Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheerio Cups

  

I am sharing a delicious and simple no-bake Easter treat with you today that your family and children are just going to love. Chocolare and Peanut Butter Cheerio Cups!  Chocolatey,  peanutbuttery, and crunchy. Not overly sweet, but still a delight.  For Easter I have decorated the tops with candy covered chocolate mini Easter Eggs.

 

Every month I am the lucky recipient of a Degustabox.  Once a month, around the middle of the month, I am sent one of these lovely boxes which contain a delicious assortment of all things foodie.  I just love these boxes. Opening each one is tiny a bit like opening a Christmas gift. Always a surprise, and always filled with things that pique my interest and desire to try. Degustabox is a monthly foodie subscription service that sends out a range of 10 to 15 specially selected foodie products.  

 

There's always a great mix of new products that I haven't tried before, as well as plenty of treats from more established brands. Quite often you will have the opportunity to try  new products before they arrive in the shops, so it can be a bit of a sneak peak! Each Degustabox costs only £12.99, delivery costs are included in the price, and there is no fixed contract involved. You can cancel at any time. I love getting these boxes! In my opinion, they are great value for money spent.  This month I can even offer you a discount. (more about that below)  This month's (April) box was the Best of British Box!  

And now a bit of what was included in the box.

 

BULL'S EYE NY Steakhouse BBQ SAuce 1 X £2.49

New Yorker's never back down and the same is true when it comes to flavour.  That's why this sauce is full of heart and ready to take on any red meats.  Bull's Eye brings the ultimate American BBQ taste.  

Available at all major supermarkers. 

PACHAMAMA Andean Berry & Raspberry/Cacao & Cashew 2 X £1.39

A delicious mix of cacao, dates, nuts, grains and seeds.  A guilt-free chocolately hit with a Taste of the Andes!  A fresh zingy mix of fruit, grains, seeds and nuts that will release you rinner energy and get your tastebuds tingling.  No added sugar and 100% Vegan.

Available from the Pahamama website and Gather & Gather.

SKINNY FOOD CO Not guilty White Chocolate Crispies/Milk Chocolate Crispies 3 X £1.49

#notguilty crispies are guilt and gluten free! Lavishly tasty with no-added sugar, these crispies are delightfully sweet satisfying cravings for less than 100 calories! They are also packed with an impressive source of protein fo are an ideal snack for on the go.

Available online at www.theskinnyfoodco.com

 

ROBINSONS Fruit Cordials  1 X £2.49 

Since 1923, Robinsons has been making delicious fruit drinks. Their experts have now crafted this deliciously refreshing Pear & Elderflower Cordial. Pairing juicy pears wit delicate elderflower for the perfect refreshing drink.

Available in major supermarkets

LOVE CORN Smoked BBQ 1 X £1.29

UK's firsr Premium Crunchy Corn brand.  They are on a mission to become our favourite snack. Their delicious crunchy corn kernels are packed with flavour and made with love  Vegan, sugar & gluten free, they make the perfect savoury snack.

Available in all major supermarkets

TYPHOO Black Tea 1 X £2.20

Typhoo has been a much loved British Tea Brand since 1903. Their team of epert tea buyers and blenders carefully select only the finest tea leaves to ensure great taste, quality and freshness from every cup of Typhoo. 

Available in major supermarkets.

  

HEINZ Organic Baked Beanz x £1.00

             Cream of Tomato Pot Soup X £1.19

Heinz Organic Baked Beans are packed full of the finest organically grown ingredients, offering you the organic alternative to their deliciously comforting Beanz.

The Heinze Soups you know and love, now in recclable microwaveable pots.  Enjoy the great taste of Hein Soups outside the home in this new ultra-convenient format.

Available in all supermarkets.

LONDON FLAVOURS 1 X £1

You can find authentic street food all over London and more and more people are emjoying the vast array of foods on offer. If that's your bag, you'll love these!

Available as three flavours at Premium Independant Retailers. 

