Halloween Treats

Cookies, cupcakes and drinks.... Oh my!

This year I made witch hat cookies and cocktails for my friend's Halloween party (my first paid job as a "baker") cookies for a PTO fundraiser at my daughter's school, cupcakes for my daughter's class party and creepy witch finger cookies (thanks yummylocal for the idea & recipe) that I will be handing out to the trick or treaters tonight.

Spooky Eyed Cupcakes

I was under some time constraints with these cupcakes so I was going to cheat and use a box cake mix instead of making them from scratch. But in my infinite wisdom I managed to switched the oil and water and I couldn't undo what I did. 1 1/3 cups of oil and 1/4 cup of water, Eww! Down the sink that mixture went immediately! So I had to make the cupcakes from scratch.

Buttercream Cupcakes

2 cups whole wheat King Arthur flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup milk

2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

Wilton Halloween sprinkle mix that I put in the batter to make a "fun-fetti" style of cupcake that kids seem to love. I used pumpkin and bat blend sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins. This recipe made 14 perfect cupcakes. I used a standard butter cream frosting that I tinted a light orange.
Next I took 14 marshmallows and cut them in half and stuck them in the frosting, cut side up. I had bought Halloween M&Ms to use for the eyes, but some little monkey in my house decided to eat them. She's too cute to be mad at so I just used regular M&Ms. I separated out "eye" colors. (ie blue, green and brown) and place them in the middle of the marshmallows. Then I took red food coloring and squeezed them on the marshmallows just under the edge of the M&M (aka pupil). And there you have it, bloody spooky eyeballs!

Pumpkin Cutouts

I think everyone has their own cutout sugar cookie recipe. The ones that I grew up with always left our Christmas cookies hard as a rock. As I got olderI dipped them in my coffee. I wanted super soft cookies so I found this one on Better Homes & Gardens website.

2/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, room temperature

1 TBsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

Royal Icing

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

4 1/2 tsps meringue powder

1/4 cream of tartar (I didn't have any so I used baking powder)

1/4 cup warm water

1/2 tsp vanilla

This recipe said to use an electric mixer but I used a wooden spoon and stirred it by hand. It came out perfect. Bake at 375 degrees for about 7 mins. Or until the edges just begin to turn a light golden brown.

Witch Hats

This was my favorite recipe and I think it's because of the frosting I made. Oh so delicious. The cookies are the same sugar cookie cutout recipe mentioned above from Better Homes & Gardens. The frosting is the butter cream frosting that I used in the cupcakes, but I made it a little bit more feisty.

Buttercream Frosting (with a little bit of sass)

1/ cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TBsp Bailey's Hint of Caramel

1 tsp instant coffee

1 TBsp Kahlua Coffee Liqueur

In a coffee mug I added the Bailey's, Kahlua and instant coffee. I stirred it up the best I could. Then put it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. I stirred it again until it was dissolved. Then as the final step to the powdered sugar mix. if you don't like the taste of coffee that much you can substitute the Kahlua for a chocolate liqueur like Godiva, and omit the instant coffee. Regardless, this frosting received rave reviews. The witch hat cookies were gone from the platter in minutes. I cannot wait to use this recipe for Christmas cookies!!!

Witch Finger Cookies

Ok these cookies are not my recipe. They were fun and super easy to make, and they look amazing. People couldn't stop talking about how cool they looked when I made some for work. I wish I could say it was all my idea. But thanks to foodbuzz and my new blogging network of friends, I saw this recipe from yummylocal and I fell in love with these cookies. I did alter the recipe a bit to make them a little bit sweeter. I highly recommend that you try them either this year or next Halloween. I liked them so much that I decided to make them again to hand out to trick or treaters! I think they'll love them!

