Hostess Apple Cinnamon Donettes Reindeer Pops

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hostess Cakes for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

The holiday season is in full swing now and my kids are so excited. When I was asked to sample the new Hostess Apple Cinnamon Donettes, I thought it was the perfect excuse to throw a mini welcome to the holidays party for my kiddos. So I made a batch of my Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Cider and made a few of the Apple Cinnamon Donettes into these cute little reindeer pops and surprised them after school.  
Though not nearly as cute, these were inspired by Bakerella's Reindeer Cake Pops. Mine look slightly more concerned than hers do, but I love that you can use just a few things to create a special memory. 
If you want to make something similar, here is what you will need. 
Supplies needed:
Paper Straws or lollipop sticks
Candy Eyes
Square Pretzels
Red Peanut Candies
Royal Icing
Wooden skewer or toothpick
Hostess Apple Cinnamon Donettes




Step 1: Prepare royal icing according to directions and fill a plastic storage bag. Snip one small corner off the bag. 
Step 2: Insert straw into Donette. Leave Donette laying flat while you work.
Step 3: Use skewer to poke holes for eyes. Fill holes with royal icing and stick candy eyes on.
Step 3: Fill center of Donette with royal icing and place red candy inside. 
Step 4: Carefully cut pretzels in half with serrated knife and push into sides of Donette to create antlers. 
Step 5: Let icing dry and serve. 



Hostess has also been nice enough to offer one of my readers a free bag of Apple Cinnamon Donettes. Just leave a comment telling me about your small celebrations with your family. The winner will be chosen at random on November 30th, 2012. Please make sure you leave your email address so you can be contacted if you win! 

Twice Baked Potatoes - Two Ways

In our family, Thanksgiving means a big variety of food. Everyone's favorites are included. Potatoes are pretty high on my list of favorites, so I thought it would be fun to include twice baked potatoes, made two different ways. A fluffy twice baked russet potato and a tender twice baked sweet potato, a twist on traditional mashed potatoes. 

The really great thing about both of these recipes is that they can be made a day or two ahead of time, and then popped in the oven on Thanksgiving Day. 

Twice Baked Potatoes

Serves 4-8

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes
4 tablespoons of Country Crock Spread 
2 oz of softened cream cheese
1/2 cup of half and half
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper
Sour cream and green onions for garnish

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and dry potatoes. Prick potato several times with a fork and bake for about one hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and once potato is cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut potato in half long ways. 

Scoop potatoes out and into a medium size bowl. Leave a thin layer of potato in the shell, enough so the potato skins can still stand on their own. 

Use a potato masher to combine potatoes, Country Crock Spread, softened cream cheese, salt and pepper. Mash until smooth. Stir in half and half. 

Lay potato shells on a foil lined baking sheet and spoon mashed potatoes into shells. If making ahead, wrap baking sheet and potatoes in plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Bake potatoes, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and golden brown.

Top with sour cream and green onions. 

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

serves 4-8

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons of Country Crock Spread
2 tablespoons of firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 cup of toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of miniature marshmallows 
Additional pecans and marshmallows for garnish

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and dry potatoes. Prick potato several times with a fork and bake on a foil lined baking sheet for 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven and once potato is cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut potato in half long ways. 

Scoop sweet potatoes out and into a medium size bowl. Leave a thin layer of sweet potato in the shell, enough so the sweet potato skins can still stand on their own. 

Use a potato masher to combine potatoes, Country Crock Spread, brown sugar, and salt. Mash until smooth. Stir in pecans and marshmallows. 

Lay potato shells on a foil lined baking sheet and spoon mashed potatoes into shells. If making ahead, wrap baking sheet and potatoes in plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Bake potatoes, uncovered for 15 minutes or until heated through. Keep on eye on the marshmallows as they will brown quickly.

Garnish with additional pecans and marshmallows. 

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Thanks for reading! Melissa

Linking up with: Tatertots & Jello

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.