disneyland

Peanut Butter Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treat Pops

January 20, 2020 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Mickey Mouse Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

This treat can be found throughout the Disneyland resort.

Are your eyes deceiving you? Is that the iconic Mickey Cookie… on a rice krispie treat?! Disney sure knows what they’re doing with the treats. Combining two of my favs from the parks, and then covering them in peanut butter and chocolate? YES please! And besides being so tasty, our latest recipe is so easy to make too.

With most all of the holiday treats cleared out of the cases now, most of us treat lovers have been anxiously awaiting what’s next. Well, it seems every day something new is slowly trickling in. This crispy rice treat is the standard treat pop, with a thin layer of peanut butter coating on the front to represent the Mickey Mouse cookie, and chocolate icing and sprinkles (instead of the nonpareils like the cookies) for decoration.

Kids can help a lot here too! From dipping the rice krispie treats to adding sprinkles. All levels of experience can participate.

BONUS: if you really love peanut butter and you want to make this even more peanut butter-y, go ahead and add in about a 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips (you’ll have extra left over from the bag) when you mix in the crisped rice cereal.

So, if you’re a peanut butter chocolate lover, I really think you’ll love this recipe. There’s a great balance so that one ingredient doesn’t necessarily overpower the others (sometimes peanut butter can do that). And they just come together so quickly and easily, that you can double or triple this if you’re in need of a class treat or something for a pot luck (please take photos and send them to me if you bring these to a pot luck). And remember, lots of helpful tips below the recipe, so please read it all the way through before starting.

Peanut Butter Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treat Pops

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 3–4 Peanut Butter Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treats 1x

Description

Crispy, chewy Mickey Mouse Rice Krispie Treats are dipped in peanut butter sauce and topped with chocolate icing and sprinkles just like the iconic Mickey Mouse cookie. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

For the rice krispie treat:

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
157 g (2 cups) mini marshmallows or 20 regular sized marshmallows
2 cups crisped rice cereal

For the topping:

3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 teaspoon refined coconut oil
1–1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
sprinkles

Tools:

Instructions

For the rice krispie treat:

Before beginning, line a 8×8″ baking pan with parchment for thinner treats (you should yield 4 with the cutter listed above), or a loaf pan for thicker treats (you’ll yield 3 using cutter above).
Combine the butter and marshmallows in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until marshmallows have melted and mixture is smooth.
Immediately dump in the crisped rice cereal and mix to combine.
Pour into the prepared pan and gently press mixture into place with a rubber spatula (or damp fingers). Set aside for at least an hour in the refrigerator so that the mixture can firm up enough to cut shapes.
Once firm, use parchment to lift out cereal and marshmallow mix. Use a Mickey Mouse shaped cutter to cut out shapes and set aside.

For the decorations:

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the peanut butter chips and the coconut oil.
Continually stir until smooth and no lumps remain.
Remove from heat and pour into a shallow, flat bottomed, heat-proof bowl.
Dip the smooth side of each treat into the sauce, setting aside on a parchment lined sheet pan until all are coated. Refrigerate through the next step to harden.
Then, melt semisweet chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting. You can also melt directly in a heavy duty, heat safe, piping bag using the same microwave method (I find this easiest when I will be piping without a tip on the bag).
Remove the treats from the fridge and transfer chocolate to a heat-proof piping bag. Chocolate should be warm, not hot. Cut the tip from the piping bag.
For each treat, pipe 5 sided stars (without filling in the centers, since it should look like the cookie decoration) on each ear, and in the center of the treat. Immediately cover the chocolate with sprinkles. Set aside and repeat with remaining treats.
Let the treats sit at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to harden, and then enjoy!

Notes

These scale very easily at a 1:1 ratio of marshmallows to cereal. Mini marshmallows you can scoop but I like to weigh out the regular or jumbo sized marshmallows. The butter though you do not necessarily need to scale along with the other ingredients. 1-3 cups use 2 tablespoons, 3-5 cups use 3 tablespoons.
Use a smaller pan than you think you’ll need for this. As the marshmallows melt into the butter, if there’s too much space in the pan they will start to dry out and form strings. Keeping the marshmallows closer together in the pan will ensure they melt more evenly, creating a better mixture to add the cereal into.
When mixing crisped rice cereal into the melted marshmallows, keep the mixture on the flame so that marshmallows stay liquid. Removing to mix in can seize up the liquid before the cereal is fully mixed.
You can add in a 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips when combining the cereal to the marshmallows for extra peanut butter flavor.
You can combine some extra rice krispie treat scraps into the mold to shape additional Mickey Mouse treats.
To smooth out the chocolate when piping the decoration, use a scribe or toothpick to move the chocolate into the pattern you’d like while also removing any air bubbles.
Treats can be kept in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Keywords: treat, chocolate, marshmallow, Mickey Mouse, peanut butter, rice krispie, crispy treat

Christmas Tree Churro

December 9, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Where can I find the original treat?

This holiday treat is located in Critter Country.

I haven’t counted, but I would bet there are more holiday churros out there than candy apples or rice crispy treats this year. There are just SO many to choose from, and narrowing down which I was going to choose came down to two things: flavor and nostalgia. And that churro was the Christmas Tree Churro.

Here’s the weird thing about this particular churro, it was made differently from the posted photo, and I’ve seen it look different even from other people’s photos of it. So, I have to approach this recipe with a caveat: it might be different from what you had, but one thing everyone had in common was that it came with the cherry dipping sauce.

Now, it’s this cherry dipping sauce, with a very jelly-like consistency reminiscent of a doughnut or pie filling, that filled me with nostalgia. When I was younger, my Grandmother would make mini cheesecakes topped with jarred cherry jelly for every occasion. I’m talking birthdays, holidays, baby showers, pretty much any gathering we attended in the ’80’s and ’90’s always included a tray of these treats. And I loved them. Really, really loved them. I could probably eat 10 of these if no one was looking. I think I can pinpoint to these treats starting my obsession with cheesecake that still is going strong decades later.

