3 Things I did for Halloween (and what scared the pants off me)

Happy November 1st! Hope your Halloween was fun and rain free. I woke up this morning and its pouring rain and everything is gloomy outside. I hate depressing days like this. Luckily I have enough to keep me busy that it really won’t matter how wet it is outside.

In true November 1st fashion, I believe its about that time of the year when stores go into Christmas mode and put panic in the eyes of parents all over. Before popping in my Michael Buble Christmas CD, I’ll recap my Halloween for you all while drinking my PSL (pumpkin spice latte).

Pumpkin Cookies

My mom made soft, warm pumpkin cookies! They have a thick, caramel glaze drizzled on top that hardens after a few hours. Here’s the recipe:

• 2 cups shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 8 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

Directions:

1. Cream shortening, white sugar, and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt, and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. To make frosting: Cook butter, milk, and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. SPread over warm cookies.

These cookies are my favorite Pinterest find to date. They are so tasty!

Mom also got a cake from the local bakery for us to dig into to. The inside was chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling. The outside was a hard chocolate shell with whipped icing detailing the kitty’s face. It was so rich! I could only eat a small slice. For almost every holiday my mom gets a cake or cupcakes to celebrate. My grandma did the same thing when my mom was a kid. Keeping these traditions alive is an important part of life.

Last but not least, my sister had her best friend sleep over. We ended up watching a ghost hunters type show. It scared the pants off of us. The hunters went to ancient haunted castles in Ireland. Several of these castles had druid and pagan rituals performed in them. The ghost hunters were trying to communicate with any evil spirits that still lurked in the castle. Needless to say they made contact and it scared the living tar out of them. One even claimed that something with sharp nails grabbed his ear! The man was actually crying. Upon entering a new castle another ghost hunter asked a spirit what touched the other man in the first castle. An audible voice said “Satan.” At that point my sister, her friend and I screamed and the ghost hunter proceeded to cry and then throw up. Freaky stuff! Enjoy the photo of us and be sure to tell me how your Halloween was!

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (with a twist)

Sugar and Spice by oceangirl15 featuring white cake stands

I hate to cook but I love to bake! Recently, I made some lovely chocolate chip cookies with some added surprises mixed in to give it more flavor (and calories). I call them “Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies.” They were a big hit with my family and I was so proud of myself because nothing burned! Here’s the recipe!

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter; let it sit out for easier mixing
• 1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup stick pretzels, broken into smaller pieces
• 1/2 cup caramel bits (I’ll explain later why this didn’t work as well as I had hoped)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

First, in a mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients with the sugars. Mix until well combined.

Second, add dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) to the wet ingredients. Mix well. 

Third, fold pretzels, chocolate chips, and the optional caramel bits into the mixture. I found that the caramel was too thick to fold in and ended up spilling out of the cookie and burning as it was baking. My suggestions is to use butterscotch chips instead!

Fourth, place  the cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper so they won’t stick. Put the cookies in the oven at 350 degrees for 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Pro tip: Flatten cookies with a spatula so they won’t bake into clumpy messes.

Normally, I would give you all a photo of the finished product but they were all eaten before I snapped a picture!

Tell me what you guys think of this cookie recipe or any other cookies recipes you’ve tried lately!

 

Le Macaron and Trying Something New!

After arriving in Florida on Saturday my boyfriend took me to a little place in Winter Park called Le Macaron. When we walked in, we were greeted by the smell of fresh baked pastries and men with French accents. There were several flavors of macaroons to choose from but my flavors of choice were lavender, vanilla, caramel, blueberry, and raspberry. Upon ordering my little treats I began talking with the gents that worked at the store about how they make the macaroons. I was surprised to discover that they don’t make them at the store but they are flown in from Paris weekly to assure quality and consistency in their pastries. A little secret they let me in on about the famous Lauduree macaroons surprised me even more- Lauduree’s macaroons are made in Belgium, not Paris! Regardless of this little tidbit, I still have a hankering to try them! Apparently they have a location in Miami and one in New York. I mentioned a trip to NYC to my bestie and fellow blogger Lindsey, and she seems to be just as excited as I am about a possible trip!

Do you like macaroons? Know of any good places to get these pastries? Comment below!

My Macaroons!

~Liz