As I’m pouring syrup into the tiny uniformed square valleys of the waffle I am reminded of the gigantic foam waffle props used during Double Dare’s “Physical Challenge.” The kid contestants on Double Dare’s physical challenge got to dive head first into everything from a vat of mashed potatoes, a dirty ear canal and an enormous ice cream sundae while searching for a tiny red flag hidden in all the muck.

The waffle challenge I believe was called “Squelch M’ Waffles” and consisted of an oversized plate with several waffles larger than the kids themselves that were covered in syrup. The red flag would often be found deep inside one of the waffles’ square creases covered in syrup and whipped cream.
So as I ate my own waffles this morning I couldn’t help but have the impulse to dive into them and furiously search for a tiny red flag hidden in the syrup. The beauty of that show Double Dare was that kids love to get good and dirty. So it was like seeing our fantasy of ultimate messiness come alive.

Double Dare came out in the 1980’s and during that time toys, tv shows and other products targeted toward young boys like myself were often promoted based on their “gross out” factor. Toys often came with slime, ooze or other such messy accessories. There was also a big spike in water gun sales especially the kind that shot ink or goop. So a tv show in which kids got to be covered in syrup and whipped cream from head to toe fit right in and became a huge hit.
I think this new generation of kids (herein after referred to as young whippersnappers) are way too worried about being cool to think much about the joys of rolling around in a giant sized ice cream sundae.
Oh well, at least I know that every time an Eggo waffle pops out of my toaster and gets smothered in syrup I can be transported back to that time where Nickelodeon’s Double Dare taught us nothing was as cool and diving head long into a big stack of waffles.

-Daniel

I must say that I think overall I liked collecting these comics. This is the only comic that I’ve been following lately so it was nice to look forward to. The stories have been compelling at times and the art acceptable. Still I’d be lying if I said the comics were perfect. So I have here a few things I loved and a few things I hated about the Buffy Season 8 comic series.

What I loved
-I did love how they made it canon to the tv show. I love the show and have them all on DVD. I watch the show all the way through in order every now and then. So to be given the chance to continue the story of Buffy and friends was an welcomed idea.

-I loved the guest appearances of secondary or tertiary characters from the show. We get to see Dracula for a few issues and he was quite funny. His relationship with Xander got explored more.

-I loved how Buffy and Satsu had a fling together. Yea this plot twist was just a gimmick to generated buzz about the comic (which it did successfully) but it was also interesting. It didn’t feel randomly tacked on to the story. It was a nice way to let the character of Buffy evolve and change some.

-I loved that we also have a brief appearance of the Master at the end but I felt it was too short and didn’t make sense.

-I loved the issue with Harmony. The idea of having her starring in a reality tv show was great!

-I loved the Faith story arch because I really enjoy the character and was wanting to see more of her. I think they explored her nicely and did a good job letting her and Giles work together.

-I loved the the one shots about WIllow and Riley. Willow’s story about her search for a spiritual guide revealed more about the mysterious Saga Vasuki snake lady. The Riley story explained how Riley became imbedded as a double agent in the Twilight organization. The story didn’t make all that much sense but I did like seeing more of his character.

-I loved all the pop culture references that they included in the comics. They made fun of the current vampire craze and even point out that the relationship between Bella and Edward from Twilight is very similar to Buffy and Angel’s. They also mention Battlestar Galactica by having Willow say “oh Frack!” During the Willow one shot there is a parody of a Harry Potter scene including a Hogwarts Express train.

-I loved the issue that gave homage to the animated Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv show that was attempted but never was. As a one shot story it was kind of fun.

-I love how Warren turns in to a pile of Spaghettio mush when the magic crystal is destroyed and Amy’s spell keeping him together is lifted. I hated Warren anyway. hehe.

-I loved when they focused on the characters and them interacting through quirky dialogue like from the tv show. I think those moments were way better than the issues they tried to pack in a lot of action or stuff happening.

-I loved that Willow broke up with Kennedy. I never liked her much, not even on the tv show.

What I hated
-First off I hated how confusing the story gets toward the end. Once Angel is revealed as Twilight the story just went in the crapper. They talk about new universes being created and the source of all magic but they never make it clear what the hell it all means.

-I hated how the stories in general were way over the top. I mean why make Dawn a giant for several issues?! I know in a comic book you can do the impossible without the budget limitations in creating a tv series, but that shouldn’t have resulted in a giant Dawn. Then the events in the last few issues took it even farther because Buffy has super powers and there are tons of epic universe shattering events going on. Only the writers knew what was happening (and I’m not so sure even they knew).