Anyways, these churros are the classic churro rolled in cookie crumbles and sprinkled with green (and apparently sometimes red) sanding sugar. The side comes with it (as opposed to costing extra), and altogether make for a classic looking holiday treat. I really love the buttery flavor the cookies impart here (similar to those Banana Pudding Churros from earlier in the year), and the tart cherry flavor cuts the sweetness back a bit, so combined it’s well balanced.

After these are fried up, kids can lend a hand to help decorate. Rolling in cookies (even crushing the cookies), and sprinkling toppings are all kid friendly here.

So, find some holiday music, heat up the oil, and start frying these tasty holiday treats! Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Churro

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 10–16 churros (depending on tip size) 1x

Description

This Christmas tree inspired holiday churro is decked out in red and green sanding sugar, edible stars, and rolled in buttery cookie pieces. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
big pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 package of Walker’s shortbread cookies (about 9 fingers), crushed
2 tablespoons green sanding sugar
2 tablespoons red sanding sugar
edible stars
cherry jam or pie filling

Specialty Tools

Instructions

First, line two half sized sheet pans with parchment, set aside. Mix together 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and cinnamon in a long shallow bowl or loaf pan, set aside.
Next, crush cookies in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin until finely ground. Alternatively, you can pulse in a food processor until a sand-like consistency forms. Set aside in a large, shallow bowl.
In a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, or until butter has melted.
Turn burner to low and pour in all the flour at once. Stir until there are no visible flour lumps and dough has begun to stick together in a ball and pulled away from the sides of the pan.
Remove pan from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Then stir in each egg until incorporated. Dough will appear to break or become lumpy. Continue to stir until it forms a smooth, sticky dough.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1 M open star tip (for thinner churros) or with a Ateco 847 closed star tip (for thicker churros, shown in this post) half full with batter (see notes below on filling pastry bags).
If not frying immediately, pipe 6-8″ long dough onto the sheet pan. Refrigerate dough at least 30 minutes and up to two days. Batter will stiffen the more it sits, so let the dough come to room temperature before frying.
If frying immediately, fill a dutch oven or deep frying pan with vegetable oil at least 2″ up the side of the pan (I found a 1/2 gallon of avocado oil worked for me in my large dutch oven. See note below about reusing oil.). Heat oil to 340-350°f, using a candy thermometer to keep the temperature constant. You may need to adjust heat up or down during cooking a few degrees.
Place (if piped earlier) or pipe churros 2-3 at a time into the cooking oil for 6 minutes, turning after 3 minutes with a spatula or spider. Wait until oil comes back to temperature before adding next batch. Thicker churros may need an additional 30 seconds to one minute to fully cook through.
Using a spider or large spatula, remove churros from oil and drain on a cooling rack over parchment or on a paper towel. Wait at least a minute and then toss the churro in the cinnamon sugar, tapping off any excess. Then roll churro in the cookie crumbs, lightly pressing to adhere. Set churro aside. Repeat with all the churros.
Next, sprinkle churros with red and green sanding sugar, and edible stars.
Finally, serve churros with a small dipping bowl of the cherry filling.

Notes

Do not overfill your pastry bag! Fill in two to three batches. If there is too much dough, it will seep out the top and will be hard to pipe.
Slowly pipe out dough all of a consistent size, smaller spots on the churro can cause them to become more fragile while handling and can break in the oil or while coating in sugar.
Churro dough can be piped out onto parchment and covered in the fridge up to 48 hours.
If you want to make you churros immediately after making dough without the chilling time, once oil has reached temp, starting about one inch above the oil, pipe a small line of dough down into oil and either snip end with scissors, or break the dough off the pastry tip on the side of your pan. Follow directions above for frying.
Thicker churros will require a longer cooking time to fully cook through the center. Test one churro first to adjust your cooking time.
Cooking oil can be fine strained and stored again for another use. I strain back into the bottle it came from. Well strained oil can be stored in a cool, dry place and used up to several times.
Churros curling? That could be one of a few reasons. One is that it will naturally shrink and change shape as the dough hits the oil and puffs up. I found that the stiffer dough from sitting in the fridge resulted in straighter churros while fresher dough tending to curl more. Also, if you’re using a circular pot like a dutch oven, churros may rest against the inside edge of the pan while cooking causing them to take on the curved shape of the pan. To prevent this, nudge your churro with the spider or spatula immediately after placing in oil when it pops back up to the surface. Continue to nudge gently back and forth for about 20-40 seconds or until the dough has gotten stiff in the oil.

Keywords: treat, churro, cookies, christmas, holiday, Critter Country, Disneyland, red and green

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

November 11, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Where can I find the original treat?

This treat can be found at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe at the Disneyland resort.

We’ve got our last of the pumpkin treats today as we say goodbye to all the fall decorations at Disneyland and head straight into Christmas. But wait! Yes, there is another holiday before then, and we’re not talking about National Peanut Butter Fudge Day (although that lands on November 20 this year). We’ve still got Thanksgiving coming this month, and that means PIE! Pumpkin pie! But if making a whole pie from scratch is just not doable, try these mini Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake jars instead!

Last year at Disneyland I tried one of these and I inhaled it in seconds; it was just so good. Admittedly I am a lover of pumpkin flavored treats and I live for cheesecake, so this layered individual dessert cup was calling my name. I was so happy they brought it back this year, but on November 8th, *poof*, it’s gone, and who knows if it will come back next year. So let’s make our own now!

These are a really great option if you’re thinking about desserts for the holidays and want to do all the prep ahead of time, even a whole day or two ahead of time. These jars are quick to put together because there’s NO COOKING! Just dirty some bowls, store everything into little jars in the fridge, and then take them out when it’s time to serve to guests (or let’s be real, yourself, 4 times).

This recipe makes just 4 individual desserts, but this can be easily scaled up (the recipe box below has a handy tool to do that with too!). You may want to increase or decrease the sugar as you scale, so remember to do a taste test when adjusting!

This might not be the most “fun” dessert for kids to make, but they can definitely help with assembly, and older kids can do the piping work. My kids always feel proud to eat anything they’ve helped make too, even if it doesn’t include sprinkles.

