Make Popular Halloween Candies at Home for Halloween

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, we are inundated with Halloween candy everywhere we turn — the grocery, the pharmacy and on your co-workers desk. This year, instead of snatching a bag of mixed fun-size bars on your way to the cash register, why not try making homemade Halloween candy? Making imitations of your favorite Halloween treats is much easier than you might expect. We have chosen two of our favorites to share with you today!

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

People have been enjoying Reese’s cups for almost 100 years! Using one of Sweet Treat Supply’s , melt some chocolate, and pour a small layer into the bottom of the mold cups to start making this delicious treat. Next, mix peanut butter with small amounts of butter and confectioner’s sugar. Although we know that a lot of you love natural peanut butter, you’re better off reaching for that jar of Skippy, as the oils in natural peanut butters will separate from the mixture and ruin your delicious center. Place a small spoonful of the peanut butter mixture in the mold, and cover with more melted chocolate. Be sure to keep these in the fridge so that they will maintain their nice snap!
Peanut Butter Cup Molds

Homemade Snickers Bars

This recipe should come with a danger warning, for it may have addicting properties. The How Sweet It Is blog took your favorite Snickers and shared instructions on how to easily make them at home. All you need for a Snickers is a layer of nougat and a layer of caramel sandwiched between two layers of decadent peanut buttery chocolate. Here are specific instructions:

1. Grease a baking pan.
2. For the bottom layer of chocolate, melt 1 ¼ cups of milk chocolate chips and ¼ cups of peanut butter in the microwave. Spread over the greased baking sheet and put in the fridge until it is completely hardened.
3. Next you are going to make the nougat layer. Melt ¼ unsalted butter over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup of granulated sugar and ¼ of evaporated milk until dissolved, and bring to a boil. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in 1 ½ cups marshmallow fluff, ¼ cups of peanut butter and 1 tsp of vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Turn off the heat and drop in 1 ¼ cups of roughly chopped salted peanuts. 
4. For the caramel layer, combine a 14 oz bag of caramels and ¼ cups of whipping cream in a saucepan over low heat. Slowly stir until smooth, and pour over the nougat and let cool.
5. Repeat Step 2 for the top layer of chocolate.
6. Let cool in the fridge for an hour before cutting into small rectangles and serving.
7. If you want to give them out individually, try wrapping them in some of our Foil Candy Wrappers.

Have you ever tried making your own candy bars at home? Was it hard to resist eating the ingredients before actually cooking them? Or, do you have any other homemade versions of your favorite treats that you would like us to teach you how to make? Let us know in the comments!

Top Candy Molds for Halloween

Trick or treat! Here at Sweet Treat Supply, we love incorporating different holidays into our delicious goodies. What better time to enjoy some festive candy than at Halloween? With our large collection of fun and spooky Halloween candy molds, you are sure to find the perfect shape for your event this year. These are treats that you children, friends, and coworkers will all enjoy.

• Jack O Lantern Mold: What would Halloween be without a classic Jack O Lantern? If you aren’t so keen on making a pulpy mess with an actual pumpkin, try these fun Jack O Lantern molds. Simply add orange powder color to our white confectionary coating and make those pumpkins pop!
• Eyeball Chocolate Mold: One of our slightly more spine-tingling molds, these eyeball molds are the perfect way to shock your friends in a fun way. Drop some classic brown chocolate into the mold first and then fill with white chocolate. When dry, add some creepy red lines to achieve the full effect.
• Bat Sucker Chocolate Mold: If you are looking for slightly larger treats, try out the Bat Chocolate Molds. They are so simple to make with chocolate melts and our 4 1/2” sucker sticks. This is a fun treat to wrap in some orange cellophane, tie with a bit of festive ribbon, and bring to any school or office Halloween party. They are sure to fly from the table.
• Witch on Broom Sucker Mold: Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Few images are as iconically tied to Halloween as the witch. There is a reason why every year, it remains one of the most classic fallback costume choices, and Hocus Pocus is played on repeat. Make your own witch lollipops in a color of your choice with this popular mold.
• 3D Large Skull Front Chocolate Mold: We love our large statement chocolate molds, and this 3D skull is perfect for Halloween. These look great when placed in the middle of a large serving platter with smaller chocolate mold shapes positioned around it.
• Assorted Halloween with Hat Mold: Can’t choose just one shape for this Halloween? You are in luck! We have multiple candy molds with assorted Halloween shapes, so you can choose exactly the ones that you want for your party. We love this one with witches’ hats, but there are others with haunted houses, skeletons, bats, tombstones and every shape for your Halloween theme.

