Pecan Praline Pie Crust Chips with Whipped Toffee Mascarpone

 I am so excited to share my latest recipe contest entry and to be one of the 30 food bloggers chosen to compete in the Wick's Pies contest. The challenge was to come up with creative, inspiring dessert recipes that showcase Wick’s Pies in a unique way and I think this one did exactly that.

You know a girl from New Orleans is always going to put a praline spin on any dessert she can and this one brings all the sweetness and crunch and nuttiness of pralines without all of the stovetop candy making mess. Seriously, who wants to stand over a pot of boiling sugar for an hour during the summer? Not me!

 Served with a whipped mascarpone cream that’s loaded with toffee bits; you have a dessert that will be requested for all your summer parties!

 

Pecan Praline Pie Crust Chips with Whipped Toffee Mascarpone

1 egg, beaten

4 Wick’s unbaked pie shell

¼ cup turbinado sugar

½ cup toffee bits

¾ cup finely chopped pecans

 

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

4 oz mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon almond extract

½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon toffee bits

 

Pre-heat oven to 400° and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment.

 Working in batches, lay an unbaked pie shell onto a large piece of parchment paper.

 Using a fork, prick holes all over the crust. Brush with egg then sprinkle evenly with ¼ of the turbinado sugar, then toffee bits, then chopped pecans. Lightly press the toppings into the crust to stick and use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the crust into 3 inch by 2 inch crackers. Lay the pieces evenly spaced on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.

Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth. Add the mascarpone and slowly mix until well blended. Replace the paddle attachment with the whisk attachment and slowly pour in the cream and almond extract. Whip mixture at medium-high speed until thickened and mousse like. Stir in ½ cup of the toffee bits and scoop the mixture into a serving bowl. Top with the remaining toffee bits and place in the fridge to chill until ready to serve.

 

You can follow Wick’s Pies here for more recipes and ideas:  Wick's, Facebook , Instagram, Twitter 

#BakeWithWicks #WicksPieCreations #WicksRecipeChallenge

Berry Chantilly Napoleons

My last entry for Wick’s Pies Recipe Challenge is for the dessert round and I am completely in love. If you've ever had Berry Chantilly cake before, I think you will be blown away by my twist on that ridiculously delicious dessert. It is one of my absolute favorite things and on my birthday, during covid, I ordered a large one to be delivered to my house when I just didn't have it in me to bake my own labor intensive cake. My version today, is much more manageable. The cream filling and crusts can be made in advance easily, so all you need to do is assemble when you're ready to serve it. 

The pie crusts are already buttery, flaky and rich but I sprinkled them with coarse sugar sprinkles to give them a sweet crunch and gorgeous shimmer. Fresh mixed berries are layered in there with the most decadent fluffy and not too sweet mascarpone and almond cream filling. I'm telling you, it's heaven on a plate!

Berry Chantilly Napoleons

1 Wick’s unbaked pie shell

1 Tablespoon coarse sparkling sugar sprinkles

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

4 oz mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon almond extract

2 cups mixed berries

Pre-heat oven to 400°.

Lay the unbaked pie shell onto a lightly floured surface and use a 3 ¼ inch round cookie cutter to make                     circles, re-rolling the scraps if needed, to use up all the dough. I was able to get 10. 

Place dough circles on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  

Brush each circle evenly with water and sprinkle a thin even layer of the sugar over each one. Place in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Place the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth. Add the mascarpone and slowly mix until well blended. Replace the paddle attachment with the whisk slowly pour in the cream and almond extract. Whip mixture at medium-high speed until thickened and mousse like. Place in the fridge to chill until ready to use.

Pipe or spoon an even layer of cream over 5 of the pie crusts. Top with berries and another pie crust. Serve immediately.

The crusts and Chantilly cream can be made in advance and stored separately if desired. 

You can follow Wick’s Pies here for more recipes and ideas:  Wick's, Facebook , Instagram, Twitter 

#WicksPies #TrustTheCrust #InCrustWeTrust

Maple Pecan Pear Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

I think every Friday should involve cake, don't you?
This Maple Pecan Pear Cake is loaded with chunks of juicy pears, crunchy pecans and the perfect amount of maple syrup. The only thing that could make this cake any better is the maple syrup cream cheese icing on top. Since it pairs so perfectly with a cup of coffee, I won't even judge if you have this for breakfast!

