My Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cake recipe is a poke cake that starts with a box cake mix, this makes it so easy to create. The tricky part of this cake is working with the Marshmallow Fluff, I like to use a piping bag, or zippy bag with the end cut off to pipe the Marshmallow Fluff. When it comes to crushing candy canes I like to pop them in my Nutri Ninja and 2 pulses later, I have crushed candy canes!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 18.25 oz chocolate cake mix plus eggs and oil as required on the box
• 8 oz Marshmallow Fluff
• 1.5 TBS water
• 6 candy canes
• 8 oz Cool Whip
• 5 TBS Nesquik Chocolate

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cake Instructions

• Preheat oven according to the cake package requirements. Grease a 9×13″ pan.
• Prepare the chocolate cake mix as directed on the box.
• Once the cake is baked, let it cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto your cake board or serving plate.
• Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake.

• In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the Marshmallow Fluff and water for about 10 seconds then stir until smooth.
• Pour the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag or a zippy bag. Cut off the tip of the bag and pipe the marshmallow into the holes. Once the holes are filled, pipe the rest of the marshmallow over the top of the cake and spread out with an offset spatula.
• Remove the plastic from your candy canes and crush them up either in a blender or food processor or by placing them in a zippy bag wrapped in a kitchen towel and beating them with a mallet or rolling pin until crushed.
• Sprinkle the candy cane pieces over the marshmallow layer.

• In a large bowl, mix together the Cool Whip and Nesquik to make a chocolate whipped cream.
• Cover the cake with the whipped cream.
• Decorate as desired.
• Keep the cake refrigerated til serving.

I brought this cake to church on the last night of our semester and my girls loved it! It has just the right amount of peppermint flavor without overpowering the bite. I also served it to Savannah when she came over to hang out. She isn’t a cake person, but she really enjoyed it as well.

Print

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cake

Chocolate, peppermint, and marshmallow combine to make a delicious and easy Peppermint Hot Cocoa poke cake for your Christmas celebration.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, chocolate, marshmallow, peppermint, poke cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

10 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 18

Author cindy

Ingredients

• 1 18.25 oz chocolate cake mix plus eggs and oil as required on the box
• 8 oz Marshmallow Fluff
• 1.5 TBS water
• 6 candy canes
• 8 oz Cool Whip
• 5 TBS Nesquik Chocolate

Instructions

• Preheat oven according to the cake package requirements.

  Grease a 9×13" pan.
• Prepare the chocolate cake mix as directed on the box.
• Once the cake is baked, let it cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto your cake board or serving plate.
• Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake.
• In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the Marshmallow Fluff and water for about 10 seconds then stir until smooth.
• Pour the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag or a zippy bag. Cut off the tip of the bag and pipe the marshmallow into the holes. Once the holes are filled, pipe the rest of the marshmallow over the top of the cake and spread out with an offset spatula.
• Remove the plastic from your candy canes and crush them up either in a blender or food processor or by placing them in a zippy bag wrapped in a kitchen towel and beating them with a mallet or rolling pin until crushed.
• Sprinkle the candy cane pieces over the marshmallow layer.
• In a large bowl, mix together the Cool Whip and Nesquik to make a chocolate whipped cream.
• Cover the cake with the whipped cream.
• Decorate as desired.
• Keep the cake refrigerated til serving.

I hope you enjoy this Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cake recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!

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6 Thanksgiving Pie Recipes

• Yoder’s Amish Peanut Butter Pie is a family favorite of ours!
• Susan from Learning and Yearning makes her Maple Pecan Pie with maple syrup instead of refined sugar and corn syrup!
• Living Beyond Allergies shared this easy and delicious pumpkin pie that is gluten free and vegan! Silky, rich, and packed full of flavor, this homemade pie tastes amazing! Perfect for holidays or anytime you want a slice of cozy comfort.
• I have seen a lot of pumpkin pies but never one like this one from In the Kitch! Add an unexpected spin to a holiday classic with this recipe for crystal clear pumpkin pie! This transparent pie is just as simple to prepare as a traditional pumpkin pie, but it will add an element of surprise and wonder to your dish.
• My friend, Scarlet from Family Focus Blog shares her Crustless Pumpkin Pie recipe which is gluten free.
• This Pumpkin Oreo Cream Cheese Pie from Sweet ReciPEAS is made with pumpkin and cream cheese and topped with an Oreo cream cheese swirl.

2 Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes

• These delicious but easy Thanksgiving sour cream sugar cookies with a cream cheese frosting from Saving Talents are light and fluffy, and they are are perfect for cutting into fun shapes with cookie cutters!
• How adorable are these Turkey Sugar Cookies from Finding Zest?

6 Thanksgiving Cheesecakes, Cakes, Cake Pops and Cupcakes

• If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you will love my Peanut Butter Cup Cake. 
• Oh my goodness! My Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe from The Cheesecake Bible is amazing!
• These chocolate cupcakes from The Sunny Kitchen are decorated to look like adorable Thanksgiving turkeys!
• This cake mix free easy Pumpkin Crunch Cake from Thrifty Frugal Mom, combines a soft pumpkin custard bottom with a delightfully delicious crunchy topping to create a totally addictive dessert!
• These Turkey Cake Pops from Emily Fabulous are so easy to make and will be a hit on your Thanksgiving table. These cute, bite-sized treats are the perfect addition to your holiday celebration and fun for all ages.
• These Sweet Potato Cupcakes from Broken Oven Baking are the perfect treat if you’re looking for a tasty and elegant looking dessert! They’re moist and filled with warm spices.