There are even more fun Halloween-themed molds at in our candy mold section, so check them out in time for the holidays! If you have other ideas for homemade Halloween candy or Halloween party ideas, share them below or on our Facebook page.

Using Cookie Cutters to Make School Lunches More Fun

Now that school is in full gear, it’s time to start thinking of ways to add a little creativity to your children’s school lunches. While the typical sandwich is an easy standby, it can get boring fast, no matter how many fun sandwich fillings you can devise.

One of our favorite ways to jazz up a sandwich is using a cookie cutter to make sandwiches into fun shapes. Cookie cutters let a child customize a sandwich to his or her favorite shape, whether that’s a beloved animal — like a cute duck — or a favorite sport, like football or baseball.

Cookie cutter sandwiches can also be customized to fit with what a student is learning that day. For example, if an older student is learning about U.S. geography, the USA outline cookie cutter fits in perfectly with that day’s curriculum. For younger students still learning their letters, each day’s sandwich could be the letter for the day. What’s more fun than having a sandwich shaped with the letter H? You could even use multiple cookie cutters to tell your child “HI” in sandwich form.

Customizing sandwiches to fit upcoming holidays might be one of our favorite uses of cookie cutters. There’s not much cuter than a sandwich made to look like a heart and arrow for Valentine’s Day, a Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day or a witch for Halloween.

The best part of this fun school lunch idea is that it can be used for any type of sandwich — from peanut butter and jelly to ham and cheese to more complicated options. Just make your sandwich and use your cookie cutter to make it the perfect shape and you’re good to go!

Of course, don’t forget one of the other guaranteed ways to spice up a school lunch: a delicious, homemade dessert. From homemade candy to stunningly decorated cookies, dessert is an easy way to make your child’s lunch something to look forward to.

How do you make school lunches a little more fun? Let us know in the comments!

Delicious Caramel Desserts

Who can resist the rich, decadent taste of caramel? It's delicious by itself, of course, but it's even better when incorporated into some type of dessert. Many of your favorite desserts can be spiced up with a little caramel, and creating delectable desserts with this tasty ingredient is way easier than you probably think. Sure, there are lots of elaborate recipes out there involving caramel, but there are plenty of simple ones, too. We found two particularly easy and tasty examples, so be sure to give them a try as soon as possible!

Chocolate-Caramel Cream Puffs

For this recipe, you'll need a 13.2-ounce box of frozen cream puffs, 12.25 ounces of caramel — we love Peter’s caramel for almost any application — and one 16-ounce jar of hot fudge sauce.

This mouth-watering dessert couldn't be easier to make. First, defrost the cream puffs according to the directions on the package. This usually only takes 45 minutes to one hour, but read the instructions ahead of time and plan accordingly.

Next, heat the caramel in a small pan and bring it to a boil. Allow it to boil until it achieves a thick, chewy, glaze-like consistency, which should take about one minute. If using a candy thermometer, melt the caramel to approximately 125ºF - 150ºF.

Using a pair of tongs or a fork, gently dip one side of a cream puff into the caramel sauce and then put it on the serving plate. Repeat this process for each additional puff. Plan on placing four puffs per plate.

