Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

We made a batch of these Pumpkin Roll-Out cookies to see if they were something Asher would want to take for his class Halloween party on Friday.  Asher and I made them together on Sunday afternoon while Fraser was napping and the boys had them for dessert after dinner!  The result was a nice soft not to sweet cookie (unless you add icing to it). 

Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

·         1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
·         1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
·         1/2 cup pumpkin puree
·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·         2 cups whole wheat flour
·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder
·         2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
·         1/4 teaspoon salt

• Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or water

Preparation

• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking Powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and coconut palm sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
• Turn the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Continue to mix until the dough comes together.
• Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325F.
• Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, and use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.
• Transfer to a Parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Asher made the icing for the cookies

For the icing: combine the ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.

These turned out great!  Recipe modified from weelicious. 

Healthy Halloween Popcorn Mix

So if you read my blog post about needing to find a truly healthy snack to send for Asher's Kindergarten Halloween party on Friday, you will know that I was on the hunt for something I could send.  I went through all the Pinterest ideas and came up with only a handful of really doable recipes that I could actually make ahead and send with my kindergartner as I would be working and not able to deliver! 

So on my drive home from work yesterday I started brainstorming and came up with this Healthy Dark Chocolate and Dried a Apricot Popcorn mix. 

It sticks with the black and orange theme of Halloween without including candy corn or coloured chocolate and is truly a healthy snack! 

I just made a small batch to test it out last night but I'll be making a big batch to send to school with him on Thursday night. 

First I popped my popcorn in a brown paper bag in the microwave. 3 minutes for about 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels. 

Next you will want to remove all the up popped seeds. 

Chop up some dried apricots. 

I used the Enjoy life dark chocolate chunks to make it dairy free and melted them in the microwave. 

Then drizzle chocolate into your popcorn and stir in the apricots! 

Spread onto a baking sheet and leave it overnight to let the chocolate harden onto the popcorn. Scoop it into a large container or baggies to send to school in the morning. 

I'm going to get some paper ice cream cups to serve it in for the kids! 

Not only is this a good healthy snack for the kids, it's also great for adults too!