-There were times I hated the art. I think overall the quality was good and there were some nice drawings throughout the series. However, my biggest gripe with the art is how it was often difficult to identify characters. At times I couldn’t tell if it was Buffy, Dawn or another random Slayer doing something because they all looked alike. This problem isn’t as bad with costumed comic book superheros because you can tell who they are by what they are wearing. This was majorly distracting in Buffy’s comic because the characters are plain clothed usually and all have similar looks. Sometimes I’d have to re-read an issue before understanding “oh that was Dawn that said that not Buffy.”

-I can’t say I totally hate that Angel turned out to be the character Twilight. It was a nice twist and I was glad to have his character back interacting with Buffy. But as mentioned above the story went down hill after his reveal.

-I hated how they teased us with the possibility of Xander and Buffy being together only to pair Xander with Dawn. I guess I’m okay with Dawn and Xander since they always loved each other in some form even on the tv show. So it made sense that their love would evolve romantically.

-I hated how toward the end of the series they don’t explain what happened to all the other characters especially one of my favorites Andrew! He may be new to the Scoobies team but he has become a more principle character I feel. So to leave him out of the season 8 epilogue was a big disappointment.

-I kinda hated the whole story arch involving Buffy going to Fray’s time period. It didn’t make a lick of sense and just felt like a way for Joss to promote his Fray comic. The way Buffy kills Willow didn’t seem to make any sense either. Then the next several issues that’s all Buffy talks about and it just felt awkward.

-I really really hated that they killed Giles. That was just stupid. I think that character had lots more to offer. I guess  that can be said about Tara, Anya and Joyce and all the other characters that Joss kills off in his universe. Uber sad face :-C

My Final Rating
I think I would give the complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comic book series a three out of five. It had it’s moments but failed to live up to it’s full potential.

Other Buffy Gossip
You also may be interested to know that the Buffy Season 8 comic series has been made into a animated motion comic on DVD. I’ve watched parts of it and it really looks awesome. If you didn’t get a chance to read the full comic series this is a great way to watch the story unfold in beautiful Technicolor dream magic! I dunno what I’m sayin’ just check out the DVD yo!

As far as Buffy Season 9 comic series goes I hear that it is in development! So looks like Buffy will go on fighting the good fight in another comic series.

Plus, there are rumors about a new Buffy feature film hitting theaters. It would be a “reboot” of the franchise. (What’s the big deal about everything being rebooted lately. Can’t they make something original? hehe) Apparently Heather Morris (Brittany from Glee) has been considered to play Buffy. There’s nothing set in stone yet it seems so we shall see what turns up I guess.

-Daniel

Here’s some of the original concept art to give you a better idea of what the attraction looks like.

Leave it to a Disney park to really capture every single detail. The signs are all designed like the digital world of The Grid from the movie.

The dance area includes sexy Sirens dressed in the light-up suits like are seen in the film.

There is also a laserman show on the Backlot Stage that delivers and amazing light and sound experience.

Probably my favorite part of the new elecTRONica area is this replica of Flynn’s Arcade where you can face off with classic arcade video games.

They made sure to replicate exactly the look of the arcade seen in the movie. Here’s the design for the “Flynn’s” neon sign.

Inside the arcade you can play the classic video games from the 1980’s. There’s also face painting and an area where you can play the new TRON: Evolution video game.

Of course among these games is the Tron video game. I wonder if you can scoot it aside and there’s a secret passage to the basement computer lab. Hmm…

Check out the game tokens at Flynn’s Arcade. I so want some of these! You are allowed to keep them as souvenirs if you want and oh yes I want!

Finally my favorite part of any exhibit or attraction-the gift shop! There’s tons of great Tron merchandise to get at the elecTRONica shopping areas.

You can pick from clothes, action figures, pins and just about anything imaginable.

Admission to ElecTRONica is included in the price of entry into Disney California Adventure. Right now, Disney is offering a deal through April 14, that includes 3 days admission to both the Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park for $169. Tickets can be purchased at Disneyland.disney.go.com.

Also be sure to check out my other Tron: Legacy articles…

Tron: Legacy – Movie Review

Tron: Legacy – Toys and Action Figures Review

Tron: Evolution- Video Game Review
-Daniel

Here’s the article I was reading about Netflix going all online watch instantly.

