Mini Caramel Apple Bites - Tutorial

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!
Don't you love the holiday months?
I plan on baking and crafting my way through the rest of year LOL :)


I thought I'd start off the month with a fun Caramel Apple Tutorial...

My kids L.O.V.E. caramel apples.

They always think they want one when we're out.

I even made them at home once, and the boys would sneak into the fridge and eat the caramel off the apple, and then put the apple back in the fridge.

They actually really like apples, it's just that a caramel apple is a lot to manage for a little mouth.

So...we thought we'd try it out this way...

All you need is an apple, a melon baller, butterscotch chips, sticks, and sprinkles.

First, start by scooping out "apple balls" the same way you would scoop out "melon balls".

Make sure that each piece has some apple peel on it.

Then, stick a craft stick in each apple bite.

Easy, right?

Then dip them in melted butterscotch chips and roll them in sprinkles.

 With the little bit of apple peel showing, it looks like it could be an entire mini-apple.

The perfect size for little mouths :)

You might be wondering if you could dip them in caramel and make a true "caramel apple."

I wondered too...so I gave it a try.

It doesn't work.

The juicy side of the apple does not let the caramel stick.

No matter what I tried, the caramel just wouldn't stick.

It stuck to the apple peel just fine, but not the inside of the apple.

Oh well...I think the butterscotch chips make a cute and yummy substitute!

It may work to dip in in chocolate, let it harden, and then dip it in caramel...

like the opposite of a chocolate dipped caramel apple.

I haven't tried it yet though.

If you're feeling adventurous...give it a try and tell me how it goes! 

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Tatertots & Jello

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

Since "Whoopie Pies" seem to be gaining popularity on every recipe blog I read, I thought it was about time I gave it a try.  I have several boxes of spice cake mix, so I found an easy cake mix whoopie pie recipe here.

 So...here it is:

Pumpkin Cookie Cakes

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 package (18.25-oune) spice cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk  

Making the Pumpkin Cookie Cakes

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and pumpkin with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add all the remaining ingredients and beat on low speed until combined and then on medium speed for another minute.
3. Using a small ice-cream scoop (about 1 2/3-inches in diameter) or 2 tablespoons, drop tablespoonful mounds of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake 1 sheet at a time (make sure to use cooled sheet for the next batch) until the mounds are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center of 1 mound comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookie cakes from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.

The directions say to use an ice cream scoop, but I just use a cookie dough scoop and filled it really full.  My oven bakes hot, so I only baked it for 12 minutes.  Baking time depends on your own oven though.

For the frosting, I decided to try a different spin on their recipe.

Here is the recipe that goes with it:

Marshmallow Spice Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 of a 7-ounce jar of marshmallow cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Since the "pies" already have a lot of spice, I thought I'd try a maple cream cheese filling.

This is what I did:

1/2 cup of butter

8 oz. cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 of a 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream

1 tsp. maple extract

I LOVED the maple with the spice.  

YUM!

But...next time I won't add the marshmallow.

It gave it a fun, fluffy texture, but made it way too sweet for me.

I like traditional cream cheese frosting better.

They do make a super fun and easy holiday treat though!

I always get the urge to use pumpkin in the fall!

And here's what my kids thought of it:

Success!

Do you have a favorite holiday recipe?

I'd love to hear it...

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Jack-o-lantern Cookie Pop Tutorial

I saw this fun idea in a Disney Family Fun magazine and thought we'd give it a try:

Dipping Oreos in Chocolate to make "Jack-o-lantern Cookie Pops."

We started with:

Double Stuffed Oreos

White dipping chocolate (I used white chocolate chips because it was all I had)

Mini-Reese's Pieces or Mini-M&M's

Popsicle sticks

Frosting

 

 First I put a Popsicle stick in each double stuffed Oreo.

Then I melted the chocolate and added orange candy-coloring.

Regular food coloring does not work in chocolate!

(You could buy orange chocolate melting wafers instead).

Next, I dipped each Oreo in the chocolate and stuck them in an egg carton to harden.

The Bloopers:

Several cookies split apart and fell off their sticks into the chocolate.

So, I had to fish them out, but they were too much of a mess to use.

So, my kids ate them :)

(They were "helping" me make them)

While the chocolate was still wet, I stuck in mini-Reese's pieces for eyes and a nose.

Once it was hardened, I used chocolate frosting to make a mouth and green frosting for a leaf.  Next time I am going to use a pretzel stick for the stem :)

It was a fun, quick, little treat for my kids and the best part is, you can make as many or as little as you want.  We only made a handful of them, and then I sealed the Oreos back up and put them in the pantry for another day.

You can use this same idea to turn the Oreos' into ghosts, eyeballs, Frankenstein...or something cute...an apple, a happy face, etc.

Just be creative and have fun :) 

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