Pumpkin Pancakes

My sister and I both love the pumpkin pancakes that show up on IHOP's menu in the fall. She spent the night with us last night and I wanted to do something special for breakfast this morning. I found the perfect recipe for pumpkin pancakes over at  For the Love of Cooking . The pancakes  are light, fluffy and taste wonderful topped with a bit of whipped cream. I did add 1/3 cup of sugar and about a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to add a little more flavor.

And it makes sense to eat breakfast at home instead of going out.  After tax and tip, we would have spent close to $30 for breakfast for three. Instead we had a great breakfast at home, avoided going out in the cold and saved a lot of money. Perfect!

Cranberry Coconut Squares

One of my favorite things about fall is cooking with cranberries and pumpkin. That's why I was excited when I came across this recipe for Cranberry Coconut Squares. Basically a lemon bar with a cranberry and coconut topping, they are the perfect combination of tart and sweet. My mom and I enjoyed them for breakfast.  If they are a little too tart for you, a dusting of powdered sugar adds a little more sweetness.

Haunted House Birthday Cake

My favorite girl turned 10 years old yesterday. Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that Mike and I were celebrating our one year anniversary and had to hurry to the hospital to wait for our niece to be born. I know, what an amazing anniversary gift. Ally is the most special girl I know and I'm fortunate that we have such a close relationship. She's got the biggest heart you could imagine - I tell Amy all the time that she's an "old soul". I'm not exactly sure what I mean when I say that, but it just fits. And in her, I have my own mini-me. She's just like me in so many ways - her love of all things spooky, the gleam of mischief in her eyes...I could go on and on.

But I won't. I'm too anxious to show off her birthday cake. She wanted a haunted house theme and I think I pulled it off pretty well here. The look on her face when she saw it actually brought tears to my eyes.

For the cake I used an 11x15 pan with two boxes of cake mix. After covering the entire cake with a milk chocolate frosting, I got to work on the decorating. Here's how I did it...

Grass - coconut with green food coloring
Walkway - candy corn path filled with Halloween sprinkles
Graveyard - PF Milano cookies with a pretzel fence
Pumpkin Patch - candy corn pumpkins
Ghosts - Peep Ghosts
Jack-O-Lanterns - Candy from the baking aisle
Haunted House - a perfect find from the greeting card aisle

For the pumpkin patch in front of the cake, I spread a bit of leftover frosting to make the "grass" stick and added a few pumpkins. For the pumpkins lying down, I cut the candies in half.

Mike and I had so much fun doing the decorating after Landon went to sleep last night and the cake was a huge hit today. Give this idea a try for Halloween, adding your own special touches. You'll be surprised at how well it turns out.