Halloween Treats

Caramel Corn

Ingredients:

4-5 quarts popcorn, popped (no microwave)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup margarine or unsalted butter

¼ cup dark corn syrup

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted cashews

2 cups unsalted almonds

Directions:

1. Place already popped popcorn into a paper sack. Add in nuts.
2. In a 2 quart bowl, microwave butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt on high for 2 ½ minutes. Carefully remove from microwave and stir in baking soda. It will turn a caramel color.
3. While sugar is hot pour over the popcorn while it is in the sack. Stir to evenly coat all the kernels. Roll up top and place in microwave. Heat for 4 minutes on HIGH. Every minute stop and shake but then return to heat. Once done, immediately pour out on cookie sheets to cool.
4. Place cooled caramel corn in an airtight container.

Spooky Cat Cookies

8 ounces butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Candy corns

Red hot candies (cinnamon candies)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a couple of cookie sheets with release foil or parchment.
2. Cream butter and sugar with mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir into butter mixture. Shape dough into 1 ½ inch balls and place 3 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Insert sticks.
5. Press down with bottom of sugared glass (I used my hand) to make a circle. Use fork tines to make whiskers. Pinch tops to make ears.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately decorate as pictured with candy corn. Use red candy for nose. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

Kitty Litter Cake

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies

3 drops green food coloring

1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

NEW CLEAN LITTER BOX

NEW CLEAN POOPER SCOOPER

Directions:

1. Prepare cake mix and bake according to package directions (any size pan). Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.
2. Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.
3. Once cake is cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. Just add the pudding till it is clumpy. You do not want this to be soggy.
4. Put cake mixture into NEW litter box. Spread around to fill
5. Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.
6. Heat the Tootsie Rolls in the microwave 20 seconds at a time. You do not want them to melt completely. Just enough that you can form them into little poops. Use your imagination! Bury some in the cake, on top of the cookie topping and maybe even one over the side. Serve with a NEW pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.