Have a Happy Halloween!

 

• Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
• Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
• Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
• Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
• Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
• Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.

Hope you all have a spooky day filled with sweets and treats!

I am being a pirate for this year’s festivities..

Yesterday was spent baking up some Halloween-themed treats including homemade sugar cookies with royal icing. This was my first time “flooding” cookies, so it was a lot of fun to experiment. But I think the old standard, “practice makes perfect” holds true to decorating cookies as well!

Mixing up the royal icing…

Rolling out the homemade dough..

Cutting out the festive shapes..

Ready for the oven..

Thinning and coloring the icing..

Decorating supplies all ready to go..

Our fall leave cookies..

My final cookie creations..

Recipe for royal icing & sugar cookies HERE.

Maybe some chocolate pumpkin biscotti is more your style?

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® German cake mix
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 bag pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses
• 1 tablespoon shortening

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil and eggs with spoon until dough forms (some dry mix will remain). Stir in walnuts, using hands if necessary.
2. On ungreased cookie sheet, shape dough into 15x4-inch rectangle, using greased hands. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet on cooling rack 15 minutes.
3. Cut rectangle crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until edges are deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. In 1-quart saucepan, heat pumpkin spice kisses and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted. Drizzle chocolate over cookies, or dip one end of each cookie into chocolate. Let stand about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.

And a few more of my Halloween creations for your viewing pleasure….

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

Creepy Cookies n Cream Cupcakes

Creamed Candy Corn Cupcakes

Maybe these can give you a hint as to the new adventure I’ve embarked upon..any guesses?!

What’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Mine is definitely candy corn!