Graveyard Cake
From Kayleigh Grian

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Stock Image
Halloween is one of the best times of year to get creative in the kitchen! There are just so many things you can do with food to make them creepy. One of my favorites is the Graveyard Cake. With this one you can let your imagination run wild, and even if you don't have a lot of decorating skills you can still turn out a great cake.

You'll need:

1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients needed for said mix)

1 container of chocolate frosting

1-2 packs of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (these will be your gravestones)

1 pack of sweetened shredded coconut

green food dye

black icing gel (or icing writing tip with any color icing to write on gravestones)

1 package of Nabisco Oreo cookies

1 package of gummy worms (optional)

1 package of pumpkin shaped candy corn (optional)

1 package of Ghostly Peeps (optional, if using will also need lollipop sticks for each)

any other decorations you'd like to add to your "graveyard"

2 Seal-able plastic bags such as Ziploc

Instructions

1. Bake cake as indicated on cake mix and allow to cool completely.


While baking, place coconut in ziploc bag and add several drops of green dye. Close bag and shake to mix the coloring with the coconut. This will be the grass on the cake, so keep adding a drop or two until you have the correct coloring. Once done you can spread out on wax paper to let dry.

2. In another bag, place the Oreo cookies (minus the "stuff" in the middle, bonus, you can scrape them and eat it as a treat while baking!) into a ziploc bag. Crush the cookies into little crumbs. (This will be the dirt mounds in front of the gravestones)

3. Use the black icing gel to write on the Milano cookies (RIP, BOO, Here Lies, etc). Let dry.

4. You can leave the cooled cake in the baking pan or remove to decorate

5. Frost the cake with the chocolate frosting (this will be the ground)

6. Push the Milano cookies down into the cake, about half way. Alternately you can cut the cookies in half and push in just enough so they stand upright.

7. Sprinkle the green coconut around the cake, creating grassy areas.

8. Sprinkle the Oreo crumbs in front of each gravestone (making it look as though it is freshly dug)

9. Place a couple of the pumpkin shaped candies next to some of the Milanos, as well as one or two of the ghost shaped Peeps and gummy worms. This is where you let your imagination run wild and get creative.

Side note: This can be done for birthday parties as well, just write things like Over the Hill on the gravestone cookies :) You can also do individual cupcakes with one grave each instead of a large cake.


Kayleigh Grian is currently a part time student working on her Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Computer Forensics and Security. She also works full time as a police dispatcher.

Kayleigh has always enjoyed writing, especially fiction and poetry. She is working on several projects including her first novel and a collection of short stories. Kayleigh enjoys reading as much as she does writing and will often go through a few books a week when she doesn't have a ton of homework to do.


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When their parents were murdered, twin sisters Sapphire and Sage, were separated to keep them safe. That was 22 years ago. Now, just before their 25th birthday, they are reunited only to learn the true reason for their parent’s murder, magic. They are the current generation in a long line of powerful witches. Their family tree seems cursed, with tragedy and death haunting each generation, traced as far back as the 1700s.

The Night Rage Coven is a group of power hungry demons with the ability to steal magic as long as they can kill the last of a bloodline. When the twins inherit their powers, they become the latest target of the Coven. They must learn to work together and control their new magic before it is too late. Will they survive the hunt or will the bloodline end with them?

Sapphire and Sage is available for early download through LeanPub, a new publishing company that allows readers to purchase the book while it is still being written. Everyone who purchases a copy will get updates with each new chapter posted. As a special treat for those participating in the Coven and Coffin blog hop, use the coupon code: CovenAndCoffin to grab your free copy from Oct. 27th through Nov 1st!
 Get yours now!

Follow me all week for awesome Halloween inspired recipes that will leave even the pickiest of Monsters satisfied.

Find the blog hop easily on Twitter #CovenAndCoffin
 
As every horror fanatic/Halloween lover, I enjoy some well placed gore with a dash of the macabre. 
However, if you have kiddo's coming to your party, you can't make anything too scary. 
A few years ago I found the perfect balance with this tasty dismembered arm!

