Goodies By Anna

Ghoulishly Green Eyeball Cake Pops

It just isn't Halloween until you make some edible body parts to share (like these fingers from last Halloween!) and these Ghoulishly Green Eyeball Cake Pops are the perfect creepy party treat! The insides of these pops are an easy mixture (use a box cake mix and canned frosting!) of blood Red Velvet Cake mixed with Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

 

The outside is a candy coating in a creepy lime green color and the iris and pupils are painted on with a tiny paint brush and food coloring (saw this idea in the October issue of Food & Wine Magazine).

 

 

You could also use some M & M's for easy eyeballs too! I placed some of my eyeballs on sticks (cause everything tastes better on a stick!) and some I placed into tiny Halloween theme cups filled with candy.

 

 

The eyeballs rest creepily on top of the candy watching your every move! Either way, all eyes will be on you when you serve these fun treats! Here is how you can make your own.

 

Keep it fast and simple by using a Red Velvet box cake mix and Cream Cheese canned frosting. You could use any flavor cake and frosting you like but the bright red of the Red Velvet Cake looks extra creepy when you bite into the eyeballs! Bake the cake according to the directions on the box and let cool completely before crumbling into a large bowl. Scoop about 1/2 the can of frosting into the crumbled cake and mix with your hands until a "dough" comes together. Using a cookie scoop (I used a #24 scoop for monster-size eyeballs!) shape the dough into balls, place on a cookie sheet and freeze for around 30 minutes to make them firm enough to stay on a stick.

While the balls are chilling, melt the candy melts in a small bowl over barely simmering water. I used two 12 oz. bags of Wilton Vibrant Green Candy Melts). If the candy needs to be a little more fluid, add a few of drops of vegetable oil and mix well. When the candy is completely smooth you are ready to dip!

Take a stick and dip the end into the melted candy then stick into the bottom of the cake ball. Dip the ball and cover all the cake and the top of the stick with candy coating and transfer to a stand to dry. Repeat with all cake balls. If you are not using a stick, dunk the cake ball into the melted candy and transfer to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet to dry. You can place the coated cake balls in the fridge to dry faster.

When all candy is set, paint on a "pupil" with a thin paint brush and some black food coloring. Use another color and paint an "iris" around the pupil. Continue until all cake balls have become "eyeballs". Serve on a cake pop stand or place the eyeballs in tiny candy cups filled with candy corn. Keep eyeballs in the fridge until ready to serve.

Spooky Stained Glass Sugar Cookie Spider Webs & Spiders

I am always on the lookout for something different and unique in baking and when I came across the idea for these Stain-Glass Sugar Cookie Spiderwebs and Spiders I knew I'd found the perfect Halloween treat.

 

I won't lie - these were definitely difficult and time consuming but you have to admit that they look pretty cool hanging from a branch for a fun Halloween cookie display (my clever dad suspended the branch from a chandelier with some fishing line!).

 

I found the basic idea for these cookies in a fabulous book called Ultimate Cookies by Julia Usher. This book is jam packed with terrific baking ideas, techniques and lots of pictures to get you inspired!

 

 

The recipe calls for using a candy making ingredient called isomalt crystals to create the shimmery stained-glass spider webs. Isomalt is difficult to find outside of a specialty baking store so I decided to use crushed Jolly Rancher Candies to achieve the same effect without the hassle. For a nice creepy green color I chose the Sour Green Apple Jolly Rancher. 

 

 

Here is how you can make your own.

You will need a large and small spider web cookie cutter or print out a design on the computer and trace around with a knife like I did. You will also need a bag of Sour Green Apple Jolly Ranchers that will need to be pulverized in a food processor or in a plastic bag using a mallet. The legs of the spider are made of shoe-lace licorice (you can find wheels of licorice at Cost Plus Stores in the candy section) cut into 2" lengths and the eyes are green mini-M&M's topped with a yellow cookie sprinkle glued on with black royal icing. The "hair" on the spider is chocolate sprinkles.

 

 

Spider Web Cookies & Spiders: Start with a standard sugar cookie recipe rolled out to 1/8" thick (This is my favorite cut-out sugar cookie recipe) and cut out the spider webs. When all the webs are cut, carefully cut out the center of each web. Cut out a round circle for the spider that goes on each web. If your webs are around 6" then the spiders should be around 1 1/2" round.

 

 

Freeze all the cutouts and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment. Set aside. When oven is heated bake the cookies for around 10 minutes or until just browning then remove from oven and let cool off but do not turn off oven.

 

 

When cool to the touch, carefully fill the hole in the web cookie with the crushed Jolly Rancher candies. Return to oven and bake until the candy is completely melted but not boiling, another 2-4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan. Finish baking all the webs and spiders and let cool completely.

 

 

Icing: Make a thick batch of Royal Icing and tint it black (I like to use dark cocoa powder to start off my black icing then add the black food coloring. This uses less food coloring and makes the icing taste better.) Fill a piping bag with some of the black icing and fit it with a small round piping tip. Set aside. Place the remaining icing in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use. When the cookies are cooled, pipe a web on to the stain-glass of the spider web cookie. Set aside to dry. If you want to attach a string to the cookies for hanging, carefully turn the webs over and glue the string to the back of the web cookie using the black royal icing.

