Foodie Friday Plus the 2nd Mystery Ingredient Club

Welcome to Foodie Friday, where great food is always on the menu.
And welcome to the 2nd Mystery Ingredient Club!

October is the month when the light turns golden and the air holds a chill.
We've been busy setting out pumpkins and corn stalks...and filling the house with spooky items.


These spheres were inspired by Nell Hill's.

 

I collect snow globes, and I particularly like my spooky ones:

Minnie Pause the scarecrow is joining us today.

Minnie, click your heels three times, please.

 

 Can you guess the mystery ingredient?

 The mystery ingredient is . . .
sprinkles!

 

 

Triple Chocolate Halloween Cup Cakes

Yield: 1 dozen

 

                                                        adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart

 

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled

1 cup hot cocoa

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add baking powder, flour, and salt. Mix well.
Add melted chocolate, cocoa, and hot cocoa. Using a mixer, whip for a minute or two. When mixture has cooled slightly, add beaten eggs and vanilla extract.  Whip until creamy.
Pour batter into paper-lined muffin tin. Pop tin into a pre-heated 350 degree F oven.

Bake 20 minutes or until done.

 

Chocolate Frosting:
from Food Network

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 stick butter (softened)

3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine sugar and cocoa. Mix thoroughly.
In a second bowl, add 1 c. of sugar/cocoa mixture to stick of butter and 1 T. cream.
Mix well.
Add 1 cup sugar/cocoa and 1 T. Cream.
Mix well.
Keep adding sugar/cocoa and cream.
Beat until frosting is light and flurry.
Beat in vanilla.

 

 Spread frosting on top of cooled cupcakes. Top with sprinkles, if desired.

Royal icing, tinted with food coloring, was used for a second batch of vanilla cupcakes, which

were made from a Betty Crocker mix. Several were iced with leftover chocolate icing (it was too delicious to waste) and topped with orange frosting.

I found festive Halloween cupcake liners at the grocery. The little "toppers" and the solid, dark orange liners were found at Amazon.

Here's a list of bloggers who are participating in the 2nd Mystery Ingredient Club.

Just wait until you see what they did with the sprinkles! So much fun and creativity.

Thanks to these kind, talented ladies for playing along!

Sarah at Hyacinths for the Soul

Cathy at Wives with Knives

Kitty at Kitty's Kozy Kitchen
Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud
Mary at Home Is Where the Boat Is
Jain at a quiet life
Sherry at The Charm of Home
Debbie at Mountain Breaths
Yvonne at Stone Gable
Martha at Lines from Linderhof
Mari at Once Upon a Plate plus A Second Recipe
Pam at Sidewalk Shoes
Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen
Rett from The Gazebo House



Foodie Friday wouldn't be the same without our ducks, better known as "The Fabulous Five."

 

The ducks approached Minnie with caution--would the scarecrow have bread or an icky broom? 

 

Let's save a cupcake for Dr. Will.

 

Before you go, Dear Foodies, I have a question . . .  

I've had several emails from bloggers who wondered if I would change the next Mystery Ingredient Club. Here's how it will work: I will email or post the mystery ingredient, and bloggers can purchase it and have fun whipping up a FF version of "Chopped."
I hope you'll join us!

The next Mystery Ingredient Club will have a holiday theme. The date is Friday, December 6th.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

 

 If you are participating in Foodie Friday, please take a moment to read the guidelines.

To add a link to your post, locate the blue Inlinkz icon in the lower, left-hand portion of this post. Click on the icon and follow the directions. After you complete the process, you will see a red "x"
beside your name. This allows you to delete your link if you made an error; the red "x" is visible to you only.

For a complete guide to this linky party, click HERE.

** Would you like to add your recipes to the "Consuming Passions" group board at Pinterest?
It can be found HERE. We're a small, sociable group; Foodie Friday folks are always welcome to "pin" with us and chat about food. Just leave a comment on one of my recent"pins," so I'll be sure to see it, and I will send you an invitation. Or you can email me.

 Thanks for visitin'!

 

 

 

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