A note here on the jars used. In the photos I am using a Weck tulip jam jar that holds about 7.4 ounces. These are a great size for individual portions, and cute looking too. However, I find these very fragile and I do not suggest them for use with kids. Tempered glass jars, like Wean Green, or plastic lidded containers would work best if you are making these for younger guests, or hey, for those holiday guests that have a designated driver.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

Layers of pumpkin pie filling and creamy, no bake cheesecake are topped with cinnamon spiced cream cheese swirls in individual portions. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 ounces (half a block) cream cheese
1/4 cup (55 g) unsalted butter
1–1/2 cups (188 g) powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1/4 cup (65 g) heavy cream
2/3 cup (180 g) pumpkin purée
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2–1/2 tbsp brown sugar (47 g)
pinch salt

Cheesecake Layer (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction):

1/2 cup (4 oz) heavy cream
4 ounces cream cheese (half a block)
3 tablespoons (45 g) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon (15 g) sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

crystallized ginger (see notes below)
brown sugar

Specialty Tools:

Ateco #843 closed star pastry tip
pastry bag
Weck tulip jam jars

Instructions

Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on high speed for several minutes, cream together the cream cheese and the butter until light and fluffy, and fully combined.
Next, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly mix together until all the powdered sugar has been incorporated, and then bring the mixer to high speed until fully mixed, and frosting is light and fluffy.
Add the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a small closed star (like Ateco #843). Set aside.

Pumpkin Pie Filling Layer:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour in the heavy cream and whip until very soft peaks form. You want the cream to still slip off a spoon, but not be liquid-y.
Then remove the whisk and add the paddle attachment.
Add in pumpkin purée, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, and salt. Gently mix until combined.
Set aside.

Cheesecake Layer:

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 3-4 minutes. Gently remove into a separate bowl. Set aside.
Next, switch to a paddle attachment and in the same empty bowl you whipped the cream in, add in the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract together on medium-high speed until smooth and no more lumps.
Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture by using a rubber spatula to cut down through the center of the mix, scooping through the bottom left, giving the bowl a quarter turn, and then repeating until the whipped cream is just barely incorporated. Set aside.

Assembly:

In a clean jar, add about 1/4 cup (2 ounce #16 disher) of the cheesecake mixture to each jar.
Next add in the same amount of the pumpkin filling.
Finally, dot the top of the pumpkin filling with small stars made of the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Dust with finely chopped crystallized ginger or brown sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

Components can be refrigerated up to 5 days beforehand separately and then assembled to serve, or assembled into jars, sealed and kept refrigerated for 5 days.
Granulated ginger can also be used and mixed with brown sugar as a topping.
The dessert can also be assembled into a trifle dish for one larger serving.
Tempered glass jars, like Wean Green, or plastic lidded containers would work best if you are making these for younger guests as the Weck jars are fragile and can break easily.

Keywords: treat, pumpkin, cheesecake, individual dessert, Thanksgiving, cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin Cake Pops

November 4, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

These treats can be found all over the Disneyland resort.

Santa was out riding around Disneyland on Halloween, which was kinda weird, what with jack-o-lanterns still hung up everywhere. It’s that narrow time frame of transition at the parks where everyone is itching for Christmas, but we still had to get through Halloween first. And now that trick or treating is behind us, I’m still here for the pumpkins. That’s why this week’s treat recipe is Pumpkin Cake Pops!

These pumpkin spice, pumpkin shaped cake pops have a wonderful punch of baking spices that will have you longing for a piece of pumpkin pie. They’re coated with orange and green chocolate, and a caramel stem, and the bakers did a great job of adding in a hint of molding so that these cake pops really do resemble little pumpkins. And now you get to have them at home too!

Cake pops are one of those treats that look easy to make, but actually require a little finesse to get it right, but don’t let that stop you! I’ve got some tips and tricks in the notes section below the recipe to help you out. These cake pops can be made all from scratch, a combo of pre-made items, or all store bought! The recipe I use from scratch makes for a moist cake that holds its shape well after forming a ball, and has a balanced amount of spices with real pumpkin in the mix. I use a cream cheese frosting that is super creamy and makes a great “glue” here. You can also choose to color white chocolate, or use pre-colored candy melts too.

Now, while all kids can definitely help roll the cake into balls and attach to the sticks, older kids might be better suited to coating the chocolate, as there is some technique involved there. However, you know your own kids, and if it comes down to it, you can just throw all the cake balls into the chocolate and have cake bon bons instead of pops. And then everyone can help decorate. That actually sounds pretty fun.

So let’s enjoy pumpkin season while it lasts, because we might not make it to Thanksgiving when all the peppermint treats that are about to drop at Disneyland. Have a magical day everyone!

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 7 cake pops 1x

Description

Moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin cake pops are coated in orange and green chocolate to resemble tiny pumpkins. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

For the cake balls:

2 cups (~210 g) loosely packed crumbled pumpkin spice cake crumbs
1/4 cup (32 g) cream cheese frosting
***Both recipes can be found here if making from scratch (recipe makes more than you’ll need here. see notes below about freezing extra components)

For the decoration:

6–1/2 ounces (3/4 cup) orange candy melts
1–1/2 ounces red candy melts
1/2 ounce (~1 tablespoon) green candy melts
1/2 ounce (~1 tablespoon) dark cocoa candy melts OR 2 caramel squares

Special Tools:

1 ounce disher
lollipop sticks
pastry bags
cake pop holder OR shoe box base for drying cake pops
scribe

Instructions

For the cake balls:

If baking from scratch, follow directions for cake, cool completely and crumble half for recipe. Eat or freeze the rest of the recipe for another time.
If making frosting from scratch, make and set 1/4 cup aside. Use or freeze the rest for another recipe.
Combine cake crumbles and frosting in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment until fully incorporated. You can also mix well in a bowl with a rubber spatula. If too wet, add more cake crumbles. If too dry, add more frosting a small bit at a time.
Using a 1 ounce disher, scoop out cake mixture and form a tight ball. Push a lollipop stick halfway into the ball. Set aside in the cake pop stand, or make holes in the bottom of a shoe box and stick the cake pops in there. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.
Refrigerate at least one hour to firm up, or up to two days.

