Pumpkin Marshmallows

Posted on October 29, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

A few weeks ago I showed you my newest marshmallow finds. Last night I played with the orange pumpkin ones. They can be used for so many different themes … fall, harvest, Halloween or Thanksgiving. I tied a simple name card on the stick as a place card for the Thanksgiving table … useful and edible! Here are a few ideas done my favorite way … fast and simple …

This is what I used …

The black lines are made with an Americolor Gourmet Writer
The green leaves are made with melted green chocolate (candy melts) & a toothpick
The orange lines are made with melted orange chocolate (candy melts) in a squeeze bottle
The green stem is a Sour Punch Candy
The brown stem is made with melted peanut butter chips & a toothpick
Pumpkin # 3 and #5 have regular white sugar sprinkled on the melted chocolate

Last week while camping, we used these for s’mores … let me just say, they make one mega s’more! These are the marshmallows that I used …

Just a reminder … some candy can be difficult to find after Halloween. Yesterday I bought the last bag of “Autumn mix” at my grocery store. It contained candy corn, indian corn and only 2 pumpkins!!! I am going to use the candy and indian corn for turkey tail feathers. I need more than 2 pumpkins for another project! As soon as I finish typing this, I am off to go candy hunting.

The moral of this story is … stock up on the candy or sprinkles that you can’t find regularly.

I ♥ comments, suggestions, or whatever is on your mind …

Only 3 days left until Halloween!

Posted on October 27, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

I can’t believe that October has come … and is almost gone! All the other holidays will be here before we know it. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! I certainly have had fun sharing my ideas with you … and there are more to come 🙂

Here is a quick summary of Halloween …

Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops

Eyeball Marshmallow Pops

Textured Halloween Bark

Witch Hat Cupcakes

The Witch is Dead … Cupcakes

The Bride of Frankenstein Pops

Tangerine Jack-o-lanterns

Black bottom cupcakes with spider webs

And for fall … this is what I have made so far …

Peanut butter & chocolate acorns

Candy corn popcorn

Now I am off to the kitchen …

Sweet Acorns

Posted on October 10, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Fall is my favorite time of year. I enjoy cooler weather and the leaves changing color. Today should be a lovely 88° and Thursday is expected to reach 100°! This is October … isn’t it? I am going to ignore the weather and pretend it’s cool. I am in fall mode and the temperature is not going to spoil it!

Today I made acorns since I don’t have an oak tree. These are sweet little acorns … not the kind that fall off trees. But I suppose that’s obvious.

This is what you will need …

Nutter Butter Bites
Hershey Kisses (I used dark because I had leftovers from the witch hats)
Peanut butter chips (some melted, some not)

Set up an assembly line … unwrap the Kisses. Melt about 1/4 cup of the peanut butter chips in the microwave (20 seconds, stir, 20 seconds, stir). This will be your “glue”. Put a little “glue” on the cookies and place the Kisses on the cookie …

After the “glue”has hardened … “glue” the remaining peanut butter chips on top of the cookies …

Congratulations … you just “grew” acorns!

THE GIVEAWAY!!!

What is your favorite season? Today … because it’s fall … and I love it! I have a little giveaway for someone to win. Could you use some fall doilies … like the ones I used above? I stocked up back in July and am very happy that I did. I was at the same store two weeks ago and not a package was left. I want to share some with one lucky winner. Wouldn’t they be cute with a cupcake or muffin on top … or maybe used in a craft or scrapbook project? The winner will receive 4 packs of doilies, like the ones below …

To enter … tell me what season is your favorite or just say “Hi”. Leave a comment below … and don’t forget your email address (so that I may contact the winner). The last day to enter is Monday, October 17, 2011, midnight. The winner will be chosen at random and announced Tuesday, October 18, 2011. One entry per person.

Giveaway is now over, sorry 😦

Mystery Spice Cake … completed!

Posted on September 24, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Today, as promised, I frosted the Mystery Spice Cake. I used Cream Cheese Icing and added about one extra cup of powdered sugar to stiffen up the icing. Usually I don’t use Cream Cheese Icing for decorating because it softens so easily.

Let me take this time to confess that I am not a professional cake decorator, as you will soon see. What I visualize in my mind does not always translate to the cake. I just keep practicing!

I baked and froze my cake yesterday because I believe that freezing helps the cake to retain its moisture. Plus, I find it easier to handle and frost a frozen cake. As you can see, the cake is standing on its side and I am balancing it with one finger … and it is not falling apart!

Put a dollop of icing on the plate to help prevent the cake from slipping around …

Apply a thin coat of icing … some call this a “crumb coat” because it seals in the crumbs … some call it “dirty icing” …

Don’t worry if it’s not pretty …

Cake #1

I like fast and easy decorating … and texture can add interest. I used tip #17 and created swirls, starting in the center working my way out …

I would use this type of decoration for many occasions …

Cake #2

Since it is fall … I colored the icing orange … used tip #199 and made what I hope would look like pumpkins …

I use broken pretzel sticks as stems …

Using green icing make vines with tip #2 …

The weather warmed up this afternoon and the pumpkins show it! Make leaves with tip #352 … remember to hold the tip so that it looks like a bird’s beak …