Toll House Snack Mix

My friend, Michelle, made this snack mix for my baby shower for Caitlyn. It is delicious and easy to make! Be careful though...it is VERY addictive!

4 cups rice Chex (or choice of cereal)
1 cup nuts
1 cup (about 20) caramels, unwrapped and coarsely chopped
1 (12-oz) bag milk/semi-sweet/butterscotch chips

Coat a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Microwave chips for 1 minute, stir, and microwave additional 10-20 second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth. Pour over cereal mixture to coat evenly. Spread into prepared pan and cool 45 minutes, or until firm. Break into bite-size pieces.

Cornflake Clusters

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups cornflakes
½ cup dried cranberries
Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl, stirring until smooth. Gently fold in cereal and cranberries, being careful not to crush cereal.
Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto prepared pan. Chill 45 minutes.

S'mores Cake

I made this cake for Bible Study one week and it has since become Heath's favorite cake! I usually double the cake recipe to make the 2 layers a little larger. I usually make a few cupcakes with my left-over batter. You will use the same amount of chocolate ganache and marshmallow creme.

Cake Layers
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 10 full graham cracker rectangles)
½ cup flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup milk

Chocolate Ganache
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Marshmallow crème

Preparation
For the cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans.

Combine graham crumbs, flour and baking powder in small bowl. In separate bowl, beat butter with sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add half of the crumb-flour mixture and beat well to incorporate. Add half of the milk, beating well to incorporate. Repeat with remaining crumb-flour mixture and milk. Divide batter between cake pans and spread to even.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

For the ganache:
Place chopped chocolate into medium bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot. Immediately pour hot cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Allow to cool to near room temperature.

To assemble:
Place 1 layer of cake on plate or cake circle. Top layer with ½ cup chocolate ganache. Chill until firm. Spread ¾ cup marshmallow crème on top of chilled chocolate.Top with next cake layer and top with ¾ cup chocolate ganache, allowing it to run down sides of cake. Chill until firm. Spread another ¾ cup marshmallow crème on top of chocolate and toast with kitchen torch to desired doneness.