BOO-YA!!!

I couldn't let October go by, without a Halloween post or two. Halloween is right around the corner and although our family doesn't go trick-or-treating anymore, we have a new family tradition. For the past four years, the hubby and I load up a couple dozen middle and high school age kids and take them to the area spook houses. Everyone has a spook-tacular time even with the old fogies! In fact, our oldest is now 16 and still asked us to take him and his friends this year! You can bet that made mom smile! :) You can also bet that our house will be filled with colors of fall, pumpkins, the smell of cookies and other ghostly treats! Below are treats I've made for school classroom parties, home, and church dinners.

MONSTER FEET COOKIES

• 1 bag (17.5 oz.) peanut butter cookie mix
• 1/2 cup flour
• Green food coloring
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies
• 1 (16 oz.) vanilla frosting
• 2 cookie sheet pans
• Aluminum foil
• Resealable plastic bag

Directions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line sheet pans with foil.
• 2. Prepare the cookie mix according to package instructions. Knead in the flour and some of the green food coloring.
• 3. Pull off walnut-size nuggets of dough. Shape into 1 - 1 1/2-inch ovals and roll in sugar. Place on the foil lined sheet pans about 2 inches apart. Press M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies onto one end as the toenail. Bake in a preheated 350°F for approximately 9-12 minutes, or until just golden and cookies have puffed and spread. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• 4. Meanwhile, tint 1 cup of frosting green and spoon into a resealable bag. Snip a very small corner from bag and pipe wavy curly lines on top of the cookies to resemble knuckles.
• Tip: If peanut butter cookies aren’t a favorite, then exchange the peanut butter cookie mix with a sugar cookie mix.

MINI PUMPKIN'S

You can harvest a whole pumpkin patch full of these sweet treats in minutes.

INGREDIENTS:
Circus Peanuts
Green Gumdrops
Granulated Sugar
Toothpicks

1. For each pumpkin, cut one circus peanut in half. Cut a small piece from a green gumdrop and trim away the sugar coating so you have a dot of the sticky inside. Use this piece as glue to stick the two halves of the peanut together, bottom to bottom.

2. Roll the pumpkin in the palms of your hands to make it round. Press lightly; you don't want to compress the candy too much.

3. Use a skewer or toothpick to poke a hole in the top of the pumpkin and draw lines down the sides. Cut another small piece from the green gumdrop and roll it in granulated sugar, molding it into a slightly conical stem shape with your fingers. Insert the stem into the hole on the top of the pumpkin.

Looking Towards Heaven,is hosting, "BOO-ya!" Check out lots of other tricks and treats for your Halloween celebration this year by clicking the button above!