 

 

When all webs are finished take a spider cookie and dunk into the bowl of black icing, covering the tops and sides of the cookie. Place on parchment paper and quickly start "gluing" the licorice spider legs onto the body of the spider with additional icing. Cover tops of spider with chocolate sprinkles to look like "spider hair". Pipe a dot of black icing onto the spider bodies and glue the eyes onto the spider.

 

 

Let spider and webs set for several hours to dry. When the spider legs are "set", carefully loosen the spiders from parchment paper. Pipe a large blob of black royal icing onto the spider web where you will be attaching the spider. Press the spider carefully but firmly into the black royal icing. When all spiders have been attached to their webs set aside and let dry for 24 hours or overnight to harden completely.

The next morning your spider webs are ready for hanging or packaging! Remember: the stain-glass candy in the center of the cookie becomes sticky quickly as it absorbs moisture from the air. You will definitely want to use these cookies within a day or so of making them.

Pecan Bourbon Bundt Cake

I am biased: I really like Bundt Cakes! They are usually moist, flavorful and fit all kinds of occasions and this Pecan Bourbon Bundt Cake is a most perfect fall dessert.

 

The smokey warmth of bourbon and touch of mild molasses paired with the sweet crisp nutty toasted pecans is the perfect accompaniment to the buttery firm crumb of this cake.

 

 

A decadent bourbon-molasses glaze adds the finishing touch to this robust cake. Here is how you can make your own.

 

 

You can find the entire recipe here. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally spray a 12 cup bundt pan with Pam for Baking. Set aside.

 

 

Nut Filling: After toasting the nuts, chop fine and mix together with the melted butter and brown sugar. Set aside.

 

 

Batter: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. In a measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk*, molasses, bourbon and vanilla. Set aside. (*Note: You can create your own buttermilk substitute for this recipe by placing 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar in a measuring cup then fill with milk up to the 1/2 cup mark and stir together. Let mixture stand for a least 5 minutes before using.)  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Reduce mixer to low and beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture followed with 1/2 the buttermilk mixture, repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk mixture until just combined.

 

 

Scoop half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle evenly with all the nut filling. Scoop remaining batter over nut filling and smooth the top. Tap pan on counter to settle batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool for 1-2 hours until completely cool before glazing.

 

 

Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoon bourbon, 1 Tablespoon molasses, 1 Tablespoon water and a pinch of salt. Let glaze sit for 25 minutes to thicken before pouring over cooled cake.

 

 

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting

 In keeping with the fall theme I couldn't wait to give these Pumpkin Cake Bars a try! Unlike a lot of dense pumpkin bar recipes these cake bars bake up very moist and fluffy in texture with a delicious spicy pumpkin pie flavor accented with a warm crunch of toasted walnuts that is perfect for this time of the year.

 

Because you bake these cake bars in a half-sheet pan they are the perfect dessert to bring along to a Halloween party or any fall get together: frost and slice in the pan and just bring it along to your venue in the pan! Super easy and tasty dessert. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the entire recipe here. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with Pam. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the oven is preheated toast the walnuts for around 8-10 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned. Set nuts aside to cool. When nut have cooled completely, chop and divide the nuts for baking and the rest for the topping. Set aside.

 

 

Cake: In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. I also added 1/8 tsp. of ground cardamon to the spice mix for a little extra flavor. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the sugars and oil until completely smooth and combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated. I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for some extra flavor.

 

 

Beat in the pumpkin puree until combined. Mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until combined, then quickly stir in the nuts, raisins (I used dark raisins because I didn't have any yellow raisins on hand) and ginger chips until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and evenly smooth batter with off-set spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.

 

Frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the maple syrup and then add the powdered sugar. Beat until a nice frosting comes together.

 

 

When cake is cooled cover with the frosting using a off-set spatula. Sprinkle frosting with remaining chopped nuts. I like to refrigerate the frosted cake for at least 30 minutes for easier cutting. When cake is chilled, remove from pan using the edges of parchment paper and cut into squares.

Tip: You can save yourself some time by making the frosting the night before and storing in the fridge. Let frosting sit out to room temperature for 30 minutes before spreading on cake.

Crisp Swedish Butter Cookies

While looking for a recipe to use up some leftover potato starch (used in this peach pie) I noticed this simple recipe for Swedish Butter Cookies right on the box! Usually Swedish Butter Cookie dough is used to make pretty cookies that are shaped with a cookie press but this Swedish Butter Cookie is a wafer thin, crisp edged, buttery sweet melt-in-your-mouth confection that is completely simple and simply delicious.

I followed the recipe as shown but I lowered the oven temperature to 350 degrees and baked the cookies for a little longer than suggested. I piped the dough out into little balls but you can just as easily scoop out the chilled dough. The key to these cookies to keep the dough balls small and let them bake until really, really brown around the edges. This ensures a crisp, thin wafer-like texture that is so appealing. Here is how you can make your own.

You can find the entire recipe here (or on the side of a box of Swan Potato Starch Flour). Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (I used 350 degrees). In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter until smooth.

Beat in the sugar and cream until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Whisk together the flour and potato starch flour and add to the butter mixture, beating until completely combined. Transfer dough to refrigerator or spoon dough into a piping bag and chill for 10-15 minutes. Pipe or spoon small balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.

Keep the size to a little less than an inch each. These cookies spread a lot so keep them well separated. I baked six cookies per baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes then check the edges. They should be deep golden brown.

If they aren't browned enough continue baking for another minute or two. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.