Pumpkin Pretzels

Pretzel Pumpkins

• 1 bag mini pretzels {you won’t use the whole bag, only about 1/4}
• 1 bag M&M’s candy, needing only the green ones {fun separating activity for kids!}
• orange food coloring, I used about 1/8th tsp of Wilton’s gel colors
• 1 bag White Chocolate chips, melted slowly {directions below}
• 1 TBSP shortening, to thin out chocolate

First step is to melt the chocolate. I used 10 oz of baking chocolate squares, but you can use a bag of white chocolate chips- the process is still the same. Before you even put it in the microwave, add about 1 TBSP shortening. You need to thin out the chocolate prior to dunking the pretzels or else the chocolate will be so thick you won’t even be able to tell it’s a pretzel under there! Shortening is the ONLY thing that will do this- don’t add water, butter, etc. Shortening!

Go slowly! White chocolate seizes easily, and you don’t want to coat your pretzels with grainy chocolate, right? Go slowly and stir minimally. I put mine on for 1 minute, stirred gently, then put it in for an additional minute. When I took it out, the chocolate still looked solid. It wasn’t! Add your orange coloring and stir gently, until it’s nice and smooth.

I’ve tested out a few ways to coat pretzels in chocolate and none of them really work as well as simply using your fingers. So I took a picture above of my elaborate technique.

Once you’ve dunked your pretzel, adding a nice coating, lay it out on a piece of wax paper. While it’s still wet, take a green M&M and set it in the crook of the pretzel, on it’s side. See? Now it’s a cute little green stem.

If you see a few bare spots on your pretzels, while they’re still wet, dab some more chocolate on them using your finger.

Pumpkin Cheese Balls

Here is what you need:

• 16 oz cream cheese, room temp
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 3 tbsp minced onion
• 3 tbsp salsa
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 cups nacho cheese chips, crumbled
• top of 1 bell pepper for stem garnish

1. With a mixer, combine cream cheese, cheddar, onion, salsa and cumin. Mix until creamy.

 2. Scoop mixture onto plastic wrap and use wrap to form a ball and chill for at least 2 hours.

 3. When ready to serve, roll ball into the crushed nacho chips and place bell pepper stem on top. Serve with chips, vegetables or pretzels!




source:www.familyfreshmeals.com

Colorful Fall Leaf Cookies

Red, yellow, orange and brown, all the leaves are falling … onto your cookie plate!

Yep, it’s that time of year. Leaves are turning colors and ovens are firing up. Here’s the best way evah to combine the two with these colorful Autumn Leaf Cookies.

Start it off quick and easy! Grab yourself a tube of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough and open ‘er up! How snazzy-simple is that for a first step?!

Because the out-of-the-package dough can be a leetle bit soft for making shaped cookies, we’re going to knead a bit of flour into the dough in order to make it perfectly pliable for our every whim.

Tear that dough into three parts, smoosh some colored gel right into it…

Then knead the gel through the dough to give it some seriously vibrant color. Feel free to add more gel coloring, as needed to make a great color once kneaded. Ha! Needed, kneaded.

Now tear the colored dough into several 1-inch pieces. Roll them loosely into balls, then create a checkerboard-style layout with the dough.

Use your fingers to blend the balls together slightly, then…

Roll the dough out with a wooden rolling pin. Once it’s about 1/2″  thick, sprinkle the top of the dough with turbinado or sparkling sugar, then…

Roll the dough to about 1/4″ thick.

Cut into leaves with a sharp knife. Drag the knife gently down the center of each leaf to create a line that will bake some authentic leafy impressionism.

Bake. Cool. Get ready to drool!

Deviled Eyes

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, hardboiled, peeled and cooled
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh herbs (such as oregano, basil or thyme)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt, to taste
• paprika
• water
• 4  spanish olives with pimentos, cut into three circles each

Directions

1. 1Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks (drop them into a medium-sized bowl). Arrange the intact egg white halves on a plate and set aside.
2. 2To the egg yolks, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, herbs, lemon juice and salt. Mash and stir with a fork until fully combined and somewhat smooth.
3. 3Divide the egg yolk mixture evenly between the egg white halves mounding it as necessary.
4. 4In a small bowl, combine a small amount of paprika with water to form a paste. Use a toothpick to draw vein lines on the whites of the eggs.
5. 5Press one olive round into the yolk of each egg.
6. 6Cover and chill until ready to serve.

