Spooky Spider Web Cookie

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  We went to a local pumpkin farm while my parents were visiting.  There were so many fun activities; hay rack rides, giant corn maze, pedal cars, jumping pillow, train ride, animals, haunted house, a playground and so much more.  My 6 year old was in heaven!  I think his quote was "Mom, thank you 1 million, trillion, billion, bazillion times for taking me here."  We now have our giant pumpkins and are ready for carving next weekend when my husband gets to come visit!

 Halloween is 7 days away!  Are you excited?  Hopefully I can get you in the mood this week with all of my fun treats!  Today I have a Spider Web Cookie for you.  I made this with a chocolate chip cookie base, but you could really use almost anything.  You could use a brownie, or a sugar cookie, or even a cupcake.  Anything you want to put frosting on would work well!



Spiderweb Cookie
Printable Recipe

1 8 inch round chocolate chip cookie (any chocolate chip cookie recipe baked in an 8 in cake pan)
1 batch of butter cream frosting (recipe found here)
Black Icing
Toothpick

Frost your 1 inch round chocolate chip cookie.  Try to make it as smooth as possible.  Pipe the black icing in circles, starting at the center and getting larger as you go out.  Drag a toothpick from the center straight out to the edge.  Clean it off after each swipe.  This will give it the "spider web" affect.  Decorate with spider rings or other toy spiders you can find. 

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream

Things are about to go Halloween around here next week.  I have something special planned for you tomorrow, and then next week prepare for Orange, and Spiders, and all things Gross!  In the meantime though I have these amazing Cupcakes I want to share with you.  They are pumpkin, so they are the perfect prelude to Halloween! 

I made these for a Teacher’s Appreciation Lunch at my son’s school.  There were a few teachers around when I brought them in, and these little treats  were oohed  and awed over like crazy.  I am not sure they even made it until lunch time!  If you follow me on facebook, you may remember me not being able to find powdered sugar.  This is why I needed it!  Seriously!  It took 3 stores to find powdered sugar.  But it was well worth all the trips, because this frosting was amazing!! 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

PrintableRecipe

Cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola

4 eggs

Buttercream Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

2½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pans, makes approximately 30 cupcakes. 

To make the cupcakes

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt together. Set aside.  In the bowl for an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  With the mixer on low, add the flour in slowly, until just combined. 

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3^rd of the way full.  Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting

Using an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter, until smooth.  Mix in vanilla.  Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Beat on medium until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes.

Margarita Cupcakes

I brought these to the family reunion this weekend.  They seemed to go over well.  I left the tequila out of the frosting because lots of little kids would be around, and didn't want to have to monitor who was eating what.  I wanted to be outside having fun!  My 6 year old spent as much time as he could over the weekend.  He was in the water pretty much from 10:30-7:30 on Saturday.  Even then it was tough to get him out!

Here are a couple pictures of him having fun! 

Margarita Cupcakes
Adapted from A Cup Full of Cake
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup margarita mix
1 cup milk
3 egg whites
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp tequila
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In large bowl, mix together margarita mix, milk, egg whites, oil, tequila, vanilla and sugar together. 

In a small bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add to liquids and stir until just combined.  Divide evenly into 12 muffin tins. 

Bake for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. 

Turn onto wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Lime Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tbls milk
3 tbls margarita mix
1 tbls tequila (optional)
2 cups powdered sugar
lime zest (optional)

Cream everything together.  Add in more sugar or milk to make the frosting spreadable.   Frost cupcakes and Enjoy!

Birthday Time

Tomorrow is my son's 6th birthday!  He is very excited.  This weekend we had a party with extended family.  He is currently obsessed with anything Star Wars - so he had a Star Wars cake, and got lots of Star Wars presents.  His party with his friends tomorrow will be more of the same, I am sure. 

We had all sorts of good food for Easter, and a birthday party, but this post will focus on the cake.  This year a Cookie Cake was requested.  This is just a giant chocolate chip cookie with frosting - very yummy!  It has taken me quite a few times to perfect the cookie technique.  The key really is under baking it some.  I use my normal chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Press it into a tray to bake it.  I have used a pizza stone, just a cookie sheet, a cake pan, pretty much anything works.  Something with sides is the best, but it doesn't have to.  I put it in kind of thick, maybe 1/4 inch.

Bake it at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  It depends on how thick it is, and how big it is.  It does continue to cook a little after you take it out of the oven, so you will want to under bake it by a little. 

My husband is a frosting snob...always has been, always will be.  So store bought frosting is just unacceptable in this house.  But really, if you are in a hurry it would work. 

Buttercream Frosting
modified by Wilton
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1 tsp clear vanilla
2 Tbls water
1 pound powdered sugar
1 Tbls Meringue Powder



Using electric mixer cream butter and shortening together.  Mix in water and vanilla until well combined.  Slowly sift in the sugar and the meringue powder.  Once combined, mix on medium speed for about 1 min. 



I use the Wilton paste to color the frosting.   The Jedi color is blue - so today I made blue frosting!
      

I am a very amateur cake decorator.  My husband took the classes that Michael's craft store offers, but I just watched him, and try my best.  This year I found Star Wars figures at Amazon, and used them as decorations.  My son LOVED it, and a bonus.....he has toys after the party!

Here are a few pictures of cakes I have done for past birthdays.  The pictures aren't the best.  They use our old point and shoot camera, but you get the idea!