These little fluffers were so simple to make that I'm wondering why I never tried to make these before. These marshmallows are a lot softer than store brands and have a light airy texture and sweet vanilla flavor. I added orange food coloring and cut them into mini pumpkin shapes, and finished them with some cinnamon sugar as a festive variation for fall. They are amazing in hot chocolate with their hint of cinnamon. Imagine the endless variations, like adding peppermint extract and cutting into to Christmas shapes. Dip them into chocolate for ready made s'more or as an easy chocolate candy. This recipe makes a lot of marshmallows especially if you cut them with scissors into squares as the original recipe instructs. Instead, I made them into festive little pumpkins and still ended up with over three dozen. Enjoy! My youngest son has quite the sweet tooth and pretty much single-handedly ate all of these over this last week. :)Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
(slightly adapted recipe from My Baking Addiction)
Makes ~3-5 dozen
3/4 c. water, divided1/8 tsp. orange gel food coloring 3- 0.25oz. powdered gelatin, unflavored2/3 cup corn syrup2 cups sugar1 Tbsp vanilla extract1/4 cup powdered sugar1/4 cup corn starch1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Prepare sheet pan with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray. Spray another piece of plastic wrap for the top. Set aside.In a shallow container, add powdered sugar, corn starch and cinnamon and mix. Set aside. Add 1/2 cup water and gel food coloring into stand mixer and mix until food coloring is dissolved. Then add gelatin to bloom. In a medium saucepan, add 1/4 cup water, corn syrup, and sugar and bring it to a hard boil over medium heat. Let boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat.Carefully, add hot sugar mixture to stand mixer with gelatin. Beat on medium high for about 12 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Add vanilla extract and beat until just combined. Pour marshmallow batter into prepared sheet pan. Smooth out with a cooking spray coated spatula. Cover top of marshmallows with second sheet of plastic wrap and let set for 4 hours or overnight. Peel plastic wrap back and cut marshmallows to desired shape using oiled cutters or scissors. Drop cut marshmallows into powdered sugar mixture to coat. Place in an airtight container. Other recipes to try:Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream Sugar Skulls Gingerbread Biscotti
The idea for these Michelada Pops came from last Saturday's preseason Rams game. While standing in the beer line, I noticed a woman carrying a beer and a tomato-colored popsicle wrapped in plastic. Then I overheard her say it was a Michelada. Whoa! Wait just a minute? A Popsicle Michelada! ...what a genius idea! Where can I get one of those? Sure enough, the vendor to the right of us was selling beer with flavored popsicle chasers! They had about 5 different flavors of pops. I thought...I SO HAVE TO MAKE THESE AT HOME! The next day, I picked up some V8® and peppers and this is what I came up with. I like spicy food and since I'm not much of a beer drinker, the spicier the Michelada the better. I added sliced Serrano peppers with the seeds and the yellow wax peppers just to give it that extra heat. Green onions aren't your typical ingredient for Micheladas, but I love the pop of pretty green. Plus it just looks way cool sticking out of the Pops as a edible popsicle stick.Feel free to experiment with different flavors, like Habanero and mango; olives, pepper, and worcestershire sauce; or omit the spice all together and make a typical Michelada of tomato juice, lime and salt. Add other ingredients like soy, teriyaki sauces, radishes and celery...the sky's the limit! Salud!Michelada Pops
Makes 8 4 cans of V8® Vegetable Juice1-2 Serrano chilies, sliced1 yellow pepper, sliced seeds removed2-3 limes, juice and lime slices8 green onions, trimmedTajin® Classic Seasoning8 bottles Mexican BeerSlice Serrano chilies and drop a few of them into the bottom of each mold. Squeeze half a lime and 1/4 tsp of Tajin® seasoning into each mold. Fill to about 1/4 inch of the top with V8® vegetable juice. Add green onion into the mold and thread a yellow pepper ring over the green tops until it sits on top of the V8® juice. The yellow pepper ring acts to stabilize the green onion while the pops freeze. Place pops in freezer for 4-5 hours or until pops are set. Rim the glass with Tajin® and fill glass with your favorite beer and drop a Michelada Pop in and let it cool and flavor your beer. The longer it sits the spicier it will get. Add more lime as needed. Enjoy! Other recipes to try:
What do you get when you take the martini and combine it with a *Bag of Bloody Fang Halloween Candy? The Fangtini, of course!
Martini's are the coolest cocktail around if you ask me. What's not to like... It's served in a way cool glass! It has yummy accompaniments, like olives, apple slices and cherries which often serve as a lite-meal during happy hour. ;)Plus, there are tons of variations to suit everyone's taste...The Appletini, Dirty Martini, the Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop...just to name a few. But above all, I think it's because the martini is strong and it is meant to be sipped. Savored. A martini cannot be rushed and that, in and of itself, is way cool. So throw on your costumes, invite a few friends over and mix up a Fangtini and savor the Halloween season. Happy Halloween!Enjoy!
*The idea for this cocktail was inspired by the Bloody Fangs Sour Candy, but you do not need this candy to make the Fangtini. However, you'll need to invest in vampire teeth to garnish your glass. :)Fangtini (Blood Orange Martini) Makes 2
2 oz. Vodka (I use Ciroc Peach Vodka)1/2 oz. Grand Marnier2 oz. Blood Orange Juice (or Blood Orange Soda)splash of cran-blueberry or cran-grape juice (to deepen the color) IceFake Blood (to rim the glass)
Fake Vampire teeth (garnish) Combine ingredients into shaker with ice and shake. Pour into blood rimmed glasses and garnish with fake vampire teeth.Fake Blood for the Glass 1/4 cup light corn syrup1/4 t of red gel food coloring
Mix fake blood ingredients on a small plate until well combined. Dip martini glass rim into the syrup. Twist the glass to remove and then place upright to allow for the fake blood to begin to drip down the inside of the glass. Halloween Appetizers to try:Pickled Shrunken Heads Amputated Appetizer Ghoulish Goat Cheese Torte
Makes ~3-5 dozen 