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I apologize, I didn't have a digital copy so this is a picture of a picture

Dismembered Arm Pepperoni Bread

What You Will Need

1 Roll of Refrigerated Pillsbury Pizza Dough

1/4 Pound Pepperoni

1 Cup Mozzerella

2 Tbsp. Melted Butter

2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Pie Crust

1. Melt your butter in a bowl, mix in garlic powder, sit aside

2. Unroll pizza dough flat on cookie sheet.  Brush entire surface with butter/garlic mixture.

3. Place Mozzerella and Pepperoni as if you are making a pizza.

4. Once done roll the dough up lengthwise, tucking the dough into itself on either end.

5. Pop in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

6. While that cooks, roll out your pie crust.  If your dextrous, use a small paring knife to trace a cut out of your hand.
 (I'm not that dextrous, but I have a very trusting sister)

7. Pop your hand on another cookie sheet and bake that on 350 for at least 15 minutes (until brown) take out and let completely cool.

8. Take pepperoni roll out of oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.  Then cut into one-inch pieces and shape into a bent arm as seen above on a tray.  Use one of the knobby ends for an elbow (and I usually eat the other, hey I need my strength to keep cooking!)

9.  Add your hand. And voila!  I usually end up making at least 4 of these loaves for my party, it's always the first to be eaten.  I normally only ever make one hand.

10. Option not seem above: Use folded up foil to create a puddle of blood on the tray (Marinara Sauce of course)
Follow me all week for awesome Halloween inspired recipes that will leave even the pickiest of Monsters satisfied.

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Image from Food Family Finds
Rice Krispies Jack-o-Lanterns
From Noree Cosper


INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 package (10 oz., about 40) Marshmallows or

4 cups Miniature Marshmallows

Orange food coloring

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Green Cookie Frosting

Black Cookie Frosting

12 small green gum drops

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Tint with orange food coloring.

2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using 1/2-cup measuring cup coated with cooking spray divide warm cereal mixture into 12 portions. Using buttered hands shape each portion into pumpkin shape.

4. Make vine squiggles at the top with green cake frosting. Add 1 gumdrop for the stem.

5. Draw Jack-o-Lantern faces with the black cookie icing.

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Ninety years ago, Gabriella di Luca promised to protect the family of her dying lover. She failed to keep that promise.  She was too far away to stop the devil that murdered the eldest Van Helsing son. Years later, Gabby learns the devil has resurfaced. She arrives in Hampton, TX, determined to stop the devil before it can lay a bloody hand on the remaining three brothers.

However, madness is spreading through Hampton. She suspects the devil is using this madness to test a drug which has a side effect of demonic possession.  Gabby rushes to end the source of the madness only to fall victim to it. For a woman cursed with eternal life, dying is no threat. However, Gabby must stop the devil's plot or risk losing her most precious possession: her mind.

Get It Now: Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

About Noree Cosper
Noree Cosper loves writing about magic in the modern world. While growing up in Texas she constantly searched for mystical elements in the mundane. She buried her nose in both fiction and books about Wicca, Religion, and Mythology. Everyday became an adventure as she joined a group of role-players, acting out her fantasies of vampires, demons, and monsters living in the world.

She embraced her nerdom wholeheartedly.

Noree grew, but never left her love for fantasy and horror. Her dreams pushed her and her hand itched to write the visions she saw. So, with her fingers on the keys, she did what her heart had been telling her to do since childhood. She wrote.

Follow me all week for awesome Halloween inspired recipes that will leave even the pickiest of Monsters satisfied.

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Favorite Halloween Treats
From Kayla Curry


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I'm not really the baking or cooking type, so I'm just going to list my top five favorite Halloween treats and see who else agrees with me!

5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Who can resist these yummy treats? There are so many ways to eat them too. I used to pop the middles out and save the ring for last. I also love to put them on ice cream!

4. Popcorn Balls. The many colors and flavors are only one reason to love these sweet and salty Halloween favorites. The only problem is they cause a bit of a mess when you make them.

