Halloween Breakfast- Pumpkin Pancakes

Since my girls weren't allowed to wear costumes to school on Halloween I decided to at least make breakfast special on the spur of the moment! I found this pancake recipe and adjusted it in order to use the pumpkin pie mix I accidentally purchased 6 months ago. It worked perfectly and tasted fantastic. The pancakes were great to eat as a finger food with no toppings but my girls did insist on using maple syrup. YUM!

Ingredients

2 cups  all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin pie mix/filling
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbs vinegar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon,. Make a large well in center of mixture and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, add milk and vinegar. Let sit for 1 minute. (Easy way to make a buttermilk substitute)
3. Place brown sugar in a small bowl and crumble with finger tips until no clumps remain. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together pumpkin, milk mixture, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla until well combined. Pour into well in dry mixture and whisk just until combined (batter should be slightly lumpy, don't over-mix). Let batter rest 3 minutes.
4. Spray griddle then pour batter about 1/4 cup at a time onto griddle. Spread pancakes outward just slightly with bottom of measuring cup. Cook until golden brown on bottom then flip and cook opposite side until golden. Repeat process until all of the batter has been used. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.

Makes approx 20 pancakes

Great tasting spiced pumpkin!

The post-trick-or-treating candy stain!

Pre-trick-or-treating costume they chose from our vast selection

Inspiration by http://www.cookingclassy.com/the-best-pumpkin-pancakes/

Withered Witch Punch

A pretty simple but yummy punch with a few extras added to make it perfectly creepy for Halloween!

Half way into the party before adding more dry ice and another ice hand...

Ingredients

1 (6 oz) package lime flavored gelatin
4 cups hot water
1 (46 oz) bottle pineapple juice
2 (12 oz) can frozen pulp free orange juice concentrate
2 cups cold water
1 2-liter ginger ale

Directions

In a medium saucepan dissolve gelatin in hot water. Allow to cool.

When gelatin is cool, pour into a large punch bowl. Stir in pineapple juice, orange juice concentrates, and 2 cups cold water. Pour in ginger ale just before serving.

For added creepiness, 4-6 hours before the party fill 2 non-latex, non-powdered gloves with water and lay flat in the freezer. Before serving run frozen filled gloves under warm water for 20 seconds. Peel off gloves and place in punch bowl.

Add 2-3 lbs of dry ice to create a bubbly, smoking punch!

Serves 20 people

"I'm mellllltiiiiiing..."

Death by Chocolate Cake

I wanted a deliciously chocolatey rich dessert for Halloween. Enter chocolate overload... It was a TOTAL hit at the party with only 3 small pieces remaining. Everyone raved! The only thing I wish is that there was a better way to present it than leaving it in a casserole dish.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 Box Hershey’s dark chocolate instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup plain nonfat yogurt

For the topping

• 1/2 bottle Hershey's chocolate syrup (24 oz bottle)
• 1 box Hersey’s Special Dark Chocolate instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping Cream
• 1 cup hot chocolate mix (about 6-7 sleeves of instant hot chocolate)
• Additional hot fudge sauce for drizzling
•  1/4 dark chocolate bar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine cake mix and dry pudding mix with eggs, vanilla extract, milk, vegetable oil and yogurt. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish. Pour batter into dish and bake for 30-35 minutes. Check for doneness by testing the center of the cake. Cool for 10 minutes.
4. While the cake is still warm, take the end of a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes all over the top of your cake.
5. Squeeze syrup all over top of warm cake. Allow it to absorb in the cake until cake is cooled.
6. When the cake has cooled, prepare the pudding layer by mixing a package of instant dark chocolate pudding with 2 cups of cold milk. Pour pudding over cake BEFORE it sets. Place cake in fridge to set a minimum of 15 minutes.
7. Prepare the whipped cream. In mixing bowl, pour in heavy whipping cream and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add hot chocolate mix and increase speed to medium high. Beat until stiff peak form.

Spread whipped cream over the top of cake. Top cake with some chocolate syrup and sprinkle crushed chocolate bar over the top.


Inspiration from http://beyondfrosting.com/2013/12/08/triple-chocolate-poke-cake/

Halloween 2016

Last night was our 2nd Annual Halloween Party! In similar fashion to last year we invited several people from our "new" ward to get to know them better. We had two newbies show up along with people in the "new" ward who moved over with us. Fun to get to know everyone in silly get-ups and feel like a kid again!

While looking at several different Halloween foods online, I decided to attempt to mesh two ideas together. Welcome the...

SHRUNKEN HEAD APPLE CRISP

 8 medium apples, like Jonagold, Fuji, or Gala
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves 
4 tablespoon butter
1 cup water


Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack in the lower-middle position.

Remove the core of the apples using a melon baller. Cut within a half-inch of the bottom of the apple and create a cavity about 1-inch wide. Peel the outside of the apple. If apple doesn't stand on it's own, cut a small about of the bottom bumps off the apple to give it a flat surface to rest on. Cut face in the side of the apple with a small paring knife. Cut about 1/2" deep- no need to carve all the way through.

I learned the hard way to cut in the butter and peel the apples... Learn from my mistakes!

Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in butter until well blended. Fill each apple with mixture, dividing  evenly between each apple. Make sure to pack mixture firmly.

Arrange the apples in a baking dish (9x13 worked well). Pour the water into the bottom of the dish and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes and remove foil. Continue baking uncovered until the apples are soft and the brown sugar has melted into a syrup approximately 30-40 minutes.

Even peeling them after baking, they still look creepy!

Inspiration from http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-apples-stuffed-with-oatmeal-brown-sugar-75752 and http://www.tryanythingonceculinary.com/shrunken-heads-baked-apple-recipe/