Halloween Treats

I love Halloween. I really do. I don't care that we don't really celebrate it in Australia. And I also don't care that it is a hallmark holiday and blah blah blah SHUSH I love Halloween.

This year I am watching old horror movies like Rosemary's baby and Psycho and maybe Rocky Horror will make a worn out appearance. I have also prepared these suitably terrifying treats.

Graveyard Brownies
Makes: 6 large graves :)

Ingredients:
200g unsalted butter chopped
200g dark chocolate, broken
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup plain flour
3 teaspoons cocoa powder

Decoration:
Nutella
8 oreo cookies
Gummy worms
3 arrow root biscuits
Icing for writing

Make it:
1. Preheat oven to 190 C. Line 5 cm deep square cake pan with baking paper.
2. Heat butter, chocolate and sugar on low heat stirring constantly until smooth. Transfer mixture to bowl to cool slightly.
3. Add eggs and vanilla to mixture. Mix well. Sift in flour and cocoa. Stir to combine.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Place on wire rack to cool.

Decorate it:
1. Cover brownie slab with a generous layer of nutella
2. Remove cream from Oreos and crush. Scatter over the nutella until almost completely covered.
3. Break arrowroot biscuits in half. Use these as the tombstones. You can write messages on the tombstones with icing.
4. Use gummie worms to decorate.

Toffee Apples

Ingredients:
4 medium sized green apples
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup water
Red food colouring
4 long scewers

Make it:
1. Stick the scewers into the core of the apples and make sure they are secure. Prepare tray covered with baking paper.
2. Stir together sugar and water in a saucepan on low heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Return to low heat and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes until syrup begins to thicken and turn golden.
5. Add a few drops of red food colouring to make it look extra poisonous.
6. Roll apples in the mixture. Allow excess to drip off and place on tray.
7. Repeat this process 3-4 times until desired amount of toffee has stuck to the apples. You can pour more over the apples on the tray using a spoon.
8. Allow to cool.

I Need Cash

To earn a few extra buckeroonies (and feel a little less guilty for buying more new clothes) I have decided to sell my many prized possessions on ebay. Wait hang on, I don't have any prized possessions. Ahwell. I can't help but notice some items of clothing sell for 50 cents on ebay and others sell for 40 bucks. Does anyone have the secrets to selling?

Also any tips on making some quick cash would be worth its weight in gold.

Just for laughs here is a photo of tayrah and I at the Biscuit Magazine launch.

Biscuit Has Landed!

It is finally here! Issue one of biscuit magazine hits the computer screens today!

For real journalists a little how-to section in an up and coming magazine doesn't sound like anything much. It is like walking for the first time and then after a few years of walking you look like a fool saying "Check it out guys! I can walk!" "uh yeah, good for you". But let's just take a moment to recognize my first ever published article!

Flip through the beautiful digital pages of biscuit and scroll through to page 44 to see how to make the fascinator I showed you forever ago.

The biscuit along with other charming little drawings were created by a talented kid called Craig Nelson. You should also check out Matt's tech section on page 13. Or just you know read the whole thing.

Now I am stuck for what to write for next month.

If anyone out there is an accomplished journalist or is an enthusiastic amateur like myself please share your pearls of wisdom!

Peanut Butter Cookies

"You really should eat something," is not a phrase I hear very often. As you may have noticed I like to eat. I especially like to eat things packed full of sugar and desserts are my absolute specialty (apart from pasta sauce which I am also world renowned for.)

These are possibly the most indulgent cookies on this planet. And by indulgent I mean I am fairly sure they cannot be legal with that amount of butter and sugar. But oh god. They are good.

This morning I put on my summer dress and then it was freezing all day. It is October! I should be beginning to drown in my own sweat after walking to the shops down the road by now. Therefore I conclude summer is not coming this year and I can abandon any plans for a bikini bod. Fat cookies, this is your cue.

As you can see, my kitchen isn't really ideal for elegant baking.

Recipe adapted from joy the baker

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cup choccie chips

This batter makes a LOT so prepare two large baking trays.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in small bowl.

In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth preferably with a stand alone mixer for those of you who aren't working with an old fashioned hand held. Add peanut butter and continue to beat until fully combined.

What's better than peanut butter? Peanut butter beat together with a mountain of more butter.

Add brown sugar and white sugar and continue to mix for another minute. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Add the dry mixture a little bit at a time and beat on low speed if unlike my hand held your mixer has alternative speeds. Chuck in the choc chips and combine with a wooden spoon.

How do you spell the sound you make when you drool? I think its something like hagllghghlghghlllhhhhhhahhll

Roll the mixture into small balls and place on baking trays leaving at least 5 centimeters around each because these grow to big suckers.

Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. 

Allow to cool before transferring to a cooling rack as they are very soft and may fall apart.

Screw waiting for them to cool and gorge yourself.

Pulling Up My Socks

I am turning over a new leaf and reviving my blog. It has been asleep for so very long.

An old boss of mine once told me "Under promise, over deliver!" Unfortunately at the time I was peering over her shoulder at a drunk man who looked like he was about to fall over so here I am about to promise you my world. I can see this coming back to bite me in the ass.

Really I need to keep myself busy and away from the shops after I sold my soul to the devil to buy new clothes from Cue. (Dear new clothes, I mean no disrespect. You are the apples of my eye forevs and forevs)
I will post up photos of the full outfit once I wear it to the biscuit magazine launch party this coming Wednesday. Ah it is so soon! The launch issue comes out October 4th. Remember to pencil it in your diaries!

With any luck a blog makeover will lead to a me makeover and I will end up looking like this. Ah Joanie

Tomorrow I am planning on baking some peanut butter white choc cookies so get pumped! If they go straight to my chest and bum maybe I will have a hope of pulling off Joan's thang.

Molly :)