3. Candy Corn. Just mmmmmm. Halloween is not complete without these.

2. Dirt Cups. Chocolate mousse pudding, Oreo crumbs, and gummy worms in one little cup. Is there anything about this combination that isn't awesome? No!

1. Halloween Themed Peeps! One of my favorite Easter treats are peeps, so it's no wonder I love their creepy counterpart. You can't go wrong with ghost and pumpkin shaped marshmallows with a sugary coating. These are also great to use as your S'mores mallows if you happen to have a Halloween campfire.


About the author:

Kayla Curry lives in North Platte, Nebraska with her husband and two children. She likes spending time with family and friends when she’s not writing or planning out her conquest of the world. People who know her would say that she is sweet and kind, but her book characters would disagree. Her other hobbies include reading, metal detecting and research of local history. You can visit her website at http://www.kaylacurry.com to keep up on her progress in the Mystic Stones Series and her other works.

Grab Kayla's 99 cent creepy horror short story Oomph! on Amazon or Smashwords. Or pick up her free short story Ruby, on Amazon or Smashwords. Ruby is the short story companion to her paranormal novel, Obsidian, and can be read before or after the novel.

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Follow me all week for awesome Halloween inspired recipes that will leave even the pickiest of Monsters satisfied.

Find the blog hop easily on Twitter #CovenAndCoffin
 
Today is Day one of the Covens and Coffins Blog Hop!

Follow me all week for awesome Halloween inspired recipes that will leave even the pickiest of Monsters satisfied.

Find the blog hop easily on Twitter #CovenAndCoffin


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Autumn is when absolutely everything has to be cooked with pumpkin. Some people get tired of it, I’m sure, but my Fall is never long enough for me to tire of all the pumpkiny goodness. It’s the color, the faintly spicy scent, the sense that pumpkin makes it truly autumn. And so I give you:

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Serves 6      

2 cups low-fat milk

1/2 cup pureed, cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar (plus extra for caramelizing)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and spices. I use a blender so the pumpkin is smooth and I can just pour directly into 6 dessert cups Place in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Pour hot water into the pan so water is halfway up the cups. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the baking pan and let cool. Chill for 4 to 24 hours. Sprinkle each with a spoonful of brown sugar. This is where it gets fun! If you have a culinary torch, then torch the sugar until it bubbles. This can also be accomplished under the broiler. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn! Nothing is better than breaking through that delicious crust of caramelized sugar to reveal the cool spicy layers of pumpkiny goodness. The custard should create several different layers. It’s all good! (Yes, I did rip this directly from thedeerslayerswife.com. That’s okay, though, because she’s my mother.)

The Books of Lost Knowledge

Shadow redoWailing redo xcf

Truly, there are more things in heaven and earth… For instance, a dark and subtle world of magic, hidden just below the surface of reality. Lost Knowledge is a series of novels – two complete, many in progress – that centers on the reality of the things mankind has chosen to forget. There is beauty in the mist between the sea and the land, and dark things exist in the dim chasms of memory. Learn more at the Lost Knowledge website, or buy now here.

About MR Graham

DSC_0142fillMR Graham is a native Texan who traces strong cultural roots back to Scotland, Poland, and England. A mild-mannered Latin teacher during the day, Graham transforms at night into a raging Holmesian loremaster and rabid novelist. Though passionate about all scholarship and academia, Graham’s training and true love lies with anthropology, particularly the archaeological branch.

Connect with MR

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

 
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Join me and my fellow writers as we ring in the Pagan New Year!

Find Halloween recipes, brand new ghost stories, take part in a murder mystery, and more!

Follow us into the dark, and you will have the opportunity to win a SLEW of prizes from myself and:


Noree Cosper, Author of A Prescription for Delirium

Peter Dawes, Author of the Vampire Flynn Series

M.R. Graham, Author of The Wailing, In The Shadow of The Mountains, The Truth of the Matter and Proof

Kayla Curry, Author of The Mystic Stones Series

Kayleigh Grian, Author of Sapphire and Sage




(Seriously, it's almost too much!)


Keep your eyes trained on twitter and Facebook... #CovenAndCoffin