Spook-tacular Kraft Halloween Giveaway & Pumpkin Cupcakes

Halloween is my favorite time of year! All of the fun decorations, dressing as anything you want to be, not to mention the cool crisp air and the trees changing color! When I was offered to do this post I just couldn't resist! What better way to get back to blogging after a little (okay extended) vacation!

Not only did Kraft send me all of this fabulous Halloween stuff, they are sending on of my readers the same gift pack valued at approximately $100!

This gift pack contains:

3 Halloween flavors/shapes of JET-PUFFED Marshmallows (new!)

2 Halloween JELL-O Molds and JELL-O product

  1 package of Halloween OREO cookies

2 flavors of VELVEETA Cheesy Potatoes (new!)

1 coupon for a free Seasonally flavored PHILADELPHIA Indulgence (new!)

1 Rachel Ray Orange Souped Up Bowl

8 glow in the dark plastic ghost cups

kids Halloween apron

Halloween serving dish

JELL-O Halloween Idea Booklet

Pumpkin Party Picks
 

There are so many possibilities of things that you can make from this package.

This is one of the many ideas I have decided to make!
 

Pumpkin & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

 The Spook-tacular Jack-o-Lantern Cupcakes were made using the Jack-o-Lantern picks and the coupon for th free Seasonally flavored PHILADELPHIA Indulgence. I chose the Cinnamon White Chocolate PHILADELPHIA Indulgence...yum!

Here is what you will need to make these cupcakes

1 box of spice cake mix

1 can of pumpkin

1 package (1-lb) of confectioners sugar

1 tub of PHILADELPHIA Indulgence (I used Cinnamon flavor)
  

Mix together cake mix and can of pumpkin well, 2 to 3 minutes. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely.
  

Mix together entire package of PHILADELPHIA Indulgence and confectioners sugar, until fluffy. Pipe icing on using piping bag with 1M decorating tip.
 
The icing turned out absolutely delicious with the PHILADEPHIA Indulgence Cinnamon flavor and is my new favorite ingredient to make cream cheese icing with!

   

 Look for many more Kraft inspired recipes to come over the next week!

   ~Christina

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How to Enter to win this Giveaway:

All entries are to be submitted in the comment section, one winner will be picked by random.org to win this giveaway package. Giveaway is open to US residents only. To enter you must be a follower of Mrs. Fox's Sweets in some way and be sure to let me know how you follow with your entry (See social media links in right column!) Be sure to leave your email if it isn't visible in the profile you log on with to comment.

You may earn up to 3 entries in this giveaway!
1. Share this giveaway on Twitter to hey can also Tweet with #KraftHalloween and @MrsFoxsSweets for a chance to win your giveaway prize. Let me know in the comment section with the url to the Tweet and how you follow Mrs. Foxs Sweets.
2. Share this giveaway on Facebook and tag MrsFoxsSweets. Let me know in the comment section that you did so!
3. Share your Halloween ideas in the comment section below!

Enter now through October 12, 2012 at midnight central time!

Disclosure: Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me and has provided me with a gift of equal value for review.  This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Mrs. Fox's Sweets.
  

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Giveaway has ended. Winner will be posted 10/14/2012!

2012 Graduation Cupcakes

It's Finally Here!

Today is the day, by the time you are reading this it was yesterday!

My son graduates from high school! It has been an amazing journey and when he smiles, I still see that little boy graduating from preschool and he is still just as sweet!

The years have gone by fast and so has his senior year! I had a huge cake planned for this spectacular occasion, time just didn't permit.

So we have had little sweets here and there to celebrate!

This time it is all about you!

Congratulations Steve!

   

~Love, Mom

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Graduation Cupcakes

Just 2 more weeks until my son graduates!

I found these liners and plates at Michael's, they are Celebrate It! brand. The cupcakes were made with the Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe from Glorious Treats and the icing is a traditional buttercream with a package of Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Cotton Candy flavoring which give it the flavor and color.

CONGRATULATIONS

CLASS

of

2012!

  

~Christina

 

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We link up at these fun parties!

Grill Brownie Cupcakes

It may not offically be summer quite yet, but the heat has arrived and so have the picnics!

These brownies are easily made using your favorite brownie recipe or mix baked in cupcake liners. A little orange sanding sugar, a tube of ready made black icing, and a few Hot Tamales make decorating these easy!

Another version of these brownies with candy aisle hotdog gummy candy placed on top.

Perfect for any summer party or picnic!

   

Enjoy!

~ Christina & Katie

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We link up at these fun parties! 

Sunkist Orange Soda Cupcakes

Bright, orange, and cheery!

These cupcakes were made with 1 box of Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake mix mixed with 12 ounces of Diet Sunkist Soda. Regular may also be used, but I like cutting calories whenever I can! Mix well in mixer and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

While cooling I used a small star cutter and orange fondant to cut out little stars to embellish the top of each cupcake.

