S’mores Cheeseball

Heat like this calls for no-cook treats- plus all the AC/pool trips/popsicles you can find. This cheeseball dip is all the flavors of s’mores that you love, without sitting by a hot fire while it is 90-something degrees around here.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

S’mores Dip
Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 graham crackers crushed into crumbs + ~8-10 graham crackers broken into quarters
1 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallow bits

Directions:
When cream cheese is softened, add in confectioners sugar, vanilla, most of the graham cracker crumbs, and 1/3 of the mini chocolate chips.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

Mix well together with a spatula or hand mixer. Spoon onto plastic wrap and wrap it up to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Before serving, cover the outside in the remaining graham cracker crumbles, remaining mini chips, and the marshmallows.

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

Use a spoon to pack the “crust” around the cheeseball.
Serve with graham crackers to dip. Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - S'mores Dip

This was fun – and addicting. The dip is soft and creamy with a tang of the cream cheese but with the sweet and crunch. Mix it up and bring out a cool dessert that appeals to all ages.

These mini freeze-dried marshmallows are perfect here, BUT, skip the marshmallows and swap the cream cheese with ricotta and poof! You’ve got cannoli dip! We used the mini marshmallows in hot chocolate bombs and in some trail mix and in Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies.

Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

I love a Valentine’s Day treat! At the same time, I admittedly unfollowed an IG influencer who spouted “small” Valentine’s Day gifts for her kids – then the next thing we saw was coloring kits, playdoh sets, puzzles, stuffed animals, candy, play jewelry, and matching pjs. It is their job to get people to buy stuff – but none of us need the expectation out there that we’re showering the kiddos with so much stuff every single holiday. Cookies are the right answer – everyone can enjoy a soft pink cookie.

Strawberry Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients:

1 box strawberry cake mix
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Mix the cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and extract together.

The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Let cookie dough cool at least 10 minutes in the fridge.
Roll golf-ball sized balls (~1.5-2 inches) and gently roll in powdered sugar. Place onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray or with a silicone mat each one about 2 inches apart.
Bake 9-10 minutes and let sit on the baking sheet 1 minute out of the oven then carefully let cool on cooling rack.

The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

Enjoy!

I love these. They are delightfully soft and almost gooey. The strawberry flavor brings some summertime feelings to mid-February.

The Three Bite Rule - Strawberry Crinkle Cookies

Or make some Valentine’s Day Raspberry Muddy Buddies

The Three Bite Rule - Raspberry Muddy Buddy

Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits with Strawberries is a nice one too – with just a few ingredients!

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits


Or some pink sprinkles onto yogurt would be the easiest way out yet there’s something about sprinkles that just makes everyone happy. 🙂

Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Apple Topping

I baked! I had this idea churning and we were having cheesecake for Christmas day so I left some space after just having it – then I just went for it without an occasion. This has pretzel & graham cracker crumb crust with cheesecake topped with apple and salted caramel.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Apple Topping

The cheesecake is super fluffy and has a great balance of crumb to cheesecake to topping ratios – I pretty much want each in every bite.

Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Apple Topping
Ingredients:

(for graham cracker & pretzel crust)
1 packet of graham crackers
1/2 cup of pretzels
1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
(for cheesecake)
16 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
8 oz sour cream
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
(for salted caramel apple topping)
3 large cortland apples
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
In a food processor, blend together the graham crackers, pretzels, butter, and sugar and press into a springform pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
Bake for 8 minutes then reduce heat to 325 degrees.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and heavy cream.
Bake for 60-minutes until the edges are set and the middle is barely giggly.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Apple Topping

Let the cheesecake fully cool out of the oven, in the pan.
Peal and chop the apples to cook over medium-low heat in the butter. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook for ~5 minutes until they soften but aren’t mush.
Add in a teaspoon of the caramel apple sauce and some salt. Taste and add in more of the kosher salt as you like. Refrigerate until serving.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Apple Topping

When serving, spoon apple topping over the cheesecake and drizzle with remaining caramel and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Apple Topping

I loooved this. I started with apple topping from just 2 apples then made more wanting there to be PLENTY. I love the little salt bits in the crust and on the topping. Cheesecake is so convenient to prep ahead of time and I liked the salted caramel apple topping even better when it was cool – just like the cheesecake.

Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies

So addicting! Muddy Buddies are fool-proof and great to make quickly – and to be ready to gift! Sweet chex-mix with 2 flavors is the best. I made mint & chocolate for Saint Patrick’s Day and I made raspberry white chocolate muddy buddies for Valentine’s Day.

