Halloween cupcakes
Halloween is one of the best holidays for decorating! So much creepiness, so much deliciousness. I made up a bunch of cupcakes for parties this weekend:
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Spider cupcakes (recipe, here)
Spiders really freak me out and despite knowing these are edible I still felt uncomfortable making these. Blech.
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Mummy cupcake (recipe, here)
It’s the yellow eyeballs that are creeping you out, right? Right?!?
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Gravestone cupcake (recipe, here)
You’ll see a lot of these this time of year, using Milano cookies or chocolate dipped Oreos, and let me tell you – I’ve designed a few tombstones in my time and they do NOT look like Milano cookies. These are much more authentic…!
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Kissable Pumpkin cupcakes (recipe, here)
Sweet little edible pumpkins. Perfect for kissing.
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Make one, or all of these for the perfect Halloween dessert party!
Spider cupcakes
There’s nothing I hate more than spiders. Hm. Maybe polka dots. I HATE polka dots. Oh and bananas. Hate those too…anyway – spiders creep me out. And even when I was making these I felt a little bit of the heebie jeebies. Yikes.
ingredients:
chocolate cupcakes
chocolate frosting
2 cups Oreos, crushed
black Gumdrops
Black licorice laces
I like to give the spider a little ‘dirt’ base to sit on. So…
To start, take the 2 cups of Oreos, place them in a bag and smash them to bits…Sure you can use a food processor but why when you can SMASH. COOKIES. LIKE. HULK.
Take your frosted cupcakes and dip them into the crushed Oreos, pressing them down so it looks like dirt. Deliciously chocolately dirt.
For the spider’s legs cut the licorice laces into 4-inch pieces. You’ll need four of them – so that when you put the ‘body’ on you’ll have eight legs total.
Lay the pieces across each other, overlapping in the middle, but spreading the ‘legs’ out evenly. I like how the little pumpkins are observing the process in this picture.
Place a little dab of frosting in the middle, then press the black gumdrop right in the center to form the spider’s body.
Is that the freakiest edible long legged spider or what? EW. Totally creeped out now.
Mummy Cupcakes
There’s nothing creepier or more delicious than a frosted mummy.
ingredients:
cupcakes
white frosting
black frosting
yellow quins
Put the frosting in a piping bag – I prefer the Ateco Decorating Tip #104
I lost my coupler. Don’t ask me where it is – lost somewhere in the bowels of my kitchen pantry, so I had to make do, it still worked out fine. What you want to do is make ‘bandages’ that overlap, so simply go criss cross across the top of the cupcake, leaving just enough ‘peeking’ space for the mummy’s eyeballzz.
Pipe two small dots with black frosting for the eyes – then place a little yellow round circle quin
Your mummy instantly comes to life! Er..I mean, he’s dead, but looks good, but – oh just eat him!
Gravestone cupcakes
You’ve probably seen gravestone cupcakes all over the internet, but they use things like Milano Cookies
ingredients:
chocolate cupcakes
chocolate frosting
2 cups Oreo cookies, crushed
Chocolate dipped cookies
white frosting
I like to use chocolate cupcakes and frosting when working with Halloween cupcakes. It’s dark and spoooky. Also yummy.
Take about 2 cups of Oreos, place them in a bag and smash them to death. This is when the Food Librarian would text me and tell me to ‘use a food processor you jerk’ but I’m like totally Amish so I just use a rolling pin to get out my aggression.
Dip the frosted cupcakes into the crushed Oreos – can you see the dirt-like resemblance? – and set them aside.
Tombstones can be ornate, and I was lucky enough to happen upon these chocolate dipped cookies at Target. I knew immediately that because of the shape and the decoration, that they’d be perfect for edible gravestones. Morbid? Maybe – but we are talking Halloween here.
Using a small piping tip, write the letters R.I.P. on your ‘faux’ tombstone.
I like to use a paring knife and cut a little space in the cupcake so that the ‘tombstone’ has an easy way to slide in. Place the tombstone cookie into the opening….
