In preparation for Halloween, I decided to make Gingerbread Skellies this weekend!

My cookie recipe:

Gingerbread Cookies

• 6 cups flour
  
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 cup shortening, melted (I use butter)
• 1 cup molasses
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon together and set aside. Mix shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in dry ingrediants until completely absorbed.
Divide into 3 pieces , pat down to 1 ½ inches thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours. Roll into ¼ inch thick, cut into shapes.
Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F on ungreased sheet.
Cookies will look dry but be soft to the touch.

Our roommate has some animal cookie cutters that I took advantage of. The gingerbread man had those markings that make him already sorta decorated when you cut him out ~ I just ended up flipping them over on the cookie sheet. ^_^

Oh, and did I mention that Wal-mart has a Jolly Roger cookie cutter in the Halloween stuff? *squee!*

My frosting recipe, because I can’t just have normal frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter (one stick), room temperature
  
• 1- 8oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar (though, I usually end up using 4)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix cream cheese, vanilla and butter together with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar until desired thickness/sweetness is achieved!

Although today I only needed like… a third of that recipe for these cookies. Blast. Guess I’m gonna have to make a cake or something.

Thank you, Meri, for the idea of this thread! Feel free to add your cooking efforts as wel!

Look fine to me!

Where's the blood?

Ahhh, no blood on skeletons. Maybe I need to make gingerbread zombies or vampires!

NIIIIICE!

Check out the birthday cake I made with my girlfriend a few weeks ago. Also very Halloween:

cake

I IT!

Yummy! I'm totally droolin' and I haven't even made any of these yet... but I'm gonna! These sound like they'd be awesome with coffee in the morning.

Thanks, Celeste.

Also... way cool cake, Almerin!

Awesome! We have such creative cooks here! I might have to look into those cookies for Halloween myself. I think Almerin's cake is a level or two (or maybe ten) above my talents currently.

So excited about this thread too. Good job everyone!

M.

All righty, in honor of Pirate Day, how about a nice (if not traditional) grog recipe? Makes for a yummy and somewhat oogy looking punch at Halloween and/or pirate themed parties (adult oriented, of course)...

Ingredients

• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen limeade concentrate
  
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate\\
  
• 2 (2 liter) bottles lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage (Sprite, 7 Up, Sierra Mist, etc)
  
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle rum
  
• 2 quarts lime sherbet

Directions In a large punchbowl/pot/cauldron/rum-barrel, combine limeade, lemonade and lemon-lime soda. Stir in rum (add more to taste if desired.) Mix in the lime sherbet.

Serve and marinate!

This be a potent one, me hearties... Mine yerself there along the gun'les, aye?

Well I put it in a cake!

I don't have any pictures, but I made two of these this weekend, and boy do they have a kick! Eat more than one piece and you might get a little buzzed.

Rum Cake
((I went sans nuts personally and it was still yummy))

M.

From a comment from Hammer in my Cowboy Poetry thread, here’s my grandma’s recipe for cabbage burgers! They are wonderful if you dip them in ketchup and/or mustard! Plus, they are convenient to make for picnics or lunches as they are self contained, easy to warm up, and still tasty cold. They also freeze well.
Cabbage Burgers

• 1 cabbage
  
• 2 pounds ground beef
  
• onion

Shred cabbage and chop onion; boil until cabbage is tender. Drain. Brown beef, and mix with cabbage. Use either your favorite roll recipe, or pre-made rolls. Roll out, place mixture into middle and pinch to close to make burgers. Bake according to roll instructions until rolls are golden brown.

I use the following roll recipe of my grandma’s ~ it seems to work the best! Quick Rolls

• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• 6 tablespoons shortening
  
• 1 teaspoon of salt
  
• 2 cakes yeast in ½ warm water (I use two packages of dry yeast dissolved in water)
• 4 cups flour
  
• 1 cup warm water or milk

Combine. Let rise for 30 minutes. Make into rolls. Let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.

I will have to check this out sometime!

Thanks for sharing!