I love Netflix and I definitely get more use out of it’s online viewing option than it’s snail mail DVD option. But how do you guys feel about it? Do you use Netflix mostly for DVD deliverables or online watching?

-Daniel

Cuponk! Game – El Champeon – Pink – $14.99

Here’s the first set called El Champeon. It features a lucha wrestler’s theme cup. The cup lights up and makes various wrestler grunts when you sink a ping-pong ball in it.

Just look at the great packaging on these! I’m a graphic designer so I geek out about stuff like this. But you gotta appreciate how a great presentation adds to the value of this game. The cards shown are part of the gameplay. Each player draws a card and tries to sink a ball into the cup as the card describes. If they succeed then they keep the card. The first player to keep three cards wins the round. Each set also includes a paper funnel of a unique shape to add a variety of game options. Even this simple paper funnel gets a nice graphic treatment adding to the epicness.

The different game techniques diagrammed on the box and in the cards carry over the characters like zombies and luchas to demonstrate. The games have hilarious names like Runny Nose, Head Trauma and Stool Sample! This one is called Runny Nose.

Cuponk! Game – Let it Rip – Green – $14.99

Let it Rip is probably my favorite set because it is a zombie theme cup! Obviously this cup makes awesome sounding zombie noises when you sink a ball in it. I like the eyeball ping-pong ball too.This diagram below shows the game technique they call “Head Trauma.” Sounds like an appropriate name for a zombie theme game. Braaaiiinnnss!

Cuponk! Game – Gorillanator – Orange – $14.99

This set has the Gorillanator theme cup that makes crazy gorilla noises when you sink a ping-pong ball in it.

See even a monkey can do it!

Cuponk Expansion Pack – #1 – $8.99

They’ve also come out with two expansion packs. Each one includes 7 ping-pong balls and 5 kewl graphic stickers.

The additional balls are a big help because you can play longer without having to go chase them down right away. Plus all the balls in the expansion packs have humorous logos like t-bone steaks, melty ice cream cone or one-eyed octopus!

Cuponk Expansion Pack – #2 – $8.99

Cuponk is a fun twist to a classic game. The lights and sound effects add a new dimension and there are lots of ways to play alone or with friends. All in all it’s a fun way to show that “you got game!” ;-P

-Daniel

The story involves Dr Eggman using using aliens called Wisps for some evil scheme. Sonic and Tails come to their rescue and the Wisps give him “color powers” that enable special moves and things. Typical Sonic storyline but the idea of Wisps adds variety.

The gameplay can be fun if you get the controls mastered. The sidescrolling parts are the best though. The cut scenes are cute but full of silly humor.

The real success of this game are the graphics. It’s really beautiful to look at. The game takes place in a giant amusement park in space. The level designs are gorgeous and as you’d expect very colorful. Even though you move very fast through the game you still can take in all the pretty surroundings.

The music also adds to the value of this game. I’ve always been a fan of Sonic game music from it’s earliest days. This games music definitely delivers.

Sonic Colors for Nintendo Wii

Sonic Colors for Nintendo DS

Sonic Colors Official Strategy Guide

Sonic Colors 5 inch Action Figure – $12.99
They also have kewl action figures out to go with the game’s release. Each one comes with two Wisp characters too!

-Daniel

As Yoda would say, “strong is the force with you.” That’s exactly why you need these especially awesome Star Wars Dual Action Electronic Lightsabers!

You can be 5-years-old or 25-years-old, but put a lightsaber in your hand and you immediately become a Jedi Knight. You don’t realize how much fun these things are until you and a friend start dueling with them. They are awesome! They’re surprisingly sturdy too and can take a fair amount of saber clashing.

These lightsabers include a second smaller lightsaber that can be attacked to the handle of the first one making it a double bladed lightsaber. Both lightsabers are extendable and both light up!

Star Wars Dual Action Sith Lightsaber – $34.99

There are two varieties. This is the Red Sith Lightsaber.

Star Wars Duel Action Jedi Lightsaber – $34.99

Here’s the Blue Jedi Knight version of the lightsaber.

I highly recommend getting at least two of these because you’ll want two to spar with. A perfect idea is to get one for yourself and another give to a friend for their birthday or something. That will be the funnest birthday party and one they’ll never forget!

-Daniel

Check out these Bieberlicious gifts for you and your friends!

