With pumpkin spice season well underway, baking can be a fun way to spend the cold dark autumnal evenings. If you are looking for some Halloween and autumn-inspired baking and drink making, then look no further.
‘Creep it Real’
No Halloween party is complete without a wicked cocktail to sip on. ‘Creep it Real’ is a fun spin on the classic Screwdriver cocktail. The blue curacao is what lends this drink its enchanting, potion-like green hue, making it the perfect Halloween beverage to serve at any party this season.
Ingredients:
2 Shots of Vodka,
1 Shot of Blue Curacao,
2 cups of Orange juice,
Sugar (To decorate).
In a shaker, add ice and pour in all the liquid ingredients. Shake until combined. On a plate, spread out enough sugar to cover the surface. Using a lemon, take your serving glasses and coat the rim in the lemon juice. Turn the glass rim-side down on the plate and coat the edges in sugar. Then pour and serve your cocktails!
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
The smell alone of these cookies will put you in an autumnal mood!
Ingredients:
200g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
50g light brown soft sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
1½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, gradually adding to the creamed mixture. Shape into 1-inch balls and then roll in sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a baking tray and bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes. Leave to cool on wire racks and then enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
If you’re looking for something spicy and sweet like a PSL but you’re not in the mood for the drink, then look no further than these delicious pumpkin spice cupcakes.
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
110g butter
200g caster sugar
5 tablespoons brown soft sugar
2 eggs
180ml milk
1 can of pureed pumpkin (Try Tesco!)
For the icing:
200g cream cheese
50g butter
350g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 190°C and line your muffin tray with muffin cases. Using an electric whisk, mix together the butter and sugars until they are incorporated and light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs, one at a time. Then stir in the milk and pumpkin puree. Sift in the flour, spices, salt and baking powders and combine.
Fill the muffin tray with the mixture and place your cupcakes in the oven for 25 minutes and leave to cool on a rack. Make the icing by adding the butter and cream cheese to the mixer and blending until smooth. Then add the icing sugar a little bit at a time until it is all mixed in. Add in the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until it’s thick and fluffy. When the cupcakes are completely cool, ice the cakes and there you have it!
By Caoimhe Keogh Nevin- Arts & Lifestyle Writer
