Spooky and Cute Halloween Cake (semi from scratch)

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020Leave a comment

I love to bake and I love Halloween so baking a Halloween cake was so fun! This cake is easy to make and it is always delicious. The recipe has cake mix and pudding in it. The pudding make it super moist. I have made it for years but then had the idea to decorate it for Halloween! It usually is dusted with powdered sugar, but I wanted to do something festive. The decorating is simple too. The ‘hardest’ part it doing the eyes!

I always scroll through Pinterest to get ideas and inspiration. I have seen so fun Halloween inspo for cupcakes and cookies, but couldn’t find anything simple enough for me! So I took a bundt cake recipe I have used forever and added some fun! I have seen people melt the store bought frosting and drip it onto cakes so I decided to try that!! It worked! I bought cute sprinkles from Michael’s that I found in different colors and textures. This is what I think is key- having the different textures and sizes to the sprinkles.

1 package Yellow Cake Mix
1 package Chocolate Pudding Mix
8 oz Sour Cream
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1/2 C Water
4 eggs Slightly Beaten
1.5 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

You mix all the ingredients together and pour into a GREASED bundt cake pan. Bake at 350* for 40-50 mins. Once baked, let it cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan and place on cooling rack for 45min or more to cool. Once the cake is cooled you can decorate!

I used store bought icing and color gel food coloring. I slowly added the food coloring until I got the lavender color I wanted. I put the icing in a microwave safe bowl and microwaved in increments of 15 secs until I got the consistency I wanted. I did not want it too thin and runny, I wanted it still a bit firm, but with enough movement to pour and make the fun drips. I poured the frosting on slowly and went around a couple of times until I achieved the look I was going for. Next I did the sugar crystal sprinkles, the pink jimmy sprinkles, then the green round one. At the end I added the eyes. I placed two eyes next to each other around the cake at different levels.

And Viola! Our not so spooky Halloween Bundt Cake! Millie was VERY impressed! She said “Wow it looks bootiful mommy!!”. It was really sweet to hear how impressed she was in her voice and intonation! Making magic in the kitchen is one of my favorite things to do. I love the joy it brings me and my family.

Making Bath Time Fun!

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020Leave a comment

Does your kid love to shower or take a bath? Millie actually loves to do both! She will ask for a ‘shower-bath’ some nights- which is her having the shower on while the bath tub is filling up! She always has a blast. Recently we have been making bath time even more fun by adding glow sticks or balloons! It is the simple things that make it ALL the rage!

One of my favorite new additions to our bath time routine is JOHNSON’S New Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner. These are the best haircare products out there for your littles. We love the Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner, but they have a range of new shampoo and conditioners for different kids’ hair types. I love that it is gentle, but strong enough for Millie’s hair type. She has fine hair and the new Strengthening Shampoo & Conditioner help prevent breakage! After the shower (or sometimes during her bath) we use JOHNSON’S Shiny & Soft Kids’ Conditioning Spray with Softening Argan Oil. I LOVE this one. Her hair is fine and can get tangled, and the spray helps the brush glide through her hair and there are no tears! Yay! It leaves her hair shiny and smooth and ready for whatever hairstyle she wants to try the next day.

Another GREAT part of the new JOHNSON’S line is that it is available via Walmart OPD or in-store in the Personal Care aisle of the Health & Beauty department. I walked right back and grabbed them while shopping!

Bath time is always a fun part of our evening routine! Adding simple items like balloons, water paints, and toys makes it more fun! Having the #1 kids trusted brand for shampoo & conditioner makes cleaning and conditioning her hair a no brainer! We all want the best for our littles and I have found that with these products that are designed for various hair types!

Easy and Cute Chocolate Covered Ghost Marshmallow Treats

October 1, 2020October 1, 20201 Comment

Today we made the cutest and easiest little Halloween Treat! Millie LOVES marshmallows and since Peeps isn’t making their holiday treats this year (dang you Corona) I decided to make a little something special. This was very simple to prep, make, and clean up.

I found Ghost Marshmallows at Walmart- their brand. I bought dipping chocolates, halloween themed sprinkles, and I had the cakepop sticks. I used wax paper to put chocolate covered ghosts on to decorate and put them in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to set. That’s it! So SIMPLE! Millie LOVED doing this. She needed some hand over hand to help with the dipping, but she did all the decorating with the sprinkles! She loved that part….and she ate all the sprinkles. She is so silly!

Ingredients-

Ghost Marshmallows (Walmart)
Dipping Chocolate
Cakepop/Lollipop Sticks
Halloween Sprinkles
Wax Paper

First put the stick into the Ghost Marshmallow. Then dip the marshmallow into the chocolate and tap off the excess chocolate. Place on the wax paper and top with sprinkles immediately. Once all done put in the fridge for 15 mins or so to set up, then you’re able to take out of the fridge.

These would be so cute for a little halloween party or to give out for Boo Baskets for friends! I hope y’all like them as much as we do!

Fun and Simple Halloween Party for Kids

September 25, 2020September 25, 20202 Comments

Wanting to make a simple and fun Halloween Party? That is what we did the other day! Millie wanted to have a tea party with her favorite dolls so I decided to make it a girly halloween theme! It was so simple to set up. The adorable Ghost plates, napkins and cups were sent to us from Pom Pom Party shop . I had some little bats and skull rings I picked up at the Dollar Store and purple pompoms that I sprinkled around the table.

I made a fun Halloween inspired charcuterie board. I used Reese’s Pieces, powdered sugar donuts, brownie bites, bat marshmallows from Walmart (there is no Peeps this year- so finding these was fun!), and Halloween Joe Joe’s from Trader Joes. I used a tupperware lid to make the board. It helps having a lip to hold everything on. I tried to do black and white for the Halloween theme on the board and sprinkle in the colored Reese’s Pieces around to fill in the holes. So simple!

We set up her little table in the yard and had our party!! She couldn’t wait to dig into the donuts! Those are her favorite. This was a simple and fun way to brighten our week. It took no time to set up and was adorable. Her sweet Cuddle and Kind Dolls, Zoe and Chloe, had a great time too!

This is an easy party you can set up for your little one and their dolls or other friends! Having a girls Halloween party was too sweet!

The Best S’mores Cookies Ever

September 16, 2020September 18, 20209 Comments

S’mores…..yum. They are one of my favorites, but I never make them. We don’t have a fire pit, we live in Texas, and a hundred other reasons why. There is something about warm melted chocolate and that toasty marshmallows.

Since I love s’mores, but never seem to make an actual s’more I decided to make S’mores cookies. I tried a few recipes and made a few of my own. This is the one that tastes the best and cooks the best! Some I made were very runny or didn’t taste enough like s’mores for my liking!

These are very simple to make and they have the basic cookie and s’more’s ingredients. The cookies were fun to make and everyone seemed to enjoy them!

(Preheat oven to 375*)

First cream the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in the mixer. Next slowly add flour, baking soda, salt, and graham cracker crumbs. (Side note- you can buy graham cracker crumbs at the store or make them yourself. I put them in my cuisinart to make the crumbs) Then fold in the Hershey’s bar pieces. This next step is the MOST IMPORTANT. You need to put the dough into the fridge for minimum 60 mins. If you don’t your cookies will be RUNNY. The will NOT bake properly and you will be sad.

Once they are nice and cold spoon cookies onto a baking sheet. I always use parchment paper when I bake. Makes the cookies come off easier and clean up easier too.

Bake the cookies for 7 mins then pull the cookies out and place the marshmallow on top of each cookie. Place back into the oven for 3 minutes. After that they are ready to come out! Let them cool and then they are ready to eat!

They were delish and we all enjoyed them! Remember to put the dough in the fridge!!!

What is your favorite type of cookie?!