What I love most about the 4th of July is that it is a no-fuss kind of holiday. Ok, so the fireworks and parades give it a lot of flare, but for the most part, all you need are good friends, a grill and someone's back yard to make it a successful day. There are no presents to wrap, no costumes to buy and no feast to slave over. It's my kind of holiday!

So when my neighbors put me on dessert duty this year (we're all responsible for one dish), I knew I had to come up with something good and simple!

Behold: Butterfinger Pie. This super indulgent pie is shockingly simple. All you need are 4 ingredients and the ability to pull yourself away from the festivities for 5 minutes to whip it up. Gotta love that!

Butterfinger Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Butterfinger candy bars, crushed (save $1 on Nestle)
• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) carton of cool whip
• 1 graham cracker crust

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix butterfingers, cream cheese and cool whip in a bowl
2. Put in pie crust
3. Chill

We're about to pay a visit to my mother. I love her dearly, and she is the best grandmother possible to my children, but she allows them every sweet imaginable, and this includes breakfast cereals. When I think about all of those sugary cereals, the ones my children forever beg me to buy and I always refuse, I cringe and smile at the same time. They somehow manage to be scary with all of their ultra bright colors and loud cartoon characters, and yet even I can acknowledge they're also sorta' delicious in the most preservative laden, "bad for you" kind of way. And all of my ruminations about these 'Crisps and 'Puffs and 'Pebbles and 'Smacks and 'Charms floating in a sea of pink milk refuse to go away. What's a girl to do? For some inexplicable reason, I can't actually bring myself to eat a bowl of Coco Puffs, and yet I can somehow convince myself a Rice Krispie treat mixed with Cookie Crisp is acceptable. So I turned on my google machine and searched for a recipe that calls for "forbidden cereal," and my search unveiled the following. Please feel free to file a complaint when your scale proclaims you've gained a pound. I don't have a problem accepting responsibility. And I might as well take credit for the new cavity in your child's mouth while I'm at it. I promise, this will be my last recipe calling for ingredients with sugar contents so high, even Pixie Stix start to look healthy.

What you need:

2 tablespoons salted butter (Save $0.75 on Land o' Lakes Butter!)

2 tablespoons corn syrup

6 oz marshmallows

4 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup Cookie Crisp cereal

1/2 cup Cookie Crisp cereal, slightly crushed

1-2 oz milk chocolate, melted (Save $0.50 on Dove Chocolate!)

What you do:

Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add corn syrup and marshmallows. Stir together with a wooden spoon until melted. Remove from heat and add the Rice Krispies and 1 cup of Cookie Crisp. Stir until combined. Dump the mixture onto the prepared pan and spread evenly (helpful hint: use a potato masher lightly sprayed with cooking spray to avoid sticking!).

Melt chocolate in microwave. Place melted chocolate in a sandwich size plastic bag. Snip off the corner and then drizzle the chocolate over the treats. Sprinkle the crushed cereal over the top. Let set. Cut into squares.

Enjoy the sugar rush!

Congrats, grads! The time has come for you to put down your pencils and start the party! Whether you're a parent of a kindergarten graduate or of a soon-to-be college graduate, graduation is always a cause for celebration. While my diploma days are over, I can never turn down the excuse to throw a themed party. With a few friends donning a hat and gown this May, these adorable diploma cookies from the Betty Crocker website are definitely making it to their graduation parties. I must warn you though, my first go at these cookies did not turn out quite as perfect as the picture, but I still deserve an A for effort, right?

Here's how it's done:

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of butter, softened (get a coupon for 75? off Land O Lakes butter)
• 1/3 cup of shortening
• 3/4 cup of packaged brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of egg beater - equal to 1 egg (get a coupon for 75? off egg beaters)
• 1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter, shortening and brown sugar until creamy.
2. Beat in baking powder, salt, vanilla and egg.
3. Stir in flour.
4. Divide dough in half.
5. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
6. Heat oven to 375?F.
7. Roll each half of dough into 15x16-inch rectangles on floured surface.
8. Cut lengthwise into three 15x2-inch strips, then cut crosswise into two 7 1/2x2-inch strips.
9. Working quickly, spread about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate over one strip to within 1/4-inch of the long side.
10. Gently roll up, starting at long side. with chocolate.
11. Repeat with remaining cookie strips and chocolate.
12. Cut each roll into 2 pieces; roll each cookie slightly to shape.
13. On ungreased cooked sheet, place cookies about 1 inch apart.
14. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm.
15. Cool completely.
16. Place remaining chocolate in plastic bag.
17. Cut hole in corner and squeeze out chocolate to look like ties.

While this recipe calls for some serious Martha Stewart handy-work, these cookies still taste delicious regardless of how unrecognizable the chocolate ties actually turn out, and I'm sure the scholar of honor will appreciate all the hard work you put in on their behalf!