Tag Archives: Halloween

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

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Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

I know what you’re thinking.

Believe me, I do.

“Of course she posted another Oreo recipe, they just came out with a new flavor.”

Pretty spot on, huh?

I’d like to think I’m unpredictable, but I’m beginning to realize, I’m not. Not even close. And, you know what, that’s really not a bad thing. At least you know what you’re getting from me. Right? It’s not like I’m giving you the same recipe though. I’ve done lemon bars, cookies, and cupcakes. All with Oreos. Now, that’s variety. Some may even go as far as saying I’m unpredictable with my Oreo baking. Ah ha, unpredictability.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

Yeah, I don’t know why all of a sudden it’s important for me to be unpredictable. Maybe I’ve gone crazy? Or, maybe, just maybe, I’m slightly tired, under caffeinated, and really like typing the word unpredictable for some reason. Seriously, it has so many letters.

But, enough of my nonsense.

Lets talk about the other main ingredient in this recipe. Drumroll please.

The pumpkin.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

Guys, this is my first pumpkin recipe of the year. Aren’t you proud that I waited until the end of October to share it with you? For those of you that are new to Hint of Nutmegg, let me briefly share the story of the pumpkin craze of 2013.

I went a little overboard on the pumpkin. How overboard? Let’s just say I posted 5 pumpkin recipes in a row. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it totally was. I over-killed the pumpkin. And, even I, the biggest pumpkin fan in the world, was tired of it. It was pretty bad.

Don’t worry though. There won’t be a pumpkin craze of 2014. I’ll be better. But, I hope you know, by being better, I don’t mean this will be my only pumpkin post. I’m planning on at least two more. I think that’s reasonable. Don’t you?

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

So, lets talk about these Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting.

In three words, to die for.

The cupcakes are super moist and have a subtle pumpkin taste, thanks to the Pumpkin Spice Oreo crumbles that are baked into the cupcake. Each cupcake is then topped with a creamy, pumpkin packed frosting that is out of this world. I repeat, out of this world. I’ll admit I was eating it out of the bowl. It’s the perfect balance between cream cheese and pumpkin spice, and really brings this cupcake to a whole new level of pumpkin yumminess. For a topper, I crumbled some of the Oreos on top of the cupcake to add a little crunch—keep in mind, when putting the cupcakes in the refrigerator though, the Oreo crumbles on top will get soggy.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes With Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
Yields: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
16 Pumpkin Spice Latte Oreos, roughly chopped

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used the Organic Pumpkin Puree from Trader Joe’s)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:
Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar–the mixture will be very thick…use those muscles!
Add the egg whites, whisking until incorporated, and then add the sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until mixture is smooth and uniform in texture.
Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined and no lumps remain.
Using a spatula, gently fold in the chopped Oreo pieces.
Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners–about 3 tablespoons per each tin–and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cupcakes are cooling, start making the pumpkin cream cheese frosting. Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and spices on medium speed until creamy and combined.
Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and then mix in the flour.
Frost the cupcakes as desired and top with crumbled up Pumpkin Spice Oreos.

*Cupcake batter adapted from this recipe, which was adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

 

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cupcakes

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Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Spider Chocolate Chip CookiesHappy {Early} Halloween!

Have I mentioned that Halloween is actually my third favorite holiday? (If you’re wondering, first and second is a toss-up between Thanksgiving and Christmas.) I like the fact that Halloween kicks off the fall, that I get to dress up in a costume (I was a cavewoman this year…check my Instagram for pictures!), and that I get the chance to go trick-or-treating. Come on…walking around, knocking on doors, and getting bags full of candy…who wouldn’t like that? And more importantly, how can we make that happen every day of the year? I also like that people decorate their houses like crazy, that desserts become themed for a month, and that spiders, are for once, considered adorable.

I do not, in any way, like spiders. If I see one, I run. And, scream. And, then ask the closest person to kindly dispense of the creature. I just don’t want anything to do with them. Ever. And then I saw this idea for spider cookies on Pinterest. My first thought was “Ewww. Gross. Throw those cookies away and run in the opposite direction”. My second thought was ‘Wait a minute, how stinking cute would it be if I made these for Halloween?” Pretty cute, huh? That’s why I decided I had to make them.

Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just look at them. The perfect scary Halloween cookie. It was totally worth putting aside my dislike for spiders.

Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies

For these Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies all you need is your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, Halloween semi-sweet chocolate and orange colored morsels (I’m sure using just regular chocolate chips would look cute too!), and extra chocolate chips to draw your creepy crawly spiders! These cookies do take a little time to make, but I promise the end result is totalllly worth the effort :)

Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies
This isn’t really an exact recipe, just some general guidelines for how to make the cookies.

