Wednesday, September 13, 2017

How to Make Slice and Bake Cookies with Halloween Designs

slice and bake halloween cookies

Sure, Halloween is the best holiday of the year for the obvious reasons: costumes, candy, parties, the whole nine. But I personally love Halloween because it is the official start of slice and bake cookie season. When Halloween rolls around, the grocery store shelves are suddenly stocked with slice and bake cookies with cute little jack-o-lanterns or spooky ghosts inside. If you’re anything like me, you may feel like you’re wasting what little money you have left on eating entire sleeves of slice and bake cookies. Well, I’m here to tell you how to make your own! This recipe is for a black sugar cookie with a white ghost in the middle, but once you’ve got it down pat, feel free to mix up the designs and colors!

Of course, you could follow any sugar cookie recipe you may have lying around the house, but if you’re brand new to this whole baking thing like I am, here’s a list of things you’ll need:

  • 8 ounces of unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar (That’s just regular sugar. I get so mad that recipes always say granulated sugar because it always sends me into a spiraling confusion.)
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • black and white gel food coloring (Remember, these colors are just for the sake of this particular recipe. You have total creative control!)
  • 1 egg white
  • small Halloween-themed cookie cutters (Really make sure they’re small! You want the designs small so that they can fit inside a regular-sized cookie.)
  • optional: colored sprinkles, edible glitter, or anything you may like to decorate the outside of the cookie dough log with

I also recommend a mixer. You could do it by hand like a Keebler elf, but a thicker dough like this is a lot easier to get through if you have a mixer.

Once you’ve got all that, it’s time to start making the dough!

  1.  Start by combining the butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix them until there are no chunks of butter left. Make sure you don’t mix too much; you want a thicker dough that will hold up, and too much air or fluff in the dough will make the cookies spread. You don’t want your ghost looking like the blob.
  2. Now you can add in the vanilla extract and the two eggs.
  3. Combine the flour and salt and mix that in a little at a time, until everything is incorporated and the dough is nice and smooth.
  4. Here’s where the fun part starts! Take the dough out, spread it out fairly evenly and separate about a quarter of the dough. That quarter will be for your designs, and the larger portion will be the cookie surrounding it. So, mix in the white food coloring with the small part for your ghost, and mix in the black food coloring for the rest of the cookie. Make sure you really work in the colors—you don’t want streaky cookies!
  5. Once you’re satisfied with the color of your dough, roll out the white dough (your design dough) until it’s about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Then stick it in the fridge until it’s firm. In the meantime, wrap the black dough (your cookie dough) in cling wrap and leave it at room temperature.
  6. Take out the white dough when it’s firm and get out your little ghost cookie cutter! Get as many little ghosts out of that dough as you can. I don’t care what you have to do. Re-roll it, space those cuts as close as you possibly can–do whatever you need to do in the name of all things slice and bake. After you have all the little ghosts, put them on a baking sheet and freeze them until firm (this should take about 10-15 minutes).
  7. Remember that egg white I said you’d need? Here’s where that comes in! Combine the egg white with about a teaspoon of water. Take your frozen ghosts out, brush one with the egg white and water, and stack another one on top of that. Continue until all the ghosts are stacked. Make sure you’re super precise. You want the ghosts to stack evenly in a perfect line. Press hard to really make sure the ghosts are sticking to each other. When you’ve got a ghost-shaped log of cookie dough, put them back in the freezer. To ensure they’re really firm and not at risk of falling apart, you should keep the log in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.
  8. Once you take out the ghosts, unwrap your black dough and roll it out into several strings of dough. The purpose of cutting the dough into little ropes is so that you can cover the ghosts completely and precisely. Work around its little arms and tail and make sure that there’s black dough surrounding every inch of those white ghosts. When you’re done, simply roll out the log. The cookie dough log should take on a circle or square shape. Make sure there are no air pockets or crevices between the ghosts and the black dough.
  9. If you want to cover the outside in sprinkles or edible glitter, now’s the time! Put the sprinkles in a pan and roll the dough log in it until there is an even coating. Then, wrap your log tightly in cling wrap, and you’ll want to refrigerate this until it’s totally firm (I’m talking around two hours in the fridge).
  10. Once they’re firm, preheat your oven to 350 (degrees fahrenheit, that is). Don’t be disheartened if the end of the cookie dough log is super awkward. It’s like a loaf of bread; you’re not going to bake with the two edges. Slice them off and eat them. Literally just eat them. You’ve worked so hard. With the edges gone, you should now have a beautiful black dough log with a cute white ghost in the middle! Slice the dough about 1/2 inch thick, and now you should have adorable ghost cookies to pop in the oven! I’m excited for you.
  11. You’re almost done, I swear! Pop the cookies in the oven until they’re a little puffy in the middle, and all set and firm around the edges. This should only take about 10 minutes. Remember, because you dyed the dough black as night, you’re not waiting for the cookies to get golden brown or anything. Just make sure you keep an eye on the cookies as they’re baking and remember: a soft middle is better than a crunchy middle! When they’re done, let them cool for a few minutes and you’re good to go!

