The baking bug has bit my sister, Dom, and me. Weekends when she is in town we take the ideas we've been collecting in our time apart and eagerly start cooking little confections that we turn around and feed to the wonderful people in our lives. It feels a little like we're the Stepford Wives when we put the aprons on (I have some adorable ones) but I happen to think it is a ton of fun to just get girly and bake like we mean it.

This weekend had us making Dipped Graham Cracker cookies and Teddy Graham Cupcakes. Both of which were super easy. Since her and I do this mostly for fun we rarely do our recipes from scratch. Eventually we might progress that way but with our time limited we want to make the most of everything and just buy box mixes. Both of these treats took so little time to make and are really easy to personalize.

Supplies for Dipped Graham Cracker Cookies:

1. Graham Crackers

2. Your choice of chocolate (we used milk and dark)

3. Sprinkles or marshmallows

4. Wax paper for drying

Supplies for Teddy Graham Cupcakes:

1. Teddy Graham cookies (we used two different flavors)

2. Cupcake mix (we used a new kind by Betty Crocker called Fun-da-Middles that has icing in the center)

3. Icing for the cupcakes

4. Don't forget backing cups for easy removal once cupcakes are cooked!

Dipped Graham Cracker Cookies

Steps for Dipped Graham Cracker Cookies:

1. Melt your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Alternatively you can melt your chocolate in a sauce pan if you are going to be making a lot of these. We heated it up for about a minute until it was nice and runny.

2. Break your graham crackers into smaller sections (or leave large for a bigger cookie) and dip it into the chocolate. Move it around a bit if needed to cover one end of the cracker.

3. Lay dipped pieces onto the wax paper in rows, leaving room between each. After you get a few dipped, go back and add your sprinkles. This will ensure your chocolate doesn't harden before you can add the sprinkles. We also used little marshmallows.

4. To quicken the hardening process we put our cookies on trays and set them in the fridge for ten minutes.

And you're done! So simple and yet it makes a fun snack that isn't too rich. It goes great with some milk too! I recommend that you keep your cookies refrigerated until you want to serve them as it will keep the chocolate from getting soft in room temp.

Teddy Graham Cupcakes

Steps for Teddy Graham Cupcakes:

1. Mix up your cupcake batter per the instructions on the box.

2. If you are using the Betty Crocker Fun-da-Middles mix then fill your baking cups 1/3 of the way full.

3. Knead the icing package about 20 times to soften it, then divide it among the cupcakes. About a tablespoon per cupcake should work. Make sure you put the icing in the middle. Once the icing has been added, cover with the remaining batter. Bake according to time listed on box.

4. Now it's time to decorate! We used whipped icing and covered it with chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows. Finally, add your Teddy Grahams!

With the lighter, whipped icing these yummy confections weren't too rich; just the right amount of sweet!

I am already thinking of ideas we can try for the next time she is in town. These projects have been some of my favorite. It is great way for us to spend time together and grow closer. Dom has the biggest sweet tooth I've seen in a human being and baking with her is just another connection between us. I treasure these moments.