Spider Web Cupcakes

The Thirteen Nights of Halloween is in full swing on ABC Family. In anticipation of Halloween I invited a couple girlfriends over on Saturday to watch Hocus Pocus. I wanted to make a treat that would be thematic, but not too cheesy. I settled on cupcakes, but with a twist. They’re chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate buttercream, topped with a white chocolate spider web, a “bloody” cherry infused center and finished with a plastic spider on top.

Apple Crunch

Ever since I went apple picking a few weeks back, I haven’t really made any recipes that feature apples besides apple fritters and gourmet caramel apples. However, the temperature dipped into the 30’s over the weekend making it the perfect opportunity to turn on the oven. I decided on apple crunch; a sweet and gooey inside like an apple pie with a crunchy cake-like topping, a scoop of vanilla ice cream from Sarris paired with pumpkin carving made for the quintessential fall evening. 

Apple Crunch
Ingredients
4 to 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup sugar + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; combined
1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces

Topping
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg

Directions
1. Mix apples and cinnamon sugar mixture together. Place in a greased 8 inch glass baking dish and add at butters pieces.
2. Combine topping ingredeients, stir until blended and spread over apples.
3. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until topping has cooked. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

How To: Create a Rope Braid

Michigan’s weather is always unpredictable. With fall comes countless days of windblown hair. Braids are the perfect way to counterbalance a windy day. A rope or unicorn braid is my recent favorite; it takes only minutes to make, and still looks adorable after a breezy day.

1. begin with semi straightened hair (mine was very wind blown) and grab two small sections at your crown.

 2. place the right piece of hair over the left and repeat again.

 3. add some hair to the right and left section section, and then place the right section over the left.

4. continue adding hair to each side and crossing the right section over the left. add a hair tie when finished. 

Snapshots


{World Series Bound}
There is no better way to end a week than with the Tigers sweeping the Yankees, and putting us into the World Series. My voice is completely shot now, and will probably continue especially after the Michigan/Michigan State game on Saturday. What are your weekend plans?
 {cider & donuts at Yates Cider Mill}
 {cutest Jack-O-Lantern candle from Stephens\’ Candlery}
 {stomping through the leaves}
{Zoya Ornate + nail art designs}

Autumn Leaf Sugar Cookies

When fall arrives, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is my favorite place to be for a picturesque color display. After a recent tunnel of trees color tour I became inspired to incorporate the colors I had seen, and decided to create some leaves of my own in the form of sugar cookies.  Make up a batch of your favorite sugar cookies, frost them, and allow the cookies to harden over night. Using edible color markers draw veins onto the leaves; allow 30 minutes to dry. Spray leaves with Wilton Color Mist -yellow followed by orange and lastly red.(I bought the edible markers and color mist at Michaels)

{this is what they will look like while they are wet}