Family Halloween Party

When: Monday October 31, 2011

What:
Black dress: Zara (Panama)
Lace trench: Forever 21 (U.S.A.)
Black Nine West belt: TJ Maxx (U.S.A.)
Floral pumps: Lela Rose for Payless (U.S.A.)
Bow clutch: Felix B. Maduro (Panama)
Necklace: Forever21.com

Where:
Work + Halloween party at my home

Comments:
This year, my family and I decided to celebrate Halloween together! We usually all celebrate Halloween with our friends separately, but this year we planned a casual Halloween dinner at my home...and let me tell you, this has been my favorite Halloween yet!

I was in charge of the Halloween decorations, so I went all out with fake spiderwebs, spiders, pumpkins, etc.

I also displayed a variety of candy (What's Halloween without candy right?!). But the best part were the funny Halloween names we came up with for each candy:

My mom planned a spooktacular dinner with Monster sandwiches, human fingers in dip, and monster salads!

My brother Tom even carved some pumpkins, which turned out fantastic!

But the best part of the night was definitely the costumes. I decided to collect a bunch of costumes from when we were kids and I displayed them all over the room. Then, as each family member arrived, they could pick out a costume and relive the memories from when we were kids.

We had a BLAST trying on different costumes and taking funny pictures. Definitely the best Halloween I have had in years!

What did you do this Halloween?

Here are all the ways in which I've worn this lace trench:

Special treats: S'mores cookies

I decided to make a special treat this weekend: S'mores cookies!! I thought: "What better cookie to take to a weekend in the countryside mountains than s'more cookies?" And let me tell you, these cookies are DE-LISH!

The cookie dough itself has graham cracker crumbs in the mix (as well as chocolate chips... um YUM!). Apart from the yummy Graham-cracker-chocolate-chip-delicious-dough, this cookie features mini marshmallows and Hershey chocolates melted on top (OMG!).

The result? All the delicious flavors of s'mores without all the mess.

Recipe: S'mores cookies

Source: Baked Perfection (Adapted from Make and Bake)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash of cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups miniature chocolate chips (I used regular chocolate chips)
  
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 Hershey bars, chopped (I would recommend buying 4-5 bars)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.

• Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

And there you have it folks, the secret to making S'mores without the need of any bonfire. The cookies turn out chewy, chocolate-y (but not overwhelmingly chocolate-y), and tasty. I would give these cookies a 9.5 out of 10! I wouldn't change a thing about them. They were scrumptious!

Special treats: Blueberry Muffins with Streusel topping

The other treat I made for the 4th of July was some blueberry muffins with streusel topping. These muffins turned out super duper MOIST, soft, and delicious. I thought the flavor and consistency of the cupcakes were delicious! However, some people thought they were TOO moist until the point that they were sorda oily. I guess it depends on each person's individual tastes!

Recipe: Blueberry Muffins with Streusel topping

Source: Sunday Nite Dinner (Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa)

Streusel Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Muffin Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 cups (1 1/2 pints) fresh blueberries, stems removed

Directions

1. For the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Add the butter pieces and combine the mixture with a fork until the topping resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper liners in muffin pans. In a separate medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. With an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. At low speed, beat one egg in at a time, then add vanilla, sour cream, and milk until combined. Add 1/3 of dry ingredients at a time and beat until just combined. With a spatula, evenly fold blueberries into batter.
4. Scoop batter into muffin pans and fill each cup to the top. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean.

Makes 24 muffins

Overall, I would give these cupcakes a 7 out of 10. They were very tasty, moist, and soft! I didn't give it a 10 out of 10 because there are better cupcakes than these. Nevertheless, very good!

Special Treats: Strawberry Shortcake cookies

For the 4th of July, I made some Strawberry Shortcake cookies that are supposed to taste like strawberries and cream (Yummy right?!). The cookies turned out very tasty, but I encountered issues when it comes to the shape and texture of the cookie. My cookies flattened out like pancakes! hahaha, but I think that was my fault. Nevertheless, the cookies were very tasty, nice crispy borders and yummy strawberry flavor!

Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake cookies

Source: Martha Stewart.com

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

I would give these cookies a 6 out of 10. They were very good in taste, but the consistency was not perfect. I would still try them again though with a couple of tweeks here and there to get the shape better. Let me know if any of you try them!

Special treats: Lemon cookies with a Lemon Glaze

The next Easter treat I want to talk to you about is some Lemon cookies with a lemon glaze that I made! These cookies turned out so light and tasty. I wasn't quite sure if I was going to like them since I am more of a chocolate lover; but they were actually very good!

Recipe: Lemon cookies with a Lemon Glaze

Source: Recipe from Martha Stewart

Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.

2. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread cookies with Lemon Glaze and let set, about 1 hour.

Lemon glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice until smooth.

Apart from tasting very lemon-y and light, these cookies smelt delicious!! It was definitely a perfect treat for Spring.

Special Treats: Inedible but Cute Easter Balls

The next Easter treat I'm going to post about is these very very cute Easter Balls. Ok, I'm going to be completely honest on this one: these turned out terrible. I mean, they are almost inedible. They are supposed to taste a lot like sweetened condensed milk but instead they are sorda bitter... I followed the recipe exactly, so I have no idea why!

I'm not going to post the recipe on this one since it turned out so bad. However, I am VERY proud at how cute they turned out!!! So I thought I would post a couple of pictures of how I made these inedible but cute Easter balls.