Justin Bieber Silly Bandz – 24-pack – $7.99

Justin Bieber Silly Bandz – The biggest artist in the world has teamed up with the biggest fashion accessory! Buy Justin Bieber Bandz

Justin Bieber 2011 Calender – $14.99

Justin Bieber Puzzle – $16.99

Justin Bieber Water Bottles – $12.99

Justin Bieber Singing Doll – ‘Baby’ – $25.99

Justin Bieber Singing Doll – ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ – $25.99

Justin Bieber T-shirt – $9.99

There you have it True Bieliebers! Plenty of Bieber merch out there to represent with!

-Daniel

If you ever played a video game you know what it’s like to be playing the first few levels feeling pretty good about your life only to come to a part of the game that is so difficult, confusing or frustrating that your blood starts to boil and it takes whatever temper you have left to keep you from grabbing the game console and smashing it into the wall. Typically we spare the game console from obliteration and just turn the thing off vowing to never play that #@$& game again. That my friends is what we call Rage Quitting, giving up on a video game before it’s finished because it becomes too frustrating to continue playing it.

Rage quitting is a well known phenomenon in the video game community and it has resulted in some interesting developments. There is a whole generation of gamers who can remember playing the earliest of systems to the latest and they have rage quitting moments on all of them. Youtube features hilarious videos by characters like The Angry Video Game Nerd who parody this video game rage.

This week I was looking over my collection of games that I have amassed over the years to see what I wanted to play. I noticed that there were quite a few games that I had just given up on and never finished. Often I’d quit because of just one part I couldn’t get past. So I compiled a list of my top ten most frustrating, controller smashing, rage quitting video game moments!

10.) Lord of the Rings Return of the King on GameCube

I’m sure you know how they say movie-based games notoriously suck. But this LOTR Return of the King game wasn’t that bad. I liked the look of it and the gameplay was fun. It gave you the ability to level-up and add new playable characters. And the most interesting part was how they took real movie footage and seemlessly blended it into the animated cut-scenes and gameplay.
Too bad I never finished this game because of one level: The Pelennor Fields. Playing as Aragorn you have to fight a ton of enemies and then fire these big crossbows at several encroaching Mûmakil (elephant things) before they reach a certain point. In other words you have a time limit. I hate time limits! I tried this level like 30 times before yanking the disk out of the machine in frustration.

9.) Tomb Raider 2 on Playstation

This was a great game with improved controls and graphics from the original game. I did manage to finish it all the way through. But oh my gawd! I have such sour memories about certain parts of it. Even though you have infinite tries you definitely need it because you die a lot. A whole lot. The hardest part was when you have to do a precision long jump and grab to get to a small cliff outcropping. If you missed then Laura fell to her death. I had to fall, die and reload a kazillion and a half times before I got it right.

8.) The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass on Nintendo DS

I am a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda franchise and I enjoyed playing Phantom Hourglass. However, this is the first Zelda game I started playing and haven’t finished yet. What made me take the cartridge out of my DS is the way you have to return to the same dungeon over an over again. Each time you go a bit deeper into this dungeon but it gets more difficult on each return trip. The main enemies in this dungeon are invincible. Since you can’t damage them you have to use stealth to avoid getting pummeled. On top of this there is a time limit as the sands of the Phantom Hourglass run out. Did I mention how I hate time limits? I got almost to the last chapter of the game but just got bored with the same thing over and over.

7.) E.T. The Extraterrestrial on Atari 2600

Okay, every gamer growing up in the 80’s knows that E.T. on the Atari was infamously difficult and buggy. The cable channel G4 has even devoted an entire episode to the story of its huge commercial failure. I’m sure you’ve heard the story of how they over produced the game cartridges and ended up just pitching them into a big landfill once people learned it was crap. Well I still had to mention it hear because I remember my whole family and I trying to figure out how to play this game only to be totally enraged by it. As you play as E.T. you keep falling into pits. Once you finally crawl your way out you just end up falling right back down into the same pit again! Plus, bad guys come and steal any items you collect as soon as you get them. It’s almost so buggy I don’t think you can actually complete the game. This game was my first experience of rage quitting.

6.) Jak 2 on Playstation 2

I think platforming games are my favorite genre and this one is great. You explore, collect items and complete missions just like any good cartoony platforming game. The characters are funny and you even get to hear Jak talk in this one. But I never finished this game much to my chagrin. There is one particular part where you have to enter a long hallway while avoiding this approaching tank thing. I could not figure out how to get past it. I looked online and read how to do it. Most walkthroughs didn’t make a big deal of it. “Enter the hall, avoid the tank and go forward to collect some items.” That’s not helping me sir or madam. Not a bit.

