Goodbye October - Cowboy Cookies

     So another Halloween has come and gone. This year was different from the others. Conner and Andrew left around 9:30am to head to the Jets vs Patriots game. It was Conner's first Football game and he had a great time. He got to eat anything he wanted, drink any soda he wanted, and came home with plenty of souvenirs! Plus he won 2 Sanchez bobble heads that I had to pick up at PC Richards Monday morning :)

     While the boys had a football day together Anjali and I enjoyed a girls Halloween. We filled our candy bowl, cleaned the house, and got dressed for trick or treating. Anjali was a Princess and I even let her wear Mommy's make-up as a special treat. We went out trick or treating with our neighbors, who also happen to be my sons best friends. We got half a bag full of candy! 

     Conner and Andrew got home around 6:30pm, just in time to get dressed and go out for more candy. Conner was a SWAT member for Halloween. This time around Conner and Daddy went trick or treating. They came home with more than enough candy to last us until next year! 

     I went through the candy to make sure nothing was opened or suspicious and put it all into one large bag. I weighed it to see how much we got...12 pounds of candy! How a 7 year old and 3 year old could manage to get 12lbs of candy in one night is beyond me. 

     So another October has ended and my focus is now on Thanksgiving! My favorite time of year is between November 1 - January 1. No other time during the year makes you focus on the ones you love as much as this time does. So to say goodbye to October and hello to November we made yummy Cowboy Cookies, enjoy! 

Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 cup butter, softened 
1 cup white sugar 
1 cup packed brown sugar 
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 cups rolled oats 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients. Stir in the rolled oats and chocolate chips*. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing. 

* we also added crushed walnuts with the chocolate chips.

Autumn/Fall crafts

Paper Pumpkins: Here are some paper pumpkins I just made. They are quick and easy to make. Just cut out eight(or more if you like) circles or ovals, fold them in half (with the pretty side inside) then glue the halves together, forming a sphere shape. Then you trim off the bottom so it stands up, and cut out a stem. You can have the kids color/paint the paper before cutting your circles. 

Soup can Ghosts/Pumpkins: Easy version: take a clean dry soup or coffee can and paint either white for a ghost or orange for a pumpkin. When they dry paint the face on with black paint or use permanent black marker like I do. Put a candle inside and your done. The longer version: First fill can with water and freeze (you can try it empty but be gentle so you don‘t dent the can). When frozen take a small nail and hammer and punch holes to outline the shape of the eyes and mouth. Then continue with the above directions. This lets the light shine thought the holes and looks great at night. Keep out of reach of little hands.

Cinnamon Ornaments: This is my favorite way to get into the holiday spirit! Candles can get expensive if your like me and light them every night! I make leaves in the fall holiday shapes in the winter. Mix 1 cup ground cinnamon, 1 cup applesauce, 1 Tbsp Elmer’s glue, and 1 tsp of allspice (optional) in bowl and stir until well blended. Work mixture in hands for three minutes to form a ball. If it is too dry, add applesauce, if too wet, add more cinnamon. Knead ball on cinnamon-sprinkled surface until it holds together well. Roll out keeping it about ¼ - ½ inch thickness then use cookie cutters for the shapes. I like to sit them in a decorative bowl but you can use a drinking straw to cut a hole in the top if you want to hang with a ribbon. These can be air dried for 24 to 48 hours, but if your impatient like me you can bake at 200 degrees for about 2 hours turning them every 30min.

This shake recipe was from Martha Stewart. Of course she does everything to perfection and the recipe calls for homemade whipped cream…obviously she does these things without children! So I cut that part out and use good old Reddi Wip.

Ghost Shakes
1 cup whole milk 
2 pints vanilla ice cream 
1 can whipped cream (original or chocolate)
A few Tbsp melted chocolate (choc chips are easy to use)

Directions 

1. Take melted chocolate and paint ghost face onto the inside of the clear glass.
2. Blend milk and 1 pint ice cream in a blender until smooth. With machine running, add remaining pint ice cream, one scoop at a time; blend until smooth. 
3.Pour milkshake into decorated glasses, filling them 3/4 full. Then add whipped cream to the top to finish them off. (Makes eight 6-ounce servings)