Ghostly Pumpkins Double Crusted Halloween Pizza Recipe

October 3, 2018 by Momstart 53 Comments

Did you know that October is National Pizza Month! First observed in the United States during 1984, October was designated as National Pizza Month by Gerry Durnell, the founder of Pizza Today magazine, who chose that month because the first issue of his magazine debuted in October of that year!

National Pizza Month

According to Pizza.com, people don’t really need a special month for pizza in a country where there are an estimated 63,000 pizzerias and 94% of Americans eat pizza at least once a month! Though there are pizza restaurants in almost every city across the country, National Pizza Month offers the perfect opportunity to get the family together and create your own homemade pizza dishes. Getting creative in the kitchen is a great way to bring together all members of the family and have a little bit of fun. So I did. We created a Halloween Pizza, it’s a regular pizza but a bit more fun.

Ghostly Pumpkins Double Crusted Halloween Pizza Recipe

(inspired by: Bewitched Double-Crust Cheese Pizza on Betty Crocker.com)

Ingredients:

3 cups Original Bisquick® mix
2/3 cup very hot water
1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese blend (8 oz)
1/2 teaspoon garlic 1 can of diced black olives 2 cups Hormel Italian Sausage crumble

Directions:

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 450°F. Spray 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl stir Bisquick mix and hot water with; beat vigorously. Divide dough in half. Press half of the dough in pizza pan, using fingers dipped in Bisquick mix; pinch edge to form 1/2-inch rim. Spread pizza sauce over dough. In medium bowl, mix cheese and garlic, olives, and sausage; sprinkle over pizza sauce.

Place remaining dough on surface dusted with Bisquick mix; roll in Bisquick mix to coat. Shape into a ball; knead 5 times. Roll dough into 14-inch circle. Use cookie cutters in Halloween shapes to cut shapes from dough (leave 1 inch of dough between cutouts and leave 1 inch of edge of dough uncut). Fold dough circle in half; place over pizza and unfold. Seal edges. Place dough cutouts on top of pizza if desired.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

I created this recipe as part of the Hormel Family ambassador program from 2012.

About National Pizza Month

Today, National Pizza Month is observed each October across the USA and in much of Canada too. The designation might be a bit redundant in this country though, as nearly every month could be considered Pizza Month in the United States these days. People don’t really need a special month for pizza in a country where there are an estimated 63,000 pizzerias and 94% of Americans eat pizza at least once a month. The figures equal the consumption of about 45 slices of pizza per person in the U.S. each year and show that Americans definitely love their pizza as evidenced by devouring 100 acres of pizza per day, or 350 slices per second.

How to Make a Walking Dead Cake

October 11, 2015 by Beeb 5 Comments

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My cousin is a big fan of The Walking Dead, so for her birthday this year I baked her a Walking Dead-themed zombie cake!

How to Make a Walking Dead Cake

How to make a Walking Dead birthday cake

I started off by picking up a few packages of McFarlane Toys Walking Dead figures at Target. These are “Blind Bag” toys, meaning that you get a surprise when you open the package finding out which human or walker is inside; I ended up with Tyreese and two zombies.

Now that I had my toppers, I began brainstorming what kind of cake to make. I have a cake pan that is shaped like a castle, and it dawned on me that I should bake the cake in that mold, and use the castle to represent Terminus. I would then set the figures on top of it for an epic human-walker battle!

For the cake itself, I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe from my trusty vintage 1969 Betty Crocker’s Cookbook. I made this cake for the first time when I was 12, and I’ve known it to be a favorite recipe even since! As my castle cake pan is particularly large, I doubled the recipe so that I’d have enough batter to fill it.

Instead of frosting, I opted to do a glaze: This is because the details on the castle tend to get obliterated when you put heavy frosting on top, so I thought I’d try a lighter topping instead. Once I poured the glaze over the cake, I set the walkers and Tyreese in place, and added a few cupcake flags that Jenni over at A Well Crafted Party gave me.

So now that you know how to put the cake together, here is the recipe!

Chocolate Cake Castle Base

Recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

Important note: This recipe creates enough batter to yield one 13 x 9 x 2″ oblong cake or two round 9″ layers. Because my pan is large and creates a very big castle, I doubled the below recipe when I created my cake. Check the size of your pan first before getting started to make sure this will be enough, and know that you can just double the amounts if your pan is unusually large.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 2/3 C sugar
2/3 C cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 C water
3/4 C shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes, all the while scraping the bowl with a spatula.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray your castle pan thoroughly with PAM cooking spray to make sure that the cake will slide out easily. Bake the cake until done – normally 30 to 40 minutes, but this will vary depending on the size of the cake/pan. Gently poke a sharp knife into the cake to test if it is done – when the knife comes back clean, the cake is ready. Let it cool in the pan for a little bit, then turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Topping: For the glaze, I used two different recipes. First I made a chocolate glaze – I can’t for the life of me find the exact recipe I used (zombies must have eaten it!) but it was pretty much identical to this one. After I drizzled the chocolate glaze over the cake, I made this Wilton icing and added red food coloring, which I then used to create “Blood” on the cake.

