Jan's post about her favorite fall recipes got me thinking about Halloween. I'm a big fan of making spooky treats for Halloween parties, and October is the perfect time to cook with your children. Simply pull out a Lifetime table, some sugary ingredients, and let your kids go to town. No matter what they invent you know it will still be scary ;). Here's a fun idea posted on a personal blog by my good friend Jennifer, from Lifetime's own IT department.
Spider Cupcakes
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1/3 cup KOOL-AID Orange Flavor Sugar-Sweetened Soft Drink Mix
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 can (16 oz.) ready-to-spread white frosting
24 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
12 pieces black string licorice (32 inch each)
48 miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces
PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; blend in dry pudding mix. Spoon evenly into 24 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool completely.
DISSOLVE drink mix in hot water. Stir into frosting until blended. Frost cupcakes, reserving some frosting for attaching candies.
CUT each licorice piece into sixteen 2-inch pieces; set aside. Place 1 cookie on top of each cupcake. Insert 4 licorice pieces into each side of each cookie for the "spider's legs." (Eight licorice pieces for each cookie.) Add 2 candy-coated chocolate pieces to top of each cookie using some of the reserved frosting for the "spider's eyes."
I'm also a big fan of easy recipes, especially during the busy holiday season. The recipe below is certainly going into my cookbook. If your life is anything like mine-- anything that takes longer than 20 minutes to prepare usually just remains a collection of ingredients that sit in the fridge (along with all my good intentions) until they go bad.
For all you busy people out there, here's a great recipe from Jennifer for quick Pumpkin Cookies.
Pumpkin Cookies:
1-Spice Cake Mix
1-15oz. can pumpkin
1C of chocolate chips or desired amount
Mix, bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen.
Have a sweet Halloween!!