For the decoration:

Take out the cake pops and let warm up slightly at least 10 minutes.
Melt the orange and red candy melts in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting.
Next, holding the cake ball over the melted chocolate, use a spoon to ladle the chocolate over it, turning and pouring to get an even coat. Tap gently so excess chocolate drips off and air bubbles get released. Use a scribe to pop any bubbles that do not break.
Set them back in the cake pop holder and continue until all of the cake pops are coated.
Next, melt green and dark cocoa chocolates using the same method from above.
Transfer the green and dark cocoa candy melts to separate piping bags and cut a small tip off each bag.
Use the green to decorate green vines on each cake pop.
Then use the dark cocoa to pipe small stems on each pop. If making the caramel stems (similar in style to the cake pops found at Disneyland), melt caramel squares in the microwave in short bursts at half power until soft but not melted. Cool slightly and take small chunks of the caramel out with a toothpick and attach to the top of the cake pops, using wet fingers to mold the caramel into a stem.
Refrigerate at least an hour to set. Then enjoy!

Notes

Cake balls should not be too wet or too dry to hold their shape properly. If too wet, add more cake crumbles. If too dry, add more frosting a small bit at a time.
If cake balls are slipping off the sticks, dip lollipop stick tip in the melted chocolate and insert into cake ball. Refrigerate a few minutes to set.
If you do not pop the air bubbles, then moisture from the cake will seep out as the chocolate dries. If this happens, gently wipe away anything that has seeped out, and coat a second time in the melted chocolate.
Don’t let the green or chocolate candy melts get too hot or they will run when trying to pipe out decorations. Allow to cool a bit after melting for more set lines.

Keywords: treat, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cake pops, disneyland

Mickey Mouse Spider Web Rice Krispie Treats

September 30, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Mickey Mouse Spider Web Rice Krispie Treat // magicaltreatsathome.com

Where can I find the original treat?

These treats can be found all over the Disneyland resort.

There are so many tasty Halloween treats at Disneyland right now that it was a bit hard to narrow down what I wanted my first spooky treat of the season to be. But I had to go with a rice crispy (crispie… krispie… krispy…) treat. A Mickey Mouse Spider Web Rice Krispie treat that is!

Sometimes simple is best and these treats are SO simple to make. They’re also great at sizing up, in case you want to give these out as Halloween treats at home, or to a class, or to friends. (Our recipe below has a handy button to increase the recipe yield, please use it for this if you want a large amount!)

After the initial rice crispy treat is made and cooled, kids can help cut and decorate. I also tried out a new-to-me product from Wilton which is pretty much a prepackaged squeeze bottle of black icing. So that’s an option if you don’t want to melt two batches of chocolate and color them. I found it convenient, however, I would have liked a smaller opening for the icing. All of these pictured I used the bottle icing but I think I’ll also try with my own chocolate next time just to compare.

As per usual, there are some notes following the recipe so please read all the way through. One big tip though is that when you’re working with marshmallows, you’ll never scrape everything out of the pan you make them in so make peace with that now. Also, damp fingers/hands are best since the marshmallow won’t stick to you!

I hope you get in the kitchen this week and make these sweet, classic treats, with this Halloween spin!

Mickey Mouse Spider Web Rice Krispie Treats

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 3 Mickey Mouse Spider Web Rice Krispie treats 1x

Description

Chewy, crispy, Mickey Mouse-shaped rice krispie treats get the Halloween treatment with a bright orange and black spider web design on the iconic treat. A Disneyland-inspired recipe.

Scale

Ingredients

For the rice krispie treat:

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
157 g ( 2 cups) mini marshmallows or 20 regular sized marshmallows
2 cups crisped rice cereal

For the topping:

3–1/2 ounces white chocolate
6–8 drops orange, oil based food coloring for chocolate
2 ounces (100 g) light cocoa candy melts
3–4 drops black, oil based food coloring for chocolate
OR, Wilton Black Cookie Icing (instead of light cocoa melts and black food coloring)

Tools:

Mickey Mouse cutter
3 Popsicle sticks

Instructions

For the rice krispie treat:

Before beginning, line a 8×8″ baking pan with parchment.
Combine the butter and marshmallows in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until marshmallows have melted and mixture is smooth.
Immediately dump in the crisped rice cereal and mix to combine.
Pour into the prepared pan and gently press mixture into place with a rubber spatula (or damp fingers). Set aside for at least an hour in the refrigerator so that the mixture can firm up enough to cut shapes.
Once firm, use parchment to lift out rice krispie treats. Use a Mickey Mouse shaped cutter to cut out shapes and set aside.

For the decorating:

First, melt the white chocolate and orange food coloring in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting.
Insert a popsicle stick into each treat.
Dip a treat into the melted chocolate, letting any excess drip off back into the bowl. Repeat for other treats.
Next, melt the light cocoa candy melts and black food coloring in the microwave inside a microwave safe bowl, like glass, for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting. Or you can skip and use the tube icing here.
Transfer black melted chocolate to a squeeze bottle or a piping bag with a small portion of the tip cut off. Then decorate a spider web design over the orange chocolate. Repeat until all treats are decorated.
Let the chocolate firm up, at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Use a smaller pan than you think you’ll need for this. As the marshmallows melt into the butter, if there’s too much space in the pan they will start to dry out and form strings. Keeping the marshmallows closer together in the pan will ensure they melt more evenly, creating a better mixture to add the cereal into.
When mixing crisped rice cereal into the melted marshmallows, keep the mixture on the flame so that marshmallows stay liquid. Removing to mix in can seize up the liquid before the cereal is fully mixed.
You can combine some extra rice krispie treat scraps into the mold to shape additional Mickey Mouse treats.
You can also use orange candy melts instead of the white chocolate and orange food coloring.
Treats can be kept in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Keywords: treat, chocolate, Mickey Mouse, rice krispies, Halloween

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Spice Beignets

September 23, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Where can I find the original treat?

These treats can be found at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square.

Today marks the first official day of fall. Which might seem odd because I think we’ve been celebrating all things pumpkin spice since about August 27th. But to mark the date, we’ve got our own pumpkin spiced treat on the site today: Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Spice Beignets!

If you want your kitchen, and maybe even your whole house, to smell like fall, this treat will do it. A hefty dose of pumpkin spice flavored powdered sugar covers every square inch of these melt-in-your-mouth beignets.

