Mocktail and Cocktail Punch for the New Year Holiday!

I have to say I am always more ambitious than my time actually allows, but I must admit I was not expecting to be as busy as I have been this fall.  I should have had a clue when when people where Christmas shopping from in in July.

I have been teaching online and that takes more preparation and concentration that one might realize exhausting my ability to write a post.  I have never been one to pre-program most of my posts so those that are pre-programed were kinda the only ones that happened recently.

As a result the recipe theme ended in October.  Since November and December were not my most creative theme ideas anyway, I just dropped them from the schedule and will start a new set of recipe ideas come January for 2021.

Instead I thought I would share a few punch recipes with you.  If you are entertaining during the holidays, these are a fun way to share flavors.  If not, making a punch and keeping in the refrigerator is a great way to extend the holiday fun when, like us, the number celebrating is rather small.  You can also share these recipes with family and all share the same beverage while Facetiming or Zooming.

Merry Mocktail

4 cups cranberry juice

1 bottle sparkling apple cider

1 liter ginger ale

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Orange slices studded with cloves

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Combine all the liquid ingredients together and give them a stir. Float a few orange slices in the punch and add a few fresh cranberries. Or stud the orange slices with cloves and keep on the side to use as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Add 12 ounces of vodka to the recipe for a cocktail.

Mocking Fall Apple Punch

4 parts Sparkling Apple Cider

1 part Mulled White Grape Juice

½ part Lime Juice

Apple slices studded with cloves and kept in lemon juice until used as a garnish and apple mint sprigs.

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Put all the liquid ingredients together, and give them a stir. Float a few apple slices in the punch and add a few sprigs of apple mint. Or stud the apple slices and place in lemon juice on the side as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Substitute hard cider  and/or mulled white wine for a cocktail.

This Bourbon Punch is a variation on the HARRY ELLIS COMMEMORATIVE Knockout PUNCH, but I was never able to definitively determine which Harry Ellis the drink was designed to commemorate, so if you have details, please share.

Sneaky Bourbon Punch

Bourbon is a smooth alcohol, and anything made with it can sneak up on you, so enjoy this punch when you know you will not be driving.

• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 750ml bottle of bourbon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 oz. ginger beer
• 4 oz. lemon juice
• 4 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
• 6 oz. Madeira Wine
• 24 oz. sparkling or soda water
• Fresh nutmeg

GARNISHES

• Mint leaves
• fresh cranberries

PREPARATION

Let cinnamon sticks sit overnight in bourbon. Strain. Stir sugar into the juices and ginger beer until completely dissolved. Pour juice/sugar blend, Madeira, and cinnamon-infused bourbon into a punch bowl and stir. Top with sparkling water and stir again. Grate a healthy amount of nutmeg—about a quarter of the whole—on top.

To serve, pour a 3 oz. ladleful over ice in a punch cup. Garnish with a cranberry and a mint leaf. Don’t dilute the punch with ice, always have the ice in the glass!

 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

Another Edible Gift - Herbal Holiday Cookies

Check out the first post with Tarragon Mustard that also shows all the links for the Gift Card Giveaway.  You can enter the giveaway until Midnight on Wednesday November 22, 2017

This rosy cider simmers for just 10 minutes, making a great choice for drop-in visitors or last-minute parties. Great served with Christmas Cookies.

Rosie Christmas Cider

1 small orange, halved
1 teaspoon whole cloves
8 cups apple cider or apple juice
4 cups cranberry juice
1 tablespoon honey
6 inches stick cinnamon

Push tips of cloves into orange rinds.  In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, combine cider, cranberry juice and honey. Add clove-studded orange halves and stick cinnamon. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Discard orange halves and cinnamon sticks before serving.

Holiday Spice Cookies

Cookies always take some planning and a bit of effort, but the recipients of these cookie gifts will be grinning all through the holiday.  And the spicy flavor makes them a perfect complement to the Cider recipe above.