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar*

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp almond extract*

2 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup almonds (for the nails)

Green & Yellow food paste*

Cream butter, egg, vanilla, almond extract and sugars together. Add 3 drops green food coloring and 1 drop yellow. Mix again. Add salt, baking powder and mix again. Next slowly sift in flour. Set in the refrigerator for about 20 mins. Roll "fingers" on a lightly floured surface. Place on a lightly grease cookie sheet. Before baking position almonds into fingertip. Bake depending on how thin or thick you made your fingers. I bake mine for about 15 mins until the edges were slightly golden brown. They are so much fun.

Again thank you to yummylocal, couldn't have done it without you!!! Please visit their site for their featured recipes, you won't be disappointed!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope you have a deliciously spooky day!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween Cocktails

I recently read that Halloween is 2nd to Christmas in holiday spending. This really comes as no surprise to me. Halloween is when everyone gets to be a kid again.

For you big kids having a having Halloween parties, or for those who have rented every scary movie known to man and plan on sitting at home, here are some Halloween cocktails for you:



Monster 'Rita
1 oz Patron Silver
1 oz Midori
1/2 oz orange juice
1 oz sour mix
Rim the margarita glass of your choice of salt or sugar. I used colored sugar. Drop in a couple of ice cubes. In a shaker add the ingredients and shake well. Then strain into glass. I garnished the drink with sour gummy worms but you can use any gummy Halloween candy. Last year I used spiders! You can even drop in some grenadine to look like blood. It will sink to the bottom.




Headless Horseman (shot)
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Baileys hint of Caramel
add a splash of Goldschlauger
sprinkle with cinnamon

I suggest rimming the shot glass with some cinnamon sugar. Pour Kahlua into a shot glass. Then add Bailey's on top. This is a layered shot so don't mix it. Add a couple splashes of Goldschlaugger to the top if you like.


Vampire Brew
1.5 liter Cabernet
Grand Marnier
Apple Pucker
Blueberry or Raspberry syrup
Sprite or 7-Up
Ocean Spray cranberry-grape juice
6-8 blood oranges
3 limes
2 lemons
light corn syrup
red food coloring
This a a recipe for a basic sangria. This year I am starting with cabernet. In a large sauce pot pour in a bottle of wine the large bottle. Add 1/3 cup of sugar. Add in 2 fresh squeezed blood oranges, get it blood oranges- insert typical vampire laugh here). 1 fresh squeezed lime, 1 fresh squeezed lemon. Let that simmer on low stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Take off the burner and in apple liqueur about a cup (8 oz), 4 oz of an orange liqueur (I use Grand Marnier but use Cointreau if you prefer it a little sweeter) add in some blueberry or raspberry syrup if you have some. Most local grocery stores have bar syrups in their cocktail section. If you can't find any I suggest using an Ocean Spray cranberry-grape blend or something similar. Stir everything up and taste it. I can only get you started with what I like, adjust the taste to suit you. If you like it sweeter add in more juice or sugar if it's still warm enough to dissolve. When the sangria mix is all set cut another lime, lemon and orange into wheels and place in the mix. Pour this into a pitcher or whatever container you are going to to serve it in. Let it sit overnight. When you are ready to serve, pour in some Sprite or 7-Up. For a garnish I take some blood oranges and cut them into wheels then I bake them for a couple minutes. While they're baking I add red food coloring to some light corn syrup to make "blood" and I dip one side of the oranges into that so it drips a little.


Eyeball Punch (Non-Alcoholic)
Find your kid's favorite color of Kool-Aid, top with Sprite or 7-Up and then add in eyeball candy.
Spooky!


Please drink responsibly. And have a Happy Halloween!!!!!

Yankee-Tini

In honor of Game 1 of the World Series here's a few drink ideas!!!

Yankee Tini

Nothing says NYC like a dirty martini....

I keep my martini glasses in the freezer. For those that don't, grab a martini glass fill it with a couple ice cubes and some water. While that is chilling......

2 oz Stoli vodka

1 oz olive juice (more or less depending on how "dirty" you like it)

3 olives stuffed with crumbly bleu cheese (the bleu cheese is optional)

pour ingredients into a shaker (or a pint glass) 2/3 full of ice

Normal martinis I do not suggest to shake but when it's a dirty martini shake it up to get the olive juice mixed throughout. I also like a slight squeeze of lemon in mine.... not a whole bunch but just a subtle hint to take away some of the saltiness of the olive juice. If it's salt you like, heck go ahead and rim your glass with some kosher salt- some people love it!

Strain the chilled liquor into your ice cold martini glass and garnish anyway you like it.

Delicious. At this point in time you should have on your favorite Yankee jersey or hat. Or, if it's the man in your life enjoying the game that you could care less about.... the martini will help ease with the sound of the cheering. One of these babies and you'll be grinning from ear to ear.

Now there is no question as to where my loyalty lies (GO YANKEES!!!) but for you Phillies' fans, or the people that are just so anti-Yankees you're rooting for the Phillies, here's a drink for you....

For some reason when I thought of Philadelphia I thought of a drink with amaretto. I did try to look up a popular "Philly" drinks but, I didn't really find anything that stuck out. So for anyone reading this who is familiar with Philadelphia I apologize if I am way off.

Philly Red

Fill a rocks glass with ice

2 oz DiSarrono Amaretto

1 oz Stoli Vanilia

Fill the rest of your glass with Coca-Cola or Pepsi, and give it a little stir.

Garnish with a cherry.

** if you like a little fire in your life I also suggest adding a cinnamon liqueur like Aftershock. DeKuyper also makes a cinnamon flavored liqueur. If you're feeling fancy add some Goldschlager. I suggest only a half shot, but hey maybe you like more.

This drink is what I've always made to taste like Dr. Pepper.

I do also know of a shot called a Dr. Pepper.

If you're interested here's the recipe:

Fill a pint glass 1/2 full of light beer (Bud Light is my choice if I'm going light)

Fill a shot glass with amaretto and drop it in. You can also top this one with Bacardi 151 for the "Flaming Dr. Pepper". Whether you do or not, this drink is going to fizz once the amaretto is dropped in so be prepared!

I hope you enjoy these drinks if you choose to have an adult beverage this evening and you're out, please don't drink and drive. And before I forget: GO YANKKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

~Melissa

CNY Dessert Muse (and Yankee fan)

Random acts of mom.

It's 6 am on Sunday morning. I should be sleeping. I want to be sleeping. I need to be sleeping. Saturday and Sunday are my only days to sleep in. And by sleep in I mean 930 am instead of 630 am. I was startled awake by an arm beaming me in my nose at full force at 4 am. Maybe I'll go back to bed soon, but for now the pain is wearing off still and I think my heart has almost started beating normally. Any wise parent says no when their child wants to sleep with them. Needless to say, we all say yes. My daughter is a tooth-grinding bed hog. It's a recipe for disaster before my head even hits the pillow. And though my eyes are still watery from a blow to the nose I won't hesitate to say yes if she asks me next weekend to sleep in my bed again.

Unfortunately for me, my body seems to have gotten enough sleep so I'm wide awake. Yuck. After looking up everyone I can imagine on Facebook I decided I might as well get up and start working on my daughter's Halloween costume.

This year she's going to be the Joker. I am so excited.

I'm sure when my daughter has children of her own she will tell them of their crazy Grandmother (me) and her insane "Halloween rules". Oh! It's only funny because it's true. Past the age of 5 I made it very clear that all Halloween costumes were going to be scary. If you wanted to be a princess or a cheerleader, you have to be a dead one. No masks, Halloween makeup only. I am happy to say that I have never had to put up a fight. She loves it.

Last year she was Sweeney Todd and we used authentic clothing that was handed down by a good friend. I think last year was my favorite costume of hers ever; with the exception of her Tigger costume when she was itty-bitty. This year we found the best purple jacket at a thrift store. When we were looking for the Joker costume at Halloween stores we were so disappointed! $50 for a thin purple jacket, mask, and a short sleeved vest-tie-shirt combo. As in it was all one shirt, reminiscent of the good ol' tuxedo shirt.

