• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Get Cooking!

Recipes, Kitchen Gadgets, Cookbook Reviews, Gluten Free Recipes...

  • Home
    • Contact
    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
    • Store
  • Reviews
    • Cookware Reviews
    • Food Reviews
      • Gluten Free Food Reviews
      • Health Food Reviews
    • Bakeware
    • Candy Reviews
    • Coffee Reviews
      • Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
      • Coffee Makers & Grinders
    • Cookbook Reviews
      • Cooking Magazines
    • Kitchen Gadgets
    • Small Kitchen Appliances
  • Gifts & Collectibles
    • Candy Bowls
    • Christmas Shopping
    • Coffee Mugs
    • Canister Sets
    • Cookie Cutters
    • Gifts for Coffee Lovers
    • Gifts for Tea Lovers
    • Owls in the Kitchen
    • Pig Collectors
  • Recipe Index
  • How to Be a Better Cook
    • Baked Sweet Potatoes in the Oven
    • Cooking Videos
    • PERFECT Baked Potatoes in Your Oven
You are here: Home / Archives for Recipes / Fall Favorites / Halloween Treats

Halloween Treats

Adorable Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutter Set PLUS Tips for Baking with Children

October 21, 2022 By Joi Sigers

Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutter Set

Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutters (Amazon link)

While I have always loved to cook and bake, it have never been more enjoyable and rewarding for me than when I am in the kitchen with one of my daughters (when they were children or today!) or grandbabies.

Children make the entire affair messier, slower, and considered (by some anyway) to a bit less “Instagram-worthy” – however, they also make it all a perfect and absolute joy. More about cooking and baking with children in a moment, but first I want to show and tell you about a wonderful set of Halloween Cookie Cutters (Amazon link) from Wilton. They’re pictured above and in many of the photos shown below of me and Maddox (4) in action yesterday.

Halloween Cookies with Maddox

Halloween Cookies by Maddox!

His little brother Jacoby (3) fell asleep just as the cookies were coming together, so we plan to make more next week so he can take part. That ought to be worth the price of admission!

This adorable set of Halloween cookie cutters includes pumpkin, ghost, and candy corn shapes. We actually ran out of yellow food coloring, so we pivoted mid-cookie decorating and turned the “candy corn” into witches hats.

Halloween Cookies with Maddox

Pumpkins, Ghosts and an Unexpected Witch’s Hat

As Maddox said, “That works anyways!”

When we went shopping for our sugar cookie and icing ingredients, we grabbed some really pretty sparkly sprinkles for the ghosts… they’re very much glamour ghosts, you understand. Fortunately we (somehow!) still had some of the Wilton Sprinkles I told y’all about yesterday. Jacoby was (wide) awake for that one, so (trust me) having sprinkles left is thisclose to a miracle!

Halloween Cookies with Maddox

The Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutters (Amazon link) are extraordinary – VERY well-made and comfortable to use (for small hands and larger hands). Some cookie cutters are floppy and awkward, these are an absolute dream. I know they’ll be used for years and years and years with my grandbabies… all three will will make memories with me with these and that fills my heart with all kinds of sweet joy.

