Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds


Today I cooked my first pumpkin! I made this tasty pasta and then decided to experiment with the seeds. They turned out just as I had hoped, lightly sweetened and perfectly crunchy. These seeds are delicious on their own or may be a tasty addition to any fall salad.

Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds 
1 cup Pumpkin Seeds
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
pinch of Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and top with a sheet of parchment paper (this makes for super easy cleanup). In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and salt, set aside until needed. In a separate bowl toss together the pumpkin seeds, melted butter, and vanilla then stir in the pumpkin spice mixture until all the seeds are coated. Spread the seeds out in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until done, check seeds after 15 minutes.




Sunday, October 2, 2011

Spiderweb Cake



Halloween in my absolute favorite holiday. I tend to start baking Halloween treats towards the end of September or early October. Usually I start decorating for autumn/Halloween around this time as well, but it has been incredibly warm here and I just can't bring myself to decorate until sweater weather officially begins. But that doesn't stop me from baking for the season. I used this cake recipe from Sweetapolita. It is a white cake with white chocolate frosting, which originally came from the cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

Spiderweb Cake 
Step1: Start with a frosted cake.

Step2: Using black decorating gel, make evenly spaced circles starting in the center and working your way out to the edge.

Step3: Drag a toothpick from the center of the cake out to edge, creating six lines or so to create the spiderweb patten. You can also add a spider on top or crawling up the side of the cake.

For this cake recipe visit Sweetapolita.

Happy Baking!