Halloween Rice Crispie Treats

I decided to take the easy route for Halloween treats this year. :) I've had them once before with candy corn, and they are so good! It surprises me, because I really don't like candy corn or rice crispie treats, but together they are really good. And if you can't tell, they're supposed to be shaped like a pumpkin. Because that's as creative as I'm going to get this year. :) I don't know how well it would work, but I was thinking if you had a gingerbread man cookie cutter, you might be able to make some skeletons out of them, if you had a little older audience...our world is determined by a three year old. (Who has a sissy Mommy.)

Crepes

1c flour
1 1/4c water
3 eggs
pinch salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly; let rest 5-10min. (I never let it rest, and it seems to turn out okay :) )

Pour onto a hot, (medium-ish) greased (Pam-ed) griddle. Cook for 2-3 minutes; you can see when it's ready to be flipped...it starts on the edges and turns kind of a pale yellow color, and when the whole crepe is that color/consistency, then you flip it over, and cook the other side for around 10-15 seconds.

I've always heard that crepes are scary to make, or are hard or something, but I think it's a lot easier than pancakes...it's really easy to tell when it's ready to flip, and when you do flip it you don't have to worry about it sticking to the pan, or getting stuck on the spatula, or anything else.

For the filling, you can go sweet or savory. When I make them, I usually just microwave some frozen strawberries, (no sugar added) wrap them up, and then I spray some whip cream on the top. I've also made scrambled eggs with a few bacon bits, and rolled that up. I think I've even done salsa with the eggs too. So just try it out, and experiment with different stuff you like. Another good thing about crepes is that they're super cheap! So try it out. Do it. Now. Stop looking at the computer and do it. Now.

Cute Halloween Treats

"Creepy Crawly Cupcakes"

"Bakers One bowl spider web brownies"

I found a couple of cute ideas for little Halloween treats. I found them on the Kraft web-site...I haven't tried them, but I thought they might be fun to do, and easy enough for just a quick treat.

I have made spiderwebs on sugar cookies, and they were really cute. (Especially with an orange or green background frosting on the cookie.)
If you have any good ideas for Halloween, or have seen anything, let me know, and I'd love to try them!

http://www.kraft.com

Paula Dean's Pumpkin Pie

(I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but this is really good, and I thought it would be a good one to try with Thanksgiving coming up. I have some leaf cookie cutters, and it's really pretty if you make a little extra pie crust and cut out the leafs and put them on top of your pie when you bake it...next time I'll take a picture.)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional (I just used cinnamon)
1 piece pre-made pie dough(I made it from scratch..pretty easy, and really tasty)
Whipped cream, for topping

Crust: (I just used the recipe off the Crisco container...it makes enough for a bottom and a top crust, so you have enough to make your leafs on the top.)
2c flour
1tsp salt
3/4 stick butter flavored shortening stick
4-8 TBSP ice cold water

Blend flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle ice water 4 TBSP at a time, and mix gently with a fork. Add more water by the tablespoon until dough holds together. Divide in two, and form into a ball. (You don't want to work it too much or it won't be flaky) Roll out dough 2" past edges of pie pan, and put in pan. Pinch edges to make a boarder.

I baked the crust at 350 for about ten minutes; I didn't use pie weights, and the crust got a little bubbly, but I didn't care enough to use the weights. (I did poke holes in the bottom with a fork before I baked the crust. You can use beans instead of pie weights if you want; you just put tinfoil on the bottom of the crust, and put the beans on top to keep the crust down.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ c butter, softened
½ c peanut butter
½ c sugar
½ c brown sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ c flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375.

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy.

Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 min at 375.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

(These are so good! You won't even know it's whole wheat.)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon common granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
additional oil for frying (I just used Pam, no stick spray...it's kind of pointless to have whole wheat if your going to fry it in oil)
Spray frying pan. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in one bowl. In another bowl, scramble the egg, then add the milk and the 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, well enough to eliminate dry spots but no more.
Heat the frying pan to medium temperature. Pour a pancake. The pancake will bubble. When the bubbling settles down and the edges are slightly dry, flip the pancake. When the pancake looks done, remove it and start another one.