Caramel apple cider cookies

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups all purpose flour

1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you’re really impatient you don’t have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)
• When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels.
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don’t over-bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they’ll pop right off.
• Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

Mini caramel apples

Bite-size versions of this delicious fall/fair/carnival treat, these little apples are a great party snack.

• 4-inch lollipop sticks/ straws/pretzel sticks/coffee stirrers
• Melon baller
• Granny Smith apples (one apple makes about 8 mini apples)
• Kraft caramel bites (and a touch of cream or milk to smooth out the caramel while melting)
• Chopped nuts, sprinkles, shredded coconut, cookie crumbles to coat (or whatever floats your boat)
• Small paper candy cups or mini cupcake wrappers

Step 1
First, cut the your sticks at an angle (the pointy end will go into the apple pieces easier). With the melon baller, scoop little balls out of the apple. Each ball should have a section of apple peel. Push half of a stick into the peel of each ball. Pat the apple pieces dry.

Step 2
Using a double boiler method, melt the caramels and cream. Stir often to prevent the caramels from over cooking.

Step 3 Dip and swirl the mini apples in the melted chips, then roll the apples in nuts, sprinkles, cookies, or coconut, if desired. Place the mini apples in paper candy cups to set.

Allow caramel to cool for 2-5 minutes, and enjoy!!!!

Candy Corn Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

For the yellow ring
4 1/2 cups rice krispies cereal
5 cups mini marshmallows
3 tablespoons butter and Yellow food coloring

For the orange ring
2 3/4 cups rice krispies cereal
3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
2 tablespoons butter and Orange food coloring

For the white center
2 cups rice krispies cereal
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Assemble your ingredients you’ll need a large bowl, a pan to melt the butter and marshmallows, two rubber spatulas, two 8″ cake pans and non-stick cooking spray.

Also, have a stick of butter out, which you will need to use to grease your hands as you handle the krispie treat mixture.

Spray the cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside. Also, lightly spray two rubber spatulas with cooking spray.

For the yellow ring-
Add 5 cups mini marshmallows and 3 tablespoons butter to pan.

Heat the butter and marshmallows until warm, smooth and very puffy.

In the large bowl, measure 4 1/2 cups rice krispies cereal.

Add yellow food coloring (I used 2 drops of yellow Wilton gel).

Stir the melted marshmallows, butter and coloring until smooth and fully combined. Immediately, pour the marshmallow mixture into the bowl with the cereal. Use an oiled spatula and stir quickly until fully incorporated.

Divide yellow rice krispie mixture between the two cake pans, and use your hands to create a “ring” around the inside edge of the cake pan (as shown below), about 1 1/2 inches wide. Rub a bit of butter on your hands as necessary to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands. Work quickly, as the mixture is more difficult to mold as it cools.

Wash your bowls and spatulas and repeat the same process with the ingredients for the orange ring, and then the white center.

Once your three colors are pressed into the pans, allow to fully cool and set, at least 30 minutes. When you want to cut the triangles (candy corn shapes), flip over your cake pans onto a cutting surface, and tap pan on cutting board to remove krispie treat round. Cut the round large round in half, then quarters, then cut each quarter in half.

To add a cookie stick, or paper straw as the handle, create a hole with a wooden skewer.

Adorable treats for any age!!!!

3D Paper Pumpkin

To Halloween or not to Halloween….

I don’t want to contradict myself by saying I don’t care for Halloween because I said I love all holidays.  I just don’t do as much for Halloween as the other holidays.  Maybe it’s my christian background or the fact that I am a big huge giant sissy when it comes to scary stuff.  When I was about 5 my dad let me watch Halloween with Michael Meyers….just typing that sends chills down my spine.  Ever since then I have been jumpy and quiet babyish when is comes to the month of October, his face haunts me.  (I do watch The Walking Dead and American Horror Story which is very odd but I digress)

I will never do the spooky decorations instead I do lots of fall…leaves, pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds you know the nice stuff.  When I have kids I will let them do the whole trick or treating thing because I did enjoy that as a child and I love how excited my nieces get picking out their costumes!  And how can you not love it’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!!!  I have a few Halloween recipes and crafts I do every year that I will post.  So, Happy Halloween…Happy Fall…Happy almost Christmas!

Candy corn cupckaes

Chocolate Cupcakes (the darker the better)

White frosting

Food color/gel (yellow and orange)

Thin long knife

Directions:

1.  Insert your knife into the top of your cupcake at an angle about 1/4″ away from the edge of the cupcake.  You want the point of your knife centered near the bottom of the cupcake (not quite all the way down though).

2.  Cut a circle in the top while keeping the point of your knife centered and near the bottom.  Once you complete the circle, a little cone shape of cake should pop out and your cupcake should be hallowed out.

3.  After mixing frosting with the food coloring to get your orange and yellow, fill plastic bags with the 3 different colors.  Begin piping a layer of white in the bottom of the cupcake.  Make the next layer orange, and the last layer yellow.

4.  Take the cut out cone and slice the top of the cone off.

5.  Place the top slice on top of the frosting to seal the cupcake back up.  Apply a little bit of pressure to meld it all together.

6.  Chill the cupcakes so the colors stay in their layers better when eaten or cut.