Coupon Savvy Sarah's Halloween Must-Have's Guide 2015 #Halloween #GiftGuide2015 #MustHaves

Littlest Pet Shop's Halloween Fest DVD

Disney Villains Hairstyles & Looks Book

Top 10 Kid's Costumes for 2015

YumEarth Organic Treats for Halloween

Entenmann's Little Bites Pouches - Perfect for Parties & Trick-or-Treaters!

Fun Toys to Entertain your Kids & Pets this Halloween!

Best Ever Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

Pumpkins are a big part of fall traditions. Pumpkin carving, Pumpkin pies, Pumpkin-flavored everything and my favorite.....Pumpkin Seeds!! I have tried many recipes and methods over the years for making pumpkin seeds and I actually pulled together a recipe that I love in which you boil the seeds first and then roast them in the oven. Perfection I do say so myself!

Now with all my recipes or foodie creations we make in our household, we like to use a recipe as a guide but don't always follow to the letter so when it comes to seasoning these yummy seeds - feel feel to make it your own. Use some brown sugar and pumpkin pie spices in place of the salt and Worcestershire sauce to make a savory pumpkin seed. I like to give mine a little kick sometimes with a sprinkle of cayenne and white pepper in addition to a shake of garlic salt. Have fun and experiment with seasonings but don't forget to follow the boiling method and basic butter recipe for roasting. Have more pumpkin seeds than our basic recipe states below? Just double/triple up the roasting ingredients based on how many seeds you have!

Boiling Ingredients:

• 1 quart water
• Pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons salt

Roasting Ingredients:

• 2 cups boiled pumpkin seeds
• 1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (can add more to your liking)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Directions:

• Wash your pumpkin seeds to remove all the pumpkin pulp from them.
• Bring 1 quart of water to a boil.
• Add the clean seeds and salt into water for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Drain the seeds in a strainer/colander.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Empty seeds from strainer into a medium-sized bowl.
• Pour Worcestershire sauce and melted butter over the seeds and mix with spoon to coat thoroughly.
• Pour pumpkin seeds onto cookie sheet(s) - preferably one with sides.
• Evenly sprinkle salt over pumpkin seeds.
• Place in oven and bake for two (2) hours, stirring every half an hour.
• When done, remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

You can easily Pin my Best Ever Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe to Pinterest HERE!

German Apple Honey Cake Recipe (Versunker Apfelhonigkuchen) #FamilyRecipes

Apple season is coming - Yippee! We love heading to the orchard all summer long to pick the different fruits and apples is the fall are the best. Michigan has been having a relatively chilly weather this week so it feels like fall already!  I have started gathering some of my favorite recipes together to share with all of you to showcase this delicious and versatile fruit (don't forget to check out my Caramel Apple Cake recipe)! 

My husband is from Germany and we love to cook and bake together in the kitchen, whether they are German dishes or ones of our own crazy creations! We really enjoy having Rose help us while we cook so we can pass on our favorite family recipes - including this German Apple Honey Cake. 

This is a traditional German recipe called Versunkener Apfelkuchen (translates to Sunken Apple Cake) which I tweaked and added honey (honig) to the cake batter and glaze (which now makes it my Versunkener Apfelhonigkuchen). The cake (or kuchen) is not overly sweet - the honey sea salt glaze gives it a beautiful glossy look that tastes delicious. You can make this cake a day before you plan to serve it because it tastes even better the second day! I think this recipe would make Oma and Opa proud! Note - you will need a springform pan for this cake.

German Apple Honey Cake 

(Versunkener Apfelhonigkuchen)

Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

Apple Topping:
4 small apples; halved, cored and peeled (We love using a variety of Michigan apples)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cake Batter:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; softened at room temperature
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated
2 generous pinches of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:1/4 cup honey
Generous pinch of sea salt


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform with butter or a nonstick spray; line bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
2. Place the peeled, halved and cored apples cut-side-down on a cutting board. Use a knife to create parallel thin slices - but only cut halfway through each apple so that the apples stay intact. If you happen to cut through - just reassemble the halves on the cake. 
3. In a medium bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and 2 tablespoon granulated sugar; set aside.
4. For the cake batter: Beat the softened butter and 6 tablespoons granulated sugar together in a bowl with electric beaters until fluffy. Add the honey and beat until combined. Then add vanilla and egg yolks, beating until just combined. 
5. Sprinkle salt and baking powder over cake batter, and mix for just 5 seconds, until they disappear; add flour, half at a time, mixing only until just combined (Don't over-mix the batter).
6. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat the separated egg whites until stiff. Stir 1/4 of them into the cake batter, to lighten it a little and then fold in the rest in three additions. Note: It may see difficult to fold in at first because the batter is so stiff, but the batter will loosen with careful folding. Only fold the last addition of egg whites until it has mostly disappeared.
7. Spread the cake batter in your prepared springform pan, smoothing the top of the batter. 
8. Arrange apple halves face-down over the cake batter (You do not need to press the apples into the batter because the batter will rise around them). 
9. Pour any extra lemon juice and sugar in the bowl over the apples.
10. Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 
11. Let rest on a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then run a clean knife around the sides of the springform pan to make sure the cake is not sticking to the pan at all and unhinge the sides. Let the cake cool completely. 
12. Before serving the cake, warm 1/4 cup honey and a generous pinch of sea salt until it forms a thin glaze (less than 30 seconds).
13. Brush honey-salt mixture over cooled cake and enjoy!
14. Cake Storage: You can store the cake at room temperature before you add the honey for up to 2 days, but I would suggest keeping the cake in the fridge for longer storage and just bringing out to come to room temperature before serving.