Read through before making – I have you make one kind, then the other since the chocolate shouldn’t cool/harden before you’re ready to mix it all up. These are delightfully wintry – not holiday-ish so make whenever!

The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies

Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies:
Ingredients:

1 cup white chocolate chips
6 cups rice chex cereal (that’s 2/3 of a box)
2/3 cup hot chocolate mix
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup mini dehydrated marshmallows

Directions:
Melt white chocolate chips – stirring every 20-seconds in the microwave for ~1 minute OR over a double boiler.
Then gently stir into half the chex, carefully to not break the cereal. Then transfer into a zip-top bag and pour in the hot chocolate mix.

The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies

Shake shake shake to cover evenly.
Then pour onto wax paper and spread out evenly to “dry” (hot tip: place on baking sheets to be able to move them.) Let it sit for ~30 minutes – an hour.

The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies

Melt the chocolate chips – stirring every 20-seconds in the microwave for ~1 minute OR over a double boiler.
Then gently stir into half the chex, carefully to not break the cereal. Then transfer into a zip-top bag (use the same one!) and pour in the powdered sugar.
Shake shake shake to cover evenly.
Then pour onto wax paper and spread out evenly to “dry” (hot tip: place on baking sheets to be able to move them. Sound familiar?) Sprinkle the dehydrated marshmallows so some will stick to the chex clusters. Let it sit for ~30 minutes – an hour.

The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies

Enjoy!

The dehydrated marshmallows are so so fun and a big bag was half the price than the little tub by ice cream toppings or by hot chocolate in the stores. I’ll totally put on top of ice cream, on yogurt, add to trail mix, drop into hot chocolate, and into hot chocolate bombs and I definitely want to try in ebilskiver pancakes!

Valentine’s Day Raspberry Muddy Buddies

I’m fully embracing Valentine’s Day this year because, well, we definitely need things to look forward to. I had decor up before Feb 1 hit and planned to make muddy buddies. We made some mint ones at Christmas and it was so fun. This muddy buddy batch has half white, half pink raspberry with some M&Ms in there too!

The Three Bite Rule - Raspberry Muddy Buddy

I like that these require so few ingredients. With so many Chex varieties I totally could have done half as raspberry and half vanilla chex, which would lighten up the sugar too.

Raspberry White Chocolate Muddy Buddy
Ingredients:

~1 box Rice Chex cereal (I used one box minus 2 kid bfast servings)
3 cups white chocolate
1 teaspoon raspberry jelly (optional)
1 cup freeze dried raspberries, pulverized into powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1 bag Valentine’s M&Ms or small valentine candies or pink sprinkles

The Three Bite Rule - Raspberry Muddy Buddy

Directions:
Melt half the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds.
Mix half the cereal in, stirring carefully to not break the cereal. Pour into a zip-top bag and pour in half the powdered sugar (don’t push the air out before closing the bag, keep it balloon-like). Shake, shake, shake until well covered. Empty onto a sheet of wax paper to cool/dry.
Melt the other half of the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds.
Mix the remaining half the cereal in and jelly, stirring carefully to not break the cereal. Pour into the same zip-top bag and pour in remaining half of the powdered sugar and the raspberry powder (don’t push the air out before closing the bag-keep it balloon-like). Shake, shake, shake until well covered. Empty onto a sheet of wax paper to cool/dry.
Let it cool/dry for 15 minutes and then pour both batches into a large air-tight container with the M&Ms or sprinkles.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Raspberry Muddy Buddy

Using the bag was much easier than stirring in a bowl. I’ve now mastered how not to dirty 2 of everything! We had freeze dried raspberries that nobody liked for snacks so I ground them up for PB&J inspired energy bites and the rest for these! The kids like freeze dried mango, strawberries, apples, etc so I’m not sure why they weren’t a hit, but ohh well! They bring great flavor and color.

A lighter option to lessen the sugar would be to half the white chocolate, half the powdered sugar and to make the raspberry batch and mix in a few cups of vanilla chex or honey nut chex.

Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

Welcome to the easiest dessert ever! It is so perfect for your small family gatherings – with only slightly more effort than, say, an oreo. It is sweet, flavorful, and unique for home. I’ve done a twist on this before, for easy chocolate mousse or strawberry cheesecake mousse.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

Go for it even if you wouldn’t say you like Cool Whip- it is so good and that’s not what stands out!

Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple
Ingredients: (for ~5 servings
)
1 package cheesecake pudding
2 cups milk
4 oz Cool Whip
1 cup granola (or crushed graham crackers)
1 tbs butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 can of apple pie filling
4 tablespoons salted caramel sauce

Directions:
Prepare the pudding according to the package – mine had 2 cups milk whisked for 2 minutes. Then it chills for at least 30 minutes.
Gently mix in Cool Whip to the pudding.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

Melt the butter and mix in the granola and cinnamon.

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

Assemble with some granola at the bottom of each bowl, then cheesecake mousse, then apple pie filling, and finish with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Cheesecake Mousse with Salted Caramel Apple

I loved this and it is such an easy one to make ahead and just assemble when serving. It could easily have a few options – I liked the salted caramel apple but some crushed candy canes and mini chocolate chips would be fun too!

Easy Chocolate Mousse

This is totally cheating- this isn’t true mousse, but everyone needs the easiest dessert ever, right? YES. Kids could definitely make this. It seems silly to share given how little cooking is involved, but it is a great one to have in your back pocket- especially something quick and cool. The other night we did a friends call where everyone picked a drink and food item. I went with a riesling and this chocolate mousse. It was a great paring!

The Three Bite Rule - Easy Chocolate Mousse

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1 box instant chocolate pudding
milk (as the package instructs)
6-8 oz cool whip
mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles

Directions:

Prepare the pudding according to the package.
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Chocolate Mousse
Once cooled and set, mix in 3/4 of the cool whip.
Serve with a dollop of cool whip and garnish.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Easy Chocolate Mousse
Mr. J chose a white wine and boursin with melba toasts. We had a great variety!

Hot Chocolate Cookies

I baked! It happens so rarely that I feel like it requires skywriting with “I did a thing”! In full disclosure, I did not make this recipe up but I’m not 100% sure of the origins. Ms. L gets all the credit as these are a staple in her arsenal of skills. I tweaked ever-so-slightly. They were great!
The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Cookies

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients: (makes 4 dozen)

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 sticks room temperature butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/4 cups flour
4 packages Hot Chocolate Mix (not sugar free)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Cream together sugars and butter until fluffy. Add eggs & vanilla.
In another bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
Add chocolate chips.
Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat. Bake for ~7 minutes.
Lightly press a few marshmallows in the top of each ball. Bake for another 4 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute on the tray, then on a cooling rack.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Hot Chocolate Cookies
These were so good! I loved them and will definitely make them again. It seemed too mentally taxing for me to have 2 timers going for 2 rounds each so I just cooked 1 tray at a time. Had it been daytime, maybe I could have handled more than that.

They were perfectly cooked, and super cute amongst their cookie friends at a swap. I made 3 dozen for the swap and froze the rest to bake for Santa!

Easiest Peach Cobbler

And by peach, I always mean nectarine, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. I don’t do peach fuzz but eat lots ‘o nectarines. This is a foolproof dessert…that comes from a non-baker. It was fantastic to make a tiny one or make a full size one for a crowd! I loved it and will whip it up again soon- I’m thinking blueberries before it is apple season! The little dude thinks chocolate, but it won’t work the same. 🙂

There are lots of “dump cakes” around the internet. I just had to share because who doesn’t need a foolproof dessert option in your back pocket?! Also, it’d be easy to make 2 varsities at the same time if you don’t want half a box of cake mix hanging around until your next one!

The Three Bite Rule - Easiest Peach Cobbler

Easiest Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients: (serves ~4)

2-3 peaches/nectarines
2 teaspoons of white sugar
1/2 box cake mix
1/2 stick of butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Slice the peaches and lay into a small baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray (a pie plate or 9×9 would work).
The Three Bite Rule - Easiest Peach Cobbler
Sprinkle the peaches with sugar then sprinkle half the cake mix onto the peaches.
Slice the butter and lay slices across the top.
The Three Bite Rule - Easiest Peach Cobbler
Bake for ~20 minutes. Check that the whole top is getting nicely brown. Bake another 5 if needed for a light brown crust.
The Three Bite Rule - Easiest Peach CobblerThe Three Bite Rule - Easiest Peach Cobbler
Enjoy! Serve warm or room temperature.

The little guy had this twice and I had it about 3 times. We added whipped cream on top and loved it. He liiiiives for dessert and it was fun to have something special/different and fitting for the season without making a ton. Mr. J would head towards ice cream or an Oreo before this- unless served at a dinner party or holiday etc.

Frozen fruit (peaches, mixed berries, cherries, blueberries) would be great too and make it super convenient to whip up quickly. I tucked the other half of the cake mix away for another day but need to keep this these ratios in mind!