I am always excited to share fun new recipes with you all, but today I really have a big treat for you. As a busy mom, the last thing you want to add to your plate is last-minute Halloween party snacks that your kids forgot to tell you about. 

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The post Halloween Chocolate Bark appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Hi guys! I have an easy Halloween treat for you today. These chocolate Halloween cupcakes are festive, simple to pull together with my one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe and easy decorations. They will surely pass the kiddo test for school parties.

Are you guys fans of Halloween? I’ve never been given the limited halloween-themed desserts on this blog. But I am slowly getting into it as my toddler grows. He loves all the halloween themed books and songs although I am not sure he gets it. Last year was our first time going out with him trick-o-treating and he had a great time. Seeing him enjoy it has made me more tolerant and engaging. This year, his daycare is having a parade and a party, so I am bringing these chocolate halloween cupcakes for his class.

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Happy October! Things are getting spooky around here today!! These spiderweb cupcakes are getting us ready for Halloween which is just around the corner. Besides being spooky, they are actually pumpkin spice cupcakes that are topped with a maple cream cheese frosting. Sounds amazing right? It is!

The fall is truly the best baking time of the year and I love baking with the seasonal flavors. Last month we focused on the abundance of apples and had recipes like this apple coconut bread, apple fritters, applesauce cake and my new favorite apple cider cake with malted vanilla frosting. If you still have bags of apples from apple picking, be sure to try one of those.

October is the month for pumpkin and I am getting excited for all the pumpkin recipes I have planned. Besides the one blip of a pumpkin back to school recipe in August, I held out on the pumpkin craze until October. Surprisingly, I only have one pumpkin spice cupcake recipe on the blog and apparently that’s all I need. I went back to that classic and it was just as moist, crumbly and plain delicious as it was when I first made it three years ago. Filled with your favorite fall spices and a healthy dose of pumpkin flavor, it is the only pumpkin cupcake you need. I topped it this time with a maple cream cheese frosting because what is pumpkin spice cupcake without cream cheese right? You need the cream cheese frosting!! And the pure maple syrup is a perfect extra touch to the frosting.

For the spiderwebs, I used Wilton’s black sparkle edible gel to draw the webs on the cupcakes. It is pretty easy to do. Simply frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or spatula, smooth out for a flat surface and then add sprinkles around the edges. Then using the black sparkle gel, draw straight lines coming out from the center and then draw the circles over the lines. Or any kind of configuration that makes it look like a spider web.

And if you are not decorating for halloween, stick with just the sprinkles and a drizzle of maple syrup! These pumpkin spice cupcakes will be perfect for Thanksgiving too. They are just everything that I love about fall baking.

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Yield: ~18 cupcakes

Spiderweb Cupcakes (Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting)

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

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• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and browned
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

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• 1 (8 ounces) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Instructions

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy on medium speed, about 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well before each addition. Scrape bowl as needed.
4. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
5. Divide batter into prepared baking liners. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For frosting

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese on medium high until completely smooth about 2-3 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to low and add sugar, one cup at a time. Beat until combined. Add vanilla and maple syrup and beat to combine. Increase speed to medium and beat frosting until smooth and fluffy.
3. If buttercream is not thick enough, place in fridge for 20 minutes to an hour until firm enough to pipe. Or just spread on the cupcakes to enjoy.
4. For the spider web decorations, use Wilton's Black Sparkle gel to draw lines and circles on the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.

Notes

Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

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The post Spiderweb Cupcakes (Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting) appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Before I get started on these Kit Kat Cupcakes, I just wanted to say THANK YOU very much for the outpouring support on my first day back to work (re: last post). It was hard, as expected, but I made it and came home and cuddled with my little man for a good hour! Thankfully, he missed me too and just wanted to be held by mommy. I think it will get easier as we get into a routine, but for now I just have to treasure those moments we share at night.

Okieee dokieee these cupcakes!! You guys they are amaze-balls!! These are my cupcakes to start the celebration of Halloween around here. I am not really a fan of the creepy stuff that goes along with Halloween and probably why I ignore it as a real holiday but just like football season, I am a fan of the food and not the show. So I take to stuffing my candy in cupcakes and frostings.

Last year, we had some Chocolate Milky Way Cupcakes, filled with caramel and this year, I made you Kit Kat cupcakes using my favorite one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe.  To go with the moist chocolate cupcake, I made a delicious whipped Kit Kat buttercream (using high quality Irish butter from Kerrygold) with crushed Kit Kats. It’s crunchy, indulgent and a great treat for any Halloween party!!

You HAVE to make these Kit Kat cupcakes!

I know you will love them as much as we did! And they will be a great thing to make with all those leftover Halloween candy.

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Yield: 12-15 cupcakes

Kit Kat Cupcakes

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For Chocolate Cupcakes:

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• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup unprocessed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• ½ cup hot coffee or hot water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Kit Kat Frosting

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• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 6-7 snack size Kit Kats, chopped finely (or processed in a food processor)

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Sift together all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients, including egg, using a whisk. Be sure to whisk the egg last into the wet ingredients to avoid scrambling with the hot coffee.
2. Using a mixer, mix the dry ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and add the wet ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl. Mix for additional minute on medium speed.
3. The batter will be thin. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
5. Cool cupcakes on wire racks completely. Meanwhile you could start on the frosting.

For Frosting:

1. Whip butter on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream and mix on low for 1 minute until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and whip for 6 minutes. Add in the chopped Kit Kats and mix until combined.
2. Use frosting immediately to frost cooled cupcakes.
3. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Is Halloween one of your favorite holidays?? Are you rolling your eyes saying ‘Duh, Zainab. It is THE holiday of candies!’? That is what Mr. J says all the time. He is a huge fan of Halloween and sometimes I am not sure who he is buying the candies for—the kids trick-or-treating, or himself once they leave.

As for myself, Halloween is slowly growing on me. I am not a fan of the monsters and scary she-bang that goes with it. Yes. There, I said it. I’m a 30-year-old lady who is scared of monsters (and dislikes candy corn!!). Every year, I jump out of my skin a little when I see people dressed up in their scary costumes. Why can’t everyone be “Cinderella” or “Angry Birds” or “Flo”? Instead there are witches, Frankensteins, and Draculas roaming the night. Eeeeppp, pass me a cookie!!

I made these cookies in advance to test a recipe for Halloween night. While the kids coming to the door will be getting candy of their choice, we will be munching on these Halloween monster cookies as we wait through the night.

They are peanut butter oatmeal cookies that are crunchy and chewy! Just the way oatmeal cookies should be. They are a perfect treat for you peanut butter lovers (Mr J approves!!) as the extra Reese’s pieces add some more peanut love.

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Yield: ~ 30 cookies

Halloween Monster Cookies

These Halloween monster cookies are just crunchy delicious, and they make the perfect Halloween treat!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 ½ cups quick oats
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon Spice Islands® Ground Saigon Cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• ⅔ cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoon Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup Reese’s pieces

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minute son medium speed. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low and stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and Reese’s pieces. Chill dough for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop cookie mounds onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies are just set. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

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As a Become a Better Baker Blog Ambassador, this post was sponsored by ACH Foods through their partnership with One2One Network. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me inspired! 

The post Halloween Monster Cookies appeared first on A Classic Twist.