Samhain/Halloween Cookies

We had so much fun yesterday! It’s been really cold, and we’d decided to forgo trick or treating based on the weather, and the fact that the treats they’d get would neither be vegan nor organic. Because of the cold, it was a great opportunity to turn on the oven and bake our little, black hearts out. ♥

My favourite sugar cookie recipe calls for sour cream, so I tweaked it with a substitution of coconut cream instead (thank goodness, it worked!), and we made a bunch of Samhain/Halloween shapes.

Here are a bunch just going into the oven.Yummy! They smelled so good. ♥

A few little scraps leftover.

I was so sick of making cookies by the end of it, but each one was worth it. ♥

Creativity rules when we decorated them in classic colours: white, black, orange, green and purple. Cookies FTW!

Mosaicupcakes ♥

Tomorrow my twinnigans turn 8, and we decided a variation of the Rainbow Cake would be super-fun to make. There was even enough batter left for a tray of 12 cupcakes. WOOT! We have company coming over for the party, and we’re all so excited! I spent the better part of today (okay, all of it) baking the cakes, making the icing, preparing salsa and guac (yesterday I made 30 tortillas for the wraps), and my Elfling’s favourite Potato and Kale Soup (soup’s easy though, throw the stuff into a pot, cover with water, it takes care of itself) for supper. I’m just happy to have a little time now to sit and be still for a few minutes.

Rainbow Cake – Mosaicupcakes

¾ C butter*

1½ C cane* sugar

2 eggs or replacer

2 tsp vanilla* extract

1¼ C milk*

2½ tsp baking powder (aluminum free)

¼ tsp sea salt

2½ C unbleached flour*

colours 

* = Organic

∴ Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas mark 5. Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) together, then set aside. Beat butter until whipped. Add sugar and continue beating to mix. Add eggs or substitute, and blend well. Add the milk, and blend well. Slowly add flour mixture, a little at a time, and beat until it’s all incorporated. Distribute batter evenly into as many bowls as you have colours you’d like to make. Combine colours well. Fill prepared cupcake cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until no longer wet when a toothpick is inserted. Too much browning will take away from the colours. Cool completely before icing. Enjoy!

*♥*

Icing

1 C butter* 

6 – 8 C icing sugar

½ C milk*

2 tsp vanilla* extract

* = Organic

 ∴ Whip butter until it’s all light and fluffy. Add vanilla, and continue beating. Alternate adding icing sugar and a little bit of milk until the mixture reaches a stable consistency – no longer slipping off a knife. Ice your cake/cupcakes. Enjoy!

Cupcake tray filled with a mosaic of colour.

Beautiful Mosaicupcakes all baked and yummy. ♥