padicakes: 10/1/15

One of our favorite times of year has arrived! After 5 days of set up, 8 days of cooking, 82 AA batteries, 20 AAA batteries, 2 electricians visits, 3 parties, and a fun night of trick or treating followed by 4 mad crazy hours of take down our Halloween season has gone off great! Every year for our annual Halloween Party we have about 60-70 of our favorite people over for an evening full of fun Halloween treats, entertainment and costume contests. Here's a fun recap of the goulish goodies and fun costumes from this season! Though most of the treats are fairly simple- they pack a huge punch! I get requests for most of them throughout the year!!

Sugar Cookies, always simple to dress up

Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies

Pretzel and Marshmallow Bones

Cake and Jelly Oozing Brains

Peanut Butter Eyeballs (also called buckeyes) One of the more popular items

Mini Pumpkin Pies (gone in an hour-I may have eaten one or ~~two~~ five)

Pumpkin Buttercream and Chocolate Cupcakes- can you really go wrong with that combination?

Chocolate Covered Oreos

Peppermint Patties

A huge success- and one you can continue making throughout the fall! Recipe at the end of this post!

Also a huge requested item- perfect mix of sweet and salty

Zombie Cake Pops

Our party happened to be the day after my husbands birthday, so his birthday cake got to help out with treats for the party! All edible except the green Zombie Goo

Was so fun to make this!!!

Our entertainers- the crew from Quick Wits Comedy, such a fun show!

1st Place winners for Best Costume Couple- Castaway, Individual- the Octomom

Best Costume Individual 2nd place Tie: Galadriel and Elf on the Shelf

Best Costume Couple 2nd Place Tie: Kim and Kanye & Steampunk

Happy Halloween from us: Cinderella, Gus Gus, Prince Kit and the Fairy Godmother

Cinderella and Gus Gus

I always love our house at Halloween!

post trick or treating festivities

Traditional Monster Hot Chocolate and homemade donuts

This year we also made Jello worms for fun! Hope your Halloween was wonderfully spooky!

Pumpkin Spice Carmel Corn Recipe:

The best pumpkin carmel corn!! Check out her site, she's super fun!

Author: Cookies & Cups

Makes: 16 cupsIngredients

½ cup unpopped popcorn kernels (about 16 cups popped corn)
1 cup salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set this aside.
Pop popcorn kernels using air popper into a large bowl.
In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 tsp salt together over medium heat. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat evenly.
Pour the popcorn into the lined pan, sprinkle remaining 1 teaspoon salt on top and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Allow the popcorn to cool on a parchment lined counter

Enjoy and eat fast- it won't last long!

I was so so happy to be able to make this beautiful wedding cake. Long story, short... I was committed to this wedding cake for a date in mid November. I received a call from a friend on Monday ( it was her mother's wedding cake) and they had just found out her mother had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and would be beginning treatment soon so they had decided to have the wedding that Wednessday evening and was asking if I would be able to do the cake still, but in one day. It was a stressful day but I was so grateful to be have the availability to make it happen. I was so happy with how beautiful the cake turned out. I especially loved the sweet little pink bow for breast cancer awareness around the bottom. I wish her and her sweet family many prayers and best wishes during the coming months.