Feel free to recreate this with any design for any holiday. Happy baking!



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These Butterbeer Marshmallows Will Have You Saying ‘Accio!’

butterbeer marshmallows

Attention, muggles: you are in for a treat. Butterbeer marshmallows are real, and you can buy them online—but hurry, because they’ll be Evanesco-ed at the end of this month (i.e. they’ll disappear)!

Perfect for putting in your hot chocolate or mug of hot butterbeer if it’s not sweet enough for you already, they would also make magical s’mores, or be great just eaten as a snack. The soft and fluffy yet gooey vanilla marshmallows are swirled with homemade butterbeer, which tastes like a perfect potion of cream soda and butterscotch. They’re definitely what we see when we look in The Mirror of Erised.

The butterbeer marshmallows also carry a fragrance of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves—perfect for fall. Plus, they’re lovingly crafted by hand and prettily packaged, so they make a wonderful gift for your favorite Harry Potter fan, if you can bear to give them up. Incidentally, XO Marshmallow also sells other amazing flavors, like pumpkin spice marshmallows, bourbon marshmallows, and Nutella marshmallows, so those of us with Hagrid-sized appetites can stock up on sweets of all varieties. But butterbeer is September’s special flavor, in honor of the anniversary of Ron, Harry, and Hermione’s first day at Hogwarts.

Should you fail to cast your “Accio, butterbeer marshmallows!” spell in time (that is, if you miss out on purchasing them before September’s over), you can still get your butterbeer fix in the form of homemade desserts. Hungry yet? Always.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

butterbeer cupcakes

Sugar And Soul

If wizards brought birthday treats to class, these would be a natural choice. Toffee bits speckle the buttery cupcakes, which are dipped in butterscotch sauce and topped with a fluffy butterbeer frosting. We wouldn’t mind putting a Doubling Charm on these so we’d never run out. Get the recipe.

Butterbeer Cake

butterbeer cake

Bijoux And Bits

This delightful confection has layers of butterbeer flavored cake sandwiched together with brown butter vanilla buttercream, and is topped with butterscotch ganache—and golden snitches! No need to race after these, though there may still be some competition over who gets one. Get the recipe.

Butterbeer Fudge

butterbeer fudge

Ashlee Marie

We could see this fudge being offered on the Hogwarts Express sweets trolley, along with chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. It mimics the sweet taste and foam-topped appearance of butterbeer, but in a more easily portable form. Get the recipe.

Butterbeer No-Churn Ice Cream

no-churn butterbeer ice cream

Princess Pinky Girl

No-churn ice cream already seems like magic. Make it taste like butterbeer and you’ll be totally under its spell. While you could eat this from a bowl, we’d have to go with cones since they kind of look like the Sorting Hat. Get the recipe.