Immediately before serving your caramel-coated cream puffs, heat the hot fudge sauce on over low heat and then spoon it over the puffs. You can also set aside some extra caramel sauce and drizzle it over the completed dessert to give it a fancy appearance.

Caramel-Almond Ice Cream Cake

As elaborate as the name of this dessert may sound, it's a snap to prepare. You'll need a carton of vanilla ice cream, a package of sliced almonds, one cup of caramel sauce and a nine-inch springform pan.

Let the vanilla ice cream soften a little, and then press it into the springform pan. Freeze it in the pan until it becomes slightly firm, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Next, top the ice cream in the pan with the caramel sauce. You might need to heat it up a little immediately beforehand for easier pouring. Toast your sliced almonds in the oven until they are slightly browned, and then sprinkle them over the caramel sauce. Place the cake in the freezer and freeze it for anywhere from one hour to up to two days. When you're ready to serve it, just remove it from the pan, slice it up and enjoy!

Once you're whetted your appetite with these delicious caramel recipes, you'll eagerly seek out more! There are plenty out there, so get baking now!

What are your favorite caramel recipes? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Cake Decorator’s Essential Tool Set

Want to bring your cake decorating to the next level? The right tools are sure to make a huge difference. Professional bakers and pastry chefs have lots of talent, skill and experience, of course, but without the right tools, their results would be less than enticing. Shouldn't you have the perfect tools too? The best cake decorating tools are simple and affordable, so there's no reason to go without them. Once you've switched over to using top-quality cake decorating tools, you'll wish you did so much sooner!

Build your own cake decorator's essential tool set by investing in the following items:

• Decorating Tips - Open up new worlds of creativity with a nice assortment of decorating tips. There are tips that can be used to create all kinds of neat effects on cakes, including flowers, petals, stars, ruffles, leaves and basket-weave designs. Tips are affordable and come in a huge assortment of styles, so stock up on your favorites!
• Parchment Paper - If you've ever tried to release a cake from a pan only to have the bottom half tear apart from the rest of it, you know how frustrating it can be. All that hard work goes to waste! Put an end to the issue with parchment paper. Just cut it so it fits in the bottom of your cake pan for a smooth, easy release. Parchment paper can also be placed beneath a cake while covering it in fondant to keep the fondant from sticking and tearing.
• Cake Pads - Cake pads provide the strength and stability you need to move your cakes from place to place without incident. They're affordable and easy to use, so be sure to stock up on a few before tackling your next project!
• Sharp Knives - Although any sharp, precise knife will do, you can't go wrong with an X-Acto knife. In addition to using it to release a cake from the pan, you can use it to cut and add details to fondant to make a truly stellar masterpiece.
• Turntable - Whether you call it a turntable or a lazy Susan, this item is indispensable when it comes to decorating a cake professionally and easily. The days of awkwardly spinning a cake on a countertop are finally over.
• Off-Set Spatula - Once you've used an off-set spatula to spread frosting on a cake, you'll never go back to using a regular knife. Our customers love this 12-1/2” angled spatula.
• Straight Spatula - After spreading the frosting on a cake, give it that smooth, elegant style by using a straight spatula like this one.

There are lots of other great tools that come in handy when decorating a cake, and you can invest in them as you go!

Did we miss any of your favorite cake decorating tools? Let us know in the comments below!

Back to School Treats for Students and Teachers

You'd be hard-pressed to find a kid who's excited about going back to school after a long, fun-filled summer. A great way to smooth the transition for your child is by baking some creative, back-to-school-themed treats! You can let your imagination go wild in this regard, but it never hurts to get a few tips for inspiration. Also, these treats don't need to be reserved strictly for students. Teachers and other school officials will love being welcomed back to work with colorful, tasty treats too, so be sure to make enough for everyone!




Chocolates and Candies

There are so many neat school-themed molds out there that it would be a shame not to put them to good use! If you've ever used a candy or chocolate mold before, you know how easy it is. The hardest part is selecting one mold from so many different options! This is the type of project that your child can easily help you with too, so be sure to invite him or her to lend a hand in the kitchen.

