Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!
Halloween is this weekend!
I am so excited!
I know this year will be a little unconventional...
But, I am here to give you something to help lift your spirits!
My Halloween playlist!
Whether you are staying in and enjoying a spooky feast, attending a small and safe gathering or eating some Halloween candy in the bath, (No judgement here!) this playlist will help set the mood.

I am super proud of this playlist.

I feel like it's a perfect mix of old, new and classic songs that fit the Halloween theme. 

Halloween isn't Halloween without Thriller and Monster Mash but we want something to mix it up as well.

What are your plans this Halloween?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!
Halloween is only a couple of weeks away and I can't wait!
My family has a tradition of enjoying chili and breadsticks on Halloween.
Growing up in the "Midwest" made for some cold Trick or Treat sessions and nothing warmed you up like a hot bowl of chili and breadsticks right outta the oven. 
My mom always made the most delicious and GIGANTIC breadsticks.
And today I am going to share the recipe with you!

You will need:
24 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, Thawed but Cold
1/2 A Cup of Butter
1/2 A Cup of Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Salt, Optional

Roll each roll into a 11 inch rope.
Place butter and cheese in shallow bowls.

Dip each rope into the butter and then into the cheese.

Place breadsticks on an 11x17 inch sprayed baking sheet. 

Sprinkle with garlic salt, if desired.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.

Remove wrap and bake at 350o for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy warm!

These breadsticks are DELICIOUS and are pretty easy to whip up.
I seriously dream about them all year long...
I love our twist on the original recipe, making them jumbo breadsticks.
What are some of your family's Halloween traditions?

All my love,
Autumn

Hello everyone!
The last few years I have seen this "eye cake" floating around on Pinterest.
I thought it was so cute and would be easy to replicate.
The eyes are made of Oreo's so I started to think "Why not make the whole cake cookies and cream?"
(If there's one thing I love just as much as Halloween it's cookies and cream.)
Thus this cookies and "scream" cake was born.

You will need:
1 and 1/3 Cups of  All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Plus More For Dusting the Pans
1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 a Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt
1 and 1/3 Cups of Granulated Sugar
2/3 Cup of Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup of Water
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
1 Cup of Sour Cream
1/4 a Cup of Vegetable Oil

Preheat the oven to 325o.
Grease 2 round 6"pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
Dust the parchment paper with a small amount of cocoa powder.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Whisk in both sugars until evenly combined.
Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and vanilla.
Whisk in the sour cream and the oil.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add the sour cream mixture.

Stir until no dry streaks of flour remain, being careful not to overmix.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, around 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the cookies and cream buttercream frosting. 

You will need:
1 Cup of Salted Butter, Softened
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
A Pinch of Salt
2-3 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream
12 - 14 Oreos, Finely Crushed (About 1 and 1/4 Cups of Cookie Crumbs)

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, creamy and light, about 4 minutes.
Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating until well combined.
Beat in the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt,
Add just enough heavy cream to get the frosting to a nice pipeable consistency.
Stir in the crushed Oreos.

Stack the cakes with a thin layer of the cookies and cream buttercream in between the layers.
Cover the cake with the cookies and cream buttercream and smooth.

Prepare your eye decorations

You will need:
Oreo's
Mini Oreo's 
Brown M&M's

Carefully twist an Oreo in half, making sure not to separate the cream filling or break the cookie.
Take the cookie with the cream filling still attached and gently place a brown M&M "M" side down into the filling, creating an eye.
Repeat to create a second eye to complete the pair. 
Continue with both sized Oreos until you have your desired amount of eyes.
I placed my M&M's in different places on the Oreo to create different looks.
Some looking up, down , to the side, etc.
Place a small dot of the cookies and cream buttercream on the back of the completed Oreo eye.
Gently place onto the cake, and add it's pair.

Continue until you have achieved your desired look.
Enjoy!

This was such a fun cake to create.
I love how a simple decoration takes it to a whole new level.
I also love the added touch of the cookies and cream buttercream.
The Oreo flavor isn't just for decoration now.
What is you favorite Halloween candy?