Tips for Baking with Children

Maddox using Halloween Cookie Cutters from Wilton

Maddox Rolling Out the Dough

  1. Through out boy/girl stereotypes. As a mother of three girls who always helped in the kitchen and three grandabies who are all boys (ages 2, 3, and 4…  how cool is that?). I will admit that there are many things that are quite different between the two. However, cooking is wonderful fun for everyone! Helping clean up, afterward, isn’t quite as fun, but with the right energy, you can make it  as fun as possible (putting on a song they love like “Monster Mash” helps). Never assume the little boy(s) in your family won’t enjoy cooking and baking just as much as the little girls. After all, think of all the male chefs in the world. Their passion very well may have started in the kitchen with their parents, aunts/uncles, or grandparents.
  2. Supervise, don’t smother! When cooking with children, you want them to enjoy the experience… you want them to, hopefully, fall in love with both cooking and spending time with you. One sure way to keep that from happening is to criticize or hyper-direct their every move. Let them get creative…. let them do as many (safe) things by themselves as possible…. let them have an eye-level view of everything going on (a chair helps with the real short ones!)… let them have fun… and, for goodness sakes, let them be kids! When my girls were small and now with my grandbabies, I obviously knew that if I rolled the dough, it would be more even and if I chose the colors or did the icing, it would look more “professional” but where’s the fun in that?! Maddox decided halfway through the icing that he wanted some ghosts that were his favorite color (blue), so by gosh, we made that happen. He said they were “Sonic the Hedgehog ghosts” and he even put red shoes on one of them! Unfortunately, he bit the shoes off before I could get a picture (the shoeless Sonic ghost is pictures somewhere above.. just look for the bite marks!). If you make a child feel successful and confident, he/she will be much more inclined to want to pursue the interest. Make him/her feel like they’re letting you down or that you have to “correct” or “fix” their every move and you’re going to lose the cutest help you could ever hope for.
  3. Obviously, keep them safe. This almost goes without saying, but I have to say it. Be sure they stay away from knives, hot pans, hot water, and the stove.
  4. Use it (and everything!) as a FUN learning experience. Turn off the tv, apps, and the outside world and just live totally in the moment with your child(ren). Count cookies, use math, teach color combinations, shapes, etc. When making cookies, all sorts of opportunities for new words come up (rolling pin, flatten, dusting with flour…). I also love the fact that lessons for “planning” and “reasoning” comes up… for example, when cutting cookies, deciding which shape can be used as the dough dwindles down or which shape can be used the most often. Maddox figured out at one point (as I watched silently… the best learning is ALLOWED to happen after all) that turning the triangle shape “opposite” ways allowed him to keep from rolling the dough again…. not that he didn’t love doing that!

Maddox Concentrating on Making Halloween Cookies

Maddox, Concentrating on His Ghosts!

Also, keep in mind that (to a very large degree) people love to be around us because of the way we make them feel. Make the children in your kitchen feel loved, welcome, and downright cherished!

I want to extend a large, heartfelt thank you to Wilton for sending me their WONDERFUL products in exchange for telling you about them. They helped me create extra special memories this Halloween and I know they will for many years to come.

Find Wilton’s Phenomenal Baking Products on Amazon (Amazon link).

Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutters, Sprinkles and Pie Crust Molds

Filed Under: Cookies, Fall Favorites, Halloween Treats, Happy Holidays!, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Gadget Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: Baking with Kids Tips, cookie cutters, kids in the kitchen, Wilton Halloween Cookie Cutters

Wilton Halloween Sprinkles and a SIMPLE Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

October 20, 2022 By Joi Sigers


Sweet Jacoby with Cookie

Jacoby (3) With One of His Creations!

Two of my grandbabies and I made Peanut Butter Cookies recently and decided we simply HAD to use our Wilton Halloween Sprinkles on top… it is the Halloween season after all! Like all Wilton sprinkles, they’re perfectly delicious and have ZERO hint of an artificial flavor (some non-Wilton brands do taste a little artificial).

Cookies with Babies

Peanut Butter Cookies and LOTS of Sprinkles

Our Gluten-Free 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

  • 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Egg

SIMPLE Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix your ingredients – sugar, peanut butter, and egg – in a bowl. You don’t even need a mixer!
  • Spoon cookie dough into heaps onto an ungreased cookie sheet (use parchment paper for easier cleanup).
  • Cust fork in sugar and use the tines to make criss-cross pattern on each cookie before baking.
  • Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Do not overbake! They’re best soft.

Sweet Maddox with Cookie Crumb Lips!

Maddox (4) with Sprinkle Lips!

Now, obviously, you can use these sprinkles judiciously and make VERY eye-catching cookies, candies, pies, cupcakes, and cakes… but if you’re lucky enough to have little kitchen elves, you can make a joyful, chaotic, and beautiful creation!

Cookies with Babies

Let the Sprinkles Rain AND Reign!