Butterbeer Pumpkin Hot Chocolate

pumpkin butterbeer hot chocolate

Half Baked Harvest

Butterbeer meets rich, creamy chocolate in these warm, cozy drinks. Pumpkin makes them especially suited to fall (though if you’d prefer a version without, try this butterbeer hot chocolate instead), and the optional hit of bourbon is perfect if you’re not serving these to house elves (or little children). You’ll be transported straight to The Three Broomsticks when you make this. Get the recipe.



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Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Chili

Shredded Chili Chicken

This slow cooker chicken chili recipe is for those days when you would really like to just throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot, wave a magic wand, and have dinner ready exactly on time. That would be nice, right?!

There’s no magic wand (unfortunately), but thanks to the slow cooker, the rest of this recipe comes pretty darn close to granting that wish.

Continue reading "Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Chili" »



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10 Clever Fruit Bowls to Show Off Your Fall Produce

Autumn is apple-picking season and there’s no better way to show off the fruits of your labor than a decorative bowl. Whether you’re wild about wood or fancy a more modern material, there’s a bowl in every shape, color, and size for every kitchen, decor, and personality.
We’ve rounded up 10 of the most eye-catching options we could find. Scroll down and check them out. Your apples, squash, pears, and figs will never look better!
Stainless Steel Rotation Bowl

Amazon

We’re not entirely sure how this bowl works, but we’re not asking questions. It just looks cool, and frankly, that’s all that really matters when it comes to showing off the colors of your harvest. Buy it here.
Mango Wood Fruit Bowl

Amazon

Serving fruit on wood brings it back to its source. Aside from being so meta, this hunk of trunk is a a perfect base for any seasonal ingredient. Buy it here.
Mesh Apple Fruit Bowl

Amazon

You can call this cheesy all you want. That’s not going to stop us from storing our apples in a thematic mesh container. In fact, we’re going to put all of our fruits in it, how about that? Buy it here.
 
Champagne Marble Fruit Bowl 

Amazon

You don’t have to be Kanye West to swallow your home in marble. This champagne slab, resting pretty on a pedestal, will be like offering your fruit as a gift to the gods. Buy it here.
Elegance Eclipse Fruit Bowl

Amazon

This may not have been inspired by the solar eclipse, but it’s equally as exciting. Hammered brass is something pretty, shiny, and won’t permanently damage your eyes if you look at it long enough. Buy it here.
Moose Antler Fruit Bowl

Amazon

You don’t have to go hunting to retrieve this kitchen-top trophy. Instead, you simply have to log on to Amazon. #convenience. Buy it here.
Wire Mesh Fruit Bowl 

Amazon

For those who thought the apple mesh fruit bowl was a bit much, this is your subdued alternative. You’re welcome, minimalists. Go forth and purchase. Buy it here.

“Stanza Dello Scirocco” Fruit Holder

Amazon

We imagine this fruit bowl in an eclectic South Beach mansion with all-white everything. Or you can just put it in your own home and play pretend. Either works. Buy it here

Fruit Loop Bowl

Amazon

No, this isn’t an old box of Fruit Loop cereal disguised as a fruit bowl. This orbital concoction looks out of this world, which means it’s only deserving of produce with similar tastes. Buy it here.

Dropp! Fruit Bowl

Amazon

Splish splash, I was making a smoothie. We love a good quirky style moment and this still-life bowl more than delivers. Buy it here.


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Bunge to Acquire 70% Ownership Interest in IOI Loders Croklaan

The transaction expands Bunge’s value-added capabilities, reach and scale across core geographies to establish Bunge as a global leader in B2B oil solutions.



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Stewed Summer Squash

Stewed Summer Squash
Stewed summer squash is a seasonal staple, with chunks of fresh, tender zucchini and yellow squash gently cooked in olive oil until they're plump and juicy throughout. It's delicious straight from the pot, and even better once cooled to room temp or chilled. Get Recipe!


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Pipeline Foods: Organic, Non-GMO Supply Chain

Pipeline Foods is positioned to support both farmers and food companies in a holistic, transparent way.

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Sterling-Rice Group Explores Probiotics Megatrend

The US probiotics segment is expected to continue to grow at double-digit rates annually.

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