5.) The Lost World Jurassic Park on Playstation

I love the film Jurassic Park. It’s one of my top 15 movies of all times. The Sega Genesis Jurassic Park game was also a favorite video game of mine. I even liked the sequel film The Lost World. So later when I bought a Sony Playstation I got The Lost World game and couldn’t wait to play it. The feature movie videos were nice and the graphics looked great for the time. Buy oh boy, oh boy! I was sooo annoyed with this game! My biggest frustration is that the controls are terrible. You get to control several dinosaurs and a human through the course of the game. For some reason they all move with too much momentum. It’s like you are sliding on ice and can’t stop once you start moving them. This means you tend to accidentally slide off small ledges or crash right into traps and enemies hurting or killing yourself. There is a lot of precision ledge jumping in the game and crappy controls make it nearly impossible.

4.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds on Game Cube

I love the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So no surprise that I would eagerly want to play the video game made in her honor. This game is fun to play. The way you can fight a vampire and then “dust it” with a stake to the heart is very satisfying. Unfortunately this game isn’t all “rolling in puppies.” For starters it’s kind of repetitive button mashing. Some of the enemies can block your attacks way too easily and it takes lots of punching to finally damage them at all. But by far my biggest gripe is about the Anyanka boss. I could not seem to get past this chick. You may know from the show that Anyanka is a vengeance demon who hates bunnies. So in order to disrupt her magic you have to put bunnies in a particular spot and then you can actually get a few punches in. All the while Anyanka shoots at you with unavoidable fireballs and roasts the bunnies you’re trying to carefully position. Grrrr! I tried to beat this boss like fifty times before just giving up. I decided watching the Buffy TV show was much more enjoyable.

3.) Ghost in the Shell Playstation 2

Another one of my favorite TV shows-turned video game-turned epic disappointment! This game had such potential too. The voice actors from the English dubbed show do the actual character voices, the graphics are great and the music is awesome too. But bad controls, confusing game play and impossible special move combos just made it a frustrating pile of fail. The sad thing is I desperately want to play this game. I’ve tried so many times and practiced mastering the controls and I still just think it’s crap.

2.) Metroid Prime Nintendo GameCube

Super Metroid on SNES is arguably one of the best games ever made. So when the franchise moved to 3D I was very excited. I do enjoy the Metroid Prime game and it remains one of the best games made for GameCube. Unfortunately, I still haven’t finished it. In this case I wasn’t really frustrated to full-on rage quitting. Instead I just kind of lost interest once you start adding new visors. This feature made it hard to see where you were going and added to the complexity of the game play. I hated the Xray visor because I couldn’t tell what I was looking at. One day I may revisit it and see if I like it any better.

1.) Star Trek Deep Space Nine on PC

I’m proud to admit my love of sci-fi and Star Trek in particular. So of course I jumped at the chance to play the Star Trek Deep Space Nice game on PC when it came out. Well guess what. I nearly lost my mind trying to play this game! First of all, this game was pretty hard especially when you had to use the mouse to shoot at things. The shooting part of the game required super-sharp, laser accuracy which turned out to be nearly impossible with the sketchy controls.

There was also a strange glitch that locked up the game halfway through. The game came as 2 CD set. So half way through the game you had to swap out CD1 and put in CD2. The only problem was there was some kind of glitch in the game that would not recognize the second disk. So you were screwed. Game over. I think I finally got it to work by installing a patch I found online. Thanks America Online. Lol

The hardest part of the game is when you go to an alien planet and are exploring a citadel robot factory. Inside there is a 3D maze you have to navigate through. Keep in mind this was a point and click, frame by frame game such as the first Myst. There was no way to move the camera around and see where you were in relation to the maze. What made this worse was that there were these robot drones that would fly on screen randomly and shoot at you. You only had a split second to shoot it first before it blasted you. This means I got shot a lot and one shot meant instant death. They didn’t even give you a health bar. So when you died you started back at the beginning of the maze with all your progress gone. Insert my screams of frustration here.

In full disclosure I admit that at the time I was trying to play this game on a 486 Gateway computer with a 300 MB hard drive. Not exactly a power gaming machine. So that tarnished my experience a bit. However, years later I tried playing the game again on a faster computer and had the same crappy experience trying to play it. Why you ask did I try to play it again if I hated it the first time? Well the truth is I still love the feel of the game and being able to interact with the characters from the show and inhabit that world was great. If only they would have made the actual gameplay part of it work right it would be a classic.

