Category Archives: Recipes

Recipe // Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes

October 26, 2015

Can you believe it’s already Halloween this week? I feel like Fall is really flying by this year, and we still have to visit the local Pumpkin patch! Pretty soon, it will be Christmas!

Sometimes with the abundance of Fall activities, we don’t always have the time to whip up a homemade treat, but I think a semi-homemade treat is just fine every now and again when things get busy and you need to bring a last minute treat to a Halloween party.

So, here’s my solution! I made cupcakes using a store bought spice cake mix, then I frosted them with some homemade Pumpkin Buttercream frosting. The frosting makes the cupcake anyhow in my opinion! Sometimes semi-homemade is the perfect solution! Check out the recipe for homemade pumpkin buttercream frosting below! It is amazing on cupcakes, as a filling, or for frosting a cake!

Pumpkin Butter Cream Frosting (affiliate links used)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

½ cup pumpkin puree

1 tbs pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of sea salt

1lb 9 oz confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1) Cream the butter, salt, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the confectioners sugar ½ a cup at a time with a paddle attachment on the stand mixer on medium speed. Mix until light and fluffy and combined, about 5 minutes, add vanilla bean paste.

Frost or pipe the cupcakes with the Pumpkin Butter Cream. I used this extra large French star tip to pipe them on! I thought it gave a cute look! I topped mine with these little mallow creme pumpkin candies to finish the look!

Be sure to store the cupcakes in the fridge, and pipe just before serving. With real pumpkin puree in the frosting, they can change consistency if left out a while.

Hope this recipe helps with all your Fall Halloween or Thanksgiving Parties! They are the perfect Fall Cupcake, don’t you think? Encompassing fall flavors and colors!

{all photos by me}

Party // Ghouls Night Out …

October 8, 2015

It’s October, and Halloween is just around the corner!

I don’t know about you, but I just love fall holidays and activities! Halloween is such a fun time for my family, especially the kids. Sometimes we let the kids have all the fun, but adult Halloween parties are also a good time!

A fellow group of bloggers and I had a little “Ghouls Night Out,” that was so much fun! Who says costume parties are only for kids?! It’s nice to be able to let loose a bit, and get out of your comfort zone!

We all arrived in style, making it much more fun and festive to have a costume requirement! It was fun to set the theme with colors and see how creative everyone was with what they came up with!

Be sure to check back for a little more on the costumes from the party. I’m going to share how to throw together a DIY Mary Poppins costume! I will be posting that soon, as well as some of the other ladies!

We each helped out with different portions of the party, making it really easy for it all to come together rather than putting all the load of the work on the hostess.

Sara of Confetti Sunshine designed this sophisticated yet adorably spooky “Ghouls Night Out” Halloween Party invitation! It will be available on her blog if you are looking for a free printable invitation for a future party!

I helped come up with some festive food items for the spread. I made some Halloween Pumpkin Cream Puffs, and some Pumpkin soup with Parmesan “Cobwebs.” (click the links for full recipes, and step by step instructions)

Sandy of Sandy a la Mode put together this spooky Halloween hot chocolate bar with all the fixins. She also is sharing her 10 tips to throwing a Halloween Party on her blog!

With a little help from everyone, the spread looked fabulous, and came together nicely! A perfect “Ghouls” Night Halloween table!

Chelsey of Housewife 2 Hostess had the perfect house to host us! She is a Halloween lover, and had all sorts of spooky decorations! There was even a scary painting in the powder room that talked that took me for surprise! She posted more about her spooky decor over on her blog!

I loved feeling silly again, and having a spooky “Ghouls Night.” It’s fun to shake things up a bit now and again from the norm!

Be sure to check out the other ladies I collaborated with on this fun Halloween Party!

See more of their costumes, crafts, Halloween Decor, DIY’s, and recipes that they prepared for the party on their blogs! We will all be posting over the next little while!

All photography by Diana Putnam Photography. If you are in the Salt Lake City area, don’t forget to check out Tai Pan Trading for an abundance of Halloween, Thanskgiving, Christmas decor for your parties. Or you can shop online too!

Recipe // Festive Pumpkin Cream Puffs

October 6, 2015

I needed to come up with a fun recipe for a Halloween party, and I decided to make these festive Halloween Pumpkin Cream Puffs! The good thing about these little tasty puffs is that they are simple to make, and do not take a lot of time at all! Perfect to throw together for quick treat for a Fall Party!

The secret to the simpleness is the store bought Puff Pastry Sheets! You can find them in the grocery store in the frozen isle near the cool whip. I am always for homemade, but they save so much time, and they can be cut into any shape with a cookie cutter! Sometimes semi-homemade works, and it’s the way to go! I chose a pumpkin cookie cutter (affiliate links used) shape for a Halloween Girls Night Out! Each sheet made about 9 pumpkins! I cut out two sheets for the amount of filling I made.

I allowed the pastry sheet for thaw from the freezer for about 40 minutes then unwrap and cut out shapes with a Pumpkin Cookie cutter.

After cutting out the shapes onto parchment paper sheets, I took a pairing knife and scored little lines to make it look even more like a pumpkin!

I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 13-15 minutes or until they puff up and the tops get to be just barely golden. Cool on a wire rack completely. Cut in half like a sandwich ready to fill with Pumpkin Whipped cream filling.

Now for the Pumpkin Whipped Cream filling!

I wanted the Whipped Cream to be stable enough that it didn’t ooze out everywhere. I decided to add a little Gelatine to help it to stay stabilized. That’s a nice little trick to help whipped cream stay a little more stiff and not fall if you are going to pipe it! And, Vanilla Bean Paste! Always my secret ingredient, and always a must! I add a little pumpkin puree, for that subtle pumpkin taste, as well as pumpkin spice mix! Tastes like fall!

Pumpkin Whipped Cream

2 cups Heavy Whipped Cream

1 teaspoon Gelatin Crystals

4 teaspoons Water

1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste

2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice Mix

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup canned Pumpkin Puree

In a small saucepan, mix together 4 teaspoons water, and 1 teaspoons gelatin. Mix well, and place on the stove over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves (Stir the entire time), it doesn’t take long just 20-30 seconds. Don’t allow it to get thick! Set aside to cool.

In a mixer, whip 2 cups of whipping cream on medium speed. Add Vanilla Bean Paste, Pumpkin Spice Mix, and Powdered sugar. Drizzle in cooled gelatin mixture.

Whip until the whipped cream forms stiff peaks.

Place the pumpkin puree in a medium to large bowl. Fold in the whipped cream mixture gently into the pumpkin puree. Folding in 1/3 of the whipped cream at a time. Fold until pumpkin puree is well incorporated.

This would also be amazing on pumpkin waffles, crepes, pancakes! Can you imagine!