Candy corn bark

Today, I have a quick and easy treat to share with you...

All you need is a microwave, a sheet pan, and 5 ingredients.  Ready?

Candy Corn Bark
Adapted slightly from The Recipe Girl

Crushed oreos
Crushed pretzel sticks
Candy corn
White bark coating or white candy melts (approx. 16 oz.)
Chocolate sprinkles

1. Line rimmed baking sheet with wax paper.  
2. Spread oreos, pretzel sticks & candy corn in single layer.  (You can play with the amounts to fill the pan as needed - leave a little room at the edges.)  
3. Melt white bark coating and pour over the cookies, candy & pretzels.  Garnish top with additional candy corn and chocolate sprinkles.  
4. Put pan in freezer to set.  Once hardened, break into pieces and serve.

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Trifle

Today, I'm excited to take part in my first Improv Cooking Challenge from Lady Behind the Curtain!  (It's kind of like Iron Chef meets Chopped meets blogging.) This month, the challenge ingredients are apple and caramel - can't go wrong with that combo.

I thought about doing a cupcake, but I recently hosted a dinner party and decided to go with something a little different.  I had a trifle dish that I'd never used, and I wanted a dessert I could make in advance and not have to worry about.  Thus, I decided on a caramel apple trifle.  (Recipe appears at the bottom of this post.)

Are you ready for some football?

Somehow, I've managed to make it through week 5 of the NFL season with a 4-1 record in my fantasy football league.  I'm pretty proud of my team (the Rush Puppies), especially considering how poorly the season started last year.

Although I'm not really a fantasy football wizard, I like to think that I am a wizard when it comes to throwing a good party.  (I'm so modest, right?) 

So, if you're having friends over to watch a game, you might want to try out these cake pops.  (I made them for the Super Bowl last year, and I hope to make them again soon.)

I took my inspiration from Bakerella and made some cake pops in the shape of footballs.  You can find the basic instructions for making cake pops here.   

For these, I used chocolate cake mixed with chocolate icing.  Then I shaped them into little footballs and chilled them in the freezer.  I melted some chocolate chips and shortening together to dip them in and drew the laces on with white icing.  (Tip: the smaller ones held up a bit better, as the weight of the footballs made a few too heavy to stay on the stick.) 

They were adorable, and tasty too!

Do you make any fun football-themed desserts?