Halloween Party 1

 

This past Tuesday we had a few friends come over for the first of K's three Halloween parties this year. Since we don't do trick-or-treating here (I hope to bring that tradition once K gets a bit older), I figure let's just party it up!

 

For the party, I made two things that I think are worth sharing - mummy juice boxes and chocolate fudgy cookies - starting with the juice boxes since I think they are so super cute and SIMPLE to make. I think I saw this online a few years ago and it just kind of stuck in my mind. I have no idea where I originally saw this (or if I even did??), so I 100% apologize if I am not giving someone else credit where credit is clearly due. I cannot get over how cute these little guys are!

 

 

All you do is get some gauze that you wrap around your arm or whatever is hurt, as well as some tape (I used surgical tape), and some googly eyes. Take the straw off the juice box and tape the end of the gauze to the box. Wrap the gauze flat around the box a few times until you can just barely make out the images on the box. Then scrunch the gauze up and wrap around a few more times. Once it is sufficiently covered cut and tape the end down. I tried to finish the tape on the back or side. Then glue two googly eyes on and you are done. The kids didn't seem to make a bit deal of these, but the moms thought they were adorable. Maybe they were a bit wasted on five kids aged two to four? Ah well, they were cute. I'm happy I made them.

 

 

The second bit of this post is about these AMAZING cookies. Holy Moses, were these delicious! I saw similar cookies on Sweetapolita's blog a few weeks ago and wanted to make them ever since. On her cookies, she used a glaze instead of the orange-colored candy melts and colored sprinkles. Hers are much more celebratory looking, but mine are all about Halloween!

 

I followed the cookie recipe exactly as it is written. Seriously, these cookies are amazing. The moms and I each definitely had our fair share. The recipe says it makes 12 cookies. Those must have been HUGE cookies. I ended up getting about 40 if I'm not mistaken. I used a tablespoon to measure out the dough and this made a good-sized cookie, in my opinion. I think if they were much bigger, they would be a bit too much of a good thing. I like to eat my sweets little by little.

 

 

The first set out of the oven turned out just beautifully. The tops had a perfect flaky layer (almost like a brownie) and the middles were fudgy and gooey. Gaaa!!! Why did I eat the last cookie last night!?!! The second set out of the oven did not fair as well. I think the dough started to dry out too much and they didn't spread out at all, nor did they have the beautiful flaky outside. The good news is that the taste was the exact same, also once they were covered you really had to look to see the difference.

 



 

 

By the time it came to scoop out the third set, the dough had dried so much that I could roll each one into a little ball and then give a bit of a smoosh. These ended up beautiful looking, and delicious as well.

 

 

 

The final step was to coat half of each cookie in orange candy melts (OMG!!! I found a baking shop here that sells candy melts, and Wilton brand at that!!!!) and then a few chocolate sprinkles. I had never actually used candy melts before. They taste fine, but more importantly they look fabulous and are so simple to work with. I melted mine in the micro and then coated away. I'll definitely be making these guys again. Soon.

 

 

The guests at the party included Buzz Lightyear, Snow White, a witch, Batman, and of course Sir Topham Hatt. It was impossible to get all five of the kids together in one photo. This one will have to do - three out of five isn't that bad.

 







 

K got hot as the party went on, so we took off his morning coat. As my friend pointed out, his costume instantaneously morphed from Sir Topham Hatt to a bartender. I should have given him a shaker to carry around.

 

 

 

Party number 2 - the one at the kids' community center - is tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll write a post about it on Monday. Check back then to see what is sure to become K's most prized possession.