Halloween is right around the corner and it is my absolute

number 1 favorite holiday of the year.

So I am getting in the spirit of the holiday and I wanted to make a bunch

of themed treats today.

I wanted to make things that were sweet and savory,

because I like to go all out!

I love the fall and all of the fall food.

And especially, pumpkin, anything flavored pumpkin!

So, the first treat that we’re gonna be making are these

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Pie Pastries!

The things you will need to make these treats, will be, for the dough:

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 a cup of salted butter, chilled,

1/2 a cup of butter flavored shortening, also chilled, 6 tablespoons of buttermilk,

1 Teaspoon of salt, 1/2 a vanilla bean, 2 tablespoons of sugar,

a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, and 2 small triangle cookie cutters.

1 is 3/8 inch and the other is 1 inch.

And then for the filling, the things you will need will be:

1 can of pumpkin puree, which is also 15 ounces, 2 eggs,

1 can of sweetened condensed coconut milk, 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves,

1/2 a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger,

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and

1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt.

The first thing that we’re gonna do to make these yummy pumpkin pastries

is, in a large mixing bowl, we’re gonna combine our dry ingredients.

Flour, our sugar, salt and our vanilla bean!

Remember, we’re just gonna be using 1/2 of the bean, in front of me, I’ve

got a cutting mat, a sharp cutting knife.

So I cut a slit, down the middle of the bean, and I’m just gonna hold it

right here and using the sharp edge of the knife, holding it down,

and scrape.

Fresh vanilla seeds, look at them!

They look like ground coffee!

We want all of that flavor in our bowl, with our dry ingredients.

And now we’re just gonna use our hands and mix it together!

Now we’re gonna add our butter and shortening, remember they’re both

chilled, we’re gonna use our hands and work together the butter and flour.

Now we’re gonna drizzle in our buttermilk, and I’m just gonna mix it in.

Our dough is ready, I’m going to divide it in 1/2, roll it

and I’m gonna place it on top of a piece of plastic wrap, press it down

into a disc shape and wrap it up tight.

Then I’m gonna do the same thing to this piece of dough and I’m gonna

pop these into the refrigerator.

You want to let them chill for anywhere between 2 hours to 24 hours,

but a minimum of 2 hours.

While our dough is chillin’ like a villain in the fridge, we are gonna

make our pumpkin pie filling, yum-yum-yum-yum-yum!

Alright, so over here in a medium bowl, we are gonna combine our pumpkin puree,

sweetened condensed coconut milk, 2 eggs, sea salt, clove, nutmeg….

…..

You don’t want to add a glass bowl, that is not part of the recipe.

Ground ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla extract!

Then take a whisk and whisk together until well combined.

OH!

The pumpkin and the cinnamon and the nutmeg and the clove!

Om-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom!

And now I’m gonna pour it into a greased baking pie pan, we want every

last drop!

Now we’re gonna bake our filling, we’re gonna pop this into the oven at 350

degrees, and bake for about 60-75 minutes.

The pie dough is done chilling, I just took it out of the fridge, and then

I put it on my countertop, rolled it out about an 1/8th of an inch thick.

Remember to sprinkle your countertop with a little bit of flour so that

the dough doesn’t stick.

And now we’re going to cut out our little pumpkins!

Remember, you’ll need 2 pumpkins for every pie, because 1 will be the top,

and 1 will be the bottom.

And then remove the excess dough.

We’re gonna add some Jack-O-Lantern decorations,

using our 2 triangle cookie cutters.

The larger triangle cookie cutter we’re gonna use to cut out the eyes,

then with the extra small triangle, I’m gonna use to make the

Jack-O-Lantern’s mouth by alternating the triangle cuts.

This little Jack-O-Lantern needs braces!

Now we’re gonna do this to the rest of the pumpkin tops.

Time to assemble our Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Pastries!

I am so excited, I can't wait to put these together.

Over here we have got the bottom and the top of our pies on a baking sheet

lined with a piece of parchment paper.

Over here, I’ve got a little bit of egg wash, which is just 1 egg,

a little bit of cream and a little bit of salt.

We are gonna be painting it on the bottom of our pie and over the top to

give it a light, golden brown shiny look.

