Halloween Treats

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble."

Call me Martha Stewart... When I first heard of Kelly and Veronica's Halloween party planning I knew immediately I had to bring something creative and fun. After spending hours online researching recipes I stumbled upon a Cheesecake Brownie recipe that were shaped as pumpkins. After reading the whole recipe I found it was also layered with Apricot Jam (my Mom's favorite)! Then, I wanted to bring something savory. I immediately thought about the Lil' Smokey appetizers I made for Ryan's 30th, everyone was crazy about those. Of course, I slaved for hours on end and the one appetizer I used canned dough and little hot dogs, everyone loved! Anyways, I found this scary Lil' Smokey appetizer recipe, where the dough is wrapped to around the dog to create a mummy look. Fun! When Friday came and I had all of the ingredients, I began! Well, not all the ingredients. I could not find Pumpkin Butter ANYWHERE! I went into a panic until Lisa came to my rescue (Shaun's sister) and told me how easy it was to make my own. Though you can add as many spices as you want, I only had pure pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to work with. So, in a small pot heat 1 can pure pumpkin, 1/2 cup water, 1/2-1 cup sugar, and as much cinnamon and nutmeg you like; depending on the spice you want. (I did about 1 tsp each) Once your pumpkin butter is done, refrigerate it till needed. Follow the recipe as is, they are great! Note, if you want to cut them using a cute cookie cutter let them cool for a few hours. Trying to cut them when they're still warm was tough, they are still too gooey. In addition, the creepy mummy dogs are pretty easy, however, the mustard seeds as eyes are nearly impossible. No one has enough time to sit and set those individually. All in all, the recipes were a hit and the brownies tasted even better the next day! Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies

Yields: 3 dozen

Cook Time: 40 min

Oven Temp: 325

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup(s) (3 sticks) butter

3/4 pound(s) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar

2 cup(s) granulated sugar

4 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt

2 1/4 cup(s) flour

3/4 cup(s) cocoa

1 pound(s) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoon(s) cornstarch

1 cup(s) apricot jam

1 cup(s) pumpkin butter

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 18"x13" baking pan with parchment paper and lightly butter.

Melt the butter and chocolate. Whisk 6 eggs, brown sugar, and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar together. Stir in 3 teaspoons vanilla, salt, melted chocolate, flour, and cocoa. Pour into the prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese using a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the remaining 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and the cornstarch; beat until smooth and spread over the chocolate batter.

Combine jam and pumpkin butter. Drop in spoonfuls onto cream cheese and draw swirls using a knife.

Bake until center tests clean, about 40 minutes. Cool and punch out shapes using Halloween-themed cutters.


Creepy Mummy Dogs

1 (11 oz) can refrigerated breadstick dough

*I used 1 can Pillsbury sheet dough and cut it into long strips 
2 slices cheddar cheese, quartered (optional) (I didn't use cheese)
8 hot dogs
black mustard seeds

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. If desired, place one cheddar cheese slice on your hot dog. Then wrap each dog to look like a mummy, leaving a open area for the eyes.

3. Cut two tiny slits in the exposed hot dog and insert two black mustard seeds for eyes. If you'd like to give your mummies entire faces, you can cut a little slit for a mouth, which will gape open a bit during cooking.

4. Place mummy dogs on an ungreased baking sheet and bake around 15 minutes, until golden.

5. Serve with plenty of ketchup and mustard