Maple Pecan Pear Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

Maple Pecan Pear Cake
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
¾ cup maple syrup
¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Bartlett Pears, finely chopped
1 Bartlett Pear, shredded
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a Bundt pan generously with non-stick baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and whisk until combined. With a spatula, gently fold in the flour, chopped and shredded pears and the pecans just enough for the mixture to come together but being very careful not to over-mix. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. 

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes.

Remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

While the cake is cooling, prepare the icing:

Maple Cream Cheese Icing
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons room temperature butter 
2 ounces room temperature cream cheese 
¼ cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon vanilla coffee creamer

In a small mixing bowl beat the powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, maple syrup and coffee creamer until smooth. Once the cake has fully cooled, drizzle the icing over the cake. Serve immediately. 


Serves 12-14

 #usapears #cookingwithpears @usapears 

Vegan Orange Cranberry Cake

Anyone out there freaking out over what to serve on Thanksgiving to your Vegan/dairy free/egg free friends for Thanksgiving? I think I have the perfect thing for you!

This is my second entry for the "Florida Crystal's Blogger Challenge". This Orange Cranberry Cake is so easy to throw together and can be made ahead of time, saving you stress and oven space Thanksgiving day. Orange zest and fresh cranberries are one of my favorite holiday flavor combos and since it's not overly sweet, you can totally have it for breakfast the next day if there's any left. I won't tell!

Vegan Orange Cranberry Cake

 1 ½ cups plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 cup Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon orange zest

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange extract

5 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

1 cup frozen cranberries

3 Tablespoons Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Raw Cane Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Place 3 Tablespoons of the flour in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the remaining flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and orange zest.

Using a spoon, create 3 wells in the flour mixture (1 large and 2 small). Pour the vinegar into one of the wells, pour the vanilla and orange extracts into the second well and the vegetable oil into the last well. Add the water to the bowl and whisk until the mixture is well incorporated. 

Add the cranberries to the reserved flour and stir until well coated. Gently fold the mixture into the batter and pour into the prepared pan.

Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Set aside and allow to cool. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it on a serving plate. Dust the top with the powdered sugar and serve. 

Serves 9

You can find more about Florida Crystals by following them here, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest  and following along for delicious recipe ideas!! Florida Crystals products are available at local retailers

#FloridaCrystals  #FCChallenge #Sweeps #Ad

Sweet Potato Praline Crème Brulee

Creme Brulee is one of my absolute favorite desserts and if you are still undecided on what to serve for Thanksgiving this year I am begging you- let it be this!!  It needs to be made ahead anyway, so less time stressing about that on the big day AND it's gluten free, so any of your guests who can't have pie will be thrilled to dig into these!

 I love the crispy just torched sugar topping, the ultra rich cold custard underneath and  the extra crunchy praline pecans give it so much nutty texture and crunch. You'll still get the essence of pecan or sweet potato or pumpkin pie only way more decadent!

Sweet Potato Praline Crème Brulee 

Sweet Potato Crème Brulee

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup Florida Crystals Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar

8 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pureed cooked sweet potatoes

Pour 4 cups of hot water into a 9×13 baking dish, place it in the oven on the middle rack and set the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup raw cane sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved then remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly to prevent scrambling, add the hot cream mixture to the egg yolks about ¼ cup at a time. Add the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and sweet potatoes, and whisk until smooth.

Set a fine mesh strainer over the pot you cooked the cream in and pour the egg mixture through it to strain out any lumps. Pour the custard evenly into 6 (4-oz) ramekins.

Carefully place the ramekins in the water bath and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the ramekins are just barely set in the center. Remove from the water and allow to cool. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve sprinkle each ramekin with the remaining sugar and using a small kitchen torch cook the sugar until bubbling and melted. Allow the sugar to cool and harden for a minute or two, top with pecan praline topping and serve. 

Serves 6

Pecan Pralines

1 ½ Tablespoons Florida Crystals Organic Raw Cane Sugar

1 ½ teaspoons water

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup chopped pecans

In a small bowl stir together the sugar, water, vanilla and salt. 

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the pecans to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the nuts are lightly toasted and you begin to smell them pour the sugar mixture into the pan, stirring constantly for 15-30 seconds or until the nuts are evenly coated. Remove the pan from the fire and spread the mixture into an even layer onto a piece of parchment paper. Allow to cool completely. Once the nuts have cooled, break into pieces and serve with the prepared crème brulees. 