These Mickey Mouse beignets are the same base used in the traditional beignet recipe (and in our Butterscotch Beignets too!); it’s the coating here that makes them different. And, as with all our recipes, please read all the way through including the notes for helpful tips!

EXTRA EXTRA: since these traditional style beignets make for hollow pockets, you could go the extra mile here and fill them with pumpkin or apple butter if you want to turn the fall flavors up to 110%.

Ok, let’s go pumpkin spice-ify Mickey Mouse.

Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Spice Beignets

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 15–18 Mickey Mouse shaped beignets 1x

Description

Melt-in-your-mouth Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Spice Beignets are ready for fall with a hefty dose of powdered sugar, cinnamon, and spice! A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105º)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (I used refined coconut oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup boiling water
Vegetable oil for frying, like avocado
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own blend, see notes below)

Specialty Tools:

Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl, gently stirring to dissolve. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Combine sugar, shortening, salt, heavy cream, egg, flour and boiling water in a large bowl. Mix until everything is just combined and then stir in yeast mixture. With the dough hook attachment of an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the dough just until combined and smooth. About 3-4 minutes. Let dough rest for 30 minutes in the bowl.
Flour your surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Using the Mickey Mouse cutter, cut dough pieces, twisting slightly, and carefully removing dough from around cutter before releasing. You may have to combine dough and roll out again to cut more shapes out. Cover with a towel and let dough rise until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free area, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
While dough is rising, mix together the powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Set aside.
Pour enough oil into a deep-sided, heavy bottomed pot until it reaches 2 inches up sides; heat oil over medium heat to 370°F.
Add 2-3 beignets to oil; fry until golden brown on both sides, about a minute each, turning once.
Remove from hot oil with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
Let rest at least five minutes, and then toss in the powdered sugar and spice mix. You can sift extra sugar over all the beignets before serving.

Notes

Pumpkin pie spice blend: 3 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon cloves
Dough may have to be recombined and rolled a second time if you have a lot of scraps.
Wait for oil to come back to temperature before adding next batch of beignets to the pot.
No dough hook attachment? Knead dough until smooth and shiny, about 5-8 minutes and then proceed with the recipe.
Want to make these at night for the next morning? After cutting Mickey Mouse shapes out. Transfer to a baking sheet and let rest, covered with a towel, in the refrigerator overnight. Let come to room temperature before frying in the morning. Dough shapes can also be frozen and then left in refrigerator overnight and fried off.
If your dough gets a skin while rising, put the sticky side down first into the oil to avoid tearing while the beignet expands.
If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift when combining with the pumpkin pie spice mix.
Strain your oil after it reaches room temperature. It can be used again!

Keywords: Mickey Mouse, beignets, pumpkin spice, treat, doughnuts

Pineapple Donut (aka Dole Whip Donut)

September 16, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

Pineapple Donut a.k.a. The Dole Whip Donut // magicaltreatsathome.com

This treat can be found at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe at Disneyland.

I just had to squeeze one last summertime dessert in before I flood your feeds with pumpkin spice, orange sanding sugar, and whatever spooky snacks Disneyland has planned for the next month and a half. And what dessert at Disneyland has the most summer fun packed into every bite? The Pineapple Donut, or as its cult following calls it: The Dole Whip Donut.

First of all, let me make one quick aside here, and that is that Disneyland spells it “donut”, and I almost always spell mine D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T. And it’s driving me crazy to spell it their way. Ok. Moving on…

This tropical doughnut (now I’m referring to the type of dessert so I can spell it this way again) is SO hot it needs its own umbrella. Packed with sweet-tart pineapple jam, this yeast style doughnut is topped with a bright yellow glaze and crowned with meringue reminiscent of that iconic Dole Whip swirl. While this might look like a sugar bomb, the pineapple jam has a nice acidity, that when eaten with the meringue and the not-too-sweet doughnut, it balances really well.

The doughnut has three main parts: the doughnut, the pineapple filling, and the meringue topping (technically four if you count the glaze). And today, for the recipe, I’m going to let you decide how easy or involved you’d like to make this. So here it goes. You can:

buy the doughnuts, pineapple jam, marshmallow cream, and make the glaze
you can make everything from scratch (see recipes below)
you can do a combination of make/buy all the components except the glaze (you need to make the glaze)

As per usual, notes are included below the recipe so please read through. If making the doughnuts, jam, and/or meringue, please keep children out of the kitchen as these all require HOT temperatures.

However, once it is assembly time, kids can definitely help dip, fill, and decorate! Just leave the toasting to the adults.

Now you’ve got an excuse to pick up some drink umbrellas! Let’s bake this!

Pineapple Donut (aka Dole Whip Donut)

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 4 doughnuts 1x

Description

Take a trip to the tropics with this pineapple jam filled yeast-style doughnut with creamy meringue topping reminiscent of the classic Dole Whip. A Disneyland-inspired treat!

Scale

Ingredients

For the doughnuts (adapted from Joy the Baker):

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon warm water
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup warmed whole milk, or milk alternative of your choice (see notes below)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups neutral oil like avocado or canola

For the pineapple jam:

1 cup pineapple crushed with juice (or 1 cup frozen chunks plus 3/4 cup water)
1 cup sugar
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lime juice

For the meringue:

5 tablespoons water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons water
yellow food coloring
pineapple extract, optional

Instructions

For the doughnuts:

Mix together yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Let sit for five minutes until bubbles form on top.
While yeast sits, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, milk, butter, egg yolk, sugar and salt. Add in yeast mixture.
Stir until just combined and then attach a dough hook and mix in the stand mixer on low until dough comes together. Then increase speed to high and mix for 3 more minutes.
Remove dough from the dough hook and let sit in the bowl, covered, at room temperature, for one hour until dough has doubled in size.
Next, sprinkle flour onto your counter and divide your dough into four equal pieces.
Roll each segment into balls and let rise again for 30 minutes.
About 5 minutes before the second rise is complete, heat oil in a dutch oven with a candy thermometer attached.
When the oil reaches 350°f, take a dough ball, make an indentation in the middle with your thumb but do not go all the way through (you’ll need a ‘pocket’ to fill with jam), and lower carefully into the hot oil. You can fry two doughnuts at a time if in a wide dutch oven.
Fry on each side about one minute. Then remove with a spider or slotted spoon onto a cooling rack with paper towels underneath. Let temperature in the pot come back to 350°f before frying next batch.
Let doughnuts come to room temperature before glazing and filling.

