breaking Dawnm, Part 1, which totally should have been nominated.)

Whatever Friday

It's Friday! It's Friday! It's Friday!

1. I love your comments. All of them. Whenever I try to open my email and it freezes I smile because I know it's downloading more love from all of you. So, thanks. Just wanted to say that.

2. I ordered 15 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, (Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Samoas, and one lone box of Lemonades...just for me). I had to get Jordan to 100 boxes sold, that's totally the reason I ordered so many. (Yeah, right.) They've been sitting in my living room since last Sunday and I have not even touched them. Not even the Lemonades I've been totally craving all week. Tonight may be the night. Um, yeah. I spoke too soon.

3. Like Rainbows?

Or do you prefer Fudge? With crack Birthday Cake Oreos?

Or you could come workout with me, then enjoy these pops:

4. Thank you all for your sweet words about Jordan getting better. She is, thank goodness. I felt like a frantic new mom this week. I even took her to the doctor. That's the problem when you only have one kid; it's like having a new kid all the time. Now I'm an old pro. I guess I should be glad that she made it to seven without having a fever over 101 and without ever having a fever for more than a day. Now she's just bored because she's still sick but can't do anything.

5. I'm not a religious person. But from all the posts and status updates I've been seeing, we've entered into the period of lent. Now, I don't know the whole significance of lent and in the past have always thought wow, you're going to give up chocolate? Coffee? Sugar? Good luck! *Snicker* But after reading this post by Kristin I thought, hmmm....maybe I should try to give something up, something that I really need to let go of. So I'm going to try to stop thinking about "how fat" I am. It's been something that has been ingrained in my brain since I was 10 and saw that video of my in the turquoise sweatsuit...oy. Anyway, I'm going to try. And I say "try" because thinking about my fat is something that just comes to me randomly, like when I'm pouring coffee or when I sqeeze my stomach like a I have a tic. Whenever I think it I'm going to change it to "I'm NOT fat."

6. Oh, I got a new hairdo! I've got blonde highlights again. So I actually look a little more like the picture on my about page, but not quite that blonde. The grays were killing me with the dark hair. And I cut it. To my shoulders. And I love it.

Have a super great weekend everyone! I hope it stays nice here in Northern CA long enough for Jordan to enjoy the outdoors before going back to school Monday. We have some re-birthday to do!

Cheesecake Truffle Pops

Twice a week I take a class at the gym. It's the perfect class for me because it's only 25 minutes.

(Sure, I take the hour long classes sometimes. But usually about halfway through I am feeling like I'm going to be sick and I stare at the clock willing it to move faster, which it usually mocks me by...not. So a 25 minute class is perfect for me.)

The class is called Core and More. I think it's like pilates. It's a half hour of abs, arms, and legs, working hard while keeping that belly button kissing the spine!

The instructor rotates the workouts and I guess recently she's been feeling like she needs to find new material. So she's been searching YouTube for great new workouts.

Bad idea, people. Bad. Wrong.

Yesterday she had us balance on the big exercise ball. On all fours. For two counts of 10. While asking us politely to please not face plant, lest management get peeved.

I don't think the instructor likes me very much; I'm known to laugh out loud when she explains some of the moves we'll be doing. I can't help it. It just comes out because, while she comes from the planet SuperCore where they can all levitate themselves using only their stomach muscles, I am just a lowly earthling afraid that her expensive orthodontia may be compromised while balancing on a ball.

Balancing aside, the last two classes have filled me with confusion. Because one of the things she learned from the sadistic instructor on YouTube was the push-up roll. You do two push-ups with one leg looking like a dog is having it's way with a fire hydrant, then you lay flat and roll, hot dog style, to the other end of the mat and do two more push-ups. Then you roll back and repeat.

I didn't even try the roll. There are just some things that you intrinsically know about yourself; like how horizontal stripes are not okay or trying to do a cartwheel will put you in traction. I know, deep down, that if I was to roll across my mat I would have be nauseous for the entire day and I would have needed a coke and a Big Mac to make it go away.

Which kind of defeats the purpose of taking the class, no?