Chewy Spice Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 

3 1/4 teaspoons Cinnfull Dessert Blend*

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

3/4 cup vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat-free) 

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar 

1 large egg 

1/2 cup molasses 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, Cinnful Dessert Blend, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Using an electric mixer, beat the shortening and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined (do not over mix).  Place the granulated sugar on a plate. Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls; roll in the sugar to coat. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Using a glass, press the balls to a ⅜-inch thickness and sprinkle with more granulated sugar.  Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

*Email me at Marcy@backyardpatch.com if you want a substitute spice blend for the Cinnful Desert Blend mentioned in the recipe.

Apple Youling - a reason to enjoy apples in Winter

Learned a new historical fact this month.  On 12^th night, which was January 6, 12 days after Christmas, in England they used to go out into the apple orchards and toast the trees and bless them with a tasting of last year’s cider.  Of course that cider was fermented (kinda like the hard cider that is enjoying such popularity these days.)  As a result drunken rowdiness occurred giving the day the name Apple Youling (or Howling.)

courtesy of istock

So why apples you ask?

Well remember water was rarely pure and often harbored disease so even in the early years of this country Apple Cider was a very important drink and if some got fermented all the better.

In those days apples were seen as being a cure for many things.  You remember that phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”  We know now they are high in antioxidants, which reverse the aging process.  They also contain flavonoids, phytonutrients and a goof amount of fiber.  With all those compounds working for you it is actually a good idea to eat that apple a day.

I suggest celebrating Apple Youling with a drink of apple cider and an apple themed treat.  Try one of these:

Apple Crumble

Similar to a cobbler, but the crust is sweeter and crumbly.

5 cups of apples - Granny Smith, Macintosh, or related apples will do

1/3 cup water

3/4 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound (1 stick) of butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel and slice the apples. Spread them in a buttered 1- 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle the apples with water. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add 1 stick of butter a little at a time, using a pastry blender to cut the piece in so that the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly over the top of the apples and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the crust browns.

This one is a bit more complicated, but if you love donuts this is a great way to control the ingredients and the sugar.  Chas loves these without the sugar coating and I have to agree they are tasty that way, especially with English Breakfast Tea.

Baked Applesauce Cinnamon Doughnuts

2 packages dry yeast

¼ cup warm water (105-115°)

5¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided

1¼ cups unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup margarine, melted

2 eggs

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

To coat before baking:

2 tablespoons melted margarine

To coat after baking:

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon (or BYP Cinnful Dessert Blend)

2 tablespoons melted margarine

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add 3 cups flour, applesauce, margarine, eggs, spices, and salt; beat at low speed with electric mixer until moistened. Beat at medium speed for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to ½ inch thickness; cut with a lightly floured 2½ inch doughnut cutter. Combine doughnut holes and any remaining scraps of dough; reroll to ½ inch thickness and cut as before.

Place doughnuts on baking sheets coated with cooking spray; brush 2 tablespoons melted margarine over doughnuts. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place for 40 minutes.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top heavy-duty plastic bag, and set aside. Bake doughnuts at 425° for 8 minutes or until golden. Immediately brush remaining 2 tablespoons melted margarine over baked doughnuts; add doughnuts to plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Yield: 3 dozen doughnuts.

Holiday Beverages to serve and give as gifts

Prepping for the Holiday Series

We sometimes forget that the best way to communicate the season is through beverages and scents and what better way than with hot beverages.  And these make great gifts too.  You can make seasoning blends for cider, herbal teas or seasoned hot chocolate.

Spiced Lemon Tea Mix

½ cup lemon herbs (lemon thyme, lemon balm, lemon verbena)

1 Tbls. lemon peel

1 Tbls. ginger

2 tsp. allspice

2 tsp. cloves

Blend all ingredients together. Store in a sealed jar.

To use: add 1 to 2 tsp. per cup of boiling water.

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

2 ½ cups brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cloves

½ tsp. salt

1 stick real butter (unsalted room temperature)

Mix brown sugar and spices in a large bowl.  Cut the butter into 4 pieces.  Mix into the sugar well with a spoon or electric mixer.  Place in a plastic container with a tight lid and store in the refrigerator.