And over here, we have got our

baked pumpkin pie filling!

Yum-yum-yum-yum-yum!

We’re gonna start with a little bit of egg wash, and I’m just gonna put a

little bit all around the edge of the bottom of the pie.

Then I’m gonna take a little ice cream scoop, if you don’t have 1 of these,

just know that this measurement is 1 tablespoon.

We’re gonna take a little scoop, gonna place it right in the middle of our pie.

Then I’m just using the back of my little scoop to flatten it out.

And then, very carefully you’re gonna pick up the top and line it up with

the bottom of the pie.

Then using your pointer fingers, we’re gonna pat the edge to connect the

top and the bottom.

Final step, we’re just gonna brush a little bit of egg wash on the top.

Then we’re gonna do this to the rest of our pastries.

Ooooh!

Our pumpkin pies are now all assembled and it is time for our

final bake, we are gonna pop these into the oven at 350 degrees

for about 25-30 minutes.

And, da-dew!

Here are our Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Pie Pastries that we made!

They’re fresh out of the oven, I put them onto a little serving plate,

and I’m just gonna have one for me!

Mmmmm!

Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm!

Mmmmmmmm-mmmmmmm!

The Pumpkin!

The next thing that we’re gonna be making is something savory.

I really like to make a dip every year, especially when I have my friends

get together, I just love chip dips!

So we are gonna be making Spicy Spooky Spider Hummus!

The things you will need to make the Spicy Spooky Spider Hummus will be:

For the hummus, 2 cans of black beans, each can is about 15 ounces, so

you will need 30 ounces total of black beans.

They will also need to be

drained and washed, 1/2 a cup of tahini, which is sesame seed butter,

5 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 4 tablespoons

of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of garlic, minced, 2 teaspoons of cumin,

1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder, and a little salt and pepper to taste.

And then for decoration you’ll need a little bit of red bell pepper,

some black olives, a little sour cream, and a decorating bag,

fitted with a #2 tip and lastly a food processor, and a little something

to eat with your hummus.

I’m gonna be using chips, but you could also use vegetables.

The first thing that we’re gonna do is add all of our ingredients

into the food processor.

And if you don’t have a food processor, that’s OK.

You can also use a blender, just know that when you're using your blender, your

hummus won’t be as smooth.

But that’s OK, it will still taste delicious.

So we’re just gonna add our black beans, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil,

chili powder, our fresh garlic, I love this!

1 because I’m Italian, 2 because it makes our hummus dip a little spicy,

and 3, it’s Halloween, this can keep the vampires away!

Get outta here Edward!

What’s up with Jacob?

Lime juice, and a little bit of salt and pepper, this part's totally optional so it’s up to you whether

you prefer to put 1 pinch, or 2 pinch, whatever you like.

We’ve got all of our ingredients in our processor, now I’m gonna put the

lid on, blend it up for about 1 minute, and then scrape down the sides,

and then, blend it for an additional minute.

This is what your hummus should look like, I just scooped it into a little

serving bowl because I like to eat mine as a chip dip.

Then we’re gonna take a little spatula, smooth out the top, and for this

one I’m gonna be spreading it as smooth and flat as possible because

we’re gonna pipe a little bit of decoration on the top of here.

Now it is time to decorate, this is my favorite part.

In front of me I’ve got some olives, some bell peppers, and a little

cutting mat with a sharp cutting knife.

You’re gonna take an olive, and then we’re gonna cut it in 1/2 the hotdog way.

Now I’m gonna cut 4 slices on each side to make 8 spider legs!

Then we’re gonna take another olive, cut it again hotdog, and then this side,

we’re gonna cut it hamburger.

And that’s gonna be the little spider head.

And then we’re gonna use a full olive

for the spider body.

And these are extra!

I sliced a bunch of bell pepper, but you actually only need 1 little piece,

so if you want to make more than 1 spider you can.

But I’m making a black widow spider!

You’re just gonna cut little strips, and then you’re gonna cut a little square.

I’m not gonna let these go to waste, I’m gonna put these on our little chip plate

so people can either dip little chips, or fresh veggies into our hummus.

Over here in this little plastic bag I scooped some sour cream, and I put

a number 2 tip at the end