With Sprinkles on Top

Puppppppy chowwwww! I absolutely love it. This is a seasonal take on the classic oh-so-addicting snack. This recipe involves candy corn and Reese’s Pieces — but feel free to use whatever seasonal candies you’d like. Indian corn would work well and if you’re not a Reese’s Pieces fan, use orange, yellow, and brown M&Ms instead!

Halloween Puppy Chow
Recipe source: Your Cup of Cake
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It’s October! My favorite month of the year! The time for sweaters, chilly weather, beautiful trees, pumpkin carving, Halloween, apple cider, the smell of burning leaves, and, well, it’s just the season of ultimate coziness. I read a quote on Twitter, “If you say pumpkin spice latte in the mirror three times, a white girl in yoga pants will appear and tell you all her favorite things about fall.” Accurate. Yup, that’s me. Except I’m not a huge pumpkin fan. Minor detail. [and note: I’m not sure who to credit that quote to or who said it originally! My apologies, witty person on Twitter]

Anyway, I thought I’d get things started with some caramel apple cupcakes. I have A LOT of treats to blog about this month, so be sure to check back often!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Recipe source: The Girl Who Ate Everything
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1 box spice cake mix
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped Granny Smith apple
35 caramels
1/4 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream (or regular milk)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
24 wooden craft sticks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, milk, and vegetable oil until incorporated (about 30 seconds). Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in chopped apple.
3. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin pans, filling two-thirds full.
4. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
5. Meanwhile, combine caramels and milk in a medium saucepan over very low heat; stir 4 minutes or until smooth. It’s very important to keep the heat very low because if the caramel gets too hot it will become really hard when cooled.
6. Spread caramel mixture over cupcakes being careful to not touch the caramel to the paper liners or it will stick to the liners; immediately sprinkle with pecans, pressing in slightly.
7. Insert a wooden stick into center of each cupcake. Store covered in an airtight container. Best served on the day they’re made.

Makes 20-24 cupcakes.

There were a few foods that I wasn’t allowed to eat when I was a kid. Not that my parents were overly snobby about food (they weren’t), but my mom cringed at the thought of me eating two things: Kraft Mac ‘n’ Cheese and Pop Tarts. Nope. No way. No how. Wasn’t going to happen.

I was introduced to Kraft Mac ‘n’ Cheese at my babysitter’s house – it was like a whole new world! And I was introduced to Pop Tarts when I was in middle school. I’m not a huuuuge Pop Tart fan anymore, but I loved the idea of making these cupcakes — a celebration of all the junk food we weren’t allowed to eat as kids! :)

Strawberry Pop Tart Cupcakes
Recipe source: Your Cup of Cake
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Vanilla Cake:
1 box white cake mix
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sour cream
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:
2 Tablespoons hot water
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Strawberry Buttercream:
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries, finely crushed in food processor
3-4 cups powdered sugar
*OK, I cheated here. I used store-bought icing with one of the new strawberry flavor packs that Duncan Hines (I think) sells. I’m in law school, I get busy, and I couldn’t find freeze-dried strawberries in my grocery store.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, gently whisk eggs, egg whites, oil, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla extract together.
3. Add cake mix and stir until smooth.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
5. Glaze: Combine all ingredients and use a fork to whisk until smooth. Use more powdered sugar to make thicker or more water to make thinner.
6. Dip the top of cooled cupcakes into glaze and let set.
7. Buttercream: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and freeze dried strawberries. Slowly add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
8. Pipe buttercream over glaze (once dried) and top with a piece of Pop Tart.

Aren’t these dreamy? I can’t stop staring at the pretty colors.

And the best part? They are so, so easy.

Seriously.

If you need to make a treat for a get-together or a party — and want to make a big impression — try these!

Yield: About 20 brownies

Rainbow Brownies

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A wonderful treat for a birthday party or Pride event!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box brownie mix (plus required oil + eggs)
• 3 tubs of vanilla icing
• Various food colorings (choose any colors you’d like – I used Wilton gel colorings)
• Disposable pastry bags
• A knife or kitchen scraper

Instructions

1. Make brownies according to box directions. Let the baked brownies cool completely. Do not cut them. Remove the uncut giant brownie onto a cutting board or serving platter.

2. Divide the icing into six bowls. Dye each bowl a different color.

3. Snip the ends of the pastry bags – about 1/2 inch. You won’t need a pastry tip.

4. Fill the pastry bags with the icing. Pipe stripes onto the brownies. They can be messy and totally imperfect – doesn’t matter. Just cover the slab of brownies with lines of icing.

5. Smooth out the icing with a kitchen scraper or a knife.

6. Cut the brownies into squares and serve. Easy squeezy!

Notes

Your yield will depend on the size of your baking pan and how big or small you cut your brownies.

I know that summer is pretty much gone for most of us, but we had a bit of an Indian Summer here in Milwaukee a few weeks ago. It was in the 90s and very unlike September. Thankfully that nonsense corrected itself and we’re back to cooler temps!

Do any of you go camping in the fall? No matter what time of year, s’mores are always a must if you’re camping or sitting around the fire. If you lack a campfire, this snack is a great substitute. Seriously, this version of puppy chow is SO GOOD! The only thing that would make it better would be to melt the marshmallows, but I haven’t quite figured out how to do that with puppy chow.

S’mores Puppy Chow
Recipe source: Your Cup of Cake
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6 cups rice Chex cereal
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brownie mix, from the box
3 cups Golden Grahams
3 cups marshmallows

1. Place cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a microwave proof bowl, melt chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth.
3. Pour over cereal and fold until covered.
4. Dump into a large plastic bag and add brownie mix, seal and shake until coated.
5. Dump onto a cookie sheet and let cool.
6. Pour into a large bowl and mix with Golden Grahams and marshmallows.