To use: Place 1 to 2 tsp. mix in a mug. Add ½ to 1 jigger rum.  Fill mug with boiling water.  Serve with a cinnamon stick or a Tablespoon of ice cream.  Mix will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Alternative use: For mulled wine or hot apple cider place 1 tsp. mix in a mug.  Add 1 cup red wine or apple cider.  Heat in microwave for 1 minute.  (You can simmer larger quantities on the stove.)

Cheating Cider Simmer

¼ cup powdered (sugar-free) lemonade mix

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

You can layer the ingredients in a jar or mix together before placing in jar. (If layering you must include instructions to shake well before using.). 

For decoration tie a cinnamon stick to the package.

To use: stir 1 tsp. of mixture into 1 cup hot apple juice, hot cranberry juice or hot cider.

Lavender Hot Chocolate

You can give this one for the winter holidays or save it for Valentine’s Day.

2 tsp. dried lavender buds

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 Tbls. Dutch process cocoa powder

2 Tbls. sugar

1/8 tsp. Kosher salt

Blend cocoa powder, sugar and salt together.  Package the lavender and bittersweet chocolate separate.  Place all items in a decorative container. 

To use:

3 cups whole milk or half & half

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Pour milk into a medium saucepan and stir in lavender flower buds.  Set over medium heat and bring just to a boil.  Remove the mixture from heat and allow to steep for 3 to 5 minutes.  Strain the milk to remove lavender, then return milk to saucepan and whisk in the chopped bittersweet chocolate until melted and smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder mixture.  Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.  Divide among coffee mugs and serve with a marshmallow or whipped cream.

If crafting these beverages is not your cup of tea, try ours:

Cinnamon Spice Tea

Silver and Gold Christmas Blend

Holly & Ivy Holiday Tea

Winter Remedy

Wassail  blend – in a cloth bag

Spiced Cider Blend - loose

Mulled Cider Blend – in tea bags

Mexican Spiced Cocoa

Sugar-free Hot Cocoa

Traditional Hot Cocoa

Spiced Cider Time

This month for the Featured Product on the website, I chose my Print Cookbooks which will soon be going digital, instead of my favorites for October – Spiced Cider Blends or Cinnful Dessert Blend. 

However, that did not stop me from thinking about what to do with these great blends, so I decided to send my musings out in a blog post.

Spiced Cider or Mulled Spice Blends

Spice Tea Latte

Do you enjoy Chai or spiced tea drinks in the fall?  Try this – Place about 1 Tbls. of Spiced Cider blend in a tea ball infuser and place it in 2 cups steamed milk for about 5 minutes. Add this spiced milk to cups of freshly brewed hot black or green tea for a quick chai-like seasonal flair.  To add decadence top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

You can also make this for a group by placing a Mulled Cider Spice bag into 4 to 6 cups of milk and warm gently on the stove for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove the bag and use the milk in coffee or tea.

Cinnful Dessert Blend

Grand Pumpkin Cookies

A Butter cookie is quick and easy to begin with.  Make it even more special with seasonal panache with Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Make a Cinnful  Spiced Sugar by combining ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend. Next, make your favorite butter cookie or sugar cookie recipe and lightly dust the top of the cookies with Cinnful Spiced Sugar before or after baking.

Butter Cookies

1/2 cup(s) butter

1 cup(s) sugar

1 egg(s)

1 1/2 cup(s) flour, all-purpose

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add egg; beat until combined. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough in half.  Shape each half of the dough into a 12-inch-long rope. Wrap and freeze about 4 hours or until firm.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Unwrap dough; carefully slice the frozen dough into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices, cut sides up, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your Cinnful Spiced Sugar sprinkle here.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast or Pancakes

My husband is always looking to make breakfast a treat and when I showed him this idea we have been enjoying a bit of pumpkin-y goodness in the morning.  Stir ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessertblend into every 2 cups of French toast custard (egg-milk mixture) or 2 cups of pancake batter before cooking.  For great pumpkin taste add 2 Tbls of pumpkin puree to the batters as well. (You can also dust these with the Cinnful Spiced Sugar!)

Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Now candied Sweet Potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but this is faster and can make a perfect dinner addition.  Bake sweet potatoes until they’re nearly done; then slice halfway through each and add a sprinkling of Cinnful DessertBlend and a drizzle of honey or caramel sauce. Continue baking until the potatoes are done.