…and there you have it. The most perfectly ornate, edible gravestone. Death is deelish.
Kissable Pumpkin cupcakes
I like having creative friends because they can inspire you in so many ways. When I saw that my friend Leslie was making ‘stache o’ lanterns for Halloween, I couldn’t stop smiling – and I’m no hipster.
Tiny pumpkins scream cuteness. I wanted to take the similar idea of tiny pumpkins but make them edible.
ingredients:
cupcakes
frosting
sprinkles
candy corn pumpkins
heart quinns
I was going to hand make the pumpkins then I realized I could buy a bag of candy corn pumpkins for a buck at Target, so what the heck.
I piped them two little eyes, and then added a teeeeny heart quin mouth. These are the Angelina Jolie of pumpkins.
When I want to give cupcakes some color, but not overwhelm them – I ‘edge’ them by rolling the sides in sprinkles.
I popped the little ‘punk-in’ on top and it was all decked out for Halloween!
Pink Peppercorn Roast
I adore pink. I love everything pink and my friends know this, therefore they gift me with all. things. pink.
For my birthday I received some gorrrgeous pink peppercorns
Don’t let the minimal ingredients (we’re talking 3) fool you. Making it in a crock pot only increases the the flavor of the very few ingredients.
ingredients:
3-4 lb chuck roast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons pink peppercorns
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
That’s it? Yes – that’s all you’ll need. Trust me.
Place the roast in the crock pot. Pour in the red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and peppercorns.
Turn on the crock pot to low for 6-7 hours. Walk away.
Check on it at around 6 hours, you don’t want it to overcook and dry out. You could make a gravy to go with it, but I quite like the ‘pop’ of the peppercorns with the beef, all by themselves.
Of course, if you don’t have pink peppercorns, don’t sweat it – regular old ones are fine, just not as pretty!
Pumpkin-fest
So you’ve carved a pumpkin for Halloween, maybe Batman or…one with your face on it? Er. Just me then. Ok.
Forget the carving. Let’s EAT pumpkin instead! Here are some of my favorite pumpkin-y recipes.
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Pumpkin Mochi (recipe, here)
I love mochi anything, and this seemed about right to me for Fall. Chewy. Pumpkin-y. Delicious.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (recipe, here)
Once you eat these you’ll never reach for a dry, blech, blueberry muffin again. Chocolate and pumpkin is an amazing combination. These are irresistible.
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Pumpkin Cupcakes (recipe, here)
Could I possible do a rundown without including cupcakes? Never. True, you don’t have to go to the trouble of making little Snoopys out of fondant…but then you’ll never get a visit from the Great Pumpkin if you don’t. Your loss.
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Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (recipe, here)
No butter in the house? Paula Deen would shiv you. Don’t worry, you can still make cookies and I promise you, you won’t miss the butter. That’s a shocking endorsement coming from me, trust me.
mini Taco Salad bowls
I use my beloved cupcake pans for just about everything. From a Rainbow Snack Tray (the Kid’s fave) to actual cupcakes – it’s so helpful and versatile, I knew they’d be perfect for shaping little tortilla bowls for my taco salads!
ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced small
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
juice of 1/2 a lime
flour tortillas
olive oil salt
lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, etc
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Let’s start by discussing my love of tortillas. I am lucky enough to live close to a Taqueria that makes them fresh. I am telling you there is nothing better. If you do buy the ones at the grocery store, just give them a quickie in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them up. (Fresh ones don’t need that process.) Using a brush, put olive oil on both sides of the tortilla. I prefer flour, it comes out much better but if you want to use corn tortillas – go on with your bad self, I’m not gonna stop you. The perfect size is about 5″-6″ round, if yours are bigger, I’d cut them down, it’s easier to fold.
Using a nice pastry brush (I prefer silicone
Press the oiled tortillas into a cupcake pan. Carefully fold over the edges so that the tortilla doesn’t break but still retains it’s shape. The oil should help with the folding. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then take them out and set them aside to cool on a wire rack.