Yesterday we went to the very same thrift store and bought a men's shirt, vest and tie to complete her costume. Price of this year's Halloween costume: $12! Wow. The only bad part is I am not the type of person to settle for anything less than perfection. No it's true. Everyone makes fun of me for it. Being this type of person means I can't just leave well enough alone. So instead of sleeping while it's still dark outside I will be sizing and fitting the thrift store items to fit my daughter perfectly. The trouble with this is......... I cannot sew. I mean at all. If you have a button that needs fixing then I'm your girl otherwise you're on your own. I once made a poodle skirt for my daughter because it was 50's week at school--I don't even remember how I accomplished that. It looked amazing, she looked amazing! Truth be told I think I may have included some stapling in that project. Ha ha ha, okay there were no staples but I know I used Stitch Witchery. And I did sew, but what would take a normal person a few minutes takes me hours. I think of sewing as my kryponite. I am no super hero but sometimes even I am amazed at how things work out in my life when all the odds are stacked against me- so maybe I do have a little bit of super hero in me after all. Alright, enough stalling.... it's time for me to sew. Wish me luck!

~Melissa

PS thank you for the opportunity to "mommy vent" instead of just writing about baking!

Here is Sweeney Todd (Halloween 2008):

Samuel Adams, you have impressed me!

So, I know I said that I was going to post about New York state beers and I was about to.... but I stumbled upon Sam Adam's Blackberry Witbier in my late night Wegman's "I'm starving" visit. I can't help but write about this beer because it is delicious.

I was hesitant to buy it though. As a bartender I find that people don't really try new beers. Occasionally we will get a business man in from out of town that wants a Syracuse (or Upstate New York beer). Unfortunately we don't have any. We used to carry Syracuse Pale Ale from Middle Ages Brewery, which was really good. But being that I work at an Australian themed restaurant we carry Australian beers. And while I enjoy the Australian beers we carry, I find it odd to focus on them with Anheuser Busch down the street from where I work. But I digress.....

I find that more people are willing to try a new wine but not really a new beer. Or maybe that's just the experiences I've had. When someone is going to try a new wine and they are unsure about whether or not they like it a good bartender rule of thumb is to find out what they normally drink. Seems simple I know however, the problem with that is that I am amazed at how many people don't actually know what they drink. When this is the case, I try to find out if they drink coffee and how they like that. I like a nice French roast coffee. I don't necessarily like a very strong coffee, I just like it to have some punch to it. I've noticed that I tend to like rich beers. Not too hoppy, not too sweet but something with substance. Rich caramel or a coffee taste with a smooth finish. Of course those are also the beers that carry a little bit more alcohol content and knock me on my a**. A good beer is not just a frat boy drink. It can be enjoyed like a fine wine or a nice vodka. I wish more people would see it that way.


Back to my point, at first sight I wasn't sure how I felt about buying a Blackberry beer. Sam Adam's is one of my favorite beers. Octoberfest is my favorite flavor followed by their Black Lager, but fruit beers make me nervous. Their Cherry Wheat is too sweet for me. But this beer is perfect. It seems a little bit more light than the regular Sam Adam's. This beer is a cloudy honey color. The best part is the subtle hint of blackberry. It's a nice fresh touch. There is nothing artificial about it. Subtle, yet with a powerful enough punch for you to know it's there.

I don't know how you feel about beer, or how you feel about "fruity" beer but I suggest that if you should come across this beer in your travels it is worth it!

Cheers!!!!!

~Melissa

Apple Bread

If you're reading this thinking "another apple recipe!!!!!" I'm apologizing now. But if you, like me, have way too many apples from apple picking well- then you're welcome for another apple recipe. I liked this recipe with my coffee in the morning or a late night snack. Of course it's good without, but with a cup of coffee it's delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter

2 cups Splenda blend

2 eggs

2 cups of King Arthur whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large apples*

sliced almonds

caramel squares

* I used Beak & Skiff Apple Farm's Jonamac apples.