You can find a great number of Wilton sprinkles and sanding sugars (Amazon link) on Amazon. The one my little kitchen elves and I used, here, is available on their website and in stores.

Cookies with Babies

Filed Under: Cookies, Fall Favorites, Food Reviews, Gluten Free, Halloween Treats, Happy Holidays!, Kids in the Kitchen, Quick and Easy Recipes, Reviews Tagged With: baking with kids, cooking with kids, gluten-free peanut butter cookies, Wilton Cookie sprinkles

Adorable Chocolate Jack O’Lanterns

October 22, 2015 By Joi Sigers

Pritikin Pumpkin Chocolate Mousse

Healthy, Adorable, and Fun!

 

Halloween doesn’t have to be unhealthy. Same can be said for the fast approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, as well. The trick is to have a plan and stick to it.  If you fill your home with candy, make no mistake about it – you’re going to eat until it’s gone!

Plan on healthier alternatives this Halloween. The recipe below above makes a wonderful, healthier alternative… and, come on, how cute is it?!?!

I’ll add a few more healthier but still delicious and fun Halloween treats over the coming days.

Creating these little Jack O’Lanterns is as simple as carving out oranges and filling them with Pritikin’s Chocolate Mousse! When fun and chocolate team up, you have a surefire winner.

Recipe and Photo Credit: Pritkin

Filed Under: Chocolate!, Halloween Treats Tagged With: Halloween treats, Healthy Desserts, Healthy Halloween Treats, healthy snacks

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes (Review)

June 10, 2014 By Joi Sigers

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

The Definitive Collection of Candy Recipes!

I was recently sent a great candy cookbook to review, FILLED with some of the best recipes of all time. I was actually planning to save my review of 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes: Brittles, Caramels, Chocolate, Fudge, Truffles and So Much More (Amazon link) for September because I wanted to tell you all about it right before Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas baking.

Then, this morning, it hit me – what if you’d like to try out some of these recipes over the summer before making candy for your family and gifts.

Besides, is it ever the wrong time to make candy?

I’ve read a lot of candy cookbooks in my time (I even own a couple of great ones), but I’ve never seen a collection of candy recipes quite like this one.  Not only does this cookbook contain every type of candy you can imagine, it has a lot you could never even begin to mentally conjure up!

One of my favorite things about 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes is the fact that each recipe has ingredients you can easily find – no matter where you live, you won’t find yourself asking, “Will my store even have that… and, if not, what am I going to use for a substitute???”

The recipes are also highly do-able, for any level of cook – newbies and veterans, alike.  The step-by-step instructions are crystal clear and the author includes countless tips and advice that can only come with experience.

Even though I’m a chocoholic and am more fudge and divinity obsessed than anyone has a right to be, the first recipe I actually looked for when the cookbook came in the mail was for a childhood candy I remember my mom making – “Potato Candy.”   It’s hard to find the recipe and on the few occasions I have come across Potato Candy recipes, they’re never “quite” like I remember.

I’m THRILLED to say that I found exactly what I was looking for on page 104 –  the Potato Candy recipe I remember and I’m beside myself with happiness!.  It’s called “Potato Pinwheels” and has the exact ingredients I remember using when I made this candy with my mom – a cooked potato, vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, peanut butter, and pecans (or walnuts or peanuts).

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

Tuxedo Fudge (left) and Chocolate-Cherry Creams and Elegant Sparkling Strawberries (right)

 

Some of the 300 Candy Recipes Include:

