Halloween!

This is by far my favorite party of the year! I have so much fun with it! To start the party off right I made a lot of cupcakes! The mini ones are my favorite because you can sample a few and still have room for more :)

Mmmmm... Candy Corn! In the backround are spooky ghost cupcakes, looking very smug.

Classic sugar cookies! This recipe is handed down from my mom and is a family favorite.

To make the spider web icing I covered the cookie with orange icing and then piped  winding circles of chocolate icing. After that, I drew a toothpick from the center to the edge of the cookie repeatedly.

These are the "shrunken heads" getting ready to soak in apple cider, lemonade, and spiced rum. The rum really completes the cider, delicious! They are Granny Smith Apples that are cut in half and baked at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. I then raised the temp to 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to brown them a little bit. After baking use whole cloves for their eyes. I saw this idea on Martha Stewart last year.

They seem to have mixed emotions about being plopped into hot cider ;)

Here they are, super spooky!

A collection of favorite candies to top off the sweets!

For dinner we had bruschetta with goat cheese, carmelized onions, steak and roasted sweet peppers. We also had homemade macaroni and cheese with gruyere, and pumpkin soup with sour cream garnish.

The garnish is made the same way as the sugar cookies. With everything ready, it is time for the guests to arrive!

We had a tough costume contest this year, complete with an awards ceremony!

And the Oscar goes to...

"Dancing with the Stars!"

"Wheel of Fortune" took the silver!

Spooooky decorations are my favorite and the kids love them!

That's all folks!

Sugar Cookies-

3/4 C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and flavoring thoroughly. Measure flour by dipping or sifting. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together; blend in. Chill at least 1 hour. Roll, cut and bake at 400 degrees. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Sugar Cookie Icing-

2 C. Sifted Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 T. Cream (add more or less to desired consistency)

Blend sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add cream to make it easy to spread. Tint with a few drops of food coloring. Spread on cookies.