You can easily Pin my German Apple Honey Cake Recipe to Pinterest by clicking my pin HERE!

Caramel Apple Cake Recipe - Perfect Cake for All Year Round!

We love apple cake in our household and we have many different versions we make throughout the year. Our Caramel Apple Cake is delicious and the homemade caramel topping creates a sugary crust over the cake and helps seal in the moisture.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons almond extract (may substitute vanilla)

3 cups finely chopped apples

1⁄2 cup apple juice

 
For the Caramel Glaze:

1 cup brown sugar

1⁄4 cup butter

1⁄3 cup heavy whipping cream

 
Directions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, oil, apple juice and almond extract. Stir in apples. Add the egg mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened.
3. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes.
   
4. In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter and cream. 
5. Cook and stir till bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. 
6. Drizzle warm sauce over cake, when it has cooled for 5 minutes, so it can seep into the cake, keeping it moist.

Our Caramel Apple Cake has approximately 12 servings depending on how large you cut the pieces. It is truly perfect all year round as a dessert and tastes even better with a side of vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.

You can easily Pin this Caramel Apple Cake Recipe to Pinterest by clicking my pin HERE!

Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies Recipe

These Turkey Cookies are so fun and easy to assemble for Thanksgiving! I remember making these with my family as I was growing up and having a lot of fun as we prepared for the holiday meal. In recent years we have even brought the ingredients to large family gatherings and let the kids assemble the cookies for dessert to keep the occupied while the adults visited with each other! Think of it as an edible craft!

The Turkey Cookies typically use store-bought sugar cookies (I used chocolate chip because the store was out of sugar cookies) but you can make your own cookies just as easily for this fun treat! Usually candy corn can be found year round, but I tend to grab a few extra bags after Halloween when it is clearance-priced.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 count) package sugar cookies, store bought
• 1 (16 ounce) container chocolate frosting
• 1 (13 ounce) package Reese's miniature peanut butter cups
• 1 (8 ounce) package candy corn
• 1 (1 ounce) package red decorating gel or frosting

Directions

1. Spread chocolate icing on sugar cookies.
2. Unwrap peanut butter cups.
3. Place Reese's peanut butter cups on lower half of frosted cookie.
4. Fan 5-6 candy corns (tip down) around top of peanut butter cup to make the "feathers."
5. Make the eyes and gobbler on the neck with the red gel icing.
6. NOTE: This recipe can be adjusted to make any quantity you need.

You can easily Pin this Thanksgiving Turkey Cookie Recipe to Pinterest by clicking my pin HERE!

Plum Spice Cake Recipe - Perfect Fall Dessert!

Fall is my favorite holiday .... I love the cooler temperatures and the colors changing ..... everything pumpkin, apple and fill of warm spices! This dessert smells amazing while it is baking. Don't have any plums? Try peaches, apples or even cherries!

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 Betty Crocker Yellow Butter Cake Mix (15.25 oz)
• 1 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 tbsp almond extract (vanilla extract is fine if you don't have almond)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

For the Topping:

• 5 plums, sliced into 8 wedges each
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• Raw sugar to dust cake with (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients only until mixed.
3. Melt butter in saute pan over med-low heat.
4. Add plums and sugar; saute 3-4 minutes until liquid is syrupy. 
5. Using a fork or tongs, arrange the plums in the bottom of greased springform pan.
6. Pour additional liquid syrup from saute pan over plums once arranged.
7. Cover plums with cake batter.
8. Cook in preheated oven 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cake cool 15 minutes; run knife around edge of springform to separate cake from the pan. Unlatch sides of springform pan.
10. Cool additional 15 minutes; turn cake upside down onto serving platter - remove any plums that stuck to bottom of pan and arrange on cake. 
11. Sprinkle with raw sugar if desired. 
12. Cake is delicious served warm with a side of vanilla, butter pecan or rum raisin ice cream.

You can easily Pin this Plum Spice Cake Recipe to Pinterest by clicking my pin HERE!