  • Elegant Sparkling Strawberries (Gorgeous for Christmas!)
  • Buckeyes
  • Golf Balls
  • Potato Fudge
  • Classic Pecan Roll
  • Caramel Pecan Roll
  • White Taffy (and other taffy recipes)
  • Glass Candy
  • New Orleans Roasted Pecan Pralines
  • Mom’s Divinity
  • Cherry-Nut Nougat
  • Peppermint Taffy (also a must for Christmas)
  • Brown Sugar Taffy
  • Chocolate Fudge Recipes
  • Five-Minute Fudge
  • Christmas Fudge
  • Candied Citrus Peel
  • Peanut Butter Fudge Recipes
  • Creamy White Fudge
  • Pumpkin Fudge (A Halloween tradition)
  • Creamy Orange Fudge
  • Coconut Fudge
  • A lot of other fudge recipes!
  • Martha Washingtons
  • Coconut Bonbons
  • Kentucky Bourbon Balls
  • Spiced Pecans
  • County Fair Nuts
  • Toffee
  • Lollipops (again, great fun for Halloween)
  • Old Fashioned Popcorn Balls
  • Microwave Caramel Popcorn
  • Carnival Candied Apples
  • Old-Fashioned Caramel Apples
  • Simple Barks (White Chocolate, Chocolate-Nut, Cherry Almond…)
  • Chocolate Coconut Drops
  • Chocolate Marshmallow Turtles
  • Triple Delight Pecan Patties
  • Chocolate Peanut Clusters
  • Rocky Road
  • Heavenly Hash
  • Caramel-Nut Marshmallows

And the list goes on and on and on and on.

300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes

Marry Me Toffee (left) and Lollipops (Right)

Book Description:

The step-by-step candy bible for home candy-makers.

With hundreds of recipes for mouthwatering candies, chocolates, pralines, crèmes, fudges, toffee, holiday treats and no-bake cookies, this candy cookbook covers the traditional to the exotic.

Complete with easy-to-follow instructions and 75 step-by-step photos, this is a treasure trove of information and inspiring recipes. Although many are intimidated at the thought of making candies at home, Jane Sharrock shows how to master a few basic principles that every candy maker should know. She makes it easy to produce delicious goodies in the home kitchen.

See  300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes for more information. This is definitely a cookbook you’ll want to have in your candy-making hands long before Halloween and Christmas. This is going to be our most delicious holiday season ever.

 

Filed Under: Candy, Christmas Baking, Food Blog, Halloween Treats Tagged With: Candy, candy recipes, Cookbook Reviews

Halloween Dessert: Simple No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

September 10, 2013 By Joi Sigers

This recipe was written before I had to give up wheat/gluten for health reasons and before the blog and I both went gluten-free! It is not, obviously, at all a gluten-free recipe BUT can certainly be adapted to gluten-free cooking with substitutions. Gluten-free Oreos are easily available (and are they ever delicious?!) and you can even find pre-made gluten-free graham cracker crusts (Meijer carries a great one).

No Bake Oreo Halloween Cheesecake

A No Bake Cheesecake That’s Perfect for Halloween

Some recipes on the food blog were published before I had to give up gluten and wheat – therefore they’re not all gluten free. This recipe, for example, is NOT. However, you can make it gluten free by using a gluten free graham cracker crust and substituting gluten free “sandwich style” cookies for the Oreos. 

I took off for Kroger a few days ago with a single purpose in mind:  Buy any and all ingredients necessary to make a dessert that’s:

  • Cream Cheese-y
  • Chocolate-y
  • Halloween-Themed
  • Quick and Easy

The first two are self-explanatory – I live for the flavors of cream cheese and chocolate. The third is because I believe in squeezing every bit out of each season and having so much fun  people think you’ve finally snapped your twig.

The quick and easy part was because I wanted it asap.  The beautiful thing about this recipe is there are very few ingredients – meaning not only is it quick, easy, and inexpensive, but more importantly, the cheesecake flavor isn’t interrupted by anything trying to upstage it.

I normally use regular Oreos for this cheesecake but I’d spied Oreo’s Halloween version a few days ago and thought they’d be extra cute.  They were. (They’re also extra cute in a large glass jar – extra points if it’s a glass pumpkin-shaped jar.)

I have a large family that eats dessert like it’s their job, so I always double recipes. However, I’ll just give the single version below, because not everyone lives with a pack of cute wolves.

