Fall – Page 2

Smarties Are The Perfect Halloween Sweet Treat

October 16, 2012 by Danielle 31 Comments

One of my favorite parts of my childhood Halloween experience was racing home from trick or treating to sort out all of the Halloween candy I received. I was obsessed with finding my favorites (Smarties were at the top of the list along with chocolate). And one of my favorite parts of Halloween now are the decorations we put up each year. I absolutely love how festive and creative we get each year.

My husband is quite the Halloween decor enthusiast. Each year he purchases foam pumpkins from the store and creates a new face. And in an effort to keep up with him, I try to get creative as well in the decor inside our home.

Gluten-Free and Allergen Free

This year I headed to Target to pick up some decorating supplies and candy to pass out. Since there are so many allergies and special diets these days, we went simple. Smarties all around! And I planned on decorating with Smarties as well.

Smarties are not only gluten-free, but they also contain no peanuts and are fat free! They’re the worry-free, one-size-fits-all candy this holiday and are the perfect choice for passing out. I was able to pick up a large bag of Smarties and another bag of Smarties and Dum-Dums mixed together. My daugther was absolutely elated to put these bags into the cart to take home.

Fun for All Ages

I always make sure to pick up some goodies for smaller children who aren’t able to eat candy so I grabbed a pack of Play-Doh as well. Once I had everything I needed to pass out to the kids, I grabbed some decorations to make our home festive.

Since we also needed a bucket for my daughter (she was a bit too young last year for a bucket), we picked up a classic pumpkin bucket to match her brother’s. My son’s bucket is personalized so I grabbed some scrapbooking alphabet stickers to personalize hers as well. It makes a simple bucket their own and I love the ease of it.

You can check out the rest of my shopping experience in my Smarties Google+ Album.

Fun and Festive Wreath

In an effort to tie in the fun of one of my favorite candies with the decor in my home, I decided to turn a Target $1 Spot foam wreath into a festive piece for my front door. Along with the pumpkins and spider webs in our front yard, our trick-or-treaters would also see this gorgeous wreath and know exactly what they’d be getting in their buckets.

To create my wreath I simply glued Smarties in their wrappers onto the wreath. By gluing them seam side down, the wreath can stay in tact for many years. Because the Smarties left gaps as I glued the first layer I decided to add a second layer. And even though it added a bit of weight to the wreath I absolutely loved the look it gave to the finished piece. I simply tied dome wire ribbon to the top and hung it on my door.

To find out how to make this wreath step by step, check out my Smarties Wreath DIY Tutorial here.

Sweet Treats

After creating our wreath, we wanted to celebrate by using our Smarties in a different way.With our Parish Festival coming up we were already planning on making some delicious goodies to sell in the Bake Shop to raise money for the church. We made some delicious Smarties Sugar Cookies that were absolutely delicious.

Instead of using the Smarties whole in our cookies I decided to crush them into a flour and use them in a family sugar cookie recipe. not only did they give great flavor to the sugar cookies, they were the perfect treat for Halloweentime. We packaged them in with a few whole Smarties in with the package to share our Smarties love.

You can check out my Smarties Sugar Cookies recipe here

If you’re looking for a great treat to pass out to the goblins and ghouls who come to your door this Halloween, pick up a large bag of Smarties and you’ll be set! And if you want to get a bit creative… see what you can make with Smarties this Halloween.

Make sure to head over to visit Smarties on Facebook and follow Smarties on Twitter to indulge in their sweet goodness.

What would you do with Smarties candy?

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smarties. All opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Uncategorized Tagged With: decorating, Fall, Fat Free Halloween Candy, For the Home, halloween, Halloween Recipes, Smarties, Wreath

How to DIY a Smarties Wreath this Halloween

October 11, 2012 by Danielle 25 Comments

When we get ready for Halloween, decorations in our home are up there with Christmas. We decorate the whole house inside and out to celebrate for the whole month of October. Many of the decorations we use can be carried into November as well with a festive Fall theme but a few we make just for Halloween!

This Smarties Wreath is just that. The perfect celebration of Halloween and the excitement that each child feels as they go from door to door saying, “Trick or Treat!” This wreath is not only festive, it’s easy to make as well! You only need a few simple items to put it together and it takes less than 30 minutes to make!

As an added bonus, it only cost me $5 to make. The $1 Spot at Target has these foam wreaths and the Smarties candies are only $7.99 for a huge bag and I only needed 1/2 the bag to make the wreath. I had the ribbon on hand from the end of season sale last year. And the left over Smarties will be passed out to trick or treaters on Halloween! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Collective Bias, Fall, halloween, Smarties, Social Fabric

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting {Dessert Recipe}

September 26, 2012 by Danielle 9 Comments

As I mentioned before, I’m a bit obsessed with pumpkin. And as soon as I got a whiff of coolness in the air I got to baking. I’ve been craving these cupcakes since the first time I made them a few years ago and with a few minor tweaks I think I’ve perfected my recipe.

These were delicious! And even better when left in the fridge overnight and eaten for breakfast the next morning with a hot cup of coffee 😉 But if you can’t wait that long to savor the goodness just make sure to allow the cupcakes enough time to cool before frosting them. You won’t be disappointed!

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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin

Frosting

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

Cupcakes:
Pour the milk into a measuring cup and add vanilla.

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

Add the eggs one at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, about 3/4 of the way up. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy but firm. Frost the cupcakes using either a spatula or a pastry bag w/ a large tip. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Baking, cupcakes, Dessert, Fall, frosting, halloween, Pumpkin, sweets

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars {Dessert Recipe}

September 20, 2012 by Danielle 3 Comments

When Fall comes there is one thing I am most excited about. The return of canned pumpkin on the shelves! I start out small. Buying maybe 4 cans of pumpkin on my first spotting. Then I get a bit crazy. I need to stock up for the rest of the year. How can I not have 10 or so cans of pumpkin in my pantry by mid-October? And what do I use these cans and cans of pumpkin for? Healthier recipes!

Pumpkin is a great ingredient in baking, cooking and no-bake recipes such as this one. It’s simple and easy to use and best of all… it’s super tasty and healthy! Now I’ve already been making my pumpkin waffles, pumpkin muffins and even a pumpkin oatmeal shake. But I hadn’t yet tried anything with pumpkin and cheesecake before. So this past weekend I decided to try out a no-bake recipe for pumpkin cheesecake bars. And they were delicious.

If you have a can of pumpkin lying around you have to try it!

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

1 package (8 oz.) neufchatel cheese, softened*
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Free whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 package graham crackers (about 24), crushed
4 tablespoons light butter, melted

Line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish with plastic wrap. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until the crumbs resemble moist sand. Push crumb mixture into dish with your fingers evenly to create a level crust on the bottom. Make sure to get the crumbs into the corners of the dish as well.

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, agave and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed for one minute. Increase speed to medium and mix for another 3 minutes or until no lumps are visible. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

*How to Soften Cream Cheese
Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or until slightly softened. If you cannot find neufchatel cheese in your grocery store just go for the reduced fat cream cheese. Same thing, different name.

Serves 16 | 5 WW+ Points

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Dessert, Fall, healthy recipes, Pumpkin, Recipe

Bates Nut Farm 2011 – A Family Tradition

October 18, 2011 by Danielle Leave a Comment

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but I love traditions. And when I had kids I knew I wanted to create some traditions with my little family that we could continue to do every year. One of those traditions was going to a pumpkin patch every year. And not just any pumpkin patch, Bates Nut Farm. Ok… so no, it’s not called Bates Pumpkin Patch but this farm is a great location for family fun during the Fall season.