Halloween Candy Cookies

Well, tonight is the big night for Trick or Treaters. All of the children are excitingly waiting with their candy
 bucket, basket or any container they choose. When my children were small, I used to get all excited, along with them ,about going trick or treating, however, as we get older we loose some of that excitement and just stand back

and watch the younger group as they dress up in their most scary and ugly costume and go from door to door collecting goodies handed out to them.

Most of the time they have so much candy and other goodies that they don't know quite what to do with it, so thru the years we have come up with some solutions. Listed below is one recipe I found on Delicious Dishings Blog, that I am going to make , how about you.  I 'll bet some of you have lots more good ideas about using up all that Halloween lute.

                                           

Reese's PB Cup Cookies (adapted from the NY Times chocolate chip cookie recipe) and Delicious Dishes.

                                                                                      

Ingredients

3 2/3 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
15 - 20 large Reese's PB cups, frozen

Preparation
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Coarsely chop PB cups, and set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.

Add chopped Reese's PB cups and stir gently until mixed.

Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. You can also form the dough into balls, ready for baking, place them on cookie sheets, and freeze them. Once the balls of dough have hardened, scoop them into freezer bags, and take them out and bake them whenever you want warm cookies.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Place frozen cookie balls or freshly formed balls of dough (any size you like -- I like mini cookies so I form mine into about 1/2-inch balls) on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (or longer depending on the size), until light golden brown but still soft in center. Let rest for 1 minute, and then transfer cookies to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough for as many cookies as you want to make.

This is another one for Cup Cakes

Heavenly Candy Bar Cupcakes
From: MyRecipes.com
Prep: 20 min., Cook: 5min., Bake: 18 min.

9 fun-size or 21 mini chocolate-coated caramel and creamy nougat bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

3 large eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting

Garnishes: chopped frozen fun-size chocolate-coated caramel and creamy nougat bars, candy corn

Melt candy bars and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

Beat sugar and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer about 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and salt. Stir together buttermilk and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in melted candy bar mixture and vanilla. Place 36 paper baking cups in muffin pans; spoon batter evenly into paper baking cups, filling two-thirds full.

Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely on wire racks. Spread cupcakes evenly with Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting. Garnish, if desired.

we used Milky Way Bars.

Heavenly Candy Bar Cake: Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cakepans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack. Spread half of Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting evenly between cake layers. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired. Makes 12 servings. Prep: 15 min., Cook: 5 min., Bake: 30 min.

Yield: Makes 36 cupcakes

Last  I couldn't resist this spider halloween cake . For the recipe go to MyRecipes.com.

  HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN , DON'T LET THE GHOST AND GOBLINGS GET YA!!!!!!

PEPPER JACK CHEESE BALL

Makes: 18 servings (2 tablespoons cheese ball and 4 crackers each)

1 1/2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese (6 oz)
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup nacho-flavored tortilla chips, crushed
Assorted crackers or tortilla chips
1. In food processor, place cheeses, lime juice and onion powder. Cover; process until well mixed. Spoon into medium bowl. Stir in olives and cilantro.
2. Place crushed tortilla chips on waxed paper. Spoon cheese mixture onto chips. Roll to coat cheese ball with chips. Serve with crackers.
BETTY CROCKER

OLD FASHION BUTTER ROLLS

Old Fashioned Butter Roll


Posted by: "TonaH" haggermaker4@yahoo.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 7 x 11-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. Cut shortening in thoroughly with a pastry blender until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in water and press dough together with your hands. Roll out pastry into a large rectangle. Spread the butter evenly over the pastry, then sprinkle on 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Roll up the dough jellyroll style and pinch to seal. Cut into 12 even slices. Place the rolls in the prepared pan.

In a small saucepan, heat milk, 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla extract until mixture begins to bubble. Pour milk mixture over rolls. Bake in preheated oven until brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves 12.

COOKING HINTS

All of us have kitchen disasters from time to time.  Maybe the following hints will help.
I thought I'd pass along some hints to help those of us that get into trouble from time to time. It's not recipes, but what the heck!



If you've over-salted soup or vegetables, add cut raw potatoes and then discard once they have cooked and absorbed the salt.

A teaspoon each of cider vinegar and sugar added to salty soup or vegetables will also remedy the salty situation.

If you've over-sweetened a dish, add salt.

A teaspoon of cider vinegar will take care of too-sweet main dishes or vegetables.

Pale gravy may be browned by adding a bit of instant coffee straight from the jar. No bitter taste, either.

If you will brown the flour well before adding to the liquid when making gravy, you will avoid pale or lumpy gravy.

If time allows, the best method of removing fat is refrigeration until the fat hardens. If you put a piece of waxed paper over the top of the meal, it can be peeled right off, along with the hardened fat. Ice cubes will also eliminate the fat from soup and stew. Just drop a few into the pot and stir; the fat will cling to the cubes; discard the cubes before they melt. Or, wrap ice cubes in paper towel or cheesecloth and skim over the top.

A slice of soft bread placed in the package of hardened brown sugar will soften it again in a couple of hours.