3 Thanksgiving Trifles

• My Peanut Butter Cup Trifle is easy to make and is always a hit at whatever celebration I bring it to.
• This show-stopping easy tiramisu trifle from The Heirloom Pantry showcases the warm fall flavors of coffee, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon sugar. 
• Layers of rich pumpkin cheesecake, real whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs combine to create this delicious, fun no-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle from Thrifty Frugal Mom.

2 Bread Pudding Recipes for Thanksgiving

• Bread pudding is a traditional holiday dessert in our family. My Eggnog Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce just freshens the tradition up a bit.
• The Spice Train gives us this maple pecan bread pudding is made with challah bread, infused with maple and vanilla flavors and drizzled with maple cream sauce.

5 Dessert Bars

• My Caramel Butter Bars aren’t too sweet and they pair well with tea, coffee, or hot cocoa so they are a great little treat.
• My Gingerbread Jumble Bars are the best of both worlds, soft gingerbread bar cookies with white chocolate chips and M&M candies mixed in.
• These cute Thanksgiving Turkey Brownies from Two Kids and a Coupon are a perfect treat for to make for your Thanksgiving feast. 
• My Vegan Minimalist shares the best vegan chocolate swirl pumpkin brownie you can whip together in just 45 minutes. 
• This Pumpkin Gingerbread from From Valerie’s Kitchen is loaded with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon and is topped with a Maple Pecan Icing.

I hope you enjoy all of these Thanksgiving Dessert recipes recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!

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Holiday provides everything you need for planning and preparing your perfect wintry feast. Whether you prefer a traditional menu (Turkey with Giblet-Mushroom Gravy, pg. 58), an elegant affair (Pepper-Crusted Prime Rib, pg. 66), a simple spread (Pork Loin with Lemon & Coriander, pg. 73), or a lighter option (Salmon with Mustard Glaze, pg. 78), Holiday has something for everyone. Plus, with advice on handmade wreaths (pg. 16), do-it-yourself ornaments (pg. 23), and vintage-inspired garlands (pg. 8), you’ll have exactly what you need to wrap your home in holiday cheer.

Holiday also provides a one-stop shop on all things cookies; with advice on cookie cutting, dough rolling, and icing methods, you’ll want to dig in to recipes like Sweet & Spicy Snowflakes (pg. 42), Linzer Tart Trees (pg. 50), Chocolate-Filled Stars (pg. 51), and Cinnamon Candy Canes (pg. 41). Ready, set, snow!

I’ve been thumbing through my copy of Holiday for a few weeks and making note of some fun new decorating ideas and of course…the recipes. If you are looking for some fresh inspiration, go get your copy of Holiday today.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Holiday as a thank you for writing this post. All opinions are 100% mine.

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There is just nothing like the lights and music to make you smile and feel like at kid on Christmas morning!

Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights from Cindy Schultz on Vimeo.

The post The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights 2010 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

^1-2 I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I’m singing your song, High God.

^3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,
they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.
You took over and set everything right;
when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

^5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations;
you throw dirty players out of the game,
wipe their names right off the roster.
Enemies disappear from the sidelines,
their reputation trashed,
their names erased from the halls of fame.

^7-8 God holds the high center,
he sees and sets the world’s mess right.
He decides what is right for us earthlings,
gives people their just deserts.

^9-10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,
a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
you’re never sorry you knocked.

^11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,
tell his stories to everyone you meet:
How he tracks down killers
yet keeps his eye on us,
registers every whimper and moan.

^13-14 Be kind to me, God;
I’ve been kicked around long enough.
Once you’ve pulled me back
from the gates of death,
I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;
on the corner of Main and First
I’ll hold a street meeting;
I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air
with salvation songs.

^15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,
in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
in the net they spread.
They have no excuse;
the way God works is well-known.
The cunning machinery made by the wicked
has maimed their own hands.

^17-20 The wicked bought a one-way
ticket to hell.
No longer will the poor be nameless—
no more humiliation for the humble.
Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?
Expose these grand pretensions!
Shake them up, God!
Show them how silly they look.

The post A Psalm of Thanksgiving appeared first on The Mom Maven.

From a sparkling ice castle and symphony of dazzling lights … to legendary international customs and wondrous displays … to magical entertainment and musical delights, Walt Disney World Resort unwraps an enchanting celebration of the holiday season in 2010.

Electrifying fireworks, charming parades and all the sounds of the season help transform the 40-square-mile resort into a winter wonderland where holiday fun begins as early as Nov. 8.  Guests who believe “there’s no place like home for the holidays” can enjoy the merriment at Disney and still curl up in a cozy place at home for Christmas … while other guests can spend the holidays at Mickey’s place, since many seasonal happenings continue through Jan. 3, 2011.