sources:tablespoon.com

Halloween Treats Kids Can Make

Skeleton Cupcakes

To make these skeletal treats, start with chocolate-iced cupcakes. Let your child assemble the "bones" (white candy mints, licorice pastels, and white sprinkles) onto the top of each cake.

source:parents.com

Halloween Treats Kids Can Make

Marshmallow Ghosts

Drape fondant over single (and double-stacked) marshmallows to create a whole crew of boo-tiful creatures. Kids will love helping roll out the fondant. Use decorating gel to add the eyes and mouths.

source:parents.com

Halloween Treats Kids Can Make

source:parents.com

Spooky Ravioli Spiders

To make this creepy-crawly dinner, fill a narrow-tip, condiment squeeze bottle with pasta sauce. Then, let your child create a tangled spider web pattern on a plate. Use cooked raviolis for the spiders' bodies and strips of orange peppers for their legs.

Halloween Treats Kids Can Make

Peek-a-Boo Monsters

Start with pre-made cupcakes, then let your little one go wild creating a silly Halloween monster. Set out sour candy corn for the spiky hair. Cut a thin wafer in half and stick on two mini candy-coated chocolates for pupils.

source:parents.com

Apple Monsters

• Slide 1 of 2

Make these spooky treats using ripe apples and festive candy. To start, help kids remove a wedge to form the mouth, then let your own little monsters assemble the creatures as they like.

source:parents.com

Witch Cupcakes

I just had to share these absolutely cute witch cupcakes. I am always looking for new family recipes to do with Aaliyah. Hope you have fun with this one.

Ingredients (For 12 cupcakes)

•  1 1/2 cups chocolate frosting
•  1 4 3/4 ounce package chocolate cones (Nabisco Oreo Cones)
•  Orange nonpareils
•  1 16 ounce can vanilla frosting, divided
•  Neon-green food coloring
•  12 cupcakes, removed from paper liners
•  Chocolate chips
•  Green tube icing
•  Red tube icing
•  Mike and Ike Tangy Twister candies
•  Chocolate Jimmies

Make It

1. Place chocolate frosting in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe base of cones, dip in orange nonpareils, and set aside.

2. Place 1/2 cup vanilla frosting in a another zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Tint remaining frosting green and frost cupcakes.

3. Turn cupcakes on sides, then place decorated cones on top. Using vanilla frosting, pipe eyes on cupcakes. Attach chocolate chips for pupils and pipe a dot onto chips. Use red icing for mouths, green icing for warts; shape candies into noses. Pipe chocolate icing onto cupcakes for hair and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies.

source:parents.com

Halloween Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

     

Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

This one uses a simple cheat -- cake mix -- to make the easiest and most scrumptious pumpkin cookies you're likely to find anywhere.

Ingredients

• 1 package spice cake mix (about 18 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 can pumpkin filling (15 ounce)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to incorporate.
2. Drop by rounded spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Bloody Cutcakes

• 1 (18.25oz) Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 box raspberry Jello
• Blue food coloring
• Red food coloring
• 8oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• Black food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350º and line 2 cupcake pans with liners. Set aside.
2. In a glass measuring cup, melt butter in the microwave. Add enough vegetable oil to measure to the 1/3 cup mark, and stir to combine. Prepare cake mix as directed on box using milk (instead of water) and the melted butter/vegetable oil mixture (instead of only the vegetable oil called for on the box). Add the 3 eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated and fluffy (do not overbeat). Pour into cupcake liners, and bake as directed. Let cool completely.
3. Prepare raspberry jello as directed on the box. Add one very tiny drop of blue food coloring (insert the tip of a toothpick to pick up coloring) and 2 drops of red food coloring, then whisk to distribute. Let cool slightly.
4. With a fork poke a few deep holes on the top of cupcakes. Pour a teaspoon or so of jello into the holes – too much will oversaturate the cake and too little will not create the intended effect. (If you own one of those marinade injectors, now would be a good time to use it!)
5. Place chocolate and butter in a thoroughly dry glass bowl and microwave 1 minute. Stir, and if not fully melted, microwave for another 30-60 seconds more until melted. Do not overheat or you will scorch the chocolate. Add the cream all at once. Whisk until chocolate is a silky sauce (if the chocolate separates, keep whisking until it comes back together). Add one drop of black food coloring and whisk until distributed. Pour over to the top of cupcakes while still warm and with the back of a spoon coax drips to form along the sides. Serve immediately, and make sure to refrigerate any leftovers.