I have been working on this afgan for some time now. I finished it last night for my niece for her birthday! Now to start my next knitting project, there are many in wings waiting too!

While it wasn't for me, I did get some scappin' done this weekend!! I am involved in a swap with an online message board, and this swap was to do a two page layout relating to Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Fall. I choose to do a fallish theme one. I hope Donna likes it!! I need to go get more of this background paper to do a layout for myself!

Creepy Witches' Fingers

Yield: 5 dozen

1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 Egg
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla
2 2/3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking powder*
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched
1 Tube red decorator gel
(optional, not pictured)

Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies.
In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda*, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. (Accompanying picture showed long rolled shape with bulge at centre for knuckle; you puff it out rather than squeeze it in.) Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood."
(ed. note - I opted not to go for the bloody effect as you can see in my picture above, and my guests were still grossed out! - Britta)
Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.

*you can omit the baking powder, as this causes puffiness, and leaves the fingers without the definition of real fingers. The dough was very similar to a Christmas cookie recipe I had, so I just left out the baking powder entirely and had a more shortbread-like recipe that keeps the detail perfectly, since it has no leavening ingredient. I recommend that method as most reliable.

This past weekend I went to one of our Kent Harvest Trails Orchards, had lots of fun with a few friends and our kids. We went on a hayride, picked some pumpkins and got some apples. Today I cut the apples up and threw them in the crock pot to make applesauce. It is smelling so yummy right now. A few more hours to go!

This is what it looks like right now, after about 4 hours

8 to 10 large tart apples
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon

Peel/core/slice up the apples, put in a crock pot, with the other ingredients and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until the apples are tender.

Bake up a giant version of a classic sweet treat. Shaped like a country-fair caramel apple, this fun dessert recipe is sure to inspire oohing and ahhing at any fall gathering.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsps vanilla extract
60 caramel candies
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
wax paper
1 large craft stick

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour two 1 1/2-quart oven-safe bowls.

3. Combine 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.

4. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared bowls and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Allow the cakes to cool in the bowls for 10 minutes, then remove them from the bowls and set them inverted on wire racks to cool completely. Once the cakes have cooled, turn them over and use a long knife to even out their flat tops.

7. Topping: Place 60 caramel candies and 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir, then heat 30 to 45 seconds more until the mixture is smooth and forms a slow, thick ribbon when dropped from a spoon.

8. Layer the cakes (flat sides together) using a few spoonfuls of the caramel to help hold them in place.

9. Pour the remaining sauce over the cake. The caramel will run down the sides of the cake to cover it completely, or you can spread it with a knife while it's still warm.

10. Let the caramel set for about 20 minutes before pressing the walnuts onto the bottom half of the cake.

11. Cover one half of the craft stick with waxed paper and insert the covered end into the top of the cake.