November 4, 2016

A Very Hearne Halloween 2016

Last weekend, we hung out with the likes of Corduroy the bear, an astronaut, a sailor, a pig, a ghost, Marshall from Paw Patrol, a lion, two princesses, and our own Uncle Sam. We fed a monster, decorated cookies, and ate generous amounts of spooky treats. All in all, a pretty nice little Sunday.

Halloween is magical, if you think about it. It’s the only holiday I can think of where the whole point is to eat candy and not take yourself too seriously. Having a kid has taught me that we could all use a little more Halloween in our lives.

In this election year, we decided to go patriotic for our family Halloween costume theme. Knowing that our years of picking Sam’s Halloween costume are numbered, we made him into Uncle Sam before he is old enough to protest. Mike and I joined in the fun as Ken Bone (check out that ‘stache!) and Rosie the Riveter.

One thing I admittedly did take too seriously was the quantity of dessert needed for our little Halloween party. I got excited, one thing led to another and pretty soon I had made five desserts. Note to future self – you do not need to make five desserts. For real. After a full week of pawning the desserts off on neighbors and coworkers, we’re almost down to a reasonable level of daily sugar intake.

Nonetheless, here are the culinary highlights of this year’s Hearne Halloween:

Mummified Brie (thanks Laura!)

Hot Apple Cider: Simple and delicious Bobby Flay recipe

Halloween Bark: There are no rules. All you do is make this stupid simple Trisha Yearwood Sweet and Saltines recipe and throw whatever Halloween-themed goodies you want on top.

Dirt Graveyard: Mike’s only request… how could I say no?

Monster Cookies and Mummy Brownie Bites: Inspired by a post I had seen on Pillsbury’s website, I loved these quirky monsters from the moment I laid eyes on them and knew I had to make them myself.