SIMPLE DRESS-UPS FOR HALLOWEEN…TREATS & A ‘THANK YOU’!
“Bring forth the raisins and the nuts
Tonight All-Hallows’ Specter struts
Along the moonlit way.”
John Kendrick Bangs
This is just a quick post, more pictures, few words…& recipes to follow, or maybe a link if you want to fall-o! BOO…where did the months go? It’s almost the end of the year, & I’m racing against time. We don’t celebrate Halloween here in India, though I like the fun kids in the US have dressing up etc. Also love the way the houses & porches are done up. Halloween is special for us every year since my niece’s birthday falls just a day before, October 30th! This year she turns 13…woohoo. Just spoke to her a couple of hours ago in Dallas, with her mouth full of toothpaste, & she strangely, & spookily (true to Halloween) muttered her feelings. 
Entering her teens, at 13, she said, I’m worried that time is flying by so soon…hmmm…I’m trying to think when such emotions hit me. A couple of years ago maybe. Talk about being in control…she was worried that she still hadn’t got any presents as yet (it was 7am there) & rattled off a list of things she’s asked for. Went on to state the things she felt might be add-ons as they were available in the store anyway…see…clarity of thought & knowing what she wants! Ask me & I’ll insanely mutter jabberwocky like rectangular pie dish, canelle knife, silpat sheets…get a life woman!! 
Let me get on with the simple dress-ups I did while baking this past week or so. So here we go…some Ghostly Coffee Chocolate-chip Cupcakes, with the ‘ghostly’ idea coming from a post at Me & My Kitchen I saw a while ago, though mine don’t look half as good as the ones there. Recipe for the muffins can be found here.
The recipe is the same as the one I posted earlier, only that I substituted the yogurt with sour cream, skipped the cocoa & added 1/4 cup flour instead, added a generous tbsp of coffee while beating in the eggs & used Ghirardeli bitter-sweet chocolate chips. Topped the tops with some melted chocolate & made the ghost with buttercream. Though they would have been better with whipped cream, but that didn’t happen.
Also, made some Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Walnut Cookies with my own substitutions because I ran out of 3 cups of oat half way through. I always prided myself for being organised & well stocked. Pride comes before fall (Autumn?…no, literally) & I ran to substitute coz the butter had been whipped & the kids were waiting for warm cookies. 
Came out quite nice, I can say with a huge sense of relief. When warm, the hub decided they were ‘brownie cookies’…& the kids sneaked quite a few away! Recipe in the days to fall-0, ooops I mean come.
Made a Coffee Chocolate Pound Cake in my favourite bundt tin….had no time to scare it up for Halloween. Thought I’d drizzle some dark chocolate cobwebs all over & strategically place spiders all , but never got that far. Even thought that that I’d line the top with ghosts…hmmmmm. 
This is my favourite pound cake recipe, indulgent, & versatile, adapted from ‘The Better Homes & Gardens Cake & Cookies Book’. I play around with the recipe often, & it works well with different flavours. Have tried nutmeg, strawberry, vanilla-orange, chocolate-orange, coffee-dark chocolate chips in the past, & have had spooktacular results each time! The recipe can be found HERE.
This is my favourite pound cake recipe, indulgent, & versatile, adapted from ‘The Better Homes & Gardens Cake & Cookies Book’. I play around with the recipe often, & it works well with different flavours. Have tried nutmeg, strawberry, vanilla-orange, chocolate-orange, coffee-dark chocolate chips in the past, & have had spooktacular results each time! The recipe can be found HERE.
Take a peek-a-boo at my Booscotti biscotti which I posted a few days ago! It’s here & looked like this! I had fun doing all this…but am quite exhausted now! End with some pictures of nature showing up in colours to match this post. The first lot are of a stray that’s been adopted by my Mom. It comes by for a bowl of milk every evening & then curls up in his/her spot in the sun.
The next lot are of a moth (there are loads of these at our place these days) that gets disturbed every morning & keeps fluttering around looking for a spot to rest. Beautiful colours, which are even more spectacular when the wings are open, but hard to click.