So why is it that everyone else could do them? I can't be the only one who can't roll. Heck, I can even do a neck roll without needing to sit for a minute for the room to stop spinning. Please tell me I'm not alone.

Now, if I did attempt the roll, I could choose to eat these truffle pops instead of a Big Mac. They'd achieve the same purpose, but still probably defeat the purpose of even going to the class. Or wait, maybe I do the class so I can eat the cheesecake? Hmmm...

The method for these pops comes from Bakerella. I made my favorite cheesecake without the crust (gasp). Scoop equal sized balls into graham cracker crumbs and roll. Then I chilled them overnight, to make them easier to dip.

Oh, and the really awesome thing? I only wanted about 24 pops, so I froze half my cheesecake. Now I have half a cheesecake in my freezer for the next time I make truffles...or for a gym emergency.

Instead of using lollipop sticks, I put these on straws. These super cute straws came from Cupcake Social, the same place I got the rainbow ones.

Once the balls are chilled, they are super easy to dip. I used the same method I use for my cake balls, which is to dip the straw, stick it into the truffle, then dip the whole thing into the chocolate. Make sure the chocolate is deep enough to cover your truffle. It makes it easier to cover and the less you move it around the better it stays on the stick.

Then you add your sprinkles (or you could use more graham cracker crumbs or anything else that makes you happy).

And there you have it.

The perfect roll-inducing, nausea eliminating, gym workout wasting cheesecake truffle pop.

Enjoy!

Cheesecake Truffle Pops

by Crazy for Crust

Inspired by Bakerella, Cheesecake from here

Keywords: cheesecake chocolate truffle

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake:

• 3 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs, at room temperature
• 16 ounces sour cream, at room temperature
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For the Pops:

• Chocolate Melts
• Graham crackers, crushed in the food processor, about 1 sleeve for a whole cheesecake
• Lollipop sticks or paper straws
• Sprinkles or other decorations, if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with a circle of parchment for easy removal.
2. Beat cream cheese on low speed until fluffy using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and mix on low until creamy. Add one egg at a time, mixing in between each addition. Add the flour, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the sour cream and beat well.
3. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit for one hour. Remove from oven and cool completely. Chill 24 hours before making pops.
4. To make the truffles: place graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Scoop equal sized balls of cheesecake and drop into crumbs. Use the crumbs to help you roll them into balls. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and chill until hardened or overnight.
5. To dip them: Melt your chocolate according to package directions. Make sure your chocolate is deep enough to dip your truffles into. Dip the end of your stick or straw into the melted chocolate, then insert into chilled cheesecake ball. Dip the entire ball into the chocolate. Do not swirl. Remove from chocolate and tap gently to remove excess. (I like to hold the pop with my left hand and gently tap my left wrist, not the stick.) Place on a cookie sheet and let harden. Store in the refrigerator.
6. Note: you can freeze the cheesecake if you want to make your cheesecake pops in the future. I cut my cheesecake into quarters and froze each separately. Each quarter makes about 12 pops.

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Have a Linky Party you want me to join? Add it HERE.

These are the fabulous parties I link to each week:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts, Creative Monday (Clairejustineoxox), Mix it Up Monday (Flour Me With Love), Things that make you say mmmm Monday (Cooking with Karyn), Mop it Up Mondays (I should be mopping the floors), Show me what you got (Our Delightful Home). Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training), Trick or Treat Tuesday (Inside BruCrew Life), Let's Do Brunch (My Sweet & Savory), One Stop Shop Linky (The Southern Product Queen). Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets) Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday (Lady Behind the Curtain), Famous Linkz Par-tay (Made-Famous-By), Bakes with Bizzy (Bizzy Bakes), Whip it Up Wednesday (Crockpot Ladies).  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents), Taking a Timeout Thursday (Mom on Timeout), Things I've Done Thursday (BearRabbitBear), (RHW Recipe Round-Up) The Real Housewives of Riverton, BFF Open House (The Answer is Chocolate), Recipe Round Up (Eat, Pray, Read, Love). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog), Foodie Friday (Not Your Ordinary Recipes), Dwell on Joy, Fun Finds Friday (Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons). Saturday: Country Mom Cooks, Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos), You inspire me (Polka Dot Pretties). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), I am addicted to recipes, Recipe Party (The Sweet Spot), Seasonal/Occasional Linkys: Moms Crazy Cooking, Southern Mom Cooks, Cheap Crafty Momma, Susie QT

Cookies 'n Birthday Cake Fudge

Last week at Walmart I was walking to the checker when I saw these:

It was like the sky opened up and the heavens glowed and angels sang.

