Three Things

I'm starting a new blog series - Three Things. Not one thing not two things but three things. Before each weekend, I will be posting Three Things. These can range from Three Things to do this weekend to Three Things I'm currently loving to Three amazing travel destinations. I guess you'll have to tune in each week to see what I have in store for you. Hey, I may even ask you to guest blog and share your three things!

Since I am SO happy it's the weekend, I thought I would start with Three Things to do this weekend :)

One

Throw a Hot Cocoa Party

This is the perfect indoor activity for when it's cold and rainy. Gather up your friends and set up a hot cocoa bar in the comfort of your home. Buy each of your friends a cute mug that they can use for the party and also take home as a cute favor. I personally love these mugs. Once you have your guestlist and mugs, choose some hot cocoas. I would keep it simple and use different mixes. My favorite is the Bites Red Velvet Hot Cocoa Mix. Once you procure your mixes, you need toppings! Whipped cream, marshmallows, sprinkles, mints, oreo crumbs, the possibilities are endless. Now just set up everything on your kitchen counter or dining table. Find some cute displays for everything. If you have cute teacups and saucers at home use those for the mixes and toppings. Get some great ideas here. Then all you have to do is set up your mugs, your mixes, cute spoons for mixing, and your toppings in that order. Once your guests arrive, boil a pot of milk and place the boiling milk in a pitcher near the mugs. Let your guests create their custom hot cocoas and enjoy then on your comfy couch or around the fire. Play some games or read magazines. Whatever you do you'll be enjoying delicious hot cocoa in great company.

Two 

Check out Dine LA

Who doesn't love Restaurant Week? Local restaurants are featuring special 3 course menus for lunch and dinner for extremely reasonable prices. Check out their extensive list and find some restaurants you've been meaning to try but haven't gotten around to it just quite yet. These are great ideas for girl's night, date night, or hey I just want some amazing food night. Nothing says a good weekend like good food. I'm trying Fig & Olive and Fogo de Chao this weekend. Tweet me the restaurants you plan on trying..

Three

 Update your decor

Changing up your furniture or adding some extra decorative pieces is a great way to revamp your place. For example, add some decorative throw pillows to your bed to style it up a little more or add a small vase of fresh flowers to that lonely side table. If your walls are bare, purchase a great vintage poster or some art. I plan on organizing my vanity this weekend. I want to add some of these cute trays to hold some of the clutter. Less clutter is always better.

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!
xoxo

Merry Christmas!

On behalf of all of us here at Bites Desserts, we hope you all have a very merry Christmas! Tis the season, so cherish the memories and enjoy this time with friends and family. With visions of sugarplums dancing in your heads. Happy holidays!

Holiday Gift Guide - DIY Treat Bags

The holidays are approaching, but have no fear we are here to help. Today we are going to share with you a great DIY gift idea: Treat bags.

The first thing you need is a cute favor bag: we used our No Peeking Holiday Favor bag (available here or check here for more options). 

The second thing you need is some treats. You can either buy the treats or make them yourself. We filled our treat bags with our homemade peppermint bark popcorn (available here) and mini chocolate chip cookies., but there are so many other options like candy, brownies, nuts, trail mix, sugar cookies...you get the idea. 

Once you're done you can tie some twine or ribbon around the bag,,and you're done! Give them to your friends, use them as favors for holiday parties, or stuff them in those stockings. Treat bags are one gift that everyone will love!

If you don't want to do it yourself, you can buy our treat bags here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/110216229/peppermint-and-chocolate-popcorn-5-mini

Holiday Gift Guide - For the Baker

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving! I was lucky enough to spend my Thanksgiving with my wonderful family in the Bay Area. I am so thankful for getting to see my family and close friends, but I STILL cannot believe that the holiday season is here! I am already trying to think of great gift ideas for everyone on my list. I know it is hard to find the perfect gift, so I've decided to do a Holiday Gift Guide for the entire month of December. Each week I will post a different Holiday Gift Guide. This week's gift guide is for the bakers in our life (something I have some experience in). Yes, I want EVERYTHING on this list :)

1. Sweet Creations Peppermint Bark Mold - On Sale for $8.12

Nothing says the holidays like some good old-fashioned peppermint bark. Your favorite baker will love this peppermint bark mold, so she/he can create their own bark bars with fun holiday sayings. You can be the taste tester :) 

2. Do-It-Yourself Cookie Cutters - $24.95

Bakers will love these crafty cookie cutters. The receiver of this gift can create personalized cookies with the custom shapes and fun sayings included in the set. 

3. Gingerbread Cake Pop Molds - $11

Cake Pops are the bite size dessert of choice these days, and this gift allows us to put a festive spin on the yummy treat. The baker in your life will really enjoy making little gingerbread men cake pops with this gift. The pops themselves will even make great gifts.

4. Chanel Logo Candies

This is the perfect gift for that baker/fashionista. These Chanel Logo candies are perfect for eating as is or to use to decorate desserts. Bakers can use them to top their delicious cupcakes or decorate anything really.

For more fabulous gift ideas, follow our Holiday Gift Guide Board on Pinterest. We will be pinning several great gift ideas every day!

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! We will be munching on tons of candy and bite size Halloween treats tonight, and we hope you'll be doing the same!

***GIVEAWAY*** Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

We received such a great reaction for our homemade peanut buttercups that we are giving a box away! We will mail you a box of 12 yummy peanut butter cups. To enter the giveaway, subscribe to our blog and leave a comment below telling us about your favorite homemade dessert. To increase your chances, follow us on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/bitesdesserts), twitter (https://twitter.com/bitesdesserts), and pinterest (http://pinterest.com/bitesdesserts/). To increase your chances even more, share our blog or facebook page with your friends! Giveaway ends on 10/20 at noon PST, so make sure to enter before then! Good Luck!!!

xoxo

Easy DIY Peanut Butter Cups

Looking for an easy way to curb that chocolate craving? Try this EASY recipe for home made peanut butter cups. If you don't like peanut butter, you can also use other fillings. I used graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow fluff to make s'mores cups. They were amaaaazing!

What you need:

Chocolate: Any type (white, milk, dark)  and in any form (bars or chocolate chips)

Mini Cupcake Pan

Mini Cupcake Liners

Jar of Peanut Butter

 or

Graham Cracker Crumbs and a Jar of Marshmallow Fluff for the S'mores Cups

What to do:

Step 1: Melt your chocolate any way you see fit. It doesn't matter if you use the microwave or a double broiler.

Step 2: Line a mini cupcake pan with cupcake liners of your choice. I chose some basic silver ones.

Step 3: Pour some melted chocolate into the liners so that you have the covered the bottom of the liners with chocolate. The liners should be less than half full of chocolate.

Step 4: Use a mini ice cream scoop (or spoon) to scoop some peanut butter on top of the chocolate. I used crunchy peanut butter for an extra crunch but any type of peanut butter will do.

If you want to make the s'mores cups, after you have poured some melted chocolate on the bottom of the liners, top the chocolate with graham cracker crumbs and a spoon of marshmallow fluff.

Step 5: Pour the remaining melted chocolate on top of the filling. You should see no filling. You can use a spoon to smooth out the chocolate. If you want to be adventurous, top the cups with sprinkles or graham cracker crumbs.

Step 6: Place the mini cupcake pan in the fridge and let the cups set for 15-20 min. Once the cups have hardened, take them out of the fridge and enjoy!

You can package them up and share them with friends. I like to package them in a nice cellophane bag with a bow. They also make cute and easy favors, especially if you're having a halloween party this year :)

take a bite!

xoxo