These Cupcakes are frosted with Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Orange Creme flavor. When Duncan Hines Frosting Creations came out, that was one of the flavors I had to get to try! It taste just like orange push pops! In order to make it pipeable I did have to add additional confectioners sugar to thicken it up, just added until it was stiff enough, about a cup since it is pretty warm and humid here right now...not complaining...I love this weather!

 

~Christina

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We link up at these fun parties!

Featured at: Inside BruCrew Life

& Days of Chalk and Chocolate

Beach Cupcakes!

Last week we had a great time on spring break spending 4 days of it at the beach! I love the heat of the sun and the sound of the ocean!

Spring break may be over, but the beach lives on...in these cupcakes!

Easy to make using candy molds for the palm trees and shells. I let each color of the palm tree set up before adding the next. The sand is simply brown sugar pressed onto the frosting!

 

I can't wait for the warm weather to stick around so we can go to the beach more often!

Now it's time to countdown until summer!

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We link up at these fun parties!

Elegant Mocha & Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Hi! I am Katie, Christina's daughter. I am so excited to now be a part of Mrs. Fox's Sweet and to be writing my first blog post! You may have seen some of my other work on here before including my most recent Shamrock & Heart Cookies and the Valentine's Graffiti Cookies that I decorated.

These cupcakes are made with a recipe that we use a lot from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and it is also on her website. I substituted strong brewed coffee in place of the water in the recipe. For the frosting I used the new Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Mocha flavor. The frosting was not thick enough to pipe and I had to add about 1/4 cup powdered sugar to thicken it up. I used tip 1M to make the swirl, which I am still working to perfect. The more I swirled, the easier it got.

I am a bit like my mom with liking the candy molds. On these mocha cupcakes, I thought it would be nice to go with an elegant design that is simple. The candies on top are made with dark chocolate, which is melted in the microwave for 1 minute and then piped into the mold and allowed to sit in the refrigerator until hardened, about 15 minutes.

Are you wondering what the frosting taste like? It actually tasted like coffee and went perfect with the rest of the cupcake!

 

I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon!

~Katie

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We link up at these fun parties!

Featured at: Cups by Kim

& Serenity You

Sheep Cupcakes

Something about spring brings on the sheep! This idea is from "Flock of Sheep" in the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book. They are quite easy to make and great to make with children.

What you need:

cupcakes

mini marshmallows (cut in half)

ready made whipped canned frosting

black and pink tube icing (or color a little of the white icing)

tips 1 and 66

Frost cupcakes with spatula. Use piping bag with just coupler to pipe on head. Refrigerate a few minutes for frosting to stiffen up. Use tip 1 to pipe on eyes in black and nose and mouth in pink. Use tip 66 to make ears. Place halved marshmallows all over cupcake.

Enjoy!

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I link up at these fun parties!

Link up your Spring & Easter projects at the Bunny Hop!



Butterfly Cupcakes

We all love fancy homemade cupcake, but sometimes it's nice to have something easy that you can make for school parties at the last minute or just an everyday cupcake with a little decoration on the top with very little work or time involved. These cupcakes were inspired from the "Butterflies in Flight" Cupcakes in the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.

I made the cupcakes even more fun and simple by using a funfetti box mix mixed with 12 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew (regular soda may also be used) and I also added some pink coloring to the batter. The soda is used in place of the eggs and oil called for on the box. Experiment with different flavored sodas to add some fun and interesting flavors to your cupcakes! I got this idea a few years back from one of the Hungry Girl books and use this method quite often for cupcakes. This recipe will make about 18 cupcakes filled 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

To keep these easy, I used pink ready made canned frosting for less mess and less work! I colored about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the pink frosting lavender and put it into a piping bag with tip 18 to make the stars between the pretzels that I pressed in. The heads of the butterflies are White Chocolate Easter M&M'S. In the book, black shoestring licorice is used for antennas, but after trying one with licorice, I decided to keep the cupcakes a softer color and not add the black, besides, I really do not like licorice!

Whether you are in a rush for a last minute dessert or just looking for an easy project to make with the kids, these cupcakes will do the job!

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I link up at these fun parties!

Link up your Spring & Easter projects at the Bunny Hop!

Feature at: Happy Go Lucky

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

It has been awhile again since I have made cupcakes. I used to make them every other day it seems, but this year cookies have become my passion. When I mentioned to my son that I wanted to make one last sweet for St. Patrick's Day, he said "cupcakes!" Cupcakes it is!

I don't like having a lot of something around, I do like staying in shape, so I decided to make these a little more figure friendly and simple but mixing one box of devil's food cake mix with 1 can of Diet Cherry Pepsi. That's all, no eggs, no oil, no butter, just the soda! Usually I end up with about 18 cupcakes using that method. Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes. They aren't the prettiest things, but they are fluffy and yummy!

