Colorful Cthulhu cupcakes!

Ingredients:
1 15.25 oz box of your favorite cake mix+ the ingredients it requires
1 16oz tub of icing – a white or light colored
green food coloring
gummy fruit slices
gummy worms
lollypops
a few chocolate chips

1. Bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box for cupcakes. Let the cupcakes cool completely.

2. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the icing to make a nice Cthulhu green color. Ice the cupcakes.

3. Unwrap a lollypop. Cut off the handle of the lollypop, leaving about 1 inch. Place the lollypop (stick down) into the center of the cupcake.

4. Using a knife, cut a fruit slice in half longways, forming two wings. Trim off the bottom of each wing, and a bit of the inner side. Place each wing on the sides of the lollypop head, using the sticky part of the wing to attach it to the head and icing.

5. Add four to six gummy worms in front of the head, forming the tentacles. If your gummy worms are two-toned, you may want to trim them down to one color. cut two sections of a fruit slice and mold them into circles. Stick the circles onto the lollypop.

6. Melt a few chocolate chips. Using a toothpick, draw the chocolate onto the eyes for Cthulhu’s pupils.

7. Worship the Great Old Ones!

View the recipe card for these Cthulhu cupcakes!

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Refreshing Chickpea & Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes
3 or 4 dried apricots, chopped
small handful of chopped nuts (such as almonds)
¼ cup chickpea spread (recipe below)
4 tablespoons cooked quinoa
½ pita pocket bread (toasted and sliced into strips)

Chickpea spread recipe: Drain and rinse one 15-oz can of whole chickpeas. In a small bowl, mash together chickpeas, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon dried dill weed spice. Stir in ½ cup feta cheese.

For salad, on a large plate spread the lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes. On top, sprinkle dried apricots and nuts. In the center, add the ¼ cup chickpea spread and quinoa. Place the pita bread on the side of the salad. Top with your favorite dressing.

View a recipe postcard featuring this salad!

Ingredients:
20 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice
15 oz. can apricot halves in juice
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Drain pineapple and apricots well (you may want to place them in a strainer in the sink until needed). Spray a 9” x 9” x 2” pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.

3. Melt butter. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat well to combine.

4. Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream to the butter mixture, and beat just until combined.

5. Slice apricot halves into quarters. Using a spatula, stir pineapple and 1 cup of coconut into the batter, then gently stir in the apricots.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth out. Top with remaining coconut.

7. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until cake is a light golden brown. You may want to cover pan with foil halfway though to prevent the coconut from burning. Cool completely in pan. Slice and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping and enjoy! Serves about 10 people.

P.S. - view a dessert recipe postcard for this cake!

This time of year it's easy to find pumpkin-anything. The last few weeks I've had pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin spice tea, pumpkin chocolate...not that I'm complaining. For the night of Halloween, I'm planning on continuing the pumpkin fad, and trying out some new recipes. I found a couple of interesting recipes in the local newspaper this week, including pumpkin soup, and a pasta with a pumpkin cream sauce.

Here's a few other recipes that caught my eye:
Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte
Pumpkin Squares with Oat Crust

If you're looking for some crafting ideas for the day of Halloween, take a peek at our free coloring pages, and printable Halloween gift tags. Top picture: part of my Halloween decor this year. The adorable fox & pumpkin ceramics are by Binx.

What are your plans for Halloween?

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
5 packets of instant oatmeal (cinnamon/spice/maple varieties work especially well!)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cup flour

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375°. Slightly melt butter in microwave. Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl until well combined. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and beat to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and oatmeal.

2.  Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving two inches between each cookie.

3.  Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 3 minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy with a glass of milk.

P.S. - View a recipe card for these Oatmeal Spice Cookies.

Ingredients:
5 - 7 Granny Smith apples (other varieties work well too)
about 6 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
3 tablespoons flour
3 - 4 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
vanilla ice cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Wash and core apples. Slice apples and place in an oven-safe casserole dish or
baking dish.

2. To keep apples moist, plop a few spoonfuls of butter on top of sliced apples.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, about 3 tablespoons butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg and ginger (you might want to make more or less of this mixture, depending on how much topping you want on the apples). Drop mixture evenly over apples. Sprinkle extra brown sugar and cinnamon over apples, to taste.

4. Bake apples for 35 - 45 minutes, or until apples are soft. Let cool at least 5 minutes before stirring to coat apples with spices.

5. Serve warm, over vanilla ice cream.

P.S. - view a recipe postcard with this baked apples recipe.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 + 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
additional sugar, ginger and cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and maple syrup.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture.

3. Roll the dough into 11/2 inch or 2 inch balls, then roll in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and ginger (if the dough is too sticky, place the bowl into the freezer for a few minutes). Place the balls onto a baking sheet.

4. Bake the cookies for about 10 - 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown and puffy. Let cool for 3 minutes before removing from pan. Makes about 30 cookies.

P.S. - view a postcard for this recipe on Zazzle.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
1+1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1+1/4 cup hulled and chopped strawberries

for the topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 or 4 sliced strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl combine milk and vanilla.

2. Melt butter. In a large bowl, beat together melted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well to combine.

3. Beat flour mixture and milk mixture into the butter mixture, alternating between the flour and milk.

4. Line a 12-muffin tin with paper baking cups. Fill each with a tablespoon of batter, then a tablespoon of chopped strawberries. Top with an additional heaping tablespoon of batter.

5. Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes, or until they turn golden. Let cool.

6. Meanwhile, to make icing, stir together whipping cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until combined. Whip with electric mixer until soft peaks form.

7. When cupcakes have cooled, top with cream cheese topping and a strawberry slice. Store cupcakes in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

P.S. - view a card with this recipe on Zazzle.

Ingredients:
1 15.25 oz box of your favorite cake mix & the ingredients it requires
1 16 oz tub of icing (white or light-colored)
food coloring (blue works best)
gummy fruit slices or gumdrops
gummy worms
lollypops
a few chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box for cupcakes. Let the cupcakes cook completely.

2. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the icing to make your favorite color. Ice the cupcakes.

3. Unwrap a lollypop. Carefully cut off the handle of the lollypop, leaving about 1 inch. Place the lollypop (stick down) into the center of the cupcake, making the octopus' head.

4. Place eight gummy worms around the head, forming the tentacles. If your gummy worms are two-toned, you may want to trim them down to one color.

5. Using a knife, cut two sections of a fruit slice or gumdrop, and mold them into circles. Stick the circles onto the lollypop head.

6. Melt a few chocolate chips. Using a toothpick, draw the chocolate onto the eyes for the octopus' pupils.

7. Enjoy your octopus cupcakes! For best taste, store for up to 24 hours.

P.S. - view a postcard with this recipe on Zazzle!

Did you enjoy this tutorial? Check out our entire selection of freebies. Can I send you an email to let you know about new freebies and critter illustrations? Join my email list!