Winter Holiday Beverages - Weekend Recipes

I love the smell of Christmas! To me it smells like cinnamon, cloves, oranges, apple pie and evergreens! Two of my favorite things to make for the long winter months here are a mulling spice to be used in wine or cider and a simmer recipe ( I shared my simmer recipe earlier this week, check it out.)  I’ve shared items like this in the past, but I can create any number of combinations so these are just a bit different from those I have shared previously.

Mulling Spice

2 Tbls. Cinnamon chips

2 Tbls. Orange peel chunks

4 tsp.  whole allspice

4 tsp.  whole cloves

For mulled wine, use 2 T of the spices in a tea ball or muslin bag. Add to 1 ½ quarts Burgundy wine with 2/3 cup sugar or honey. Heat to almost boiling and simmer 20 minutes.

For mulled cider use 4 T in a tea ball or muslin bag and add to 2 quarts of cider. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Cran-Apple Mulled Punch

This special recipe was shared with me by a customer.  She created it using the Backyard Patch Spiced Cider / Mulled Wine Blend, but you can use the blend I shared above.

12 cups apple juice

6 cups cranberry juice

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons Mulling Spices

Simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes.  Serve warm. Serves 20 to 25 (6 oz. cups)

Hot Spiced Pineapple Juice

I think my internet friend Mary Ellen Wilcox said that she uses this recipe at her Christmas Workshop.  I loved it because it was pineapple which is such a great juice to use at a holiday gathering.  It could also be a favorite of mine because of the rum??!

1 (48 oz.) can pineapple  juice
1 cup apple cider or juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup light rum or 2 tsp. rum  extract
Whole cloves
Lemon slices
 

Insert the wholes cloves into lemon slices and set aside.  Combine pineapple juice, apple cider, sugar and spices in a large saucepan.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in rum or extract.  Serve in tall mugs with the lemon/clove slices as garnish.  Makes 9 (6 oz.) servings.

Making Herbal Gifts - Liquors and Spiced Wine

One of my favorite ‘quick presents’ is a bottle of wine, something that many people resort to buying for people they don’t know what to buy for, but I add an extra dimension to my gift.  Sometimes I add a couple of mulled wine glasses (the kind with a handle on) and pack the lot up in a basket with mulling spices.  You can pre-mix the seasoning, or add a little recipe scroll and a pretty organza bag full of spices contained in the recipe so that the recipient can make up batches of soothing, warming and delicious mulled wine

Mulling Spices for Wine or Cider

8 to 10 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
6 to 8 whole cardamom pods
3 star anise

Add spices to 1 750 ml bottle of dry red wine (like cabernet sauvignon or merlot) with a slice of lemon and orange.  If you like it sweet add 2/3 cup honey.



If you have in time and inclination, you can also make your own liquers.  I found these three receipes in my files and tried the first one with great success.

Many wonderful drinks had their beginnings in medieval monastic gardens and stillrooms. They're easy to make, but they do take time to age. If you start now, you'll be offering your liqueur New Years’ Eve guests and still have some to serve at spring events. To ensure that your liqueurs are worth the time it takes to make them, use the best ingredients, store in glass or ceramic containers, and age in a cool dark spot.

These recipes use vodka and white wine; brandy or white rum are also good. Berry Rosy Liqueur
2 pints blackberries or raspberries
1 cup fresh rose geranium leaves
4 cups vodka
½ cup white wine Syrup:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water Combine the berries, geranium leaves, vodka, and wine in a wide-mouth jar with a tight-fitting lid. Steep for one month in a cool, dark place. Open and crush the berries slightly with a potato masher and steep for another 4-5 days. Strain, pressing the juice from the berries, then filter through a coffee filter or double layer of cheesecloth. To make the syrup, bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan, add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Cool. Add half the syrup to the liqueur; taste, then continue to add and taste until it is as sweet as you like. Pour into a bottle, cap it, and age in a cool, dark place for three weeks to three months. Makes about 1½ quarts.