For the pineapple jam:

Combine pineapple and water/juice in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pineapple becomes soft, about half an hour.
Stir in sugar and lime juice to the pineapple and raise temperature to medium-high.
Let the mixture reach a simmer, stirring to dissolve all the sugar.
Then, lower heat to low and let cook about one hour, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Let cool to room temperature. If not using right away, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to one month.

For the meringue:

Place the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer.
At the same time (you’ll want sugar syrup and egg whites to be done at the same time), whisk egg whites in a stand mixer until foamy, and then add in cream of tartar and salt. Increase speed to high until soft peaks form.
Once the syrup reaches 240°f, slowly pour it into the egg whites while the stand mixer is on medium speed. Mix until the bowl is no longer hot but room temp, about 8-10 minutes. Then, mix in vanilla until incorporated.
Place all the meringue into a large pastry bag or ziplock. Set aside.

For the glaze:

In a small bowl, combine water and sugar. Stir until smooth and then add in desired amount of food coloring.
Optionally, you can add in 1-2 drops of pineapple extract if you’d like more pineapple flavor.

Assembly:

Start by dipping room temperature doughnuts in the glaze. Dip a second time for a more opaque glaze.
Spoon pineapple jam into the center of the doughnuts, using the spoon to push the jam down into the center.
Next, cut the tip off the pastry bag (if it’s disposable) or ziplock and pipe a swirl of meringue on top.
Using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the outside of the meringue until golden. Enjoy!

Notes

Doughnuts, jam, and meringue can reach temperatures of over 300°F so please use caution in the kitchen! Wear gloves, an apron, closed toe shoes, and use a candy thermometer. Keep children away when handling hot dishes.
I made my batch of doughnuts with almond milk and they came out exactly the same as with cow milk, so feel free to use a milk alternative.
If you powdered sugar is clumpy, sift before adding water.
If glaze is too thin add more sugar. If too thick add more water a half a teaspoon at a time.
If you want your doughnuts extra pineapple-y, you can add a drop or two of pineapple extract to the glaze. But use sparingly!
Leftover meringue can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
For this recipe I tested hand rolling doughnuts, cutting circles with a cutter, and rolling balls. To get a great puffy doughnut I found it best to roll into balls. However, if you’d like smaller doughnuts that still puff up, using a 2-3″ round cutter on flattened dough will produce smaller ones. Hand rolling will give you the classic shape, but you’d need to sandwich the pineapple jam between meringue in the hole.

Keywords: treat, pineapple, dole whip, meringue, doughut

MSEP Ladybug Macarons

September 9, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski 1 Comment

Main Street Electrical Parade Ladybug Macarons // magicaltreatsathome.com

This treat can be found at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe in Disneyland.

This past summer, Disneyland brought back the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP) for a short run, ending September 30th. Besides the thousands of glittering lights, they also brought out a slew of tasty treats to commemorate the event. Like the giant Ladybug Macaron.

This treat is not new to the park, and was last seen in 2017 during a longer run of the MSEP, and I’m sure will be ending its run at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe when the parade closes. But now that we’ve recreated the recipe, you can enjoy it again until the next (hopefully longer) run of the parade returns!

This oversized ladybug-shaped macaron is filled with strawberry buttercream, strawberry jelly, and freeze dried strawberry pieces. These are also gluten free, as the cookies are made using ground almonds and no gluten containing flour if that’s an issue.

I’ve included some additional notes below the recipe, so please read all the way through before making these. However, I will point out that sifting the almond flour and the powdered sugar together is a must. It might seem crazy to sift it four times, but you need that amount of sifting to make sure the sugar has absorbed the oils from the almonds otherwise it will be clumpy. Also, working with egg whites means you need to have a gentle hand when folding in the mix, or even pouring in the sugar. Patience and steadiness will result in great puffy macarons.

Questions? Leave them in the comments below and you’ll probably be helping out another reader! Now let’s bake!

MSEP Ladybug Macarons

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 3–4 large macarons 1x

Description

Oversized ladybug shaped macarons with three kinds of strawberry filling to commemorate the Main Street Electrical Parade. A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

For the black macarons:

67g (apx. 3/4 cup) almond flour
90g (apx. 3/4 cup) powdered sugar
52g egg whites, from about 1–1/2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
30g (1-1/2 heaping tablespoons) granulated sugar
gel based black food dye

For the red macarons:

645g (apx. 1/2 cup) almond flour
60g (apx. 1/2 cup) powdered sugar
35g egg whites, from about 1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
20g (1-1/4 heaping tablespoons) granulated sugar
gel based red food dye

For the filling:

35g egg whites, from about 1 large egg
1/4 cup (52 g) sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract (or bakery emulsion)
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons strawberry jelly or jam
1 teaspoon freeze dried strawberry pieces

Special Tools:

mesh strainer
pastry bags

Instructions

For the black macarons:

First sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt back and forth four times between two bowls using a mesh strainer. Set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add in the egg white and whisk until slightly foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks appear. Then slowly pour in the sugar. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
Add in four drops of the black food coloring to the egg whites and slowly whisk to combine. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
Sift a third of the dry mixture into the colored egg whites and fold until barely incorporated, about 10 turns. Repeat twice with remaining dry mix. Fold until batter forms a ribbon when dropped into bowl.
Add about 1/4 of the batter into a piping bag and set aside. Pour remaining batter into a new piping bag and cut the tip off the bag. You want it large enough to pipe out the large ladybugs.
Pipe the bottom lady bug shape onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the batter sit about 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 350°f. Place cookies in oven to bake, and lower the temperature to 300°f. Cook for 17-18 minutes.
Let the macarons cool at least 20-30 minutes before decorating.

For the red macarons:

Follow steps 1-5 above, adding in RED food coloring instead of the black.
Place all the batter into a piping bag, cut the tip of the bag, and pipe out the top ladybug halves as circles.
Using the black macaron batter that was set aside, pipe heads and spots on the red batter to represent ladybugs.
Again, let batter sit for one hour and follow cooking directions from above.