 


Filed Under: Cheesecakes, Cream Cheese Recipes, Halloween Treats, Quick and Easy Recipes Tagged With: Halloween desserts, no bake cheesecake, quick and easy desserts

Caramel Corn Recipe

November 29, 2011 By Joi Sigers

This recipe is from a favorite old cookbook in my collection, Southern Living 1988 Annual Recipes (Southern Living Annual Recipes). Try it, you’ll absolutely love it and your family will sing your praises through their sticky teeth.

Caramel Corn

Vegetable Cooking Spray
6 Quarts popped corn
1-1/2 cups pecan halves
1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1-1/2 cups raw peanuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coat 2 large roasting pans with cooking spray. Combine popcorn and pecans in pans; set aside.

Combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and peanuts in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in soda and vanilla.

Pour mixture evenly over popcorn mixture. Stir with a lightly greased long-handled spoon until popcorn is well coated. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately pour onto waxed paper, breaking it apart as it cools. Store in airtight containers.

Yield: 6-1/2 Quarts


Filed Under: Christmas Baking, Game Day, Halloween Treats, Oh, Nuts!, Tailgating Tagged With: caramel corn, nuts, pecans, snacks

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to the Get Cooking Food Blog

My name is Joi (“Joy”) and Get Cooking is where I celebrate some of my greatest passions: Recipes, kitchen gadgets, gluten free food reviews, gluten free recipes, pig collectibles, chocolate, cookbooks, and coffee.

Lots of coffee…

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

What’s New on the Food Blog?

  • Brilliant Organizer for Cans and Other Pantry Items… Even Dishes
  • Disposable Air Fryer Liners: Perfect for Fast Cleanups!
  • Vegan and Gluten-Free Salad Dressings, Mayo & Butter from Plant Perfect (Exciting New Products!)
  • Goodful Non-Stick All-In-One Pot: It Has all the Good and None of the Bad (Seriously, I Love This One!)
  • Torani Strawberry Flavored Syrup Makes VERY Memorable Tea, Matcha, Milkshakes, Smoothies…
  • Gorgeous Purple Dutch Oven… My Ideal Soup Pan!
  • As Simple as it Gets Japanese Broth Soup (The Possibilities are Endless)
  • Healthy and Delicious New Favorite Snack

Gluten-Free Recipes

Wedge Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Bacon, Chia Seeds, Sauteed Onions, and Ranch Dressing

Wedge Salad, Starring Roasted Tomatoes

CauliPower Linguine Pasta with Meat Sauce

Caulipower: Quite Possibly THE Best Gluten-Free Pasta

A Wonderful Gluten-Free and Vegetarian Cookbook: Whole Bowls by Allison Day

Gluten-Free Lasagna with Explore Cuisine Green Lentil Lasagna Noodles

Easy Gluten-Free Lasagna with Explore Cuisine Green Lentil (No Boil!) Noodles

Tostadas with Refried Beans and Tomatoes

Fast & Easy Summer Meal: Meatless Tostadas

Gluten-Free White Chocolate and Pecan Cookies

Gluten Free Cranberry Pecan Cookies

Air Fryer and Rotisserie in One!

Instant Vortex Plus 10 Quart Air Fryer, Rotisserie and Convection Oven (Amazon link)

A Reminder for all Cooks…

Kitchen Accident Tracker

If my accident can prevent you, a pet, or a child from being hurt, it will have been worth it to me… read more here!

Footer

T-fal… As Good as Good Gets

The T-Fal Cookware Set (Amazon link), above, is absolutely one of the best cooking sets you’ll ever find. It’s on Amazon and available in several gorgeous colors.

Subscribe to Get Cooking

Fill in the form below to receive updates through e-mail whenever something new has been added to the food blog.



Powered by FeedBlitz

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Contact me through e-mail at joitsigers@gmail.com and/or connect with me through social media (see above). ~ Joi (“Joy”)

I do not claim to have taken all of the photographs on this website. I did not take any of the “product” or “affiliate” merchandise photos, nor do I claim to own them. If you are a photographer that sees something you want removed, simply e-mail me!

Copyright © 2022 Get Cooking Food Blog   xml sitemap   Privacy Policy   Crazy Tea Chick!