Spiced Pear Liqueur
8 ripe pears, juiced (about 4 cups pear juice)
2-inch piece ginger root, peeled, sliced
1 whole nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups vodka
½ cup white wine

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Combine the pears, ginger root, spices, vodka, and wine and proceed as above, steeping for 5 weeks. Strain, filter. Make the syrup and add as above. Bottle and age for at least 4 weeks—the longer the better.

Van Der Tum Liqueur

This is a slightly different liqueur from South Africa.  It was served on special occasions.  The spices in it make it perfect for this time of year.

6 whole Cloves
1 stick Cinnamon
1/2 Nutmeg, grated
3 cups Brandy
2 Tbls. sliced Mandarin Orange peel
3 cups Rum
1 cup white sugar
½ cup water

Bruise the cloves and cinnamon and tie, with the nutmeg, in a muslin bag. Place the muslin bag, brandy, orange peel and rum in a clean, sterilized jar and seal. Allow to infuse for one month, shaking the jar gently every day. Strain the liqueur through muslin. Boil the water and sugar until very thick, then combine with the liqueur. Decant into dry, sterilized bottles and seal.

As always you can find more recipes of a seasonal nature by visiting our Advent Calendar which adds a new holiday recipe or craft each day through December 25th.  It also has some hidden treasure int he form of discounts and free items from the Backyard Patch.

An Old Fashioned Halloween Party

It's Halloween and you want to stay away from the big parties and door to door trick or treating with strangers. What do you do? I was looking through my stack of stuff the other day trying to get back on track with the blog and found a great file of holiday suggestions.  Hidden in the folder was an article from the magazine,  The Modern Priscilla Magazine from October 1915.

It was instructions on how to throw a Halloween Party!  It started by advising the hostess to invite family and friends that are close to each other so everyone can feel comfortable dressing up and joining in.  The Invitations and Decorations were simply adorned with witches on broomsticks, owls, black kittens and simplar traditional designs.

Decorations

Decorations in the early 1900s were simple but fun. Jack-o-lanterns peeking from every corner, dried corn with branches of colored fall leaves would be suspended from chandeliers. Pumpkin shells can be scraped clean and used for soups, dips or casseroles.   Cheese cloth, something we don’t see as much of today can be dyed yellow and festooned with autumn leaves.  Get the kids involved by stringing  popcorn which you can make Halloween festive with a shot of orange spray paint.  Faces painted on gourds and turnips was not so different from the decorating we do today.

Fun Food

The food suggestions in 1915 were rather light and easy, which fits in perfect with our busy lifestyles today. Egg, chicken or tuna salad sandwiches, cut into fourths with additions of thinly sliced cucumber, herb butter, tomato or watercress could be served on platters with colored toothpicks holding the bread in place. Sometimes a little food coloring now to make eggs green and other fun colors in food is more acceptable now that in the 1910s.

Nut sandwiches were a suggested treat. Bake gingerbread or pound cake in loaves and thinly slice. Toast nuts for a few minutes in a hot oven, then chop or crush. Mix with whipped cream or honey and spread on the slices of bread. This is great with Pecans.

In addition to the sandwiches serve brownies, fruit compote or salad, hot cider and salted nuts.   Serve some of those seasoned pumpkin seeds you made using the recipes we posted in the blog back on 10/15/11!

Hot Spiced Cider

(2 quarts cider)

1 cup brown or white sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
6 cloves
1 tsp. allspice
nutmeg

Add the sugar and spices to the cider in a large saucepan. Simmer, do not boil, for 15 minutes. Strain and serve hot in small glasses or mugs. A little grated nutmeg may be sprinkled on each glass before serving.

If you want more recipes or spice blends for cider, check out the Backyard Patch Cider Blends.

Easy Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 cups sugar 
• 15 ounce can of pumpkin
• 2 cups flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• (or you can substitute 3 tsp of Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend/Pumpkin Spice)

Instructions

1. Mix the first four ingredients.
2. Sift and add the dry ingredients.  Increase the amount of spices if you desire stronger flavors.
3. Pour into greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350° for 25 -30 minutes.

A perfect Halloween snack is roasted nuts and we make a great one with our Cinnful Dessert Blend, check out the recipe on the Backyard Patch Website !