And there you have it: A Walking Dead cake perfect for your Season 6 viewing party, Halloween, or birthday party for a fan! Let them eat caaaaaaaake!

The Best 20 Pumpkin Dessert Recipes

November 21, 2014 by Momstart 2 Comments

And today we have 20 different recipes for dessert that all include pumpkin. Here are our 20 Pumpkin Dessert recipes.

Pumpkin dessert recipes

15 Savory Pumpkin Recipes

November 16, 2014 by Momstart 1 Comment

Sweet or savory that is the question. Pumpkin is usually thought of as pie, break or cookies. Well we found 15 savory pumpkin recipes for you to enjoy.

Pumpkin savory recipes

A Spooktacular Halloween to Remember With Traditions in a Box!

November 1, 2014 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Sample provided.

Subscription boxes are all the rage these days. And now, you can get holiday cheer delivered straight to your door with Traditions in a Box! This new service delivers a seasonal craft kit up to six times per year, with boxes available for major holidays. You can order the whole year at one time, or buy the holiday you want on a case by case basis, which is really nice. Since I’m crazy about Halloween, I received their October box with all kinds of frightfully fun goodies included! Let’s take a look at what was included:

“Boo” Sign

The first project I started on was painting this “Boo” sign. The kit comes with two bottles of paint in black and orange, three brushes, and cardboard letters spelling “Boo”.

I worked on this over the course of a few days, letting each side dry. This year, I was officiating a wedding on Halloween and also throwing the bachelorette party the night before, so this sign served double duty as the bachelorette centerpiece and a keepsake for the bride-to-be.

I painted the sign so that the “B” in “Boo” also stood for “Bachelorette” at the bottom. On the top of the sign, I wrote “Congrats Cindy 2014”; and, since all artwork should have a signature, I painted my name on the bottom. 😉

Trick or Treat Bingo

I’m all about bachelorette party games, so the inclusion of Trick or Treat bingo could not have been any more perfect! This included a stack of bingo cards, directions, numbers, and candy corn to be used for game pieces. This was a big hit! The bachelorette was a family-friendly celebration, so the bride-to-be’s grandchildren were in attendance and had a great time playing the game and eating the candy corn. 😉

Mummy Votive Candles

This mummy votive candle craft was easy and fun to do! The package came with gauze and googly eyes, which were quick and easy to wrap around the votive candle holders to create a mummy. The only thing missing was glue, so I pulled out some super glue from my own stash and used that to affix the googly eyes.

These turned out super cute – I gave them away as a prize for winning Trick or Treat bingo!

Monster Cups

The googly eyes were also put to use with this fun “Monster Cup” craft – I just glued them onto these plastic cups, and when it came time for the party, I prepared the included microwave popcorn and filled the cups for a frightfully fun treat. This fit in perfectly with my boo-ffet of Halloween treats!

Pumpkin Carving Kit

Also included in the kit was a little card of Halloween history fun facts and this cute pumpkin carving kit!

This kit ended up being the perfect thing for my Halloween bachelorette party! Check out the final product:

The “Boo” Sign served as the table centerpiece. I placed the bingo cards next to a little “Boo” bucket decoration I had, which I used to draw the bingo numbers from. I used a second Halloween cat bucket to hold the candy corn and pencils for the game. I then wrapped the mummy candles in a little box that I decorated with Halloween ribbon for the prize. It all went perfectly with my other decorations and really helped make my party special! I give two big thumbs up to Traditions in a Box!

Spider Deviled Eggs Recipe

October 31, 2014 by Beeb 1 Comment

Coupon provided.

Happy Halloween! I wanted to share a great last-minute recipe with you that is an easy way to bring some spooky fun to any parties you might be heading out to tonight – or just to stick into your lunchbox for some added Halloween cheer. “Spider Deviled Eggs” are one of my favorite party standbys and have become a Halloween tradition. I don’t know who thought up the recipe originally; I first saw it years ago when one of my friends brought a tray of them to the Halloween party I was hosting, and I thought it was genius so I’ve been making them myself ever since. I’ve seen lots of cool variations on it – this is my own personal method for making them!