Look at that crispy crackly sugar and crunchy coated pecans - that's double the texture to go along with the super creamy sweet potato custard underneath!

You can find more about Florida Crystals by following them here, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest  and following along for delicious recipe ideas!! Florida Crystals products are available at local retailers

#FloridaCrystals  #FCChallenge #Sweeps #Ad

Strawberry Churro Tostadas

Strawberry Churro Tostadas – crispy sugar and cinnamon baked tostada shells are topped with sweet fresh strawberries and a light glaze for the perfect quick and beautiful summer snack!

Strawberry Churro Tostadas

4 flour tortillas

6 Tablespoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk

1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar

1 cup California strawberries, diced

Preheat the oven to 400°F 

Lay the tortillas on a large baking sheet and lightly spray both sides with olive oil cooking spray.

Bake for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy like a chip.

While the tortillas are baking, stir the powdered sugar and milk together in a small bowl.

Once the tortillas are crisp, remove them from the oven, spray the tops very lightly with olive oil cooking spray and dust with the cinnamon sugar. Top each with an even amount of chopped strawberries and drizzle with the glaze.

#GetSnackingChallenge  @castrawberries

Boozy Berry Grilled Pound Cake with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

Mother's Day is Sunday and I think this should be the dessert of the day. Make it for your mom, make it for yourself, either way you'll thank me. It's so stupid simple to make, you only need 7 ingredients to get it done and I personally think it's a showstopper.
I took store bought pound cake and grilled it so it's warm and toasty - by all means, if you want to bake a home made pound cake go for it! But the store bought one worked perfectly fine and was the perfect thing to soak up all the juice from those marinated strawberries. You'll get bonus points if you put the extra Strawberry Elderflower syrup in some prosecco too!

Let's take a moment to talk about this vanilla bean whipped cream too. Can you see the flecks of vanilla in there?! Makes me want to dive in. 

I know fresh vanilla beans seem extravagant, but I promise you it's so very worth it! After you scrape the vanilla beans from the pod put the empty pod in your sugar canister - now you have vanilla sugar for baking or your coffee that will be divine!!

Boozy Berry Grilled Pound Cake with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

4 cups sliced strawberries

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons Elderflower liquor

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 (10.75 oz) pound cake

In a small mixing bowl gently stir together the strawberries, sugar and liquor. Let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While the berries are soaking, prepare the whipped cream. Place the whipping cream, vanilla bean seeds and powdered sugar in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Slice the pound cake into 8 equal slices. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat until very hot (about 3 minutes). Grill the pound cake slices for 1-2 minutes per side, or until lightly toasted and you can see the grill marks.

Top grilled cake slices with the soaked strawberries and a spoonful of whipped cream. 

Shark Attack Birthday Party

My son and his best friend both turned 12 in July an they had a joint Shark themed birthday swimming party to celebrate! Since the party was at his friend's house I was able to spend my time having fun creating the food and snacks for the boys! The big cake was pretty simple: chocolate cake with vanilla icing and a fondant shark cutout. The cupcakes were coconut cake, filled with berry jam and coconut cream cheese frosting. I used the extra fondant from the big shark and made mini shark fins for the cupcakes. For the favors I took rice krispie treats, dipped them in blue candy melts and decorated them with goldfish crackers and sprinkles.

For the snack table there was a drink dispenser with blue gatorade and mini Swedish fish frozen in ice cubes so they would float. Veggie Straws were pool noodles and Goldfish crackers and potato chips were called "Fish & Chips"

I had fun carving the watermelon and cucumber into sharks for the fruit and veggie platters and at the end of the day even the shark cucumber was eaten!

I think the best part of the whole party was the severed hands and feet floating in the pool! The kids got such a kick out of that and never stopped laughing at the "slow swimmers"

It was a great party and the kids had a ton of fun swimming!

Sensational S'mores

Recently I took part in a S'mores contest on Instagram put on by The Feed Feed and Ghirardelli. To say that my kids were thrilled is a huge understatement! I was so honored to have been chosen as a finalist in their contest. I didn't win, but my kids sure felt like they did!

Here are my entries:

This one was my absolute favorite! I picked up an apple fritter from the bakery, sliced it in half and warmed it up. Sandwich it with a Caramel Chocolate square and a roasted marshmallow and you will be in ooey-goooey caramel apple fritter heaven!