I didn't want to make a trip to the store for decorations and I was lucky enough to already have St. Patrick's Day Cupcake liners in my arsenal of supplies. I had pretty much used all of my green candy coloring, so decided to use these "Spooky Green" Wilton Candy Melts, that I stocked up on over Halloween. They matched the shamrock cupcake liner quite well. I decided to put shamrocks on top using a Shamrock Printable that I found at Sherbet Blossom. I printed it out at at 150%. I put the melted candy melts into a piping bag and snipped the end off and traced and filled each shamrock and then put in the refrigerator to set up. Once all was ready, I used Wilton 1M tip to pipe on the icing and topped each cupcake with a shamrock.

I love making the cupcakes with soda! The soda gives the chocolate cupcake a hint of Cherry Pepsi flavor and I feel a little bit less guilty having one since it cuts the fat and calories down quite a bit!

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I link up at these fun parties!

  

Link up your St. Patrick's Day Projects at the Luck o' the Irish Link Party!

Featured at: Hoosier Homemade

Grover Cupcakes

Guess who? It's GROVER!

This is #4 on my Sesame Street Adventure!

Grover is super easy to make!

Here is what you need:

Cupcakes

white and black fondant

Pink Peanut M&M's (from the Valentine selection- Easter would work as well)

Sandwich type cookies cut in half

blue icing (I used a mix of royal blue and sky blue)

pinkish red icing (mix of red and pink)

Tip 233

Tip 12

While cupcakes are baking, prepare the eyes or eyes may be prepared in advance. Roll white fondant to 1/8 inch thick, cut with opposite end (wide side) of size 12 tip and shape into an oval. Using the small opening of the size 12 tip cut out black pupils. Glue together with a food safe brush and a very small dab of water. Be careful, too much water and the black will bleed.

For the mouth, cut the sandwich cookies in half.  Using pinkish red icing in zipper bag with tiny corner snipped off, outline bottom lip of cookie.

Ice cupcake in blue using piping bag fitted with tip 233, using a squeeze and release motion cover the cupcake. Assemble as shown in photo and that's it!

Grover did seem to have a hard time keeping his hands off the cupcakes! He just wanted to reach out and grab the other cupcakes, so I had to have him keep his hands crossed!

Look for a new Sesame Street Character next Tuesday!

  

Other Characters that I have made:

Big Bird

Cookie Monster

Elmo

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I link up at these fun parties!

Featured at:

Show Your Cake

Country Momma Cooks

Seven Alive

Big Bird Cupcakes

It's BIG BIRD!

This is #3 on my Sesame Street Adventure!

These guys took a little more time than the others, but I love working with fondant and they were a lot of fun to make!

Here is what you need:

Cupcakes

fondant in yellow, red, blue, pink, white, and black (or color white fondant)

icing colored yellow

Tip 67

A couple days ahead of time shape Big Bird's beak with yellow fondant, add inside of mouth using red and tongue using pink. If parts don't adhere well to each other, use a decorator brush with just a drop of water. For the eyes, I cut white fondant circles using Wilton's smallest fondant circle cutter, but the opposite end of your decorating tip can be used as well. I also made circles in blue and pink for the eyes and just cut the parts that I needed. The black pupil was cut using the opening on a size 12 tip. All eye parts were "glued" together using a brush with just a drop of water. Allow the beaks and eyes to stiffen up a day or two, if not they will lose shape when they are placed on the icing.

For the feathers I used buttercream colored yellow and tip 67. They were piped using a squeeze and release motion. Place on your facial features and you are finished!

*Be sure not to use too much water when adhering fondant parts together or your colors will bleed and the fondant will break down.

Again, my inspiration was a tiny stuffed animal!

Look for a new Sesame Street Character next Tuesday!

   

Other Characters that I have made:

Cookie Monster

Elmo

Grover

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I link up at these fun parties!

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

It's COOKIE MONSTER!

Now that I have begun on making the Sesame Street Characters, I can't stop! This week I have made Cookie Monster!

I had really started to get bored of cupcakes until I started by making the Elmo Cupcakes last week! Now, I am on a quest to make all of the characters that we have stuffed animals of, maybe more!

These lovable little guys are just as easy as Elmo to make!

 

All you need is:

Cupcakes

Sandwich type cookies cut in half

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies (I used Mini Chips Ahoy!)

White Necco Candy

Black Candy Writer

Icing colored blue (I used Wilton Royal Blue)

Tip 233

Heat the candy writer and make the black dots on the white Necco candies, let set. Color icing blue. Ice cupcakes using piping bag fitted with tip 233 and using a squeeze and release motion cover the cupcake. Add the eyes and mouth. With a dab of icing, stick on the mini chocolate chip cookies! That's all! That's it!