After mixing all the ingredients, the batter was very thick and hard.

Then I divided the batter into four parts and added food coloring to three of them. I used some Neon food coloring that resulted in really cute Spring-y colors!

For the last step of this recipe, I took a little piece of each color into my hand and rolled them into a ball.

So there you have it, that's how you make really cute but very bitter Easter balls! hahahaha. Sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some right?

Special Treats: Regular & Coconut Caramel Brownies

The next Easter treats I am going post about are some Chocolate Brownies I made as well as some Coconut Caramel Chocolate Brownies I made... Talk about Double Yum right?!

Both brownies were very tasty; but I love the simple Chocolate Brownies best. They were super moist, soft, and chocolate-y. Gotta love them!

Recipe: Chocolate Ooey Gooey Brownies

Source: I got the recipe from Bakergirl, but the original source is Browneyedbaker

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes, or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs (do not overbake!!). Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan using foil handles.

Cool brownies, then cut them into squares... Devour!

After making these brownies, I decided to make Coconut Caramel Brownies! They are basically the same brownie recipe as above, but it includes chunks of Caramel candies inside the batter as well as a layer of coconut on top... Yum!

Recipe: Coconut Caramel Brownies

Source: Recipe by Picky Palete

1 Box Brownie mix 9x13 inch size

10 soft caramels, unwrapped and halved
2 1/4 Cups shredded sweetened coconut
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 Cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (you can also use heavy cream)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare brownies according to package directions (I didn't use a brownie mix, I just made the same brownies as the above recipe). Pour half of mix into pan. Place halved caramels evenly over brownies and pour remaining batter over caramels.

2. In a medium bow, mix the coconut and condensed milk until well combined. Spoon evenly over top of brownies. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool for 15 minutes. Place chocolate chips into microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Stir in coconut oil shiny and smooth. Pour over warm brownies and let cool completely before cutting into squares

Well there you have it, two delicious brownies! As I said before, I still think the regular Ooegy Gooey brownies are best. The Coconut Caramel Brownies were a little too sweet for my taste... But if you have a really sweet tooth, than you would probably love them!

Special Treats: Coconut Easter Chicks Cupcakes

The first Easter treat I will be posting about is the Coconut Easter Chicks Cupcakes I made... Let me tell you, these are DE-LI-CIOUS! If you are a Coconut lover like me, you are going to LOVE these!!

It's basically a coconut cupcake filled with toasted coconut and coconut cream topped with a Cream cheese frosting. So when you bite into these soft and moist cupcakes, you are encountered with the delicious toasted coconut in the center... I'm telling you, these cupcakes are a coconut dream come true!

Apart from decorating the cupcakes as Easter chicks, I also made these cupcakes very Easter-y by baking them in Easter cups. So cute!

I followed the recipe for the cupcake batter exactly, and they turned out great! Super moist and with a delicious coconut flavor that isn't overpowering.

After baking the cupcakes, I toasted some coconut for the filling.

Then I mixed the toasted coconut with some coconut cream to make the filling. I made a hole in each cupcake using a knife, and then stuffed them as much as I could. The coconut cream made the center of the cupcakes even more moist and soft.

After frosting the cupcakes, I used yellow tinted coconut flakes, M&M's, and orange gummies to decorate the cupcakes as Easter Chicks. I got the idea from the Betty Crocker Website. The first batch of cupcakes I decorated turned out very orange. It seems that I put too much yellow food coloring into the coconut flakes, so these chicks were more like super tanned chicks! hehe.

The second batch of cupcakes I decorated turned out so much better:

I would definitely recommend baking these cupcakes... they were simply delicious! (9.5/10 for sure!).

Recipe: Coconut Cream Cupcakes:

Source: The Pastry Affair

Coconut Cupcake
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease a cupcake tin.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, flaked coconut, and baking powder. Beat 1/3 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Alternatively add the flour mixture and coconut milk to the wet ingredients, blending until smooth after each addition.

Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Toasted Coconut Filling
1/2 cup coconut cream (not coconut milk!)
1 cup toasted coconut flakes (to toast coconut yourself, bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 7-11 minutes, or until coconut is lightly browned)

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut cream and toasted coconut. Set aside.

In terms of the frosting, the original recipe recommends the following:

Whipped Cream Frosting
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar

Beat together the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar until soft peaks form.

However, I followed the recipe and ended up with a very liquid frosting. I dunno if I did something wrong or if Panamanian ingredients are different or what. I ended up making the following frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Heavy cream
Powdered sugar

I first mixed the Cream cheese and Heavy cream together using an electric mixer Then I just added powdered sugar (while beating with an electric mixer) until the frosting became thick enough to be piped. I know it's not perfect, but I thought it turned out pretty good!

To assemble
Take a cupcake and, using a sharp knife, cut out a cavity in the center of the cupcake. I run the knife in a circular motion, while always pointing the knife towards the center of the cupcake. The cavity should be coned shaped. Alternatively, you can use a cupcake corer if you have one. Spoon the filling into the cupcake until the filling just reaches the top. Cut off the interior of the cupcake you've removed and place back on the top, pressing down so it becomes flush with the cupcake.

Pipe or spread the whipped cream frosting on top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle with extra toasted coconut flakes. Enjoy!