Halloween Cupcakes

My kids and I made some fun Halloween cupcakes today (they did most of the icing and decorating with sprinkles) :) It is always fun to bake with your children, they are always so helpful and want to get their hands into everything, but what really made these cupcakes special was Ashley @ iluvmarin, I purchased these cute Halloween cupcake toppers from her, they made such a cute addition to our cupcakes this year!

 Ashley's shop includes individual handmade scrapbook pages & page layouts, one of a kind greeting cards, notecards and of course cupcake toppers :) Please be sure to check out Ashley's handmade shop, iluvmarin on etsy! Happy Halloween! 

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars

It's that time of year again, where I enjoying making all kinds of seasonal foods and sweet treats. I am going to share a recipe that my friend/neighbor shared with me a few years ago. If you love pumpkin, then you will surely love these gooey butter bars. They are rich (like cheesecake) but can quickly become a guilty pleasure. 

I believe that my neighbor got this recipe from Paula Dean, so I am going to give thanks to her for creating such a delicious dessert and post the ingredients as shown here from Paula Dean on the FoodNetwork.com


Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Variations: For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

Definitely give these a try if you are interested!! You'll be glad that you did! Enjoy!