CRAFTED by CRACKER DRINKS CO Mango & Passionfruit 330ml  1 X £2

A uniquely crafted fruit juice drink with no added sugar or sweeteners. Packed in an environmentally  friendly carton with a resealable pack which is ideal for when you are on the go. This counts as one of your "five a day!" Sweet, smooth and subtle.

Available at Cafe's, Deli's, Farm Shops and convenience stores.

  

EAT WATER Slim Rice Sushi 1 X £2.55 UK Brand

This easy to roll sushi rice is made with natural ingredients including Japanese sushi rice and Konjac rice. It contains 9 calories per piece and is scientifically proven to help you manage and lose weight. What's more, it can also be used as Sticky Rice.

Available from www.eatwater.co.uk

CANDY KITTENS Wild Strawberry 1 C £150

Candy Kittens belive that life is too short for boring sweets.  They think that treating yourself is very important and what better way to do it?  Their gourmet sweets are completely free from gelatine an bluten, made for you to enjoy #TheSweetWay

Available at Tesco, Sainsbury's Superdrug and Morrisons

 CHEERIOS Multigrain 1 X £2.69

Delicious crunchy O's with 5 whole grains. They ffer the whole family great taste, whole grains and vitamins.  Each irresistible Cheerio is made with 5 whole grains, 7 vitamins, iron and calcium.

 

Not only is this the product I chose to highlight with a recipe for the month, but it is a product that has long been one of my favourites.  I figure for most of my life I have been eating a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast or before bed at least 4 out of 7 days a week!  I love, Love, LOVE Cheerios! 

 

They are not just fun in the bowl for breakfast however, you can also use them to make deliciuos snacks for the children! 

 

I used them to create some fabulous Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheerio Cups, dressing them up with some little candy Easter Eggs for this Easter holiday!  the kids are sure to love them! 

 

 Delicious enough for the children to love and easy enough to make for you to love! 

 

These crunchy two layered snacks are sure to please everyone, with their semi-sweet chocolate bottoms and honey peanut butter tops! 

 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter are a wonderful combination that most people love!  They just go together like peas and carrots! 

 

Just a few minutes to make with the use of a few simple ingredients and a microwave  . . . 

   

They do take several hours to set up perfectly in the refrigerator, but not a problem. You can sort them out today and leave them overnight ready to dish out on the morrow!  Happy Easter!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheerio Cups

Yield: 12

Author: Marie Rayner

Quick and easy for a dessert or a snack.  Children love these.

ingredients:

For the Chocolate Layer:

• 180g semi sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
• 2 TBS white vegetable shortening
• 30g Cheerios cereal (1 1 /4 cup)

For the Peanut Butter Layer:

• 135g smooth peanut butter (3/4 cup)
• 3 TBS honey
• 3 TBS white vegetable shortening
• 30g Cheerios Cereal (1 1/4 cups)

Optional Decorations:

• Mini chocolate eggs

instructions:

1. Have ready a 12 cup muffin tin.  Spritz lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Lay a strip of wax or grease proof paper across the bottom of each and up the sides for ease of removal.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the shortening in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.   Stir in the cereal.  Divide evenly amongst the muffin cups.
3. Melt the peanut butter, honey and shortening together in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.  Stir in the cereal.  Divide evenly amongst the muffin cups, spooning over top of the chocolate layer and pressing down lightly.  If using top each with several chocolate candy eggs.
4. Place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. 
5. Carefully lift out of the muffin cups. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

Many thanks to Degustabox UK for sending me this box. I have to say I really look forward to getting my box each month. There are always lots of things in it to enjoy and new products to try out. I highly recommend. You can also tailor the boxes to your own likes and dislikes by filling in your own Taste Profile.  If you like the sound of this box, why not sign up now! I find them to be really good value for money spent and I really enjoy trying out new products that I have not tried before.   Included is also a detailed information card  which tells you all about each product included, and other extras such as recipes, etc.   

This month also included a competition with the chance to win three different prizes!  First price will receive 3 boxes, 2nds 2 boxes and 3rd prize 1 box.  The competition starts on the 17th of April and closes on the 20th of May.

