It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Happy Halloween everybody! It's the great pumpkin came on t.v. the other night so I was inspired to make these cupcake toppers. Not even sure which one is which, but they are all cute. Have a good one and be safe!

Day of the Dead cupcakes

My son's spanish class was giving extra credit if they brought in a day of the dead inspired food item. Knowing my love for day of the dead he signed me up to make cupcakes. I was a bit rushed (One days notice. Don't you just love teenage boys) so they aren't as well done as I would have liked, but they did the trick.

Birthday Girl with her cake....

I think she liked her cake. At least I hope she did.

Sally's Birthday Cake

This is the cake that I made for a sweet lady named Sally. She loves the color purple, so I made lots of purple "roses" to go on her cake. It's a white butter cake with raspberry mousse and buttercream. The roses are made out of fondant. I'll show how to make them soon. They are super easy! The topper is made out of clay. I try to make it look like the birthday boy/girl and then I add lots of little things to represent their interests. For example...Sally likes to knit, she makes her own beautiful rosaries, she's a hygienist and she loves her kids more than anything. Her Crocs are my favorite part. I make the topper out of clay so it's like two gifts in one. You get to eat a nummy cake and then have something to take home and keep.

Sandra's Spider Cake

I finally tasted it and it was very good and very rich. I will definitely make it again.

I though this cake looked so good in Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine, so I wanted to make it for my family. I haven't tasted it yet so I don't know how good it tastes. The directions seem a little weird to me too, but hopefully it tastes good. Here is the recipe:

Spider Cake

1 (18.25 oz.) Devil's food cake mix

1 (3.9 oz.) box of instant chocolate pudding

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (cooled to room temp.)

1/2 cup veg. oil

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

Creamy chocolate filling (recipe follows)

2 (16 oz) containers of your favorite chocolate icing

1 package ready to use cookie icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (8 inch) round pans with cooking spray. In the bowl of a mixer combine cake mix, pudding mix, sugar, coffee, oil and eggs. Beat until smooth about 2-3 minutes. Stir in sour cream, then spread the batter evenly into the pans.

Bake for 24-27 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool, then cut each cake layer in half horizontally. Place on cake layer on serving plate then add a third of the filling. Repeat until all the layers are used. Here's the weird part:Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours or up to 30 days! Remove from freezer and cover the cake with icing. Then pipe a small circle of the cookie icing in the center of the cake. Starting just outside center circle and working out toward the edge pipe a continuous spiral of icing over the top of the cake.

Using a toothpick, run the tip through the center to the edge. Let cake stand for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store cake, covered in the fridge.

Creamy chocolate filling

1 (8 oz.) container chocolate Cool Whip

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese-softened

2 tablespoons Kahlu'a

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat Cool Whip and cream cheese. Add the Kahlu'a and beat until smooth. Cover and chill (if not using immediately).

So good it's scary!

My son had a couple of friends come over so I thought I would be a nice mommy and make them some Halloween Rice Crispy Treats.

Spooky Rice Crispy Treats

3 Tablespoons butter

1 package (10 oz) marshmallows (it's easier if you buy the little ones)

6 Cups Rice Krispies

~Whatever Halloween sprinkles you have on hand

Melt butter in a large pan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat and add the rice krispies and the sprinkles and stir until well coated. Using a spatula sprayed with cooking spray, evenly press mixture into a 13x9x2 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Let cool.

Easy as pie!

Since I'm on a blueberry kick I figured I would post the recipe for easy blueberry pie.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust

1 Cup shortening

2 Cups flour

1/3 Cup milk

1 Tablespoon vinegar

Cut shortening into the flour. Combine vinegar and milk then add it to the flour. Roll out.

Easy Blueberry Pie

12 oz. blueberries (it's fine to use frozen)

1/2 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

1/4 Cup butter

1-9 inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pan combine blueberries, sugar, flour and butter; bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer berries for 10-15 minutes until thickened. Pour berry mixture into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.