I knew I had to make some thing with them. Otherwise I would eat the whole package at once.

So I made fudge. Because making fudge is the obvious way to avoid eating an entire package of cookies.

I've never made cooked fudge before. I've always been all "pshaw...why would I make boiled fudge and have to use my candy thermometer when I could just make it easy, those people who do all that work have way too much time on their hands." (Totally thought without judgement. I'm not that kind of person. No really, I'm not.)

And then I made this fudge. And I apologize. For the way I thought about cooked fudge. I am eating my humble pie now.

It's awesome. It's great. It's sweet and good and all that is right with the world.

And I can eat a ton of it. Because I made it with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, so it has less fat and calories and I can add a bag of Birthday Cake Oreos and eat 17 pieces and not feel sick.

**The giveaway is now closed**

Recently the people at I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! contacted me. They wanted to give away some cool stuff to my readers.

Of course I said yes. I love my readers. They deserve cool stuff.

The Acadamy Awards are on Sunday. Are you going to watch? I love award shows, all of them. I can get a little obsessed. It doesn't matter the only movie I saw was the Help.

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is throwing a Red Carpet Viewing Party on Facebook on the big day, this Sunday the 26th.  There's going to be a roundtable discussion with some of Hollywood's biggest stars and a food and wine expert "known for her delicious recipes."

I have no idea who the star is. I'm hoping for Bethanny. Or Rachael Ray. Or Martha. Who doesn't love Martha??

If you want to follow along with the party, be sure to check out the chatter on Twitter at #ToastRedCarpet.

**UPDATE: Don't miss the show! It's a red carpet event hosted by Brooke Burke, Carson Kressley, and Molly Sims and Katie Lee! It's from 3:00-4:30 PST this Sunday on the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Facebook page. Click here for the link.**

It's a really cool prize pack. A silver tray, four champagne flutes, some "toast" coasters (they really look like toast!) a cheese spreader, and a coupon for a free tub of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Pretty cool prizes, if you ask me. I hope you'll enter!


Contest runs through Monday, February 27th. Winner will be announced Tuesday the 28th. US entries only, please.


**The giveaway is now closed**


How to enter:

1. Leave a comment here. Something sweet and nice. 
2. Do you follow me? Leave me a separate comment and tell me how you follow (GFC? RSS? ABCD? Just kidding on that last one. LOL)
3. Follow me on Twitter (@crazyforcrust) and come back and leave a separate comment telling me you do.

This fudge would be a great addition to your Academy Awards party, if you're having one.  Or, you know, you could just be like me and eat handfuls of it while watching The Amazing Race or The Biggest Loser.

Just a suggestion.

(Oh, in case you missed it...**The giveaway is now closed**)

Cookies 'n Birthday Cake Fudge

by Crazy for Crust (Recipe adapted from Kraft)

Keywords: oreo white chocolate fudge

6017866

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! spread (or regular butter)
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 ounces (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
• 1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package Birthday Cake Oreos

Instructions

1. Line a 9x9" pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. (If you like a thinner fudge, use a 9x13" pan.) Coarsely chop your Oreos.
2. Add sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to a large pot over medium heat. Bring to a rapid boil and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly (234 degrees on a candy thermometer).
3. Add marshmallow creme and white chocolate. Stir until melted. Add vanilla and chopped cookies. Pour into prepared pan. Chill until hardened and cut into squares.

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Fine print: this giveaway is sponsored by I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! They sent me the gifts I am sharing with you. My idea for the fudge and opinions of it are all my own! Unfortunately I cannot ship international with this giveaway, so sorry about that. But you love me anyway, right?

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