1.  Follow them on Instagram @degustabox_uk

2. Get your cameras out and post a picture using your favourite products in the April box.

3. Hashtag #degustaaprilfavourites and tag us using @degustabox_uk

Follow them on Facebook 

Follow them on Twitter  

 So, that was the April Degustabox - a nice selection of products as always. We loved it. The price of each Degustabox is £12.99 (including delivery). To order your box, visit www.degustabox.com 

I can offer you a discount coupon as well, just insert the code 2ROEO  at the check out!

Note - Although I was sent a box free of charge any and all opinions are my own.

Bon appetit! 

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Hot Cross Bacon Baps

 

One of the things I love most about the Easter Season of eating is . . .  Hot Cross Buns!  Although they are generally available all year round now it seems, WE, in this house, only ever eat them at Easter.  I think when something becomes an every day thing it loses its specialness, so that is why, like Strawberries, we only ever eat Hot Cross Buns at Easter time.

 

The tradition of marking buns with a cross on the top goes back a very long way. Pagon Saxons baked cross buns at this time of year to mark the beginning of Spring, in honor of their god Eostre. The cross was representative of the four seasons along with the four quarters of the moon, the wheel of life and a rebirth of the earth after the long Winter.

 

  

Christians adapted the cross when an Angilcan monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honor of Good Friday.  It wasn't really until Tudor times, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1,  that the London clerk of markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of spiced buns at any time other than funerals, Christmas and Good Friday/Easter.

 

As a child I used to sing this ditty, which was actually the cry of common street-vendors, back in the day . . . 

 ‘Hot cross buns, hot cross buns!
One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons,
One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns!’

The buns are usually served on Good Friday, marking the end of Lent and the spices are said to represent the spices used to embalm the Saviour after His crucifixion.

  

Whatever your take on their significance, one cannot deny that hot cross buns are a delicious Easter flavour and a tradition that helps to mark the joys and promise of this Spring holiday, much needed by many after having gotten through a long cold Winter.

 

I will admit that I am a Hot Cross Bun purist.  I like  a traditional one, a bun without all the tweaks and chocolate bits, sticky caramel bits, whatever.  Plain, spiced and studded with mixed vine fruits being my chosen poison. Not all are created equal.  I like a well fruited one, so I never opt for the cheapie brands, which more often than not are sadly lacking in both spice and flavour.  I would never settle for a few sad raisins me.  I want an abundance of fruit!

 

Todd rankles at me buying them even two weeks before Easter.  He reckons they shouldn't come out until Good Friday, and he has a point.  However  . . . he did not turn down my offer this morning of a Hot Cross Bacon Bap!

 

Unconventional  . . .  perhaps, but so delicious, served toasted and buttered, with a spread of bitter marmalade on the bottoms and a spritz of brown sauce gilding the top of that tasty bacon.  Every mouthful was pure delight.  Don't knock it til you try it!

  

*Hot Cross Bun Bacon Baps*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

 

This does sound an unusual combination but it probably one of the most delicious Bacon sandwiches you will ever eat. 

4 fruited hot cross buns

12 rashers non-smoked back bacon

softened butter to spread

bitter marmalade to finish along with brown sauce if desired

  

Heat the oven grill  to high.  Slash the fatty edge of the bacon at 1/3 inch intervalls all along the edge.  Grill the bacon beneath the hot grill until  your desired crispness, flipping it over and grilling on both sides.  Set aside and keep warm.  Slice the hot cross buns in half horizontally.  Pop under the grill and toast on the cut sides only.  Once toasted spread with softened butter.  Spread a portion of marmalde onto the toasted bottoms of each bun.  Lay three rashers of bacon, folded to fit, on top of the marmalade.  Drizzle with brown sauce (if using) place the toasted top buns on top and serve. 

Note - Brown sauce is what we brits call HP sauce. 

 

I confess I was also tempted to add a layer of cheese, but I restrained myself.  Needless to say these were fabulously tasty, so much so . . .  that I might make us another one for lunch.  Bon Appetit! 

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