Favourite Halloween Movies

With Halloween now officially one week away, I figured I could finally start my Halloween posts! I decided to start with my favourite Halloween movies, because I like to start watching them waaaayyyy before Halloween. Don't expect to see any scary movies, because I do not like those at all. These are my favourite non-horror Halloween movies.

Practical Magic

This is one of my absolute favourites. It surrounds two sisters, who happen to be witches, as they accidentally commit a crime. Then a handsome inspector shows up, who looks remarkably similar to the man  one of the sisters dreamed up as a child. This movie is a must watch, it never fails to warm your heart, and get you in the halloween spirit.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

This one is a complete classic. It has romance, adventure and lots of holiday spirit. Plus, it's seasonally neutral, so you can watch it at Christmas too!

Halloween Town

These might be a little old school, but they are a Halloween must. I prefer the last one (pictured above), but all of them are the perfect marathon movies.

The Corpse Bride

This may not be a Halloween movie exactly, but it is a little spooky. This one never fails to get me in the Halloween spirit.I have watched this more times than I can count, because I love it with all my heart and sole.

Hocus Pocus

This movie is a complete and utter must. You cannot have a Halloween movie marathon without this one. It's full of the best Halloween movie making in existence.

The Addams Family

I will never know if my favourite part of this movie is young Christina Ricci or the general creepiness. I will watch this movie every Halloween until I'm old and shrivelled.  

Vanilla Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Butter Cream Frosting

This recipe is originally from sourthernkrazed.com

Vanilla Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients and Supplies:

White Cake Mix – I prefer Pillsbury Moist Supreme
Apple Cider
3 Medium Eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla
Festive or plain cupcake wrappers

Vanilla Cupcake Instructions:

Prepare the cupcakes according to box instructions, substituting the apple cider where the water is called for. Add vanilla in with the other wet ingredients.

Bake the cupcakes in preheated oven according to instructions.

For added apple flavor, you could fold in ½ cup of diced apples into the cake batter before pouring.

Apple Cider Buttercream Frosting Ingredients and Supplies:

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp meringue powder
2 tbsp apple cider
piping bag fitted with an extra large star tip

Apple Cider Buttercream Frosting Instructions:

Cream the butter and shortening together until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, meringue powder, and powdered sugar.

Slowly sift the powdered sugar and spices into the butter and shortening. Mix until well blended.

Add the vanilla and apple cider to the frosting and continue mixing until smooth.

If the frosting is too wet, gradually add more powdered sugar, if too dry, add additional apple cider.

Using an extra large star tip, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes creating an upward spiral, working from the outside of the cupcake to the center.

Fall Fair Survival

As someone currently living in a smallish town, I have a lot of personal experience surrounding the topic of fall fairs. My local fair has everything; rides, animals, contests and delicious food. I thought I'd walk you through my preparation process for these wonderful autumn traditions.

The Night Before

I like to take a relaxing bath the night before I go to a fair. I'm not suggesting you break out your most expensive Lush bath bombs, but a Bath & Body Works bubble bath works just as good. It is a great way to relax your muscles in anticipation of a long day of walking around the fair grounds.

Cash

It might be different at your fair, but at mine I find that most places only take cash. Just a word of advice, have some cold, hard cash on you.

Purse

I always recommend that people bring over the shoulder bags to fairs. You might have to take it on rides with you, and you don't want to worry about leaving it on the ground or holding on to it as tightly as you can.

Lip Balm

Okay, so a bit of a weird one. At fairs, or at least where I grew up, you are not going to have a lot of time for touch ups. This is a lip balm that adds a nice colour, plumpness and moisture to your lips. If you're someone who gets chapped lips really easily, this is the one for you. Just throw it in your bag and put it on whenever you get the chance. Your lips will thank you!

Sweater

This is my go-to sweater for fairs. It's warm, still looks cute with a jacket thrown over it, and is the comfiest thing on the planet. You can get this one at Ardene, but the moral of the story is that you need an adorable hoodie to keep yourself warm.

Hair

Take it form a girl who's experienced it, do not got to a fair with loose hair. The wind is blowing everywhere, you get on rides, you're eating taffy...It's a mess. I thick french braid, or even a ponytail is a lifesaver in this situation. 

That about sums it up for today. Let me know all about your fair experiences, and what you would like to see from me in the future. Kisses, Jamie

Candy Corn Cookies

It's that time of year again. The time where I can shamelessly post all Halloween and candy corn related things. Candy corn is my favourite seasonal candy (though it is in close contention with Valentine's Day cinnamon hearts), so I like to use as much of it as I can. I'm going to try to post one candy corn related thing each week, or more often if I can. This is my first week, some delicious Candy corn and White chocolate cookies ( originally from here).

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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, soften
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 1/2 cups candy corn (1o to 11 ounces)
1 cup white chocolate chips (or salted peanuts)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the next 5 ingredients (through optional salt), and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don't overmix.
3. Add the candy corn, white chocolate chips (or peanuts), and mix until just incorporated.
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 20). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter. Important note - Strategically place candy corn so that it's not baking directly on cookie sheet because it will melt, burn, or turn runny if it is. The candy corn pieces need to be in the interior of the cookies, shielded and buffered by dough.
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Baking longer than 10 minutes could result in cookies with overly browned undersides. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet  for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

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Please feel free to send me your favourite fall/halloween recipes. I love your suggestions. Also, let me know how these cookies worked out for you. I also might do a favourite Halloween movie list, so send me suggestions so I can be sure not to forget any.

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