I called this one The Crispy Camper. I used crispy granola bars in place of graham crackers and used the caramel chocolate squares. This might be the only thing I like about camping....

On the first day of school I had this fun treat waiting for the kids after picking them up. I made Funfetti Blondies and then sandwiched it with dark chocolate squares and roasted marshmallows. Throw some more sprinkles on top and you'll be party ready! 

This is the one that was picked as a finalist entry. My son LOVES all things coconut and I was thinking about the Girl Scout Samoa cookies when I came up with this one. I made coconut macaroons and paired them with chocolate caramel squares and toasted giant marshmallows. This was so rich and so decadent and totally stretchy pants worthy!

It is always fun to be featured on a company's Insta feed

Are you following me on instagram yet? Please do -here's the link. 

Spoiler alert: my entire feed is food and Beignet ;)

Dulce de Leche Krispy Pizza

If you're looking for a no bake treat, this may be the perfect thing! Dulce de Leche makes everything better and this sweet treat is no exception! It's like a Rice Krispy treat and Samoa Girl Scout cookies had a baby and made this incredibly easy but impressive dessert. Perfect for your next pool party!

Dulce de Leche Krispy Pizza

1 1/2 Tablespoons butter

6 ounces marshmallows (about 25)

3 cups crispy rice cereal

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ teaspoon coconut oil

½ cup La Lechera Dulce de Leche

1/3 cup toasted sweetened flaked coconut

 
 Melt the butter in large sauce pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir constantly until fully melted. Remove from heat and add the cereal. Stir until well coated. Scrape the mixture out of the pan onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Using the back of your spoon, press the mixture into an 11 inch round. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small glass mixing bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring in 30 second intervals until smooth. Using an offset spatula, spread the dulce de leche in the middle of the cooled crispy crust, leaving a ½ inch outer rim. Drizzle with the melted chocolate and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Slice like a pizza and serve immediately!

Cranberry White Chocolate Chess Pie

Don't cranberries just scream holiday?!

I'm so excited to be using Cape Cod Select premium frozen cranberries for their Holiday Blogger Recipe Challenge! They were nice enough to send me two bags of the most gorgeous cranberries I've ever seen to work with. Farm fresh, recipe ready, no additives, preservatives or GMOs, what more could you ask for?

Let's start with dessert, shall we?

My first entry is this gorgeous and festive Cranberry White Chocolate Chess Pie.

Cranberry White Chocolate Chess Pie

1 stick of butter

1 cup sugar

4 ounces white chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup Cape Cod Select premium frozen cranberries

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.

Add the eggs, vanilla and cornmeal. Whisk until smooth. Pour into the pie shell. Sprinkle the cranberries evenly over the filling. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

You can follow Cape Cod Select on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest

To find Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries near you click HERE

Apple-gato

It's finally fall! 

Which, in Texas, means nothing since it's still hot and it will be for quite some time. Every Halloween my kids come home from Trick-or-Treating and we have to peel them out of their costumes, since they're covered in sweat and sugar. 

One of my favorite treats this time of year is the Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks. I don't get them often, but it truly is like drinking an apple pie! Hot apple cider, cinnamon, caramel and whipped cream all combine to make a comforting, delicious drink.

Since Starbucks isn't cheap, and there isn't one close to my house, I decided to start making them myself and skip the ridiculous drive through price tag. While enjoying my copycat drink at home I started thinking about what would happen if I combined my Caramel Apple Cider with an affogato?! Affogato means drowned in Italian, and it is made by pouring a shot of hot espresso over scoops of vanilla ice cream.

My concoction takes cinnamon infused hot apple cider in place of the espresso and pours it over caramel gelato and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce! Decadent I tell you!

These are dead simple to put together but also look pretty impressive. If you want to serve these at a party, or before heading out to trick-or-treat, just keep the apple cider mixture in a crock pot (it'll make your house smell amazing as well) and let guests ladle the hot mixture over their gelato right before serving.

If you really want to be naughty, a shot of butterscotch schnapps is delicious mixed in as well!

Apple-gato

1 cup apple cider

1 cinnamon stick

2 Tablespoons jarred salted caramel sauce

4 cups caramel gelato

Place the apple cider and cinnamon stick in a small saucepot over medium-low heat. Bring the liquid up to a simmer and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick.