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So I hope you enjoyed my top 10 rage quitting video game moments. I think even though it’s frustrating at the time, feeling rage is part of gaming. In fact, after hours of trying and then finally getting past an especially hard part in a game can give you a real sense of accomplishment. On the other hand life’s short so I wouldn’t blame you if you decide to just give up and throw the damn game across the room shattering it into a million pieces!

Please share your own rage quitting video game moments in the comments section.

-Daniel

I love animal crackers! If you look them up in the dictionary or in an online wiki they often are listed as “a children’s snack.” I say balderdash to this description because animal crackers are a fun tasty treat for all ages! I am all about embracing things that western culture deems only for children. I think adults in our society are too serious and need to have more fun. If grown-ups allowed themselves to relax and have fun with simple things like adorable animal crackers they would be far less stressed and a lot more happy!

Some History on Animal Crackers

Animal crackers were born in England around the 1860’s. They were imported to the States shortly after and were so hugely popular that in 1871 Stauffer’s Biscuit Co. started making them in Pennsylvania. Stauffer’s still produces some of the yummiest animal crackers although many other brands are available too.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the classic little box made to look like a circus cart. But did you know that the box was given it’s iconic rope handle so that it could be hung as a christmas tree ornament? It also makes it easy for little hands to hang onto of course.

Animal Cracker Shapes

Each brand of animal crackers has a unique line-up of animal shapes. Here are some of the standard shapes from the Barnum’s brand animal crackers.

The animal cracker manufacturing process can occasionally result in humorous mess ups. These animal crackers seem to be getting along very well with each other!

Cultural Influences of Animal Crackers

Animal crackers not only end up in our pantries but they also make appearances in popular culture and entertainment. There have been a number of plays and movies that used the title Animal Crackers. For instance there was a Marx Bros. film by that name but it didn’t have anything to do with the snack. However, they were very much a focus of the Shirley Temple song called “Animal Crackers In My Soup” from the 1935 film “Curly Top.”

There was also a rather scary looking British children’s TV show called Animal Kwackers.

This is the kind of thing that would give me nightmares as a kid. (Don’t get me started on the freaky Showbiz Pizza Parlor animatronic characters! To this day I have nightmares about that scary gorilla trying to get me).

Animal Cracker Controversies

Yes believe it or not there are some controversies surrounding animal crackers. Nothing that heated though. The biggest debate has been “are they crackers or are they cookies?”

On the one hand animal crackers are made like crackers with layered dough. However, the fact that they are made of sweetened dough and rise with rounded edges makes them more like cookies. Whichever stance you take the one thing we can all agree on is that animal crackers are delicious!

Another silly controversy involves whether vegetarians should eat animal crackers? I mean they aren’t really made with animal products but they are shaped like animals. Hmm that’s a tough call. Here’s a cute t-shirt highlighting this very dilemma.

Evolution of the Animal Cracker

Although there are many unchanged classic varieties of animal crackers out there I’ve also found some new developments in animal cracker technology!

For instance Trader Joe’s now has a very tasty organic variety of animal crackers.

I must say my guilty pleasure though are these Keebler Frosted Animal Crackers. OMG they are soooooo good. I just love ‘em.

Fun Animal Cracker Recipe

If you like the frosted animal crackers you may enjoy this recipe I discovered. Here it is below and it’s actually very simple and you can even involve your little offspring in the creation of this yummy snack. Just make sure they warsh their grubby little paws first mkay! hehe

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Chocolate-Dipped Animal Crackers

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Animal Crackers
Sprinkles

1. Cover your work surface (counter) with a large sheet of waxed paper.

2. To melt the chocolate, fill a small saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Put the chocolate chips and shortening in a metal bowl small enough to fit into the pot, and where the top rim of the pot comes about 1/2 way up the side of the bowl. OR you can use a double boiler. I don’t have one so I use the pot/bowl combo. It’s important that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the chocolate chips until they are melted (this takes just a minute or two tops) and then turn off the heat. The hot water in the pot will keep the chocolate melted.

3. Dip each cracker in the chocolate and lay them on the waxed paper. To make dipping easier, I tipped the bowl a little to the side so the chocolate created a nice puddle. Gentle shake each cookie to remove excess chocolate (if there ever is such a thing). Before the chocolate has set, sprinkle with the sprinkles.

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So the moral of this story is you are never to old to enjoy some tasty animal crackers! Remember it’s more fun if you pretend you are Godzilla and bite their little heads off first. bwahaha

-Daniel