Disney’s stocking full of cheer includes:

The post Holiday Fun at Walt Disney World appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Holiday shopping season is here again and the Global Influence network has some great gift ideas for you, tried and tested by real moms. Click on the links to check out what our team of reviewers had to say about each of these gift ideas, and then take a moment to enter our fun giveaway and take a chance at winning some of these fabulous products.

Featured Reviews

Pouchees -Busy moms need all the help they can get to stay organized and keep life as simple as possible. The Pouchee is the perfect solution to keeping all those little things together, putting everything you need, right at your fingertips.

Duck Hunter –

Duck Hunter turns the excitement of the hunt into an activity the whole family can enjoy. Launch the duck in the air and try to hunt it down with the toy shooter as it flies freely in the air. A fun choice for those who love outdoor sporting.

CardStore cards

-Personalized holiday cards are an important item on everyone’s to-do list and often a hassle to create and print. Cardstore.com has everything from family photo cards to invitations for your big holiday party, simplifying your holiday season.

Great Holiday Gift Ideas

Things Remembered

Custom Couture Jewelry

Just Elfin’ Around

Card Cubby

Harumika By Bandai

Harumika Runway Showstopper

Harumika Style Starter

Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo

Strawberry Shortcake Playset

Kota Monty Rex

Wall to Wall Basketball

Nerf Pocket Vortex

Busy Ball Popper

Talking Chuck Truck

Leapfrog My Pal Scout

Leapfrog Tag Jr

Leapfrog Scribble and Write

Animal Planet Polar Land Playset

Animal Planet Dinosaur Playmat

Onionhead Adult/Teen Feelings Pack

OnionHead Children’s Feelings Pack

Onionhead A-Z Feelings Magnet Set

FotoboxPlus

MeTime Tees

Fun Holiday Giveaway!

For this holiday guide, we want to share the love with the blogosphere! Some of our generous sponsors have donated prizes to be given away to lucky readers! To enter to win one of the following fabulous prizes, simply fill out the form here: http://tinyurl.com/y8t92rw

Prizes include: Things Remembered Custom Couture Jewelry Pouchee Elfing Around Harumika Onionhead Feelings Pack Nerf Wall to Wall Basketball Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo MeTime T-shirt Entries will close on December 6, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be contacted by email after the close of the contest.

Global Influence Member Guides Need more ideas for this holiday season? Check out the guides that some of our Global Influence members have put together on their own sites! Thrifty Jinxy, Happy Healthy Hip , And Twins Make Five , Because Two People Fell In Love, Mommy Musings , Lipstick to Crayons , Bargain Briana , Mommy PR , Shop With Me Mama, Santa Picks, Rave and Review, Connected 2 Christ , 3 Boys and a Dog, The Classy Closet , Contest Corner, Lisa Reviews , A Giveaway Every Day, HulaHoopinMom, Spalibrations, High Impact Mom, From Cribs to Car Keys

All reviews listed in the Global Influence gift guide were product provided. Featured positions were purchased by sponsors. Member gift guides are not affiliated with Global Influence.

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The folks at Dirt Devil have produced an amazing downloadable holiday buying guide filled with 100’s of tips and tricks to get more bang for your buck when shopping online. The guide includes over 300 websites, tricks and clever ways to shop online. I downloaded my guide yesterday and I have learned a lot of new tricks that hopefully will save me money as I do some of my Christmas shopping on line in the weeks to come.

Each page of the guide covers a different topic:

• How to find Red Hot deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
• Saving big with promo codes and how to find them
• Save even more with  free shipping and rebates
• Save every day with Deal-A-Day sites
• Auctions, Outlets and other types of sites for Red Hot Deals
• Hard-to-Find and One-of-a-Kind gift ideas
• New ways to shop- ie. social shopping websites, follow deals on Twitter and iPhone apps
• Holiday travel info
• Online shopping with a Techy Twist
• Advanced shopping tips (browsers, cookies and Google…oh my!)
• Bargain Jargon-a glossary of deal lingo

Click on over to Dirt Devil and download your copy of the holiday buying guide today!

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The people at Snapily , a photo-technology company, developed a new 3-D, animation technology that literally allows you to bring your photos to motion (flip-book style) on a card, invitation, wallet sized business card, scrapbook, or stationary. In a nutshell you can customize a card where 2 to 5 photos can be brought to motion on a card.

Aside from Snapily just being a cool new gift idea, it has a strong eco-friendly value. Over 7 billion greeting cards end up in the trash every year – something tells me, you’re less likely to throw out photos let alone ones that come to life.

These high-quality, plastic-coated lenticular photographs, or “living prints”, start at just $3.50.  With Snapily you can:

• “Blow your mom a kiss” from a far
• Morph an old photo of your children as babies into a photo of them grown up
• Wave “hi” to a grandparent all the way across the country
• New dads can create a family scrapbook by uploading photos of his precious newborn to the first family photo

Snapily is simple to use. It took me less than 3 minutes to make a Father’s Day card using a picture of my boys from 1999 and one from 2005. Make sure you check out Snapily today and order your Father’s Day cards.

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