by Kristin Grilli

Halloween is just around the corner and chances are you haven’t a minute to spare. With costumes to prep, candy to package and pumpkins to carve, you may be left wondering when you’ll have time to bake the special Halloween treats you promised.

Fear not my pretties; your cookie dilemma is over. We’ve uncovered four “spooktacular,” easy-to-prepare Halloween treats that can be assembled in 30 minutes or less. This will leave you with more time to actually enjoy Halloween, instead of just preparing for it!

Witch Hat Cookies

These Witch Hats from food.com couldn’t be cuter or easier to prepare – you’ll just need 3 simple ingredients and 15 minutes to spare. To assemble a Witch Hat cookie, attach one unwrapped Hersey’s kiss to the fudge side of a fudge-striped shortbread cookie (attach using orange decorating icing). Next, pipe the orange decorating icing around the base of the Hersey’s kiss to complete the look of the hat. If you feel inspired, go ahead and add a bow or other decoration to the hat to customize your cookie. See the full recipe here.

Ghost Cookies

Nutter Butter cookies from Nabisco form the shape of these ghostly treats from kraftrecipes.com. To prepare, you’ll need 2 squares of white chocolate, Nutter Butter cookies and cake decorating gel in black. The entire cookie decorating process takes less than 15 minutes, but it is a great activity to invite children to participate in if you have the extra time. See the full recipe here.

Halloween Cat Cookies

What Halloween party would be complete without “scary” cat cookies?  To get started with assembling these cookies from tasteofhome.com, you’ll need 1 tube (18 ounces) of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, candy corn, chocolate frosting, thin chocolate wafers and red shoestring licorice. While the cookies do require baking, you can save time by using prepared chocolate chip cookie dough. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, you can begin the decorating process and watch as your cat cookies begin to take shape. The total prep time is 30 minutes. See the full recipe here.

Mummy Cookie Pops

Darling and delicious, these mummy cookies from celebrations.com will be a guaranteed hit at a children’s Halloween party. To save time, we recommend using prepared cookie dough. Some of the other supplies you’ll need include white fondant, candy eyeballs, royal icing and white food coloring. Begin by preparing the fondant for decorating while the cookies are baking. Once cool, the cookies can be decorated in less than 30 minutes. See the full recipe here.

How much time do you like to spend baking? Which treat will you make?

Tags: Family Traditions, Girl Gab, Halloween Treats, Holidays by DIL Diaries

by Kristin Grilli

Pumpkin season is here. Did you know that pumpkins are one of the most popular crops in the U.S.?  It’s true. A whopping 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in our country each year. The top pumpkin-producing states include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, California and Pennsylvania.

photo from google.com

If you are off to the pumpkin patch or your local garden center today to pick a carving pumpkin, keep these tips below in mind. It’s as simple as remembering the word PUMPKIN!

P –Put a Design on Paper. Sketch out the design that you plan to carve into your pumpkin prior to visiting your local pumpkin patch or garden center. This design sketch will serve a guideline for selecting the ideal pumpkin in terms of size and shape. Don’t forget to take the sketch with you while you’re pumpkin shopping.

U- Use Good Judgment. Immediately dismiss pumpkins that exhibit bruises, cuts or signs of mold upon inspection. Damaged or decaying pumpkins can go downhill rapidly.

M- Make Sure Your Pumpkin is Ripe. A ripe pumpkin will sound ‘hollow’ when you knock on the shell. Remember that ripe pumpkins are often easier to carve.

P- Place Pumpkin on a Flat Surface.  Don’t discount the importance of picking a carving pumpkin that will sit level and upright. Test your pumpkins prior to purchase by placing them on an even, flat surface.

K- Know that the color will not change. Remember that once a pumpkin is cut from its stem, the color will not deepen or change. What you see is what you get, so love the color before you purchase.

I- Invite expert opinions. If you visit a pumpkin patch or garden center in search of the perfect carving pumpkin, you’ll find yourself surrounded by knowledgeable experts ready and eager to give you their pumpkin-picking advice. Don’t hesitate to ask their opinion on everything from how to store the pumpkin, when to carve it, or even their opinions on the quality of the pumpkin you’ve picked.

N – Never Carry a Pumpkin by its stem. It is convenient to carry a pumpkin by its stem, but it’s ultimately a recipe for disaster. Many times pumpkin stems are unable to support the weight of the pumpkin and easily break.

Carve your pumpkin safely this year. Get pumpkin carving safety tips here!

What is your pumpkin carving style? Do you prefer a scary or sweet faced jack-o-lantern?

Tags: Family Traditions, Girl Gab, Holidays by DIL Diaries