Big G Retro Cereals...and a Great Chocolate Cupcake Recipe! #CerealThrowback #Spon #PlatefullCoOp

Did you know Lucky Charms turns 50 this year? I really don't remember its debut, but I do remember how I loved that cereal. There was a ritual for me every Saturday....cartoons and Lucky Charms. After all, they were Magically Delicious!

I can't think of anyone who doesn't have a favorite cereal and many of them are having big birthdays this year. In fact, you can go Retro with some of your favorite Big G cereals exclusively at Target this month. For a limited time only, you can celebrate "A Delicious Debut" of classic breakfast cereal favorites featuring their original packaging from their first public appearance: Cheerios--1945, Lucky Charms--1964, Honey Nut Cheerios--1979, Cinnamon Toast Crunch--1984, and Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs--1994. How fun is this?!!

To help you celebrate, Target is offering its shoppers some great savings. Just visit http://coupons.target.com/generalmills-coupons for more information.

For me, a package of Lucky Charms came just at the right time...on St. Patrick's Day! I felt I had to celebrate by decorating my chocolate cupcakes with some Lucky Charm marshmallows. They were so cute...and were such a hit at work. As popular as these were with adults, think of how the kids would love them.

Make sure you put the marshmallows on right before serving or they will get soggy. They will still taste great, however.

Decorating these cupcakes can't get any easier....simply pipe some frosting on your favorite cupcake recipe and put a few Lucky Charm marshmallows on top. Need a good Chocolate Cupcake recipe? Of course I'll share...

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 egg
2/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa (I like to use the Hershey's Dark Chocolate for this)
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 c. hot coffee

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with liners.

Combine egg, oil and buttermilk. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Combine the egg mixture and the flour mixture, mixing well. Slowly mix in hot coffee.

Fill the cupcakes pans about half full of batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on wire rack;  Frost when cooled. Makes about 30 cupcakes.

Which Big G Retro Cereal is your favorite?

Disclosure: General Mills provided me with the information and with product so that I could write this post.

K Bars

Yum

Comfort food. It's different for everyone. From mac 'n cheese to meatloaf to Zwieback cookies, I've heard from many people about what kinds of food are considered comfort foods. This much is certain---whatever your comfort food is, it probably started out as a childhood favorite. So it is for one of my comfort foods, the K Bar.

Funny, I always thought the K Bar was unique to the Midwest. Indeed, it seems that the name K Bar (also known as the Special K Bar) is mostly used in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In other parts of the world, there is a similar bar that is called a Scotcheroo. From what I can gather, the recipe is the same but for the use of Rice Krispies rather than Special K. To me, that is a huge difference.  

Those of you who have never heard of a K Bar might be surprised to see that Special K cereal is used for something so decadent. Indeed, when I tried to research the history behind the K Bar (I came up with nothing), most references were to the Special K Diet Bars (which, in my opinion, pale in comparison). My sister insists that they were invented by the mother of one of her childhood friends. She says that the recipe won a contest with the cereal company. I've heard more far-fetched stories, so maybe there is some truth to the rumor. Kellogg, after all, is the name behind the Scotcheroos recipe. Perhaps they swapped out the cereals when Special K went the diet route. Of course, others who grew up with K Bars will insist that members of their own families created this, and who would I be to argue? Best to leave the history piece alone and serve up a slice of your own deliciousness.

Don't most good things start with peanut butter?

Even among K Bar enthusiasts, there exist variations of the recipe. I like mine pretty gooey, so I cut back on the cereal a bit. Does anyone really want them to be dry? And the frosting on mine is a combination of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. I imagine the Scotcheroos were named for said butterscotch chips.

K Bars

Printable Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

5 cups Special K cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Place cereal in large bowl and set aside.

Combine sugar and corn syrup in medium sized heavy saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture just comes to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.

Pour mixture over cereal and carefully stir with a rubber spatula.

I like using the foil pans. After all, you'll probably be bringing these to a potluck or a gathering of some sort...too dangerous to keep at home. 

Spread mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips evenly over the top. Place in a 300 degree oven for just a few minutes until chips are soft.* Use a knife or spatula to spread chips together and frost bars.

Allow frosting to set, and cut into 24 to 36 bars.

*Alternately, melt the chips together over low heat or in microwave and then spread over bars. I like the less messy route.

I chilled mine to set this time, because it was warm in the kitchen. This makes it pretty hard, so let it sit out for a few minutes if you decide to do this.

What's your comfort food?

Too Hot to Cook? Kellogg's™ Has Some New Products!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I am, on occasion, sent samples of new products to try. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard that I would be receiving a sample of Eggo's™ Fruit Pizza....somehow, I thought it would be a waffle with fruit. And, I was certain that I would get a coupon for it. So, imagine my surprise when I came home from work all hot, grumpy and sweaty, to find a huge box on my doorstep. Inside, were two (small in relationship to the box) fruit pizzas.....no waffles at all....and a big pile of dry ice to keep it all frozen. One pizza was topped with mixed berries and one with strawberries, and the fruit (yes, it was real fruit) was mixed with granola and was on top of a berry flavored yogurt and a cinnamon/maple flavored crust. Now, I know this product is intended for breakfast, but keep in mind that I had come home all hot and grumpy. This was going to be a nice little snack.

Check out the pretty frozen blueberries...I almost ate this with out heating it up. The description told of  a nice, warm toasted granola, however, so I gave in...and popped it in the microwave.

I'm glad I heated it...the fruit was much better all warm and juicy. Next time, I might try baking it in the oven to get a crispier crust...the microwave left this one a bit rubbery. It was a tasty, little snack, however, and at 390 calories, it wouldn't make a bad breakfast. Unfortunately, the strawberry version mysteriously disappeared from the freezer when I wasn't looking......

The next package to arrive contained two boxes of Kellogg's™ FiberPlus™ Antioxidants Cereals:

Who doesn't need extra fiber, right? Well, maybe my husband, but we won't go there....

This I did save for breakfast, although I have been known to eat cold cereal for dinner.

This cereal has gotten some flack for having a few artificial ingredients (OK, a lot of artificial ingredients), but the good news is that the first ingredient is a whole grain (we won't mention that the second ingredient is sugar). I liked it, regardless. The product has 40 % of my daily requirements for fiber...and tastes a heck of a lot better than a bowl of twigs. At 160 calories, I'm not going to get fat from it, and it has a nice list of vitamins (I know, I know...synthetic vitamins, but vitamins, nonetheless). In my opinion, it is lot better choice than a starchy bagel or carb-laden sweet roll.

I tried the Berry Yogurt Crunch, and my husband had the Cinnamon Oat Crunch. I liked the flavor of mine (a slight aftertaste, from some of the artificial flavorings, no doubt) and Pete liked his, too. I snuck a taste of his...it reminded me of Apple Jacks.

In the end, I will definitely buy the cereal. I may or may not buy the fruit pizza...as good as it is, I have a hard time with the rubbery crust...but it may be worth a try in the oven once the weather cools down. If you are interested, I believe you will find them in the frozen section with the other breakfast foods. :)