Blend together eggs, sugar, vanilla and butter until creamy.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Blend dry ingredients a cup at a time.

Fold in almonds. Then fold in apples.

Bake in a buttered bread pan or mini bread pans for about 45 mins for the mini pans and an hour for the regular bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees.

After the bread is done place it on a wire cooling rack. While it's cooling grab a small sauce pot and place carmel squares (I cut them into quarters) with about a tablespoon of milk or creamer. I used vanilla caramel Nestle Coffee Mate's creamer. Stir constantly until caramel is melted. Drizzle over bread. Yummy!

Enjoy!

~Melissa

Apple Brownies

I have about 500 apples in my refrigerator at the moment. I feel like I have tried to integrate apples into just about everything. I was just about on apple overload and the idea of apple brownies came to me. I thought it was going to be a disaster. They turned out great! My co-workers, who are normally my test subjects, loved them. They were so moist!! And the addition of the butterscotch chips made them even better- thank goodness for that extra bag I had in my cupboard.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 1/4 Cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup Splenda blend
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Beak & Skiff apple cider, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla
• grated orange peel
• 4 large apples, diced (I used sweet Empire apples)
• 3 cups instant oats
• 11 oz package of Nestle Butterscotch Morsels

Put salt, flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside. Put butter, Splenda, apple cider and brown sugar into a large bowl and cream together. Add eggs and vanilla, mix again. Fold in grated orange peel. Sift in dry ingredients and blend one cup at a time. Fold in apples, almonds and Nestle's Butterscotch Morsels. I baked in a 9 x 13 in pan for about 35 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!!!!!

~ Melissa

Morning silliness, turned delicious-ness.

This morning my usual cup of coffee wasn't doing it for me. So I went to my old stand by: Chai Tea. I love tea. I love chai tea. I had this crazy idea to add some apple cider to it, and WHOA, it's delicious. So here's the "recipe".....

Bring 8 ounces of water to a boil.

Take off the heat

In a large coffee mug steep 2 tea bags of chai tea.

(I use Tazo Chai organic spiced black tea.)

Only fill the coffee mug half full with water.

Fill the rest with apple cider.

I then added a packet of splenda and a cinnamon stick.

The apple cider should cool off the tea just enough to drink it immediately.

Mmmm, yummy chai tea and apple cider. I hope you like it as well.

~Melissa

Apple Festival

As long as I can remember my family has made our yearly fall trip to Beak & Skiff Apple Farm for apple picking. In Lafayette, NY there is a strip along Rte. 80 that is home to about 5 different apple farms. The somewhat narrow road is lined with tall trees that have begun changing colors to rich oranges, cinnamon reds and golden yellows. Beak & Skiff is about a mile away from the cluster of apple farms on Rte. 80. As we turn into the apple orchard I can't help be excited as I see the Beak & Skiff country store lined with hardy mums, Halloween decor and bright orange pumpkins. Though we had to postpone our trip a bit this morning because of the rain, it has turned into a beautiful afternoon of crystal clear blue skies and sunshine.

As soon as I stepped out of the car to get myself all situated with money, keys, and camera the distinct smell of apple fritters made my stomach growl. It was definitely a chilly day in Central New York, enough to make your nose run. Every where you look there were little kids with rosy cheeks bundled up in their warmest fleece jacket eating the apple they just picked. On that day we got to pick Empire apples, my mom's favorite. In about 2 weeks Golden Delicious will be available, my favorite.

When we were waiting in line for the tractor to take us into the orchard the breeze blew just right and I could smell the crisp autumn leaves in the air. I just love that smell. The tractor ride is short and bumpy but the orchard is so big I would get lost in a second if I ever tried to walk it. The best part of the tractor ride is seeing all the different types of apples, they vary in color from a deep garnet to a bright and cheerful reddish- orange. These days I let my daughter do all the picking. I think her favorite part is climbing the ladder that they leave available for you to move freely along the rows of apple trees. Or maybe her favorite part is picking her "perfect apple" that she is going to eat. The tractor ride back is normally the more scenic view. You can see almost the entire city of Syracuse and the hills covered in the a sea of red, orange, and yellow leaves.