Cookie Monster love cookies....and cupcakes!

Look for a new Sesame Street Character next Tuesday!

 

Other Characters that I have made:

Elmo

Big Bird

Grover

 

(Note: I did not have a problem with the blue dye bleeding into the Neccos like I did with the red dye)

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I always share my cupcakes at:

Elmo Cupcakes

It's ELMO!

This has been something on my to do list for 2 years now! I first got the idea from the Sesame Street Cupcakes at Busch Gardens. We spend a lot of time at Busch Gardens every summer and all of the characters have become like a part of our extended family!

I ended up settling on the Cookie Monster cupcake on that hot summer day back in 2010 and decided to recreate the characters myself. However, I just kept pushing my remake of these cupcakes farther and farther down the list. I kept putting them off until recently seeing Cookie Monster at The Weekly Sweet Experiment and that was enough to make me want to get moving on this project! My daughter had really hoped for Abby Cadabby first, but I already had the WhoNu? Cookies to use for the mouth and red icing in the refrigerator, Elmo was the character that I decided to create first!

These lovable little guys are super easy to make too!

All you need is:

Cupcakes

Sandwich type cookies cut in half

Orange M&Ms (I used Pretzel M&Ms)

White Necco Candy

Black Candy Writer

Icing colored red

Tip 233

In advance, heat the candy writer and make the black dots on the white Necco candies.

I also find it is best to color your icings a day in advance, because the colors do tend deepen with time. I had already previously colored the icing with Americolor Super Red, so it had time to deepen. Color it a shade lighter and give it this extra time, if possible. I have actually had a red icing that I colored and used immediately turn burgundy within about 6 hours.

Once you are ready to decorate, ice cupcakes using piping bag fitted with tip 233 and using a squeeze and release motion cover the cupcake. Add the eyes, mouth, and nose, and wallah! Elmo is finished!

*Note: I did find that after these cupcakes sat for quite a few hours the red began to bleed into the Neccos. I have already made the eyes for the next character as well, so we will see if it is just the color red or other colors as well. Upside down candy melts or cut marshmallows are another option for the eyes.

That first year that I began taking my youngest daughter to Busch Gardens, each visit she got a new mini character. Her first was this Elmo! Maybe I should go back and look at pictures and make all of the characters in the order that she got the mini of the character! I don't know if she would like that very well though, since Abby wasn't available for a very long time! She has always loved the characters, we never had the problem with her crying or running from them like some kids we have seen, she always ran to them! I can't wait for summer again!

Other Sesame Street Characters that I have made:

Cookie Monster

Big Bird

Grover

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I link up at these fun parties! 

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Chef In Training

Bizzy Bakes

Food Corner

Snowflakes & Snowmen Recap

Winter 2011

Is that it? Really Winter 2011? Technically Winter didn't even start until December 21st and is still going on...but I am just not feeling it. Watch old man winter come late and hang around until June! Today, a jacket isn't even needed! When it was raining a couple days ago and around 60 and sunny yesterday I almost complained, and then I thought, "Hey this really isn't bad for January, this is good weather!" So while adorable little snowmen are still appearing in blogland, mine are here to say good-bye, my mind is springing forward!

Oldest to Newest....Newest to Oldest

Where should I begin?

Newest.

Snowflake Cookies

These were my crown jewel of the season, my absolute favorite!

Snowman Gingerbread Cookies

These were just a fun and yummy cookie with the snowman candies that my daughter loved so much!

Dude, Where's My Snowman? Cupcakes

This is what happens when I am having a rough day...I find laughter in making snowmen pee!

I am not really a snowman bully...he just had too much eggnog!

Snowman Oreo Pops

Once again, the favorite snowman candies on a favorite quick and easy treat!

Snowman Oreo Pops

This is the traditional Snowman Pop I found popping up on the internet possibly originating from The Farm Girl Recipes, that was as far back as I could find it!

Dipped Christmas & Winter Oreos

It doesn't get any easier than this and I just thought they were so pretty...and yummy! I really don't like just eating Oreos plain, but dipped, now that is another story. There is a red and green Christmas Tree version of these also on the original post.

Mini Snowman Cupcakes

This was the first time I used the mini snowman candies. My youngest daughter picked out the snowflake mini cupcake liners and the candies for these cupcakes!

Snowman Family & Snowflake Cookies

My first cookies of the season!

Snowman Family & Snowflake Cookies

Just the snowflakes from the collection. These were my first snowflakes, they were my favorite until I made the last snowflake cookies of the season (listed first on this page)!

 

Mint & Dark Chocolate Snowflake Candy

Some may call this "bark", I just call it "candy", since it was made in a mold. It is another super easy and pretty sweet treat and they were the first snowflakes of the season!

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I link up at these fun parties!