Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Harvest Pumpkin Ghosties

Holy hotcakes, Batman! I can't believe it has been three months since I've blogged over here. I'd like to be able to tell you it's because I've been so busy blogging on my family blog, but sadly that just wouldn't be true (although that one has seen a little more action than this one has). I really do intend to blog more... it's just a question of when. I find myself thinking of things during the week that I could blog about, but then I think who really cares about that? Maybe y'all would enjoy reading my ramblings. Who knows. Maybe one day I'll follow through on all those thoughts. But for now, I bake. Here is my latest adventure:




Ooooo.... Aaaahhhh....

Go ahead, drool a little. You know you want to.

I found these super adorable ghost tins at Target this week, and HAD to buy them. It's similar to the feeling you get when you walk past a bag of M&M's (or cute shoes! or jeans that fit!) on sale. You don't NEED them, but yet you cannot help yourself from buying them. We have an infusion this week, and I had been wanting to make a treat to take in for our nurses, so I quickly brainstormed some options for these guys. Brownies? Cupcakes? I opted for brownies. I searched my beloved allrecipes.com, and found a recipe for Harvest Pumpkin Brownies that come complete with white frosting (how very ghostly!). It was a match made in halloween heaven.

Here's the recipe I used:

1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
2 T. Vanilla Extract
2 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
1 T. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 t. Ground Cinnamon
2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt

FROSTING:
6 T. Butter, softened
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 t. Milk
1/8 t. Salt
1 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar

In a mixing bow, beat pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla until well mixed.


Combine dry ingredients; stir into pumkin mixture and mix well. Pour into 24 ghost cups, or 24 cupcake liners, or a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.


Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in one comes out clean. I baked mine for about 30 minutes, just because my cups seemed a little fuller than they should have been. Cool before frosting.

In a small bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, milk, and salt until smooth. Add powdered sugar; mix well. Frost, and store in the fridge.

Here we have my puffy ghosts (I really thought they'd be flatter and more brownie like, but no such luck) awaiting frosting....


My thought was that as flatter brownies, they would be well below the edge of the tin even after frosting and I could stick each one in a cello bag and tie with a cute little halloween ribbon. These puffed up quite a bit though, so I get no points for presentation this time. My first ghost was decorated with black gel and sugar flakes as seen below, but it quickly became apparent that neither was a good idea. The frosting dried too quickly for the flakes to stick well, and the gel was already starting to run. Boo. (No pun intended).
SO, hubby got to sample the flake-y gel-y ghost, and all the others just got chocolate chips for eyes. I should have had mini-chips, but hey... I'm not perfect. Any other night I would have run to the store to get some, but since we've been experiencing the equivalent of category 3 hurricane winds for the past two days, I decided to stay home snug in my Smurfette jammie pants and go with the bigger chips. I'm sure they won't be denied!



As always, let me know if you try them!

OH, and believe it or not, I actually stamped this month! I made two sympathy cards about two weeks ago, and GET THIS.... totally forgot to take pictures before sealing them. Arrgghhhh. I'm out of the blogging habit, I guess!

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

My I Love You

My I Love You
by Maryann Cusimano Love
I am your parent; you are my child.
I am your quiet place; you are my wild.
I am your calm face; you are my giggle.
I am your wait; you are my wiggle.
I am your carriage ride; you are my king.
I am your push; you are my swing.
I am your audience; you are my clown.
I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.
I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice.
I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.
I am your water wings; you are my deep.
I am your open arms; you are my running leap.
I am your way home; you are my new path.
I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.
I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake.
I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.
I am your finish line; you are my race.
I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.
I am your favorite book; you are my new lines.
I am your night-light; you are my starshine.
I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.
I am your good-night kiss; you are my I love you.



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