Cakes

What could be cuter than a cake shaped like a school bus, huge crayon or other school-themed item? Not surprisingly, there are all kinds of school-themed baking forms out there, so all you have to do is choose your favorite one, whip up your favorite cake batter and bake it as directed. Once it's cooled sufficiently, let your imagination go wild with icing, frosting and other decorative touches. This is a great way to welcome back the students and to say thanks to the teacher for embarking on another year of instruction!

Cookies

Whether you tuck a few into your child's lunch or deliver an entire platter to his or her classroom on the first day of school, back-to-school-themed cookies are sure to go over in a big way. Just use your favorite cookie recipe — sugar cookie recipes are perfect for this — and invest in some creative, school-themed cookie cutters. Whether you create tiny, edible composition notebook cookies, globe cookies or something different, you'll love the results.

Once you've made your special back-to-school treats, whether they're cupcakes, cakes, candies, chocolates or cookies, package them up to make them even more delightful. It's easy to find treats bags that mesh perfectly with your school-related theme, or you could always tuck them into a colorful cake box or other container. If you'll be giving treats to the teacher, be sure to include a nice little card welcoming him or her back for the year. If your child participates in making the treats, that's even better! You'll have a blast making back-to-school treats, and your child will love bringing them to his or her school!

How do you plan to make the school year sweet? Let us know in the comments below!

Brighten Up Your Day with Rainbow Cupcakes

Whether you need them for a birthday party, another special occasion or just because, rainbow cupcakes are fun, unique treats that are sure to brighten up any day. At first glance, it's easy to assume that a lot of work is involved in creating these delectable desserts, but it's a lot simpler - and more enjoyable - than you probably think.

What You'll Need

For simplicity's sake, go ahead and buy a package of white cake mix. Stick with a reputable brand to ensure superior quality and taste. You will find great deals on premium white cake mixes at Sweet Treat Supply.

You'll also need white buttercream frosting to act as a base for your rainbow icing. Since you'll be making rainbow patterns, food coloring is an absolute must. Buy a basic pack of primary colors — this one is a great option — and mix them to create additional colors. Tally up how many different colors you'll be using to determine how many mixing bowls and spoons you'll need.

Make sure you have the ingredients you'll need to make the cake batter, and round up your mixing bowls, spoons, rubber spatulas and other essentials. That's it - now it's time to get down to business!

Make Beautiful Rainbow Cupcakes Following These Easy Steps

1. Prepare the Cake Batter - Follow the instructions on the package of cake mix to prepare the batter.
2. Divide the Batter - Split the white cake batter as equally as possible into separate, small mixing bowls. It's crucial to keep each batch separate to ensure that your cupcakes look like rainbows and not like a strange mishmash of colors.
3. Add the Food Coloring - Add two to three drops of the food coloring of your choice into each batch of cake batter. Be sure to use separate spoons as well to keep the colors as bright and vibrant as possible. Mix each batch thoroughly to ensure color uniformity.
4. Prepare the Cupcake Pan - Place paper liners in the cupcake or muffin pan. Pouring the batter directly into the pan can cause extreme darkening, so don't skip this step.
5. Pour the Batter - Go down the line pouring one color of cake batter after another to create a layered effect.
6. Bake the Cupcakes - Follow the cake mix directions to bake your cupcakes to perfection.
7. Prepare the Frosting - While the cupcakes are in the oven, split the buttercream frosting into three small bowls and use food coloring to dye them different colors. Fill a plastic baggie with all three colors, and cut a hole in one corner of the baggie.
8. Add the Frosting - After they've cooled sufficiently, squeeze frosting onto each cupcake, and then swirl it around with a fork to create a tie-dye effect.

That's all there is to it! You now have pretty rainbow cupcakes that are just as fun to look at as they are to eat!