Creepy Mini Spider Cupcakes

Halloween is an ongoing, week-long celebration. The more treats the better! I found a recipe for these creepy looking spider cupcakes. Even though I am EXTREMELY afraid of spiders, I thought these cupcakes were pretty cool. These mutant spiders are mini cupcakes with black sugar. Their eyes are cinnamon candy, they have marshmallow fans, and black licorice legs.

 Ingredients 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  2 cups sugar
  1/2 cup cocoa powder
  2 teaspoons  baking soda
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 cup vegetable oil
  2 eggs
  2 cups buttermilk 

• Decoration:
  Black sanding sugar
  1 bag cinammon candy
  1 bag marshmallows
  1 bag black licorice
  Black sanding sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius). In mixer, on low speed, mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
2. Add oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Increase speed and beat for 2 minutes, until well combined. Spoon into 20 paper-lined muffin cups, filling halfway.
3. Bake for about 25 minutes or until tops are firm and tester comes out clean. Transfer to rack and cool completely.
4. Ice mini cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and coat icing with black sanding sugar. Use cinnamon candy for eyes, 8 pieces of black licorice for legs, cut out tiny shapes from marshmallows for fangs. Attach it all.
5. VOILA, you got yourself creepy spider cupcakes!

Bon Appetite!

Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake Pumpkin Cookies

My roommate and I usually prefer to bake our desserts from scratch. HOWEVER, come Halloween, there are cookies that we cannot resist. We wait all year round for 'Pillsbury Ready to Bake Pumpkin Cookies'. They remind me of my  childhood because my parents only allowed me to bake these kinds of cookies (I would make too much of a mess baking cookies from scratch). My roommate and I anxiously awaited for the dep by our apartment to begin selling the rolls of these Pillsbury Pumpkin Cookies. 

The process for baking can be summed into 6 simple steps: 1. Unwrap the packaging and preheat the oven to 350F, 2. Slice the cookies (not too thin but not too thick), 3. Place them on a cookie sheet (leave a little room between them), 4. Place them in the oven (once it has been preheated) for 8-10 minutes,  5. Leave them to cool, and finally 6. EAT THEM! 

To say these cookies are DELICIOUS is an extreme understatement. They are  easy to make and require very little clean-up!  Its a no brainer! Hit up the grocery store or dep nearest you and get into the Halloween mood. Plus, they make for a great study-snack. 

Bon Appetite! 

Pumpkin, Apple & Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream Topping

In spirit of the Thanksgiving celebrations this past weekend, my roommate and I decided tried out a new pumpkin recipe. Instead of the traditional Pumpkin Pie, we decided to make Pumpkin, Apple & Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream Topping. What a great decision it was, we finished the entire pudding between the two of us in under an hour. In order to make this dessert properly, we found a video to make the process a lot easier. Take a look! I know thanksgiving has past, but whats wrong with eating pumpkin desserts all year round!? Yolo right? 

Join Danny and DJ's videos on YouTube. They kick off the second season with this very special pumpkin dessert...as they call it a "Oooey goooey bread pudding filled with the flavours of Fall -- pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and raisins and toped with homemade caramel sauce and freshly made whipped cream." If you enjoy this video, I guarantee you will enjoy the rest of their recipes as well. 

Bon Appetite!  

peanut butter & banana ice cream sandwiches

For my good friend Eric Barsky's birthday, his mother sent him a package of her infamous  "BarskyMommas". They consist of two chocolate cookies topped with caramel syrup, and are stuck together by vanilla icing. I was inspired to try and find a similar recipe, but one that also accommodated both mine and my roomates obsession with peanut butter. I stumbled upon a picture of miniature ice cream sandwiches resembling the look of the "BarskyMommas." My roommate and I decided to try out this recipe and found them super easy to make. Though nothing will compare to the delicious "BarskyMommas," I would say they were a close second! 

ingredients:

- 3 1/2 cups of banana ice cream- 40 small peanut butter cookies
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon of espresso powder
- flaky salt for sprinkling 

method:

Place half the cookies face down on a baking sheet. Top each with a large spoonful of ice cream, and then another cookie. Put the pan  into the freezer for about 30 minutes to set the ice cream.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. Put half the chips in a bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted. Stir in the other half of the chocolate until melted, then stir in the espresso powder. Transfer the chocolate into a plastic bag. 

When the sandwiches have set, snip a tiny bit off one corner of the plastic bag. Working a few sandwiches at a time, drizzle them with chocolate and sprinkle with the salt. It's important to alternate these two tasks, otherwise the chocolate will start to freeze onto the cookies and the salt wont stick to it. Put the sandwiches back into the freezer for 30 minutes or so for the ice cream  to set fully.

Bon Appetite!