Ghost Pops

Let me start off by saying that I need to practice with my Americolor Gourmet Writer pen.  I am not uber happy with this little ghosts, but I know one thing for sure.  They sure are tasty.  So...

Have you ever heard of cake pops?  If you head on over to Bakerella's site, you will find an incredibly talented woman churning out adorable cake pops of every shape and color.  Obviously, I am immensely jealous of her skills.  But I am pretty sure she doesn't have to worry about me creeping into her cake pop territory any time soon.

For these ghost pops, I just used a box cake mix and frosting and the leftover white fondant from my mummy cupcakes.   Feel free to choose what cake you want, but remember you are putting white fondant on top.  So if you choose a darker colored cake, it might show through.

Follow the basic instructions to make the cake pops here.  Instead of making a ball shape, I made more of a "blob"shape. Throw them in the fridge to harden a little bit.

Melt some candy coating or white chocolate to help insert the lollipop stick into the bottom.

Roll out your fondant and cut out a circle big enough to cover the cake "blob".  I really don't know any other term to call them.

Press the sides down gently.

Add eyes and a mouth to the pops and you are done!  These pops kind of remind me of how you wanted to be a ghost for Halloween when you were little and your mom took an old white sheet and cut out holes so you could see.

Ah! Those were the days.  None of this running to Target and picking out a costume in a bag.  We had to be creative.  For example, corn syrup and ground coffee make for a great (albeit sticky) hobo's beard.

And now let's just go hide those photos so we don't have evidence we actually did that!

Mummy Cupcakes

I never really get in the spirit of decorating for Halloween, but I am getting bored watching television all day and I had an itch to be creative.

You need to whip up a batch of marshmallow fondant for these cupcakes.  Most of the fondant you can leave white.  But if you have some black food coloring, you can color a small amount for the eyes. Oh, and wear some gloves when dealing with the black food coloring.  That's if you don't mind having scary discolored digits for a bit.

Roll out the white fondant until you reach the thickness you want.  I rolled mine out pretty thin.  I used an old biscuit cutter for the main shape of the mummy.

And for the eyes, I used piping tips.

If your fondant is a little dry, dab a small amount of water on the fondant to make the eyes stick.

Add a little stitching...

I used the Americolor Gourmet Writer pen.  You can always use your black food coloring and paint some stitching on if you like.

Now cut some thin strips of white fondant and place over the mummy face however you want.  Don't worry about being precise with your cuts.

Now take your biscuit cutter and cut the shape out again.

Scrape away the edges and "ta-da".  Frost your cupcakes and place this little cutie on top.

Now to figure out what to do with all this leftover white fondant.  Scary ghosts, anyone?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I've got a ton of things to do.  There's laundry, then I got to feed the baby, then I have to catch up on my saved episodes of Supernatural, then throw the laundry in the dryer, then feed the baby again, and show the cats some attention before they tear up my plant again, then feeding time again...

What day is it?

Oh, and I need to give you this recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies real quick.

I decided to make these cookies because I had a huge box of raisins left over from my granola/trail mix I made the other week.  

Here is what you will need

 2 1/3 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

5 cups of quick-cooking oats

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups of brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1/4 cup of orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cups of raisins

This cookie recipe is really simple.  Take the first three ingredients and sift together into a large bowl.  Add in your oats and stir it up.  Now cream the butter until light and fluffy and throw in your sugars.  Once the sugars are mixed in, add your eggs.  Scrape down the bowl if you need to.  Now throw in the OJ, vanilla, and salt.  

Now your mixture may look a little bubbly when you add in the OJ concentrate.  Don't worry, it will come together when you add in the flour.  Fold in the flour and raisins.  Again, have I mentioned to have a LARGE bowl when you do this?  Got one?  Good.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and drop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet or one lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  This recipes makes about 40 cookies when you use a small portion scoop.  

Really?  Already?  Gotta go.  It's bottle time again! 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Print Recipe