For the filling:

First make the Swiss strawberry buttercream frosting by stirring the egg whites, sugar, and salt together over a double boiler (or bowl set over simmering water on the stove), until temperature reaches 160°f.
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until stiff peaks form.
When the bowl is cool to the touch, add the butter, one piece at a time, whipping between pieces to incorporate butter, but not fully mixing it in.
Next, add in vanilla and strawberry extracts. Whip everything on high until smooth.
Place the frosting in a piping bag and pipe out along inside edges of the black macarons, leaving a center well to fill with the jam. *You may have leftover frosting. Storage instructions in notes below.
Fill well with strawberry jelly/jam and sprinkle freeze-dried strawberry pieces on top.
Attach top and enjoy!

Notes

Sifting the almond flour and powdered sugar together is necessary for the absorption of oils and to prevent clumping of batter.
Using gel based food coloring will give a much deeper, and vibrant color, than standard food dye.
Any left over macaron batter can be piped into smaller cookies and baked off for 15 minutes.
Swiss buttercream heats the egg whites to 160°f to kill off any bacteria.
Leftover buttercream can be stored in the fridge up to two weeks, brought to room temperature, and whipped before using. It can also be stored in the freezer up to 3 months.

Keywords: treat, Main Street Electrical Parade, ladybug, macarons, strawberry

Churro Toffee

August 26, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski 1 Comment

These treats can be found all over the Disneyland Resort.

I heard about Churro Toffee long before I ever tried it. Several Disney food accounts I follow on Instagram would frequently sing the praises of this spiced, sweet treat reminiscent of the classic Disneyland churro with lots of drooling emojis and exclamation points; I was intrigued. I had to make it.

But first I had to try it! The Disneyland resort has a few places you can pick this up from. I dropped in to Marceline’s in Downtown Disneyland to get mine. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can watch the candy makers make Churro Toffee in the window there (but mostly they’re making candy apples).

The trickiest part of this recipe is getting the toffee just right. You’d think with what is really just two, sometimes three, ingredients, this would be an easy recipe to make… but it can go very wrong if you’re not paying attention to temperature. Here, both the temperature of the stove, and the temperature of the mixture are very important. If the heat on your stove is too high, the mixture can “break” or separate and you’ll end up with an oily mess headed straight for the garbage. Also, if you let your mixture get too hot, it will burn, and nothing is going to save it. Nothing. So, if you’re new to toffee making, please go get yourself a candy thermometer. But if this isn’t your first time at the toffee rodeo, proceed as usual.

After you’ve got a solid toffee base, you’re in the clear and this treat comes together fairly easily. Once the toffee is set, it gets a quick dip in melted white chocolate and then takes a cinnamon sugar bath. Kids can help with this part! You’ll need to wait a little while before eating because the white chocolate needs to harden (but even when it’s still a little soft you can sneak a bite. I sure did!).

So now that we’ve talked up this sweet treat, let’s get to making some! Read through all the tips at the end of this recipe too and drop a comment below if you’ve got a question!

Churro Toffee

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 4 large squares 1x

Description

Buttery english toffee is covered in white chocolate and dusted with a layer of cinnamon-sugar, reminiscent of the classic churro! A Disneyland-inspired treat.

Scale

Ingredients

For the Churro Toffee:

1 cup salted butter (if using unsalted add 1/4 teaspoon)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts (see notes on home roasting below)
white chocolate melting wafers
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Special Tools:

Instructions

For the toffee base:

First, spray or grease an 8×8″ baking pan and then line with parchment.
Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the parchment and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the sugar, butter, and water together. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, careful not to let it touch the very bottom of the pan.
Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring occasionally until it turns an amber brown (this could read 290-305 F on a candy thermometer). The mixture can burn very quickly at this point so as soon as it gets brown, remove from the stove and pour into the prepared pan.
The mixture will start to set up pretty quickly, but move to the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up more. After this point, use a dough scrapper to divide the toffee into 4 large squares (you can always do smaller too if you’d like). Then place back into the refrigerator to completely firm up, about one hour.

For the churro coating:

About 15 minutes before the hour is up, set up your dipping station.
In a medium sized work bowl large enough to fit a square of toffee, mix together 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, like glass, pour in the white chocolate melting wafers. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for an additional 30 seconds. Keep stirring and microwaving in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until melted and smooth. Use can alternatively use a double boiler for melting. Set aside.
Remove toffee from the refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes to come to room temperature. Then dip one square into the white chocolate, letting excess drip off (you can also use a popsicle stick to remove any excess from the edge). Then immediately dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture, turning around the square so that it is evenly covered. Set aside on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Repeat above dipping steps for next three pieces.
Let the squares sit about an hour at room temperature to fully harden and then enjoy!

Notes

Toffee can reach temperatures of over 300°F so please use caution in the kitchen! Wear gloves, an apron, closed toe shoes, and use a candy thermometer. Keep children away when handling hot sugar.
If the butter separates it could be for a few reasons. One could be that your stove heat is too hot. Keep it around medium for the whole time. Another could be that your butter has a high fat ratio (like European style butters). Also, don’t stir too much after it has reached a boil, just every few minutes should be ok.
I tried this with half the amount of the butter and sugar and found it kept burning easily so I’d keep this as the smallest amount to make and then you can double or triple your batch from there.
If chocolate starts to cool after it is melted, microwave for 5-10 seconds and give it a stir.
Use very hot water to remove stubborn toffee from pans and utensils.
If you cannot find roasted peanuts in the store, you can roast raw peanuts at home by laying them on a baking sheet and baking at 350°F for about 20-25 minutes. giving them a turn about halfway through.

Keywords: treat, churro, cinnamon, white chocolate, toffee

Mickey S’more Square

August 12, 2019 by Elana Lepkowski Leave a Comment

These treats can be found all over the Disneyland Resort.

Did you know that Saturday was National S’mores Day? Don’t worry, you won’t find it marked on the calendar, and there isn’t an elf that sneaks into your house at night and leaves s’mores in your shoes. It’s just an excuse to enjoy one of the BEST treats for summer. And Disneyland has you covered… with no fire required!

