My Fall Baking Bucket List

I LOVE Fall. Are you as excited as I am that it's finally here?

I love all things Fall:  the smell of the air, festivals, pumpkins, football, open windows, chili, soup, candles burning, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Advent. I love homemade Chex mix (we don't call it trash), decorating, cooking in the oven, and most especially baking.

Here in Aggieland we don't use the oven much from April through at least October, it's just too hot. But cooler weather is coming, I feel it and I'm ready with my bucket list of goodies I'm going to bake for my family.


Pumpkin White Chocolate Drops
Butterscotch Blondie Pie
My Mom's Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie Crunch
Caramel Corn
Pumpkin Bread


And my other Fall favorites:
Spicy Chex Mix- we make at least 8 of these double batches each year.
Chicken Pot Pie
Chili
Quiche
Soups

Here are some apple recipes.
and here are some Halloween recipes.

What are your favorites?

Costumes for All Saints' Day

I am a procrastinator this year....no, I just didn't have time to even try to put together costumes for my kids. I just started my candy/cookie business on October 1, and it's off to a good start so I've dedicated a lot of time to that.

I must admit my knowledge of saints is still in the beginning stage and since this will be the first year we can attend the celebration, I am frantically trying to put something together. I quickly turned to Catholic Icing for ideas. There are so many wonderful ideas that I became overwhelmed and started putting them altogether in a spreadsheet. That's my OCD kicking in and it's okay if you laugh at me. Anyway, I found that all you really need is a good robe (pillowcase with holes cut or an adult t-shirt turned inside out if you're really in a hurry) in brown, white, black, maybe red or green. For a veil, you could use a skirt. Some costumes require rope around the waist. Then you add some accessories. It seems so much simpler when written this way, but looking at all the fabulous ideas on the blog was overwhelming.

So I stayed up a litle late last night making a spreadsheet. I am grouping all girls' costumes and then all boys'. Then I am grouping them by color of robe. Last is a column listing what accessories are needed. It makes it seem so much simpler (in my head at least).

If anyone can tell me how to attach a spreadsheet or put it on a website you can link to, let me know so I can share. Until then, if you leave your email address, I'll be happy to email a copy of the unfinished spreadsheet to you.

Recipe Roundup-Fun stuff for kids

Right now I'm thinking about fun Halloween ideas to do with your kids.

Classic Salt Dough Ornament Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Directions:1. Mix salt and flour.
2. Add in half the water, then gradually add the remaining water.
3. Knead until the dough is smooth, this can take up to 10 minutes.
4. For flat dough ornaments roll out the dough on baking paper Or be creative and make odd shapes and wreaths (takes longer to bake)
Create: Use cookie cutters, cut-out templates, or just use your hands.Dust dough with flour and begin to add details to the ornaments with a toothpick, popsicle stick, and knife. Don't Forget: Use a straw to make a hole so you can hang the ornament.
Baking: Time varies based on thickness of ornamentTemperature: 325 degreesTime: 1 1/2 hours - or until dry
Decorate: Let cool before you beginPaint with acrylic paintsGlue on beads, buttons, or any fun accessoryPreservation: Making them last a long timeCoat with acrylic varnish when everything is dry