Halloween Games

Bobbing for apples, dancing, and door prizes were some of the simpler activities in the early 1900's. We can add some modern touches too. On the bottom of each plate place a number. After everyone finishes eating draw numbers and give away adult and kid's door prizes.

The best thing about a dollar store today is it is filled with the types of traditional toys from 100 years ago, like bean bag animals, marbles, and card games.  I suggest herbal tea, jam,  fancy cookies or crackers for the adults.

 
You can drag out those games you played years ago too, like musical chairs.  Dance the  Hokie Pokie or play Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin and allow kids and adults to interact. 

A friend of mine used this game for Christmas gift exchange last year, but I adapted it for a game of Pass the Pumpkin!

Pass the Pumpkin

Directions:
For this game you'll need a small pumpkin, a reader, a circle of friends that know (or are learning) right from left and this little story. Whenever the kids hear the word "right" they pass the pumpkin to the person on their right and when they hear the word "left" they pass the pumpkin to the person on their left. All the participants will need to put on their listening ears because this game gets tricky. Party host can have a small prize ready for the person that is holding the pumpkin at the end of the game. I love the fact that adults can play this game and enjoy it just as much as kids and since I have never been good and left and right, it makes for fun mistakes!

Game story:
"Mr. Right and his two children left their home to go trick or treating. His daughter held Mr. Right's right hand and his son held his left hand.

The three turned left on the sidewalk and walked right passed the neighbor's house because they knew the neighbors had left this afternoon to go car shopping. Their car hasn't been running right since August.
At the second house on the right, the neighbors had left the light on and had also left a basket of candy and a note saying that they would be right back.

At the third house on the right Mr. Right and his kids didn't stop because the neighbors hadn't left their light on but they had left their sprinkler on and it was spraying from the gate right up to the door.

"All right!" said Mr. Right's son at the fourth house on the right. The neighbors at this house had their lights on and asked the trick-or-treaters to come right on up to the porch. "My wife and I are eating all of the candy right up and we're glad you got here while we still have some left," said their neighbor.

At this moment Mr. Right's daughter realized that she'd left her trick-or-treat bag at home. "That's all right," said the neighbor. "Our son left for college but I am sure he left a pile of old Halloween bags right here in the closet."

The Right children said thank you and looked right and left before they crossed the street to come back down the left side. At the first house on the right there was a spooky spider right on the gate. To the left of the gate there were three pumpkins and to the right of the gate there was a funny scarecrow with a broom in his left hand. These neighbors had really decorated the yard up right for Halloween night and they had plenty of great candy left.

The Right family trick or treated at the four houses that were left and soon there was hardly any room left in their trick or treat bags.

The end.

Who is holding the pumpkin? They win a prize!

I got quite a few ideas for this blog from Brenda Hyde and her blog On the Front Porch.

How Tuesday - Making Cinnamon Roasted Nuts

This Fall we are featuring the Cinnful Dessert Blend and will share many recipes using this blend.  We are offering.  Below are steps for making a wonderful Cinnamon roasted nut recipe I now call Cinnful Nuts and since they are amazingly addictive it seems a perfect name. 

Before I provide the steps I thought I would share a great punch that I make with Cinnful  Dessert  Blend.  This is warm cider punch.

Outdoor Party Punch

½ gallon apple cider

½ gallon cranberry juice

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbls. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

1 lemon, sliced

1 lime, sliced

1 cup raisins (optional)

Add spice mixture and sugar to cider and juice.  Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add fruit slices and raisins (if used) and simmer slowly for 30 minutes.  Strain.  Serve in mugs steaming hot.  For added fun provide cinnamon stick stirs.

Cinnful Nuts

(Cinnamon Roasted Nuts)

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans

1 cup walnut halves

1 egg lightly beaten

1 tsp. water

3/4 cup sugar

1 T. Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend

3/4 tsp. salt

Steps:

Combine the nuts. 

Mix together the egg and water and toss with the nut mixture. 

Combine the sugar, spices and salt 

and toss that with the nuts until they are well coated. 

Spread nuts in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Break up any large clusters and allow to cool.

(You can add 1 cup peanuts and reduce the other nuts by ½ cup to make a different mixture.)

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