One of the year-round favorites at the resort, you can usually find this square at Candy Palace, Pooh Corner, Marceline’s in Downtown Disney, and Trolley Treats at DCA. And now you can have it at home too!

The Mickey S’more square is made up of a crisp graham cracker base, a layer of rich milk chocolate fudge, a layer of thick marshmallow, and it’s all covered in a semi-sweet chocolate topped with a yellow chocolate Mickey Mouse. Our recipe below has a few steps, but it all comes together fairly easily once you’re ready to assemble. There’s just the added wait time for the fudge to set up, and the chocolate to set. You WILL NOT need to make graham crackers for this recipe, however, if you do have a homemade recipe you love, by all means use it! We’re using store bought here for consistency and time. For your final square, the Mickey chocolate on top is definitely optional, but we do give an easy way to make one below too, just in case you want a few to snack on!

We won’t be making any campfires for this recipe, and the only fire you’ll see is on a gas stove, but you’ll definitely know you’re eating a S’more when you take a bite of this yummy treat.

Mickey S’more Square

Author: Elana Lepkowski
Yield: 6 S’mores Squares 1x

Description

Layers of crisp graham crackers, rich milk chocolate fudge, and gooey marshmallow are covered in semi-sweet chocolate and topped with a yellow Mickey Mouse chocolate in this dessert reminiscent of the classic s’mores. A Disneyland-inspired treat!

Scale

Ingredients

For the Milk Chocolate Fudge:

8 ounces (227 g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
pinch teaspoon salt

For the Marshmallows:

1–1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 corn light corn syrup
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 packets of gelatine
2/3 cups of water, divided

For assembly:

6 graham cracker squares (3 large sheets broken in half)
12 ounces (340 g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped and divided
2–1/2 ounces white chocolate (71 g), chopped, optional
yellow oil-based chocolate covering, optional

Special Tools:

Instructions

For the Milk Chocolate Fudge:

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
In a double boiler, combine milk chocolate, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. Stir occasionally, until smooth.
Pour into loaf pan and chill, uncovered, until firm, about 4 hours. Set aside.

For the Marshmallows:

Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper or wax paper. Grease top of paper as well. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/3 cup of water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Once mixture reaches a boil, do not disturb. Let the mixture reach “soft ball” stage, approximately 238°F (use a candy thermometer or probe thermometer to get an accurate temperature).
While syrup is boiling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the other 1/3 cup of water and sprinkle gelatine over it. Let sit for five minutes so water can absorb the gelatine. Not all of it will absorb and that’s ok.
Then, attach the whisk attachment and turn mixer on slowest speed. Wearing oven mitts in case of splashing, slowly pour in the syrup mixture into the mixer. Whisk two minutes and then raise speed to medium. Whisk another two minutes and then gradually move speed to highest. Whisk another 3-5 minutes until mixture is stiff. Beat in vanilla extract for 30 seconds and then pour everything into the prepared pan. Mixture will be very sticky and you might not be able to get everything out of the bowl. See notes below.
Use wet fingers to smooth out the marshmallow top and let sit out, uncovered, until firm. About 3 hours.

Mickey Mouse chocolate toppers (optional)

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chopped white chocolate and a few drops of the oil-based yellow food coloring.
Heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to microwave in short 15 -20 second bursts, stirring between, until chocolate is melted and smooth.
Pour into molds and let sit in the refrigerator about 30 minutes to harden. Remove from molds and set aside.

Assembly:

First, temper the semi-sweet chocolate for coating: In a microwave safe bowl, add 2/3 of the chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again and microwave in short bursts of 15-20 seconds until chocolate has uniformly melted and has reached between 114° – 118°F. Then add in some of the remaining chocolate, stir to completely melt and then add more (I did three batches). Continue to stir the chocolate until it has cooled to 88° – 89°F (this can take several minutes of stirring). The chocolate is now tempered and ready to use. Set aside.
Un-mold the fudge from the pan and using a graham cracker as a guide, divide and cut the fudge to fit on the base of cracker. You may need to combine some pieces of fudge if your graham crackers are larger.
Next, remove the marshmallow from the pan keeping it on the parchment. To square off ends of marshmallows, use a long, sharp knife to trim sides. Clean knife with hot water between cuts.
Then, using a graham cracker as a guide, divide the pan into roughly 9 squares, using the same, long, sharp knife to make cuts. You will only need six of the marshmallows for this recipe. See notes below for storing extra marshmallows. Use damp fingers to remove marshmallows from each other if they get stuck together.
Create each stack by starting with the graham cracker base, a piece of fudge, and then top with the marshmallow. Set aside on a sheet pan lined with parchment.
Dip each stack into the tempered chocolate, using a spoon to pour chocolate on top and let drip down sides. Use a chocolate fork or slotted spatula to remove the stack from the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to drip from the stack for a minute or two (or you’ll end up with lots of pooled chocolate) and then place on sheet pan. Repeat until all stacks have been dipped.
If you are using the yellow chocolate Mickey Mouse topper, place one on each stack after you have dipped it.
Allow everything to set at least 4 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Notes

Making marshmallows is a sticky, hot mess. You will need to wear an apron, close toed shoes, and make sure you have a candy thermometer and the clear space to work.
Be OK with the fact that you were going to lose some of the marshmallow in the mixing bowl, on your spoon, and probably on your hands. It’s OK! You’ll have plenty left over.
Any leftover marshmallows in the pan can be cut and tossed in powdered sugar. Keep in an airtight container up to a week.
When tempering chocolate, keep all moisture and liquids away from the chocolate.
If chocolate starts to cool after it is tempered, microwave for 5-10 seconds.
A note on pan sizes. I mention that the fudge is made in a loaf pan and the marshmallows are made in an 8″ square pan. Both hold around 8 cups capacity so you would be able to make both in the 8″ square pan. I was able to get 6 squares of fudge from the loaf pan, I just had to smoosh a few pieces together as noted in the recipe above. Force of habit of making fudge in a loaf pan automatically had me write the recipe this way!

Keywords: chocolate, treat, s’mores, marshmallow, graham cracker, fudge, Mickey Mouse

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