Halloween Festivities

Our party turned out great! I cooked for eight hours that day, and almost everything turned out. The pumpkin fudge failed because I forgot to put in the marshmallow creme, and the cheese fountain became a cheese bowl because the fountain idea just didn't fly. Alas...

Halloweenie Mummies
These were the hit of the party! I got them from Pillsbury's Halloween magazine.



Ingredients
-1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated flaky dough sheet
-44 cocktail-size smoked link sausages (from a 1-lb package)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two 15x10x1-inch pans with cooking parchment paper.
2. On work surface, roll dough sheet out to 14x11-inch rectangle. Cut vertically to make two 11x7-inch rectangles. Cut crosswise for a total of 44 (7x1.5-inch) strips. Pat sausages dry with paper towels.
3. Wrap 1 strip of dough around each sausage to look like a little mummy; press firmly at each end to secure. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart for even browning.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Eyeball Cupcakes

These cupcakes were sort of overlooked. I think everyone thought they were decorations! I sent them home with people, but we still have way too many.



There's not much of a recipe for these. I used white cake mix and white premade icing because they were both non-dairy. For the eyeball look, I frosted the cupcakes with white icing and used gummi Lifesavers for the irises and chocolate chips for the pupils (you could also use M&Ms or jellybeans). I used red decorating icing to make them look bloodshot. Easy and fun!

Slime Punch


Again, pretty simple. One container of lime sherbet and a 2-liter bottle of Sprite. Combine and serve.

Jalapeno Hummus with Flatbread Chips
I had never had hummus before, and neither had Walter. I knew he'd like it better with some spice, so I made the jalapeno recipe. It was good, but my kitchen smelled like garlic and tahini for the rest of the day and made me feel really ill.




The flatbread chips were simple. I bought some Italian seasoned flatbread and cut it into ghost, cat, and bat shapes with small cookie cutters. Then I brushed each piece with olive oil and ground black pepper and baked them for about 5 minutes until they were crunchy.

I found the recipe for the hummus here at allrecipes.com

Ingredients
-1 cup garbanzo beans
-1/3 cup canned jalapeno pepper slices, juice reserved
-3 tablespoons tahini
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon curry powder
-crushed red pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a blender or food processor, mix the garbanzo beans, jalapeno peppers and reserved juice, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Season with cumin, curry powder, and crushed red pepper. Blend until smooth.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

I love these. I eventually ran out of orange sugar, so some of them aren't candy corn-esque... Oh well. The recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It is probably my favorite cookbook ever.



Ingredients
-2/3 cup butter, softened
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 egg
-1 Tablespoon milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing (optional) I did not use this. I used Wilton's white microwaveable cookie icing and yellow and orange decorating sugars

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time until 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, frost with Powdered Sugar Icing.