While the cider is simmering, place the caramel sauce in a small shallow plate and holding the glasses upside down, dip the edges into the sauce.

Place about 3 scoops of gelato into each rimmed glass and pour about ¼ cup of the cinnamon infused cider in each glass. Serve immediately.

Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Scone Sticks

This is my entry for the Bake it With Rodelle Contest!

The contest invited bakers to share their take on the delicious recipe they posted for 

Lemon Vanilla Poppy Seed 2-Bite Scones and below is my take on their creation.

One winner will receive a Rodelle prize pack filled with gourmet baking supplies, the best vanilla on the market, and international spice blends. The chosen winner will also receive a 12" Convection Digital Countertop Oven and aArtisan® Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer - both in beautiful Cobalt Blue!

• Lemon Almond Poppy Seed Scone Sticks
• Scones
  1 cup all-purpose flour
  1 cup white whole wheat flour
  1/4 cup sugar
  2 tablespoons brown sugar
  1 tablespoon baking powder
  4 teaspoons poppy seeds
  Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 large egg
  1/2 cup buttermilk, plus extra to brush the dough
  2 tablespoons lemon zest
  2 teaspoons almond extract
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  1 stick cold butter, diced
  Glaze
  1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  3 tablespoons vanilla flavored coffee creamer
  
  
  Add all dry ingredients to your KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on the "stir" (lowest) setting until well combined.
  In a separate bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk, zest, almond extract and vanilla. Whisk lightly and set mixture aside.
  Add cold, diced butter to the stand mixer and mix on the lowest setting for approximately 60-90 seconds. The butter should start to break into smaller pieces but not fully combine with the flour. Do not overmix!
  Stream the wet mixture into the dry ingredients while the mixer is on low ("stir") until a dough forms. This should take about 5-10 seconds of mixing.
  Turn off mixer, using a spatula, fold any remaining flour to the top and mix for a few more seconds. Do not overmix.
  Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and gently knead into a ball. If the dough feels overly sticky before kneading, heavily sprinkle with flour before kneading. Split into two even pieces and place one in a bowl in the fridge.
  Gently roll out or shape the dough with your hands into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. The rectangle should be approximately 4"x8". You will see pieces of butter in the dough and this is what you want - it will make your scones flaky and delicious.
  Cut rectangle into even slices and place on a parchment lined baking sheet with about 1/2 inch or so spacing between them. Repeat preparation steps with the remaining, refrigerated dough.
  Place scones on the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  Lightly brush scones with buttermilk and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are a deep golden brown and the tops are light golden.
  Let cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and let completely cool.
  Drizzle on 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons glaze over each cooled scone. Top with extra poppy seeds if desired.
  For the Glaze
  Stir ingredients together until well combined. Mixture should be pourable but not too thick or too thin. 
• • 
    

Playoff Pudding Parfaits

Unless the Saints or LSU is playing, I usually don't care about watching football games. Football parties are just a fun excuse for me to have yummy snacks and drinks with friends. I came up with this super cute and easy recipe as an entry for All You Magazine's Game Day Dessert Contest and I was so excited when I found out I won second place- the prize was $250 and a chance to be featured in the magazine! I got my prize money in the mail but never received the magazine. After searching every store in the area, I wrote to them only to find out the magazine is no longer in print. Booooo. So, if they won't share it with you- I will! Here's my Playoff Pudding Parfaits:

 Prepare one 3.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding as directed on the package and divide the mixture between 6 small parfait cups.  Place in the fridge to chill.

Place 1 cup shredded coconut in a zip top sandwich bag with 5 drops of green food coloring.  Zip the bag closed and shake and mash it until the food coloring is evenly distributed.

Place 6 chocolate sandwich cookies in a separate zip top sandwich bag and mash with a rolling pin until crumbled. 

Using a cookie cutter, or by tracing a paper stencil, cut out 6 goal posts from 2 large flour tortillas.  Place the cutouts on a cookie sheet and toast in a toaster oven until crisp (about 3-5 minutes).  Once the cutouts are crisp, spray with yellow edible food color mist (easily found at most craft and grocery stores). 

To assemble parfaits, top each pudding cup with mashed chocolate cookie crumbs, then colored coconut.  Stick a goal post cutout in the cups and place a football pretzel or chocolate candy on top.

These can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or served immediately.