Pumpkin Party

We took Hudson to a pumpkin party today to paint pumpkins and he had such a great time. He didn't understand that the paint was for just the pumpkin and insisted on painting his face as well. I love all the creative party ideas that you can do for Halloween. My friend Lisa and her Mom hosted this party and I had to show some of the cute pictures from today! The cupcakes were really adorable and the sandwiches were in shapes of pumpkins and bats. They also had an orange punch with gummy worms in it. Everything was really cute!

Lollipop Cookies

I made these Halloween lollipop cookies with Hudson today to give to some of his friends on Halloween. I of course got the idea from Martha Stewart, you can click here for her recipe and directions. Here's how I made mine:

Ingredients and Supplies:

• Sugar cookie dough, store bought
• 1-2 tablespoons flour
• Orange and black sprinkles
• Lollipop Sticks 
• Treat Bags
• Orange and black ribbon

I just used a sugar cookie mix to make it even easier. Hudson liked helping me roll the balls of dough in the colored sugar and that is a great job for the little ones! I found the orange and black sprinkles at Michael's and used different orange and black ribbon that I already had at home. The lollipop sticks and the favor bags are also from Michael's.

First preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then I mixed 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour into my store bought sugar cookie dough to keep it from stick to my hands as I rolled out the balls. Then I began to roll the dough into balls, using about 1 to 2 tablespoons of dough for each. Then roll the balls into the sugar, or let your little ones help with that part! Next place the lollipop stick slightly into the balls and lay flat on a cookie sheet, like they are shown in the picture above. Next I used one of my glasses that has a smooth flat bottom to slightly flatten each cookie. (You want to make sure you are making your cookies small enough to fit into the treat bags.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden brown. Carefully move to a cooling rack and let sit until they are completely cooled. Then place each one into a treat bag and tie closed with a ribbon.

Halloween Blondies

I made caramel covered apples and these Halloween Blondies last year for a festive Halloween treat. The recipe for the blondies is below:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more, room temperature, for pan
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/4 cup each orange, yellow, and brown candy-coated chocolates (from a 12.6-ounce bag)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; stir just until moistened. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Arrange candies in 12 rows (2 rows per color, repeating once) on top of dough.
3. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares. (To store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.)

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Halloween Blondies - Martha Stewart Recipes

Pumpkin Pie

I had this pumpkin pie for dessert the other night and had to get the recipe. It is sooo delicious! The recipe is from All Recipes.com it is the Brown Family's Favorite Pumpkin Pie. What makes it so unique is that it has a walnut streusel topping that tastes wonderful with the pumpkin underneath! The one made in the picture above was made as a tart with caramel drizzled on top. You can check out all the variations at allrecipes.com. Here is the original recipe below:

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour filling into pie shell.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. While the pie is baking, prepare the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. Sprinkle the topping over the pie.
4. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake an additional 40 minutes, or until set.

Schnepf Farms

Schnepf Farms Pumpkin & Chili Party
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, October weekends
5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.  

*Buy discounted tickets for $10 at Fry's and kids 2 and under are free

Your admission includes: hay rides, pig races, bon fires, marshmallow roasting,
roller coaster, 10 acre and 4 acre maze, Frisbee dog show, outdoor movies, swing-
ing lady bugz, flying farmers, country road rally, carousel rides, and entertainment.
Extra costs: food, pumpkins & train ride 

Schnepf Farms is located on Rittenhouse Road in Queen Creek, 
24810 S. Rittenhouse Road. 
Visit website for current directions. WWW.Schnepffarms.com.

Domestic Bliss

I love all of the Fall and Halloween decor at Domestic Bliss. Especially their handmade fabric pumpkins that they sell each year. If you have never been over to the store, they are located in downtown Mesa and have lots of really great home decor and gifts. These pictures are some that were recently posted to their blog.

Restaurant.com

Get 90% off Select Restaurant Gift Certificates TODAY at Restaurant.com. Enter Promo code WOW.
You can buy $25.00 gift certificates for only $1.50. Most of these require a minimum purchase of $35.00, but it's still a great deal! After you place your order you are e-mailed a link to print your certificates. You can search restaurants by zip code.