Spider Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

Hardboiled eggs
Darigold Sour Cream
French’s Dijon Chardonnay Mustard
Sea Salt
Cumin
Lindsay Large Black Olives
Lindsay Medium Black Olives

Directions:

Peel and rinse your hardboiled eggs and cut them in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the yolk into a bowl. All ingredients in this recipe are “To taste”; I don’t think I have ever made deviled eggs using exact measurements. To prepare, I simply add in a dollop of sour cream and mustard and mash with a fork until creamy. I then sprinkle in the seasonings, stir some more, and then give it a taste. Once it tastes good, you’re done. 😉

Spoon the filling into each hardboiled egg half and pat down. Then, cut up your olives to make the “Spider”: Cut a large olive in half and use one piece to make the body, then cut the medium olive into thin slices to make the legs. Technically, the spider should have 8 legs, but I had 60 deviled eggs to make yesterday so they got six instead. Otherwise, I would have still been chopping olives when my party guests got there. 😉

Pistachio Chewy Bite Popcorn Balls Recipe

October 30, 2014 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Popcorn balls are a very traditional Halloween snack, so here’s a great version to whip up for your little ghouls and goblins tomorrow, courtesy of Spork Foods:

Pistachio Chewy Bite Popcorn Balls

Recipe by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg of Spork Foods.

Ingredients:

5 cups popped popcorn

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated buttery spread (Earth Balance)

2 cups vegan marshmallows (Dandie’s brand)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 bag Setton Farms Pistachio Chewy Bites, 6 pieces, roughly chopped

Directions:

In a 4-6 quart heavy pot, add buttery spread, marshmallows, cinnamon and sea salt. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and add vanilla extract and Pistachio Chewy Bites. Stir well, mixing until uniform.

Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to portion out the mixture into 10 balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet.

Enjoy when cooled.

(C) Spork Foods, 2014

Pumpkin Cheesecake Graveyard Recipe

October 29, 2014 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Samples provided.

This year, I am officiating a wedding for my dear friends on Halloween, and throwing a spooktacular Halloween-themed bachelorette party the night before. One of the most important parts of any party is the menu, so I’ve been whipping up all kinds of ghastly goodies to delight my guests tomorrow. One of my creations is this Pumpkin Cheesecake Graveyard, made using a handy ready-to-go mix from Krusteaz! I followed the directions on the back of the Pumpkin Pie Bar Mix to make a cheesecake, adding in my own spooky flair to turn it into a Halloween conversation piece. Check it out:

Pumpkin Cheesecake Graveyard

Ingredients:

1 box Krusteaz Pumpkin Pie Bar Mix
6 TBSP margarine
16 oz cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
3 TBSP sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Green food coloring
Tombstone Cookies – get the recipe here!

Directions:

In a large bowl, blend together the pouch of Krusteaz Crust Mix found inside the box with 3 tablespoons of melted margarine. Pat into the bottom of a greased 9″ round pan and bake at 350 degrees for five minutes.

While the crust heats up, mix together the cream cheese, Filling Mix pouch from inside the Krusteaz box, and four eggs; pour into the hot crust, then return to the oven until set – between 28 and 40 minutes.

As the cheesecake bakes, blend together the final topping by mixing the sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, and some green food coloring to create the “Grass” in the graveyard. Once the topping is mixed and the cheesecake is set, remove from the oven, cover with the topping, and then return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.

Once the cheesecake has cooled, insert a few of your tombstone cookies and a few Halloween cupcake toppers, such as skeletons and pumpkins, to create your final boo-tiful scene!

Tombstone Cookies Recipe

October 29, 2014 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Product coupon provided.

The countdown has begun for the fabulous Halloween-themed bachelorette party that I’m hosting tomorrow! I’ve been in the kitchen baking up a storm today in anticipation of the shindig. Our friends at Darigold sent over some coupons for their dairy staples, so I picked up some butter to whip up a batch of sugar cookies using my favorite recipe from my mom’s 1963 Betty Crocker Cooky Book.

Tombstone Cookies

Recipe slightly adapted from “Ethel’s Sugar Cookies” recipe in the Betty Crocker Cooky Book.

Ingredients:

1/2 C Dairgold Salted Sweet Cream Butter
4 TBSP shortening
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Tube of black icing

Directions:

Blend the wet ingredients together in a large bowl, then add in the dry ingredients. Mix completely and chill for one hour.

Sprinkle flour on a board and roll out the dough, adding flour to your hands and rolling pin as needed. (Betty Crocker recommends rolling 1/8″ thick; I just eyeball it.) If you have trouble with the consistency of the dough, continue to work it over and knead it to smooth it out.

Once rolled out, use a sharp knife to cut the dough into tombstone-shaped cookies. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for around 6 minutes – you’ll know they’re done when the edges start to brown gently. The cookies don’t expand too much, so you can space them fairly close together.

After the cookies are baked, place them on a wire rack to cool, then use your icing to write the letters “RIP” for full tombstone effect. Eat and enjoy! Happy Halloween!

3 Halloween Cocktail Ideas

October 29, 2014 by Beeb 1 Comment

Last year, I had a lot of fun creating some specialty Halloween cocktails. Since Halloween falls on a Friday night this year, it’s the perfect time to dust the cobwebs off your martini shaker and create some bone-chilling beverages! Check out my spooktacular recipes below: