Monday Match-Up

I thought we would do Halloween treats this week.  I wanted to do something easy, because I just don't have the energy for a whole lot of anything these past few days.  Must be the pregnancy thing.  I decided to do Monica's Sugar Cookies.  Mmmm....seriously the yummiest I have ever had.  She gave me this recipe years ago and I use it all the time.  Even though making them without her made me miss her even more than I already do.  I made the dough before church and threw it in the fridge and made the cookies after our naps.  This recipes makes a lot so it's perfect to save a dozen and let the kids decorate them.  They had a ball!!  We delivered the rest to neighbors and family.  Always nice to give your goodies to others.

I do apologize for the picture.  It has been raining non-stop here all day long (I LOVE IT!) and the lighting in my kitchen isn't the best.  Not too bad though. 

Here's the recipe~

4 cubes of butter, softened....OH YES!!!  4!!!!

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 c. flour

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Refridgerate over night or if your in a hurry throw it in the freezer for a little while.  It's gonna be really hard so now you want to warm it up with your hands and knead it til it's soft, adding flour as you go, so it's not so sticky.  About 1 1/2 cups more.  Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick and place on baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cookie is no longer shiny.  You don't want to over bake these.  Place on cooling rack and ice with your favorite icing or you can use this one.

Icing~

1 cube butter

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. flour

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 lb bag of powdered sugar

Mix your first four ingredients and then add sugar slowly until it's gets to the thickness you want.  So tasty!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Love, Erica*

I was never a Halloween fan growing up. I know, right? I honestly didn't love candy or chocolate until I became an adult. I blame it on my in-laws and their love of all things tasty and sweet. Anyway, I have become a lover of Halloween because of my children. I love dressing them up and making fun treats together. So I loved this Match-up.

I chose to do Apple Pie Caramel Apples. I learned this fun technique from my good friend Michelle. Last year we made hundreds of these for a fund raiser for our class. They were a hit and I was amazed how delicious they were. I guess you can find a similar apple at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I've just never been able to shell out 8 buckeroos for one of their apples even though I love caramel apples. I was excited about the endless possibilities of doing these at home with the kiddos. You don't have to make them this way, you can also coat your apples with nuts, crushed candy bars, or anything else your heart desires. Anyway, they are a perfect fall treat and great for a party or for a family get together. The kids had a ball helping out and they taste so yummy. I love the tart and sweet together. Yum.

Apple Pie Caramel Apples

5 Granny Smith Apples

1 pkg. caramels

White Chocolate or White Almond Bark or White Candy Melts (any will work)

Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture

5 Popsicle Sticks

If you want to make a ton of these you can usually find a huge brick of caramel at food supply stores. Those in Utah can find them at Orson Gygi or Kitchen Kneads in West Jordan. Kraft also makes Caramel Bits in a bag by the chocolate chips. These are nice because there is no unwrapping of caramels. I bought a bag of wrapped caramel because they were cheaper and they had the sticks with them. Any of these work.

As far as the white coating. I have used the white candy melts with great success. They were thin enough to give the apple a nice coating. With these I had some white almond bark leftover so I used that. It was a little thick and even when I thinned it, it still gave the apple a pretty thick coating. No problem for me for a family treat, but I would want it a touch thinner if I was presenting them somewhere. I haven't tried the plain white chocolate. I'm sure it would work just fine too.

So, wash the apples really well and dry completely. It is best if your apples are at room temp. I took mine out of the fridge ready to get started and had to wait a few hours because they were "sweating". If you dip them while they are wet your caramel will just fall right off. Not good. Take the stems out and insert the sticks. Next, melt the caramel. I did mine in the microwave but you can do it on the stove top too. Dip your apples and coat thoroughly. Hold the apple over the bowl and let it drip. Place on a sprayed piece of parchment. This works the best, I promise. Do all your apples, reheating the caramel if needed. Let sit until completely set. For a nicer looking apple, use kitched shears to trim off any excess caramel on the bottom.

Next melt your white candy melts, also done in the microwave. Dip each apple the same as the caramel and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Let sit till set. We like to cut these in pieces. Enjoy! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I think I may go cut another. :)

Reminder:

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See, so cute!