A little salt placed in a frying pan will prevent splattering.

Meat Loaf will not stick if you place a slice of bacon on the bottom of the pan.

Vinegar brought to a boil in a new frying pan will prevent foods from sticking.

No sticking to the pan when you're scalding milk if you'll first rinse the pan in cold water.

A lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil added to water when boiling rice, noodles, macaroni, or spaghetti will prevent boiling over.

A few drops of lemon juice added to simmering rice will keep the grains separate.

A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.

To determine if an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh; it it rises to the surface, throw it away.

Fresh eggs' shells are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and shiny.

To determine if an egg is hard-boiled, spin it. If it spins, it is hard-boiled. If it wobbles, it is raw.

Egg shells can be easily removed from hard-boiled eggs if they are boiled in salty water and quickly rinsed in cold water.

No "curly" bacon for breakfast when you dip it into cold water before frying.

Keep bacon slices from sticking together; roll the package into a tube shape and secure with rubber bands.

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APPLE CUPCAKES WITH CINNAMON MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

http://www.eatingwell.com
Shredded apple replaces some of the oil and keeps the cake moist in these cinnamon-spiked cupcakes. There is a generous amount of fluffy marshmallow frosting to mound or pipe on top for a festive look. Be sure to frost them right after you make the frosting — it stiffens as it stands and becomes more difficult to spread.

Yields: 12 cupcakes
Total Time: 2 hr 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup(s) shredded peeled apples

1/2 cup(s) diced dried apples

3 tablespoon(s) packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon, divided

1/3 cup(s) canola oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

3/4 cup(s) whole-wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup(s) cake flour

3/4 teaspoon(s) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

1/2 cup(s) nonfat buttermilk

Frosting

1 cup(s) light brown sugar

1/4 cup(s) water

4 teaspoon(s) (equivalent to 2 egg whites) dried egg whites (see Tips & Techniques), reconstituted according to package directions

1/4 teaspoon(s) cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish

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Directions

1.To prepare cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cupcake liners or coat with cooking spray.

2.Combine shredded and dried apples in a bowl with 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside. Beat oil and the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla, increase speed to high, and beat for 1 minute.

3.Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.

4.With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. Stir in the reserved apple mixture until just combined. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. (The cups will be full.)

5.Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before frosting.

6.To prepare frosting: Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Combine 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup water in the top of the double boiler. Heat over the simmering water, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reconstituted egg whites, cream of tartar, and pinch of salt. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is glossy and thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the top pan from the heat and continue beating for 1 minute more to cool. Add vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and beat on low just to combine. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon on top, if desired.

CHILI SAUCE

I made some really good Chili Sauce today. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb extra lean ground beef
       (In fry pan let meat cook until all meat is done) Stir several times.
Add:
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 cup tomato catsup
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
2 oz cheddar cheese ,extra sharp, shredded
1 tbsp bacon drippings

Simmer on low heat for 30 min. or longer.  Serve hot over spaghetti  or rice.
Good over hot dogs.

Cranberry-Walnut Sweet Potatoes

I have made this recipe for Cranberry Walnut  Sweet Potatoes and they are really good. What a good
side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas I added a small amount of orange juice. Thanks and have a wonderful day.
Cranberry-Walnut Sweet Potatoes
From Light & Tasty

===================================================
INGREDIENTS

4 large sweet potatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup cranberry juice

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons minced chives
DIRECTIONS

Scrub and pierce sweet potatoes. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender.

In a small saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add the cranberries, syrup, water, cranberry juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until berries pop, stirring occasionally. Stir in walnuts and mustard; heat through.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; sprinkle with pepper and remaining salt. Top each with 2 tablespoons cranberry mixture; sprinkle with chives. Yield: 8 servings.

Halloween Decorations

Halloween Pumpkins, Corn husks and stalks, mini gourds, orange ribbon, apples, all good things to decorate for Halloween.   We all like to have fun decorating with all the fall bounty that is available.  I need to ask you to be careful and take your time.  This morning my daughter was at her church helping to decorate the fellowship hall because tomorrow is Homecoming Day at her church.  In her haste, she fell over a large pumpkin located on a walk way and hurt herself quite badly.  She fell on her face and hands.  She has a knot on her head, her eye is black, her chin is badly bruised.  Has a big knot on her elbow and broke her right hand.  She is very lucky that  she  didn't do more damage.

Again, I urge you to please enjoy your decorating but be careful in all you undertake to do. It is so easy to get in a hurry and hurt yourself.  Please have a wonderful day and be careful!!!!!!

I forgot to mention, she is the Church Pianist.  Good Luck!!

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

Banana-Nut Muffins


2 Cup Unbleached Flour, Sifted
3 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 1/3 Cup Mashed Ripe bananas (3 Med.)
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts


Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream together shrtening and sugar in bowl until light and fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Stir in mashed bananas. Add dry ingredients all at once, stirring just enough to moisten. Gently mix in chopped nuts. Spoon batter into greased 3-inch muffin-pan cups, filling 2/3rds full. Bake in 350 degree F. oven 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with homemade jam or jelly.