Candy Free Halloween

Today is the Monkey's Halloween parade and party at school, and like most of the schools across the county, they are trying to cut down on the sugary treats.  I am a classroom volunteer, which means I am a sucker parent that tries to help out whenever I can.  In this case, it meant that I sent in a treat for the party.  We were to send in apples, grapes, and popcorn.  Woo Hoo!  Let the fun begin.  Fortunately, one family is bringing in cupcakes and cookies.  Can you imagine the mutinty that would have happened this afternoon?

Monkey wanted to give her classmates a Halloween treat, and insisted that she give out candy.  Considering the healthy party snacks, I was hesitant to let her.  Normally I don't care what people think about me, but I didn't want to be labeled "That Parent" for the rest of the year.  We racked our brains to come up with something, but we came up empty handed.  So, off to Pinterest we went (thank God for Pinterest) and we came across the great idea.  Thanks to Love Stiched for the inspiration.

This is super easy, and inexpensive.  I found vampire teeth (12 for $1) at the store, and simply printed out Have a "Fang-Tastic" Halloween! on paper.  We cut out each strip, wrapped them around a set a teeth, and taped the ends together.   Here is the finished product.  Sorry -- it hard to really see what they look like.  Monkey wanted to glow-on-the-dark teeth, and they do not photograph very well.

And here is Monkey, all ready for Halloween fun at school today!

Have a great Halloween -- and be sure to enjoy all of your sugary treats!

Just Like Starbucks? Caramel Apple Spice Love

This time of year is a Starbuck lover's dream.  The big mama coffee house brings back it's pumpkin spice, and coffee drinkers everywhere go crazy.  Hot, cold, iced, whipped, frappe'ed -- you name it, they put that pumpkin in it.

Not me.

I love Starbuck's right now because they bring back their Caramel Apple Spice drink.  Truth me told, they never take it away.  They simply do not advertise it, because not many people wants to be reminded of fall in July.

I LOOOOVE this drink.  If it's made correctly (sorry Barista's...sometimes you guys miss the mark), it's like drinking a caramel apple.  Delish.  But it's a bit expensive.  It seems crazy to pay $3.50 for a warm cup of juice, especially when you can buy a bottle of juice for less than $2 at your grocery store.  Just pour it in a mug, add some mulling spices, and microwave for 45 seconds, right?  Well, you can do that, but it's just not the same.  I took my search to Pinterest (HELLO!!! I obsessed with it right now) to find the Starbucks knock-off, and my search took me to this recipe from Crockpot 365. 

We gathered the ingredients, and took this pretty picture (please ignore the empty iced tea gallon and gourds in the background.  Her recipe called for caramel syrup, but didn't specify which specific brand.  Even though her picture shows Smucker's, we used Hershey's (it was on sale).

Following the directions, we put everything in our handy dandy crock pot (another obsession), and we got this mess.  I do believe that food doesn't have to look good -- it just has to taste good.

The waiting was torture, as the house smelled like fall.  It was finally time, and we took the taste test, and......it was good, but not exactly like Starbucks.  My husband thinks it might have something do with with the syrup we used, as he thought it might too thin.  I was sort of turned off by the little chunks of spices that didn't dissolve.  The next time I make this, I think I will put the spices in cheesecloth or a tea strainer.

So, Starbucks, thanks for the idea to search for a knock off.  I'm sure I'll be in your stores soon to give you some of my money, but for the most part, I will stick with this!

Pumpkin Cakes with Cinnamon Glaze

Hello.  My name is Maureen, and I am addicted to pumpkin.  Pumpkin spice coffee.  Pumpkin pie (with Cool Whip).  Pumpkin fudge.  Pumpkin pie dip with graham crackers.  Pumpkin butter.  Pumpkin soup. 

AND I LOVE PUMPKIN CAKE, especially the ones that I made tonight.  Okay...so I didn't make them all by myself.  The monkey did lend her hand.

I am super excited that fall is right around the corner (although I am not ready for summer to end) because I love fall foods.  Fall = Pumpkin Season.  Here is the first of what I hope is many more pumpkin baking recipes to come.

The finished product

Pumpkin Cakes

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)
• 1 egg
• 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping tablespoon pumpkin pie spice





Cinnamon Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons whole milk.

Combine the cake mix, pumpkin, egg and spices in a mixing bowl and mix well. 
Pour the cake batter in your choice of pan (I used my Texas cupcake pan....everything is bigger in Texas)
Bake according to the package directions.
Prepare the cinnamon glaze: Combine the four ingredients, and stir until well blended.  Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve the cakes.
The cakes can be allowed to cool, or can be served warm.  The glaze is best added to the cake when you are ready to serve it.

Enjoy! 



Here's my monkey putting the ingredients together.



The naked cake



Chocolate Peanut Butter Filled Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

It's time for me to put up, or shut up.  No more sitting around waiting for a reason to bake.  I'm just going to do it.  Why not?  What's stopping me?  Nothing.  The only thing that can get it my way is me.

With that said, I am challenging myself to a 52 week baking challenge.  Each week, I am going to make and/or create some sort of baked good -- cakes, cupcakes, pies, you name it (in fact, I'm open to suggestions). 

The challenge started on Sunday, when I was looking for someone to bake for.  The obvious choice was my husband because it was Father's Day.  This is a cupcake he requested.  It was his day.  How could I say no.  The actual cake is pretty simple, since I used a box cake mix.  The filling is a take off of the recipe we use to make peanut butter eggs at Easter.  The frosting is my old stand by, courtesy of Wilton.

Sorry about the picture quality...I took this using my phone

Chocolate cake mix, and ingredients necessary

Peanut Butter Filling
1 stick butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powered sugar, sifted

Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 stick Crisco
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted.
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a standard muffin tin with paper lines.

Prepare and bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the back of the box (tough, right).  Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

Prepare the filling: In a glass bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter for one minute.  Stir until the butters are combined.  Add the sugar, one cup at a time, and mix well.  Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Prepare the frosting by following the directions found on the Wilton website (no need for me to copy and paste!).

Once the cakes have cooled completly, use a small knife and remove a hole in the center of the cake.  Fill the hole with the peanut butter mixture, and frost the cakes.  I used the Wilton 2D tip to make them pretty (food should take good and look good too).

Happy eating!