We put our apples in the car walked down to the Beak & Skiff country store. Attached to the store is a little eatery where you can get cider, apple fritters, and chili dogs. My teenage years were spent egging my little brother on to see how many chili dogs he could eat. The country store has different varieties of apples for you to purchase, fudge, New York state maple syrup, and homemade pies. They make their apple cider on premises, there is a separate room you can go into and you can watch them squish the apples. Their apple cider is delicious!

After our afternoon at Beak & Skiff we decide to head up Rte. 80 to the Apple Festival. In all my years of apple picking I have never been to the actual Festival; with all the cars that lined the streets it looked like everyone in Lafayette was there despite the rainy morning. The open field was full of craft tents and food booths. Further back in the field there amusement park were the rides. You could definitely tell the people that were from Lafayette because they were prepared for anything- they were wearing boots, I had on my polka dot ballet flats. Not smart. I feel like I would have stayed longer if it wasn't for walking around in mud deep enough to cover my ankles. Despite being cold and muddy, it was a lot of fun, and home to what my daughter called "steak sandwich heaven."

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

~Melissa

Candy Apple Martini

A few months ago I finally gave in and now I have cable for my house. I got it mainly for the Disney channel that my daughter loves so much, and because I am a LOST junkie. Without cable I have to wait for the episodes to download online which is torture. Saturday night is my night to catch up on all the shows that I missed during the week, hooray for DVR! I made my bowl of popcorn, but I wanted something different to drink.....

Candy Apple Martini

1 ounce vodka**

1 ounce DeKuyper red apple liqueur

1/2 ounce DeKuyper buttershot butterscotch schnapps

1 ounce cranberry juice

Pour ingredients into a cocktail strainer 3/4 full of ice and shake vigorously.

Strain into a chilled martini glass.

I rimmed my martini glass with red colored sugar to keep with the candy apple theme,

and it is delicious!

** I used Beak & Skiff Apple Farm's NEW vodka made from apples. I will have more about this in tomorrow's blog.

Since not everyone has Beak & Skiff's vodka available to them- you can use any vodka you prefer. I suggest Stoli Gala Apple Vodka.

Cheers!

~Melissa

Homemade Applesauce

When my daughter was little she loved applesauce, who am I kidding, she still loves applesauce. After learning that the recipe was basically water, apples and sugar I decided to give it a try. At that time I was still struggling with my Jell-O "skills" but I figured the applesauce would be easy enough. It turned out decent, but in my daughter's eyes I was amazing! She couldn't get enough!

I know that my first attempt at applesauce fell short, so I thought I would give it another try...

I used apples from Beak & Skiff Apple Farm which is about 20 minutes from home. I used three different varieties of apples: Gala, Cortland & JonaMac. They are semi-sweet with just a touch of tartness. Perfect!

INGREDIENTS:

4 pounds of (hand-picked) apples

1 cup water

1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend

Orange* zest

Juice from an orange*

2 Tablespoons of cinnamon

* I used the zest and juice from a Minneola tangelo. I like the tangelo's unique flavor. I feel they are a little bit sweeter than an orange, which I found useful so I wouldn't have to add more sugar.

• Peel, core, and dice the apples, set aside.
• In a large pot add water and sugar. I cooked it on medium, until the sugar dissolved.




• Add apples, and gently fold into the water.



• Add orange zest and cinnamon on top of the apples and gently stir.
  
  
  
• Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the pot, and stir.



• Cover and let it cook until desired consistency. I turned the burner down to low.




• Take the pot off the burner and let it cool. Then put the applesauce into your container of choice.

You can also use this recipe if you like applesauce with your pork chops, or I suggest it with breaded chicken. If you decide to do this I also suggest to add some clove to the recipe in addition to the cinnamon and orange zest. 1/4 tsp should be enough to enhance the taste. I would also leave it as a more dense consistency.



Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Enjoy!