In a small bowl combine the seasonings: chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Start the meat! (Like start your engines except…beefier.) In a pan over medium high – heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil and saute the garlic and onion. When it just begins to soften add the ground beef to brown, adding the mixed seasonings.
For heaven’s sake, drain the meat of greazze, no one wants to eat that. Right before you serve, squeeze the half a lime over the top of the meat. It adds a nice little acidic kick.
Now fill your little tortilla bowls with the meat mixture, topping it with whatever you like. I like hot sauce, a little cheese, some lettuce and tomatoes and guac, heck yes – the guac.
The kids like this dish because, well it’s a DISH you can eat. I like it cause it’s small which means I can load up extra on chips and guac. Priorities.
tiny Chocolate Ganache Apples on a stick
Caramel apples are so two-thousand-and-late, don’t you think? Not really, I love caramel but I wanted to come up with another take on dipped apples. Anything on a stick is fun – the tinier the apples the better!
ingredients:
6 ounces chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
tiniest apples you can find
lollipop sticks
Whenever I see tiny things I can’t help but buy them. I was at the Original Farmer’s Market on Fairfax heading out when this sign stopped me in my tracks:
Hold up. Those cherry-looking things are apples?!? YES. Crab-apples to be exact, but they were crazy sour. Instead I went for the lovely reddish-green lady apples next to them. I told the lady to give me the smalllllest ones in the baskets.
Now I’ve made chocolate dipped apples before (recipe, here), but these were SO small I knew I wanted to dip them and put them on sticks!
Wash the apples, and set them aside to fully dry. Your chocolate won’t stick otherwise.
Since eventually these are going to be put on a stick, I like to make a small hole in the bottom first, before I dunk them in a ganache bath. You can use a paring knife or even a drill if you’re Handy Manny like that. Once you’ve made the hole, set the apples aside.
Most people make fancy ganaches – but me – I use chocolate chips because it’s what I have, and heck, it tastes good. Ganache is simply: EASY. It comes together so quickly and tastes so amazing.
In a small saucepan over medium heat – combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream and the vanilla. When it starts to melt, work fast and whisk it together. Keep whisking while the chocolate keeps melting and magically in a matter of seconds you will have a beautiful silky ganache. Let cool slightly before you use it.
Is there anything more beautiful than a cup of ganache?
Take the apple by the stem and give ‘em a little dunk. I like to leave some apple peeking out at the top because it looks nice and that way people know what they are eating too. Put the chocolate dipped apples to set on a piece of parchment paper.
Once the apples have set, carefully set them on their sticks.
Obviously the tinier the apple, the better this will look. They came out absolutely adorable – the kids loved them! A whole line up of these would be great for a party!
Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cupcakes
I thought – what if I made brownies? Then I thought, what if I made them in cupcake form? Then I thought, what if I put a peanut butter cup in the middle? This is how my brain works. Be thankful I stopped there.
ingredients:
8 ounces chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
12 peanut butter cups (regular size NOT mini)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake pan with liners.
I got these FULL size peanut butter cups at Target for ONE DOLLAH. HOLLA! That’s cheap, and rather than just eat them all myself (which I am fully capable of doing) I thought they’d go great in brownies.
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and the butter, stirring constantly. Once melted and combined, carefully take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Whisk in the sugar until smooth. Then quickly add the vanilla and eggs, whisking constantly, you don’t want them to cook.
Carefully add in the flour and cocoa, just whisking until combined. The nice thing about brownies is that you don’t need an electric mixer, however you do need arm muscle. I. Am. Weak.
Now, spoon a small amount (just about 1 Tablespoon) of batter into each liner. Place one peanut butter cup on top (I don’t need to tell you to unwrap them do I? Good.) and then top with more batter – covering the peanut butter cup completely.
Bake for approx 25-30 mins depending on your oven. You can do a toothpick test, but it’s kinda tough since the peanut butter is right in the middle – just make sure the brownie part is cooked through.
Let cool on a wire rack IF you can control yourself. Because they are darn good right out of the oven. Now give them away to all your peanut butter lovin’ friends!
