SUPER EASY Fall Baking Fun

We've had some fun trying new baking ideas this fall.  When I was a kid I remember thinking it was such a special treat when my mom would make cupcake cones!  So I decided to give it a try with the kids... but not just any cupcake cones... RAINBOW cones!

I have to say, this is super EASY, and has a great end result.  We mixed up a white cake mix, divided it into six ziploc bags, and then used food coloring to make the batter yellow, green, red, purple, blue and orange.  I sealed the bags and then the kids mushed up the batter until the color was evenly worked throughout the batter.  Then I snipped the corner of the bag and squirted the batter into each of the cones, layering the colors, one at a time.

 Then we baked the cones in the oven at 350 for 18-20 minutes.  

Here's what they looked like inside:

 And we iced them, of course, just with a buttercream icing.  

Super yummy, and super easy!

We also made my absolute favorite  

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!  

I like to tell myself they're healthy because they have lots of pumpkin in them, and I've added whole wheat flour to the recipe and reduced the sugar from the original recipe.  They are light and moist and again, super easy!

3/4 c sugar
1 c canned pumpkin
1/2 c margarine
1 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c chocolate chips

I always double this recipe.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Our third attempt at baking fun was making these super beautiful fall leaf cookies that I found on Pinterest.  

We made a nice sugar cookie dough (super easy), and then divided it into three. One ball we colored red, one yellow and one orange.  

Then we rolled them together with the rolling pin and cut out the cookies with a leaf cookie cutter.  The colors will meld together, but will remain distinct.  The coolest thing about these cookies is that as you continue to roll the dough each time, the fronts and the backs or the cookies don't look the same.  

Each cookie is totally unique!

 After we finished baking these beauties we packaged them up and took them over to some of our new neighbors as a welcome to the neighborhood gift.  These cookies turned out so pretty, we didn't even have to ice them!  

Super easy!
The kids were thrilled to do something kind for our neighbors, and it was a great reason to meet them again (especially since I'm terrible with names, and needed a refresher on what to call them!)

Yay September!

So, I started working in Kids Ministry at my church in May, and in between being a full-time mom, summertime, crocheting (very little), and running summer ministries for K-Gr 5 kids, I have been planning and dreaming for the Fall.  In August I gained a new partner at the church, Amy, who is working full-time (I'm part-time), and we have been planning, and training, and prepping, and dreaming, and painting, and typing, and recruiting like crazy women!  But, this weekend... is the weekend.  Our Fall Kickoff for VAC Kids (www.vernonalliance.org/home/ministries/families/vac_kids/)!  Hooray!  We don't have enough volunteers yet (as if you can ever have enough!), and we didn't get a stage or set built yet (there's always next month), but its coming together and I'm so excited!
At the same time, I am working on another local order for Chicken Little.  Apparently my hats have been selling like hot-cakes.  I've even had a local mom email to say how much she loves the hat, and would I make one for her!  So neat!  Jeremy and I have been debating whether or not I should have a booth at a local Christmas fair, but I don't really want to.  I love being out in the community, connecting with my clients, but its a big sacrifice to stand around for two days, especially when I have been doing so well with custom orders, and selling through local shops.  So, I think for this year, I won't do the Christmas fairs.
However, as I mentioned I am still doing custom orders, by email or on my Etsy site (www.buttonboxdesigns.etsy.com), and I picked up some new yarn yesterday to work on some new fall-themed designs.  Last night I made Aria a cute little beret with some pink bamboo yarn that I had in my stash.  I just have to put the finishing touches on it, then I'll photograph it, and post them online here.  I've wanted to develop a design for a beret for awhile, and I'm super pleased with how it turned out, and how quickly it worked up (considering I was designing as I went, which often means I end up pulling out rows as I go if I don't like how its looking!).  A couple of my girlfriends are having babes this fall, so they'll probably be the recipients of my first fall hat designs.
I love the Fall.  After the heat of the summer in the Okanagan, the cool, crisp air of the fall is always welcome and so fun to go out walking in!  Aria starts preschool again next week, and I'm excited to have an excuse for walking to and from the school to pick her up.  Ballet starts up next week as well.  Every morning she asks me how many more sleeps until preschool?  How many more sleeps until ballet?  The countdown is on!