HAVE A SCARY HALLOWEEN ALL YOU GUYS………..BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
This post is headed to Ivy & Val for their World Food Day event for November, TIME TO BE THANKFUL…they say,
“November is the month of Thanksgiving we as Foodies have more reasons to be thankful as we not only have food to survive on but food to blog about.”
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you foodies & bloggers for making the world such an interesting place, worthwhile day after day, sharing your space with others. It’s changed my world, added new meaning, dimensions & passion to my ‘everyday’….THANK YOU!!
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
17 Comments
Manggy
What a spread! You have certainly been keeping very busy over the kids’ treats! Good job Deeba 🙂
Ivy
Oh Deeba, you did such a great job and the kids must be thrilled with all these goodies you are preparing. Before I forget Happy Birthday to your niece.
We neither celebrate Halloween in Greece but I’ve made my cupcakes and also did a cob web decoration (remember the cake I had made?)and a few other themes.
Thanks for submitting your recipe to the WFD Event and reminding us of all the things we should be thankful for.
Navita
Hi Deeba,
Happy Halloween. Just finished updating my blog with a halloween treat. I stumbled upon your blog while browsing through foodbuzz.
http:/cooking-up-a-storm-zaayeka.blogspot.com/
I really like your blog…the layout,the material, and above all the recipes with those lovely pics…Neat! You are an amazing cook.
I am a new-kid-on-the-blog scene,just a few weeks old. I request you to kindly visit my blog (above) and advise upon its improvement.
I am a lesser mortal, not a techie ‘-(, but I am willing to learn.
Today I got one of my very firs awards by a fellow blogger Sudeshna of Here I Cook. But I don’t know how to add the logo etc etc. I liked your style where it says-Awards I cherish…
Could you please help me with how to get that plz.
Forever thankful
Navita
snoritaz123@yahoo.com
Maggie
Happy Halloween and a Happy Birthday to your niece! All the food looks fantastic and I really like the creepy skull and pumpkin decorations you have.
Navita
Hey Deeba,
Thanks for the quick response. My email id was there in my last post itself.
snoritaz123@yahoo.com
In any case,I am a total dumbo when it comes to all that HTML stuff. So u will have to be patient and crystal clear. (Your hard luck, you got a stupid student aka me)! But I promise to try and learn fast.:-)
Proud Italian Cook
Deeba, Thank YOU, for all your beautiful posts! Now I need to go and make that chocolate coffee poundcake!
Gloria
Deeba all look so beautiful! you wrked alot!! I have tosa y daugther today (she has 14) is going to a friend to stay at Halloween, normally I dont celebrated, but I find so cute a lot of things but Daugther love! when thair (twins) have 4 or 5 they asked treats near home and hubby and me follwing them in the car , (you never know)Make me smiling remember waht serius they asked the treats with and Umbrella because reained a lot!! Lovely memories!!!! You make me remember all today!!! xxxxxGloria(Thanks by your post are really beauty)
Did you read in other post that I said you how make Ricotta cheese???
Kalai
You have really been a busy bee, haven’t you? All the goodies look amazing! Can’t wait for the cookie recipe! 🙂
Passionate About Baking
I'm sorry that you weren't able to leave comments for a while as I was fiddling around with the settings…& messed them up. I think it's back to normal now…a 1000 apologies!
Reeni
All your goodies look fantastic! I love how you do your photo collages, so beautiful.
farida
SO many great goodies you’ve whipped up, Deeba! You are very creative. You worked so hard! As to me, I didn’t’ bake anything special for the kids on Halloween:) I shouldn’t’ show this treats to my daughter or she will accuse of being a lazy Halloween mom:)
Helene
I hope you had a beautiful Halloween.
Sweetiepie
happy halloween!Those treats looks delicious.Ghostly Coffee Chocolate-chip Cupcakes looks spooky 🙂
nicisme
Fun ideas here, I’m liking the cupcakes mmmm…
Snooky doodle
wow nice photos and great recipes. Happy halloween 🙂
Rosie
What a beautiful spread Deeba and a great entry to WFD.
Rosie x
Jeanne
Loke the spooky Halloween treats – and what a gorgeous kitty!