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Halloween is tomorrow!

That means I am here to share my last Halloween treat for the year...

I thought it would be fun to do a Halloween twist on whoopie pies.

What's more fitting for Halloween than black cats?

I simply used Martha Stewart's whoopie pie recipe and shaped the dough into a cat silhouette.

You will need:

1 and 3/4 Cups of Flour

1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt

3/4 a Cup of Cocoa Powder

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda

1/2 a Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 Cup of Granulated Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 Cup of Buttermilk, Room Temperature

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 400o.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder.

Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until well combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until combined.

Using a 1 and 1/2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop, scoop two balls and roll together.

The dough is sticking so you will want to grease your hands.

Place the ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand and mold the top of the ball into two triangles to resemble cat ears.

Complete with the remaining dough.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove to a rack to cool.

Prepare the buttercream frosting.

You will need:

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

3 to 4 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1/4 a Cup of Milk

1/2 a Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Beat the butter until it's smooth and creamy.

Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.

Mix until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar if necessary to reach your desired consistency.

Transfer buttercream to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end.

Take one of the cooled cookies and pipe 2 tablespoons of the frosting onto the flat side.

Sandwich with another cookie, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies.

Repeat with remaining cookies.

Enjoy!

These were so fun to make and I love how they turned out!

The cookies are easy to make and transforming them into cats was quick and simple.

Plus they are delicious!

Erik had never had a whoopie pie before and could not stop gobbling them up.

I can't wait to enjoy these for Halloween.

What are your Halloween plans?

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Over the weekend Erik and I had a date night to the pumpkin patch.

They have several types of animals that you can feed.

They have a year-round market where you can shop fresh produce and home goods.

They have a corn maze, hay slide and offer tractor rides.

Among other things!

It was rather busy as it was a Friday in the middle of October...
We grabbed ourselves a wheelbarrow and started our search for the perfect pumpkin.

I don't know about you...
But I am pretty picky when it comes to my pumpkin.
I have to feel like I have seen everyone in the patch before I can make a decision.


The sun started to set shortly after we got there.

It was gorgeous and slowly added a golden hue to everything around us.

Autumn

Hello everyone!

I have fallen in love with creating my own pom-pom and tassel crafts.

They are so versatile, they can be made into anything!

I recently thought they would be fun to make into some Halloween garlands.

The pom-poms are perfect for pumpkins and the tassels are perfect for ghosts!

Ghost Tassels

You will need:

White Yarn

Cardboard

Scissors

String

Black Marker

Start by creating your tassels. 

To create the tassels, take a piece of cardboard and cut to your desired length.

The length of the cardboard will be the length of the tassel.
Mine was 4 inches long.

Cut a small notch into the left side of the cardboard. 

You can find a step by step guide with pictures to creating tassels on one of my previous posts here. 

Repeat until you have several tassels. 

Cut a piece of string into your desired length for your garland.

Mine was 4 feet long.

Thread the string through the center of the top "loop" of the tassels until they are all threaded onto the string.

With a black marker make three small dots above the tied yarn to create the ghosts face.

Hang and enjoy!

You can find a step by step guide with pictures to creating pop-poms on one of my previous posts here. 
Repeat until you have several pop-poms.

To create a stem for the pumpkins, thread a piece of green yarn a few inches long through the needle.
Tie a knot at the opposite end of the yarn.

Thread the needle through the bottom of the pom-pom and then back down through the top to create a loop.

Tie the yarn securely into place and cut off any excess.

Thread the string through the looped stems of the pom-poms until they are all threaded onto the string. 

Hang and enjoy!

You can create a garland that is all pumpkins or all ghosts.

I thought it would be fun to incorporate both into one garland.

I alternated threading pumpkins and ghosts onto a four-foot piece of string. 

It is currently hung in our entryway and I love it!

What has been your favorite thing you have made/seen out of pom-poms and tassels?

All my love, 

Autumn