Endless Halloween: Zombie Head Brownie Bites

Eeek!!  The zombies have invaded!!

Ok, don’t panic.  You probably would already know if they actually invaded and the zombie apocalypse was upon us.  What they have invaded is my thought process as of late.

Any fans of The Walking Dead in the house?  I love love love it.  So, since the premiere is on October 14th, I thought I’d celebrate with some zombie treats.  Plus, with Halloween right around the corner, you should probably get crackin’ on making some zombie-themed desserts.

If you know anything about zombies (which I didn’t prior to TWD, which I take as the most factual representation..whatever), you know that to kill them, you have to destroy their brains.  For that you will need weapons.  If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw that due to lack of tiny weapons in the stores I just had to make my own (more on that in a minute).

These are like cake pops…except, not on a pop..and they are brownies.  So, they are zombie head brownie bites.  Let’s do this thing.

Zombie Head Brownie Bites

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Pumpkin Gone Wild! Top 10 Ways to Use Pumpkin

Do you hear those crisp leaves crunching underneath your feet as you walk to your car in the morning, holding your favorite brand of pumpkin coffee in your hand? Are apples the only fruit that you pack in your lunch for the next month, yet you know you won’t get sick of them? Then you love fall, too. But before we go too far into fall, let’s focus on the hallmark food of the season: pumpkin.

Pumpkin pie and bread are great…but it’s time to mix it up a bit. Enjoy…

10. Pumpkin Pie Martini

Don’t tell me you didn’t think we’d have some form of booze on here. I know, some of your are cringing thinking of “ruining” a glycerin-induced regular martini with the sweet taste of pumpkin. Well then you go ahead and drink your regular martini. The rest of us will enjoy the pumpkin…and not feeling like we have to call poison control.

Recipe: Life’s Ambrosia

9. Pumpkin Pie Dip

There is a dip that neighbors make every year for fruit. It has cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter in it. I’m not complaining, but I think they could also mix it up and try this pumpkin dip. I’ve had this before, and in addition to fruits and graham crackers – pretzels are a great instrument in carrying the dip. Plus – sweet and salty.

Recipe: The Girl Who Ate Everything

8. Pumpkin Tagliatelle

There’s a restaurant in Philly that makes the best pumpkin pasta I’ve ever had. And I’m dead-set on returning this fall. However, for those of you that can’t enjoy it at the restaurant: this tagliatelle looks awesome. Used the right way, pumpkin adds a buttery, nutty flavor to the pasta. Yum.

Recipe: The Little Things

7. Pumpkin-Caramel Mousse Cakes

Pumpkin. Caramel. Mousse. I’m sold.

Recipe: Bakers Royale

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100 Ways to Use Beer in Food and Drinks: #14 Cake

Upon skimming through the latest version of Cooking Light, we fell upon a “breads” section—correction—“quick breads” section. You’re wondering why I’d be skimming through Cooking Light? The gf has a subscription and you do know I’m watching my girlish figure… Anyway, we decided to go with the maple stout “quick bread” recipe since I had some of my homebrew stouts left.

But first: I’ve come to the conclusion that the jerks at Cooking Light have some gall to call this thing bread…er “quick bread.” I have no f’ing clue what the hell quick bread is, but this thing is cake…and I’m proud of it. I’m not doing research on what quick bread is either—I don’t want to know. Okay, now we can move on.

I got out my Vanilla Cafe Con Leche Stout and we started baking. Typically, when the two of us do some form of cooking/baking, there is an ample amount of bickering  (and in my case, exaggerated *sighs*) occurring.  However, this time we did well as a team; I had a good feeling about this.

The cake came out really well, with rave reviews from the fam. Probably the best of these cooking with beer recipes to date.  I claim fame to this recipe for two reasons:

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Endless Ice Cream: Pumpkin Chai

I couldn’t close out this ice cream series with including one of my favorites, pumpkin.

Pumpkins start showing up at the farm stands by me around the first week of September, and I cannot resist the urge to pick up a few pie pumpkins and roast them. If you’re down for roasting your own pumpkins and making puree, here is an easy tutorial. Make sure you puree it until very smooth; the ice cream is unforgiving to stringy pumpkin puree. Otherwise, canned pumpkin works perfectly. Scoop yourself a big waffle cone of this and pop in The Nightmare Before Christmas for a perfect (in my opinion) end to the day.

Pumpkin Chai Ice Cream

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Beef Jerky Chocolate Bar. Seriously.

I was shopping for a staple gun in a hip gas station convenience store (don’t ask… really, just don’t, my life is weird). At said hip gas station convenience store, instead of your average, mainstream candybars near the checkout, they display exotic and gourmet chocolates. One in particular caught my eye:

A beef jerky milk chocolate bar made by chocolatier Wild Ophelia.

Obviously I had to buy this. I suffered a little case of sticker shock when I brought it to the counter ($6.99! What type of jerky is this, a dried kobe beef filet mignon?!) but I decided I enjoy weird foods too much to turn it down. As far as taste, well, to me it really did taste like a quality milk chocolate bar with little bits of salty, smoky beef jerky mixed in. I gave blind taste tests to a couple victims, and everyone guessed it was some sort of salted chocolate, which isn’t too far off, really.

In the end, meat is good and chocolate is good, so meat plus chocolate is good, I suppose. I don’t really know if I’d pay $6.99 for that again, but I just like to know that a beef-stuffed chocolate bar exists in this world.

Apple Cider Gone Wild! Top 10 Cider Recipes

I had my first real fall moment of the year this morning: drinking apple cider. The crisp, cool, thirst-quenching drink is the perfect inauguration for autumn.  You can have it with any meal, for a snack, or warm it up and froth it if you want to go frou-frou. But did you know it can be enjoyed in more than just a glass?

10. Apple Cider Gravy

Though a bold choice for Thanksgiving, a little sweetness may go a long way with your savory turkey. Not convinced? Have you ever put apples or cranberries in your stuffing? Or enjoy spreading some sweet cranberry sauce on your turkey sandwich? Well now your gravy can do you a personal, sweet, favor.

Recipe: Nourish Network

9. Apple Cider Upside-Down Cake

Summer is over. Pineapple is no longer the seasonal fruit, and apples are in. So what do you do with that huge bag of apples sitting in your garage? Make cake…apple cider upside-down cake.

Recipe: Mid-Century Menu

8. Apple Cider Caramel Cake

More cake. This time, adding some creamy icing and caramel will make this a true dessert. Think of it as an alternative to carrot cake. No chunks of orange…just smooth, sweet and creamy cake. Does it feel like fall for you yet?

Recipe: Simply Fine Living

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Endless Ice Cream: Cannoli Cups

Here is a marriage of two of my favorite things: cannoli and ice cream. This is a pretty easy recipe: no eggs, no straining, barely any cooking at all. Plus, these cups are adorable, and perfect for individual party desserts. You can fully assemble and garnish them up to three days ahead of time and pop them back in the freezer, in an airtight container, until it’s time to eat. No need to defrost, you can eat them right away. I really like the wonton wrapper cups, they are crispy but not crispy enough to give you Doritos mouth shank.

Cannoli Ice Cream Cups

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