CHOCOLATE CHERRY MICE & CANDY BAR BEARS

Everyone has heard that familiar question before....."Sure we will be able to make it to the party. What can we bring?"  Such a simple question and yet I always find myself at a loss when it comes to replying. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE when relatives bring something to our parties because lets face it, planning a party can be somewhat overwhelming. From balloons to food to decorations and so on, there are lots of things to do and usually (if you are a procrastinator like me), not a lot of time to do them.  I always feel rude when someone asks me what they can bring to a party and my response is "whatever you would like". I honestly am thankful for anything they do. So when my Aunt asked me the question before my son's party, my response was the same robotic response as always: "Whatever you would like to bring."  One thing I do know is that I am always pleasantly surprised when it comes to her, and this time was no different.  

She arrived the day of the party with these two super cute candy treats, which fit perfectly with the Mickey Mouse theme. I asked her how she made them because I couldn't pass up the opportunity to blog about them. 

FOR THE MICE:

First, she melted several pieces of chocolate in the microwave, being super careful that the chocolate did not burn.  Once the chocolate was completely melted and creamy, she dipped several cherries (with stem still attached) into the melted chocolate and placed each one onto a lined baking sheet.  Before the chocolate re-hardened, she gently attached a Hershey kiss sideways (see above) using the melted chocolate as "glue".  Add two almond slivers for ears and with black gel cookie icing, add the eyes and nose. Super simple and super cute!

FOR THE CANDY BAR CARS:

Begin by unwrapping several Milky Way miniature candy bars and set them on a lined baking sheet.  Using a butter knife, carefully make an indention through the chocolate shell of the candy bar (this is where the bear will sit). Add one teddy bear cookie to each candy bar. Next, using some melted chocolate, place 4 drops of chocolate (two on each side) where the wheels would be. Add M&Ms as the wheels. Now your Candy Bar Cars are complete. How cute are they?  My Aunt added little flags with Mickey Mouse symbols so that they would go with the party theme. 

I got so many compliments on these at my son's party. Not only were they very cute looking on the cake table, but they tasted so good!  

MICKEY MOUSE OREO CUPCAKES

In keeping with the Mickey Mouse theme for my son's 3rd birthday party, I wanted a really cute dessert to have next to the cake for the kiddos. But these sweet treats were a big hit with everyone!  I mean who wouldn't like all that chocolate?  They were super easy to make and didn't really require many ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:
*1 box Chocolate cake mix
*1 can Chocolate cake frosting
*1 lg. package Oreo cookies

WHAT YOU DO:

You begin by preparing the cake mix as directed on the box. Place batter into muffin tins and bake. (This should make 18-24 cupcakes depending on the brand). While they are in the oven, place half the package of Oreos into a food processor and chop until you have small cookie crumbs.  Place in a bowl and set aside. 

Once the cupcakes are done baking and have cooled completely, begin frosting them with the chocolate icing making sure you get plenty of icing on each one (you want to make sure that there is enough icing for the ears to stick into later).  After icing a cupcake, gently dip it in the cookie crumbs making sure to coat the icing completely. (see picture above).  I prepared these cupcakes the night before my son's party. Once i had all the cupcakes iced and dipped in the cookie crumbs, i placed them in plastic storage containers and finished them the next day.  

When I was ready to set up for the party, I removed the cupcakes from the containers and added the "ears".  This was pretty simple since i got them ready the night before by gently separating each cookie, scraping out the cream, and saving each chocolate halve. That way on the day of the party all I had to do was take two cookie halves and gently stick them into the icing so that they resembled Mickey's ears.  How simple is that? Say Cheers!