Ikat pumpkin cookies

I was looking for fabric to make some new curtains, when I had the idea of doing an ikat design on cookies in

HALLOWEEN COLORS!

I have to look at the design for a while to try and formulate a plan to make it work in icing.  

I am such a happy baker when it happens!

When I stopped to think about it, I realized that I have done a number of cookies that have been inspired by textiles.

Last week I did crochet lace on pumpkin cookies,

and a more traditional lace on hearts,

a number of argyle cookies,

and even toile.

I really enjoy looking at fabrics, but unfortunately, I don't like to sew.  

Good thing I know how to do it on a cookie!

Sharing with:
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Stone Gable
A Stroll Thru Life
Tweak it Tuesday
A Delightsome Life

The year of the zombie

This year's Halloween party had a decidedly zombie -like feel.

Me and Isabelle

We had red velvet zombie brain cupcakes,

a cat or two,

and a 17 year old boy.

Alec's worst walking dead nightmare.

We actually had a pretty tame spread of sloppy joes, a chopped veggie salad, chips and salsa, caramel corn, and of course,

COOKIES!

Oh, how I love Halloween!

Now that the party is over, we are hunkering down for the "perfect storm".  When you live in the country and have a well, no power means no pump for the well.  I've got gallons of drinking water on hand and a rain barrel full water (for non drinking purposes), lots of candles, lots of batteries, and I have brought in the last of the garden veggies and flowers.

Hope everyone in the mid Atlantic stays safe during this awful sounding storm.

And have a creepy fun Halloween!

Some very scary Halloween cookies

Blood red sky?

Check.

A creepy cemetery?

Check.

A few spiders and bats?

Check.

A witch with a bubbling cauldron?

Check.

Do I love Halloween?

Check!

Tomorrow's to do list:

Shop for fake blood

Find zombie make up

Rip up some clothing

Have I mentioned my new found obsession with 

The Walking Dead?

Some sweet pumpkin cookies

Today I am posting some sweet and pretty fall cookies, but

BEWARE!

There are some scary ones coming soon.  

MU HA HA!!!!!

A big sweetheart cookie

Today is my wedding anniversary, and I made this big cookie for my sweetie.

A black background really makes the vibrant colors pop.  

I filled a bakery box with red shredded paper, and carefully nestled the cookie in place.  If you have ever made a large cookie, you know how easy it is to crack the icing...

I always hold my breath when I have to lift it up and set it back down.  

Our wedding day was a high of 37 degrees and pouring rain.

Naturally it was an outdoor event!

Bodies were cold, but hearts were warm :)

P.S.  Mr. Enchanted was a long time bachelor who always proclaimed that it would be a cold day in hell when he got married.  

Hee Hee.

Vintage inspired Halloween cookies

My favorite childhood memory - walking in the house after school and finding the Halloween decorations out.  They were the old cardboard ones which were hung on all the windows and doors.  

I decided to do a little cookie riff on these charmingly fun vintage designs.

Gotta love the smiling black cat!  

The cookies are all sitting on one of the old window decorations from my mom's house.

Owls are back in a big way, and I am quite glad.

The witch cookies remind me of my favorite door decoration.  It was a green articulating witch with a very large nose.  I have her as well, but she is too fragile now to display.

I guess some things never change, because getting out the Halloween decorations is still my favorite day of the year!

The perfect fall weekend and cookie lessons

It was quite the weekend I had. 

My son Ted and his girlfriend Katherine came up from D.C. to enjoy a beautiful autumn weekend.  

On Saturday, we went hiking in the mountains, had a picnic lunch, went to two local wineries for tastings, purchased pumpkins, went to a corn maze (which I would still be wandering helpless and lost in if it wasn't for T and K), and made an autumn dinner of pork with an apple cider reduction, spinach gratin, pumpkin and rosemary risotto, and a pumpkin pie.  After dinner, we bundled up and had mulled wine by firelight in the garden

Yours truly was tired at the end of the day.

On Sunday, we made cookies.

Donning my pink apron, Ted and Katherine put my Halloween cutters to good use.

I took them through the entire process of making the icing, outlining, flooding, and adding the details. 

Look at the concentration on his face!

When Ted was a little boy, he and I used to love watching the old Charlie Chan movies from the 1930's, so I ordered one from Netflix to have on while we worked.  It was chilly and rainy outside, making it the perfect afternoon to be inside doing cookies.

I thought they did an amazing job (both are serious overachievers!).  

After cookies we made chicken and wild rice soup, an autumnal salad (arugula, pears, feta, and spiced walnuts with a dijon mustard and maple syrup vinegrette), and gluten free bread.  Dinner was enjoyed with a glass of wine from one of the local wineries.  

After dinner we decided to watch a scary movie to give the day a little punch of Halloween!

How cute are they?

BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES TO TREASURE FOREVER!

Get well cookie bouquet

Poor Brooke was in the hospital last week, and I wanted to do something to cheer her up.  

That would be cookies, of course!

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain most of the week making the humidity level in the house very high.  You know, too warm to turn on the furnace and too cool to turn on the air?  It makes for cookies that are a bit soft - YIKES!

I assembled them with great care, and didn't do it till right before I gave them to her.  Even then, one fell off the stick. 

I am happy to report that she is out of the hospital and doing well.  

And it is almost furnace season, which is a cookie baker's best friend!

Le Mysterieux Carnival Party

Step right in to le Mysterieux Carnival party!  

Here at the enchanted oven, the carnival starts at midnight.  The lights begin to glow and the bats begin their swooping flight.

Because this is a carnival with a Halloween twist, there is an interesting cast of characters.  Mr. Jack O'Clown sells the popcorn (don't worry, it all has extra butter).

Miss Witch takes tickets, and Mr. White gives tours of the graveyard.  And if you need anything, Mr. Corpse can give you a hand.

If you are brave enough, step inside for magical acts and treats galore.

If you don't want popcorn, or candy apples, or cotton candy, well, you can just eat the whole haunted carnival because this is one 

BIG COOKIE

my friends!

Thanks to Anna from Frosted Petunias for hosting this magical party!

Goodbye Afghanistan

The happiest day of my life.

Something's fishy cookies

I love the effect you can get with spray food coloring.  A quick spritz and you can get a great airbrushed look.  

Very handy for rainbow trout.  

You already know that the oven is enchanted, but did you know that my yard is too?  This is what I found in my front yard under the big old pine tree.  Clearly it is evidence of gnomes, elves, and quite possibly fairies.

Told ya.