Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins

These rice krispy treat pumpkins turned out adorable if I do say so myself. What fun they were to  make also. I loved the bright orange coloring on them and the tootsie roll stem just makes me smile. I love Fall and I love baking fall goodies! So if you want an easy treat to take to work or just to share with family or friends, this one would be highly recommended by me.

Thanks to http://www.idigpinterest.com/2013/09/pumpkin-krispies-treats.html  for this cute idea!

3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
orange food coloring, (or mix yellow and red food coloring according to pkg directions- to create orange)
5 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispys
Tootsie Roll Midgees (mini tootsie rolls)
A pat of butter (to use on hands to keep them from sticking)

 In a large saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Add vanilla extract and marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows are completely melted. Add food coloring until desired orange color is reached. Add Rice Krispys and stir until completely combined. Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. (These actually roll better when they are cooled off, but don't let them cool too much or they are a little tough to form)
When mixture is cooled, spread a very tiny amount of butter onto your hand and roll a handful of the mixture to form a pumpkin shape. Unwrap a tootsie roll and shape into the stem. (you can soften a few tootsie rolls in the microwave first, but only for a second or two, they melt fast!)
You will need to "rebutter" your hands before shaping each pumpkin!
Let them cool and serve.

Halloween Finger Cookies

This sure gives new meaning to the words "Finger Food". They look so gross, that I can't actually even imagine eating one. I saved some to take to the high school I work at tomorrow and I'm quite sure that high schoolers will have absolutely no problem devouring these, as gross as they are!
My youngest daughter was visiting today. She wanted to make some Halloween goodies to take to her friends. It was quite nice to have someone else be able to drive to the store and get all the stuff to bake. So while she ran to the grocery store, I started baking cupcakes (which will be in one of the next couple of posts). We had so much fun making these and it was quite hilarious to listen to us making them. As we were putting the "nails" on the fingers, we were both laughing and saying "that's so disgusting"! But we made it through and I do believe she even ate a couple ;)

1 box sugar cookie mix ( Don't buy the refrigerated tube kind, they spread too much while baking)
2 egg whites
Sliced almonds
cinnammon
cocoa powder
red food gel in the squeeze tube

Make the cookie dough according to the package directions. Be sure to use the directions for "cut out" cookies, not the rolled cookie directions.

When the dough is done, begin to roll the fingers. Take a small amount of dough and roll it between your palms. (kind of like when you were a kid and would make play dough worms). Try not to make them too long and make them A LOT skinnier than you want them to be in the end, because they do "puff" while baking.

After you have the finger, place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Pinch the portion just above where the knuckle would be and just below it. Take a knife and make little lines into the knuckle portion of the finger. You don't have to go way deep, but it definitely needs to be cut!

After you have cut all the knuckles, use a pastry brush and brush egg white onto each cookie. This helps the browning process.

Next, place an almond piece into the tip of the finger to form the fingernail. Push it into the dough slightly.

Mix the cinnamon and cocoa together. No particular amounts, but definitely heavier on the cinnamon than the cocoa. (Here is where the orignal recipe said to go ahead and bake the cookie and put the cinnamon on after they are baked). I mixed the cinnamon/cocoa mixture and lightly dusted it onto each knuckle and fingernail edge before I baked them. I think next time, I will wait until after to put the cinnamon/cocoa on them.

So decide if you will dust the fingers before or after they are baked and do so accordingly. Let cool. If you want to put blood on the fingernails, just squeeze a tiny amount of red gel around the fingernail area.
Bake according to package directions. Check them frequently so they don't burn or turn too brown.

Halloween Cupcakes

Boo! My daughter had to make cupcakes for her work party and she came to my house so we could make them together. I'm usually not one for liking most of the scary type Halloween things, but how could I say no to spending time with my beautiful daughter? :)
So we made these spider web cupcakes and shattered glass cupcakes. I talked to her today and she said they were a big hit at work!!

For the spider web cupcakes. Just bake cupcakes and frost with orange frosting. Then use black gel to make 3 or 4 circles around the cupcake. Then use a knife to "drag" through the circles and create the spider web look.
For the shattered glass cupcakes. Just bake cupcakes and decorate with white frosting. Then make sugar glass (see recipe below) and use red gel food color (the gel works better than the liquid for this effect) and put it on like blood on the glass.


Sugar Glass:
2 cups water
1 cup white corn syrup
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Mix ingredients and cook until it's 300 degrees on the candy thermometer. Then pour out onto a buttered cookie sheet. Let cook and harden. Break into "glass"