Make your guests feel welcome, appreciated, and more then willing to book your vacation rental for many trips to come by leaving them a special treat. By leaving your guests something delicious to munch on, it shows that you are willing to go the extra mile, which in turn makes you (and, of course, your rental) stand out in the crowd. Short Term Housing presents you with a few unique treat ideas to charm your guests. Good luck guys!

Banana Split Bites

These are absolutely adorable, fun, and really easy to make. To make them you:

• Use firm bananas and cut into 1 inch sections. Leave the peel on for easy handling, and with a melon baller, dig a hole in the middle of each banana section.
• Melt chocolate in the microwave and dip the bottom portion of the banana in chocolate and then dip it once again in either sprinkles or chopped peanuts. To quickly harden the chocolate, place dipped bananas in the freezer for about five minutes.
• Fill each well with ice cream (any kind that you like) and top with whip cream and a maraschino cherry.

Cheese Cake Raspberry Bites

Cute and decedent. To make these you:

• Gather your berries
• Grab a bowl and mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla using an electric mixer until it is all smooth.
• Whip the cream, and then fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture so it’s fully combined.
• Refrigerate for about 15 minutes
• Fill two piping bags fitted with small star tips with your cheesecake fillings
• One by one, take each raspberry and carefully fill each one with the cheesecake filling (but not too much or they will get mushy)

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Pretty, simple, and delicious- these cupcakes are sure to charm your guests. To make them you:

• Heat oven to 350°F and Place 24 cake ice cream cones into two mini-muffin tins
• Fill each cone until it is a little over half full with batter
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
• Take a plastic pastry bag and fit it with a large star tip. Open the pastry bag by folding it down over your hand.
• Use a spoon to scrape some vanilla frosting up one side of the pastry bag. Carefully drop some chocolate frosting into the second half of the pastry bag. Twist the pastry bag closed.
• Pipe the frosting onto your cooled ice cream cone cupcakes. Top with a maraschino cherry and you’re done!

PushUp Cakes

Push it to the limit with these awesome pushup cakes! To make them you:

• Preheat oven to 350 ° F.
• Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs and blend away
• Spray two mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each 2/3 full with batter and bake at 350 ° until done, about 15 minutes.
• Remove and repeat with the remaining batter (let them cool completely)
• Drop one mini cupcake into each push-up pop container
• Divide icing into 6 bowls and tint with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
• Add a generous teaspoon of frosting to the top of each cupcake.
• Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles.
• Top with a second mini cupcake and add another dollop of frosting to the top.
• Sprinkle on some more sprinkles

Splatter Paint Cookies

Coolest cookies ever? I think so! To make them you:

• Get your cookie dough, colored frosting, and sprinkes
• Preheat the oven according to the cookie dough package directions
• Decorate as desired (though the crazier the better)
• Allow frosting to set (wait until it is no longer runny)
• Cut with cookie cutter. Attach non-pariels

Rainbow Wedges

Colorful bright, and so much fun! To make them you:

• Cut each orange in half. Remove orange sections, leaving the “cup” of rind. Continue until all 9 oranges are cut in half and scooped out (so 18 orange cups are ready). Set orange cups in muffin tins to keep each upright. Set aside.
• Prepare six flavors of gelatin according to package directions, one at a time. With each flavor, fill 3 orange cups, filling up to the edge of the cup. Pour leftover gelatin into a food storage container and refrigerate to use as desired later. Repeat until all 6 flavors are made and all 18 orange cups are filled.
• Carefully put muffin tins into the refrigerator and chill at least 4 hours (overnight is better) until fully set.
• Remove each orange cup from the muffin tin and, using a sharp knife, slice into three wedges. Continue until all orange cups are sliced into colorful wedges. Place wedges on a serving platter in rainbow-color order (light to dark).
• Keep wedges in the fridge. And leave a note for your guests letting them know you’ve left them a treat!

Rainbow Yogurt Tartlets

These are another treat that your guests are just going to love! To make them you:

• Buy 6 (4 ounce) store bought mini graham cracker crusts
• Buy 6 (6 ounce) Yoplait yogurts in various colors
• Fill each graham cracker crust with one of the Yoplait yogurts. Garnish with fruit pieces right before serving.

Carrot Sugar Cookies in Dirt

It really doesn’t get any cuter then these cookies! To make them you:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the sugar cookie mix, butter, flour, and egg. Tint with food coloring until dough is bright orange.
• Sprinkle turbinado sugar on a clean, flat surface. Roll the sugar cookie dough on top of the turbinado sugar, until about 1/4” thick.
• Squeeze a metal, heart shaped cookie cutter into a “carrot” shape by pinching the top portion of the heart together. Cut out carrot cookies, placing them sugared side UP on a baking sheet.
• Place in oven for 8-12 minutes, or just until light golden brown on the bottom of each cookie. Remove cookies from the oven and cool completely.
• Dish pudding into 6 small plastic cups. Sprinkle crushed Cocoa Puffs over the top of the pudding.
• Cut the green portion from Fruit Roll-Ups. Cut this green portion into two even pieces, then snip into jagged “leaves.”
• Dab a small bit of vanilla frosting into the top center portion of the carrot cookies, then drape your green “leaves” over the carrot. Press the bottom of each carrot into the “dirt” in the cups.
• To make them especially cute, garnish with small signs taped to sucker sticks that say “Carrots”

The Lorax’s Truffula Tree Treats

Who doesn’t love Dr. Suess? Colorful and creative- these cupcakes will evoke the inner child of your guests! To make them you:

• Bake white cupcakes in mini-muffin pan according to package instructions.
• Beat butter for 1 minute and add powdered sugar in 1 cup intervals, beating thoroughly between each addition, until creamy. Add in vanilla and cream. Beat well for 2 minutes. Add in green food coloring until frosting is grass green.
• Use a fluted pastry tip to pipe grass on top of cooled mini cupcakes.
• Place tufts of cotton candy on top of pretzel sticks using a bit of extra frosting to help stick the two together.
• Stick the pretzel rod carefully into the center of the grass green cupcake.

Cupcake Poppers

Add a pop of color to your guests’ stay with these adorable cupcakes! To make them you:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 60 mini muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter among 5 small bowls, about 3/4 cup each. Make 5 different colors of batter by adding 1/4 teaspoon food color to each bowl; blend well.
• Fill each muffin cup with 1 level measuring tablespoon batter, making 12 cupcakes of each color.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Divide frosting among 5 small bowls, about 1/3 cup each. Using the same 5 food colors, lightly tint frosting in each bowl to match the cupcake colors.
• Assemble each popper using 2 mini cupcakes. Cut tops off each cupcake horizontally (save bottoms for another use). Spread or pipe about 1 tablespoon frosting on cut side of 1 cupcake top. Form a sandwich by placing cut side of second cupcake top on frosting; press lightly. Repeat with remaining cupcake tops. Store loosely covered.

Have fun treat ideas? Comment and let us know!