Ingredients:
24 large chocolate chip cookies (made using Halloween semi-sweet chocolate and orange colored morsels—I used Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)
¼ cup + a handful semi-sweet chocolate chips
Piping bag (with a small tip) or a Ziploc bag

Directions:
Guidelines for Baking Cookies
When making the dough for the cookies, keep a heaping ¼ cup of the orange and black chocolate chips out of the mixture.
I didn’t chill my dough (I was too excited!), which made it harder to handle when scooping out my cookies, so you might want to chill your dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Scoop a tablespoon and half of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I baked six cookies at a time).
Using the ¼ cup of colored morsels you took out, arrange a few morsels on top of the unbaked cookies. About halfway through the cookies being baked, look to make sure you have enough ‘spider bodies’ showing, if not add a few more colored morsels.
Let the cookies cool completely (about three hours) before you start decorating.

Guidelines for Decorating
To create the spiders, melt a ¼ cup + a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl (microwave in 15 minute intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth).
Spoon melted chocolate chips into a piping bag (or Ziploc bag).
First pipe the spider’s face, this means piping a circle at the top of one of the chips. Then, carefully pipe the spider’s legs.
If the chocolate becomes too thick (and the piping becomes harder), heat up the chocolate again until smooth.

 
Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies

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Pumpkin Spice Shortbread CookiesHave you heard the song “I Miss You” by Blink-182?

If you haven’t, there is a line that references The Nightmare Before Christmas: “ We can live like Jack and Sally if we want, where you can always find me, and we’ll have Halloween on Christmas”. These cookies remind me of Halloween on Christmas. Or, really it’s more of Christmas on Halloween. It’s the cookie cutters.

Cookie cutters instantly make me think of Christmas time. Specifically, it makes me think of sitting at the table, covered in flour, wearing an over-sized apron, as my two younger cousins and I frost and sprinkle (in an excessive amount that only an eight year old would consider edible) our sugar cookies.

One of my cousins, Jason, was even around as I glazed and took photos of these cookies. Actually, he always seems to be around during my dessert photo shoots. I think it’s so he can pick out which slice or cookie to eat first. In this case, he went for the owl. Followed by two bats. And later, a ghost.

Even though I’m a fan of enjoying each holiday as it comes (unlike the stores, who like to rub holidays in your face months in advance…I’ve seen Valentine’s Day stuff already…Are you kidding me?), it was actually kind of nice to think of these as Christmas on Halloween cookies. It really put me in a festive mood and made me even more excited for my future holiday baking, which I didn’t think was possible.

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies

These Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies are the perfect fall treat! The shortbread cookie itself is simple to make and has a buttery flavor with a subtle hint of pumpkin spice. The glaze is made from pumpkin spice flavored candy melts, giving each bite the perfect punch of pumpkin spice. So, if you’re in need of a pick me up, some festive spirit, or just a delicious pumpkin flavored cookie, make these. Get in your kitchen. You won’t regret it. And your relatives, like mine, will happily devour them.

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies
Yields: about 40 cookies

Ingredients:
Shortbread Cookies
½ cup (1 stick) salted-butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Glaze & Decorations
1 bag pumpkin spice candy melts
1 cup black candy melts
4 teaspoons shortening (plus some more if melts start to harden)

Directions:
Shortbread Cookies
In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese, until well combined.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt. Beat until combined.
Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
Slowly beat in flour, until mixture forms into dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Let chill for about an hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Once dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until about ¼ inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out dough.
Place cutouts an inch apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes (I found the bats cooked faster and were done around 5 ½ minutes, but the bigger cutouts took a little longer) or until the edges start to lightly brown.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely (I let mine sit over night).

Glaze & Decorations
In a microwave safe bowl, melt a cup of pumpkin spice flavored candy melts and two teaspoons of vegetable shortening. Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until the mixture is smooth (the hotter the mixture, the easier it is to glaze the cookies).
When glazing, I found that pouring the mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc bag (with the tip cut off) was extremely helpful. Pipe the outline of the cookie first and then fill the inside with glaze.
If the glaze begins to harden, add some more vegetable shortening and microwave until it becomes smooth.
Once all the cookies have been glazed orange, melt a cup of the black candy melts and two teaspoons of vegetable shortening. Microwave in 15 second intervals, until smooth.
Using a toothpick (or, a piping bag if that’s easier for you) add faces to your cookies—remember, it’s Halloween, so have fun with your faces and don’t stress if they aren’t perfect!

 
Isn’t the skeleton cup the cutest thing ever? Don’t even get me started on the napkin…

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies