Trick or Treat

Hoo? Oh, the party already began! Sorry I'm a little late posting - my computer shut down in mid-blog last night and lost my stuff. I was sooo tired I had to leave it til today. Let's get started - I'm not much for tricks, but I do have a few treats, but first - the decorations. They set the tone for the party -

Nothing says spooky like some skulls in an apothocary jar on the mantel. And my spider candle holder is one of my favorites - it always looks like it is about to crawl off the mantel.

Oh, beware of the attack cat - he thinks he owns the mantel.

*Hisssss* Stay away from the owl - he's mine!!

But while we are over here, would you like some candy?

I just had to share this cool Halloween dish I got at Cracker Barrel of all places. It's still on sale if you have one near you - soooo cute!

And I also got this at the Cracker Barrel - so cute. BOO!!

And now for some cookies:

I bought some new little bitty Halloween cookie cutters that I just had to try out - I have the best sugar cookie recipe so I made them the other day. They are by far the best sugar cookies to taste - they have the slightest hint of lemon to cut the sweetness and the stuff they sell in a tube at the store around this time of year is absolutely awful compared to these.

If ever I could cast a spell to give everyone that visits a cookie I would - they are too good!

I just wish I was better at decorating them - I'm no Martha Stewart. Oh well - they may look juvenile, but they taste better than they look and I'm having trouble keeping people from eating them before I can take a picture. Here's the recipe:


Nicki's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Cookies

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Salt
1 cup butter or margarine
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Lemon Extract


Frosting

2 cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tbsp Half & Half (or Milk)

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.
In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt, mix well.

Using fork or pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. In small bowl, beat eggs; gradually add sugar, vanilla and lemon extract, beating until light. Add this mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl, mix by hand and knead until dough forms, dough will be sticky. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour for easier handling.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/3 at a time, to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters - I used small ones, but usually 2-3 inch cutters are best. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6 - 11 minutes or until lightly golden brown. (If making smaller cookies watch them carefully - the bake very quickly). Wait a minute to remove cookies as they will be limp, then remove to cool completely before decorating.

In small bowl, combine all ingredients adding enough half & half or milk for desired consistency. Blend until smooth. Then decorate as you like - pipe it on the cookies, spread thinly, whatever. Then sprinkle colored sugars or sprinkles.



As you can see - they are a bit of work to make - but sooo worth it. And while we are still in the kitchen - check out my new kitchen towel I got at Target:


And now for some othe party goers - Marie, the small porcelain doll is enjoying some of my miniatures:







I made her a little jack o lantern to store her goodies in - a large twisty sucker, chocolate - of course, licorice, and caramel apples. If you'd like to see the Country Living cake miniature I made in a little more detail - see my past posts.


And didn't I promise a give away?? Yes, I did:




Nothing says Halloween like a witch on a broom - this stain glass decoration is soooo cute. I had to buy one for a gift and another for here to give away. So please leave a comment on this post if you'd like it and I will randomly select a lucky person to get this. I guess I'll pick by Tuesday?? It's not a lot of time, I know, but I want to quickly ship it out so someone gets it by Halloween.

Here's a pic of it with the light shining through.


Not a great pic, but you get the idea. Cuter in person.

So...that's all for now - Happy Halloween!! Off I go to check some other blog partiers. I'll be posting more Halloween stuff right up to the day so be sure to check back here now and then.