The Cats Take the Hat Halloween Tablescape

Zoulah welcomes all you Halloween lovers to her "Cats Take the Hat Tablescape."  She wants to point your attention to the cat with the hat, who very much looks like our Wolfay, on the couch with the hat in my blog header.  Thanks to Linda for the Halloween header -- just like magic my header appeared for Halloween.  She is a wonderful Blog Fairy.

In our home, cats really do  "Take the Hat!"  We have been the home of many strays over the years, and we are down to just one cat, named Wolfay.  We had a health scare with him this year, but he survived, for which we are grateful.

Just a little detail of the hat that Zoulah bought last year.  "Candlesticks make excellent witch hat holders, says Zoulah.

Flanking the end of the table are Zoulah's cats Frick and Frack.

To start the tablesetting, Zoulah used these darling cat placemats.

Then she placed an orange dinner plate and a black salad plate, both of which she bought at Tai Pan Trading for a dollar or under.

The little rectangle bakers are great for soup or individual meat loaves, or CANDY!  These little bakers were bought at Michael's a few years ago.

Each place setting gets two glasses.  I love the contrasting colors.

The pumpkin napkin holders were bought several years ago at Wal-Mart.

Just another happy view.

Zoulah wants to let you in on a "leetle" secret!  Yes she does.  The tablecloth is actually a former curtain, washed of course, but it makes a great tablecloth.

Just another couple shots of the cats standing guard.

A few more touches to the table -- little votive holders and the sparkly orange and black garland.

Every table needs a little bling.

Here is a sampling of Zoulah's work through the seven years she has been casting magic in her Bewitchen Kitchen.

This is Zoulah's latest creation -- Spiced Up Halloween S'mores Bars.

Zoulah loved having you here, she is glad to take over for a little bit, because the owner
of this blog hasn't been doing her job lately!  Come back later for Halloween fun!

Posted with Linda's Halloween Tablescapes
Posted with Tablescape Thursday

Halloween Spicy S'mores Cookie Bars

It was just innocent at first, I came across the recipe for Smore's Cookie Bars at church; we all baked them for the men at church for Father's Day.  I should have known, Miss Tina, the lady we got the recipe from is a very good cook, and she always finds the best S'mores recipes.

I mean I don't even like the kind of S'mores that you eat as you sit around the campfire.  Chocolate and graham crackers yes, but no thank you on the burnt marshmallows!  Then when we were in Pennsylvania at our son's home, and we were talking about desserts -- as we always do -- they had been making them too, but as a pie.  We all agreed that the graham crackers in the crust made these bars special. 

So naturally, Zoulah wanted to put her spin (some might call it magic) on things and make them Halloween-y, and we loved them even more.  In fact our daughter said, we would never make them again without the spices.  Ooh-la-la the chocolate and the spices taste sooooo good together.

So here goes the recipe.

Halloween Spicy S'mores Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3  cups flour

1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs -- about 1 sleeve and use cinnamon ones for an extra punch of cinnamon-y goodness

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Orange food coloring

Hershey Chocolate Bars -- 24 snack-sized bars

1 container of marshmallow fluff -- not marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan.  Cream together butter and sugars until light.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmegs.   Add orange food coloring if desired -- use about 1/2 teaspoon gel coloring.  Add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined.  Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of prepared pan.  Place chocolate bars  over dough.  Spread chocolate with marshmallow fluff.  Wet your hands or use a wet spatula to ease in the spreading of the fluff.  Next, put the remaining dough on top.  This is easiest if you sort of flatten small shingles of dough and lay them out piece by piece.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting.  I like to cut them in 3 by 4 squares, so about 9 to a pan.

Thanks Tina for the original recipe, and thanks Zoulah for adding some Halloween magic to it.  I am sure there is an original source, but I do not know it.

Use 2 Packages of 12 Pack Snack-Sized S'mores Bar (or the equivalent)

Take a Deep Breath of the Chocolate Goodness

I know I am supposed to like European chocolate better, but I love Hershey's chocolate bars, especially with almonds in them!

The Bars Laid Out on the Bottom Crust

Marshmallow Fluff

Pat the Cookie Dough for the Top Crust in Thin Shingles and Then Piece it Together

The Bars Waiting to be Baked

I hope you make a batch soon.

Zoulah thanks you for stopping by!

Bats and Spiders and...Zoulah...Oh My Tablescape

I have been an extremely lazy blogger lately, but it wouldn't seem like Halloween, if Zoulah didn't get in her "Bewitchen Kitchen" and provide some Halloween magic in our home   She has been cooking around Halloween in our home for the last 7 years.  She is an old gal, and has seen some hard times her life, a couple of falls and some broken legs, but she still is able to swirl her spatula, like a wand.

]She began to howl and moan, so I brought her out today, and as I was setting the table, it was to be a bat and a spider table, she jumped to the middle of the table, and installed herself as the centerpiece.

We started with a white undercloth and laid a lacy spiderweb cloth.  The plates are square, one plastic, or plastique as Zoulah says.

Then we put the cute batty plates on the other plates.

For the spider part, we added these glasses with a jaunty Halloween straw.

We added another plastique  hob nail glass.

We added a bright orange napkin.

What Halloween dinner could be without candy, and these kisses are the cutest!  Stay tuned for more, when Zoulah gives a rundown of all the Halloween Candy that is out there this year.

 The little kisses say:

Boo!

Scary

Creepy!

Zoulah so loves them!

Just a full shot of the table.

Zoulah wishes you a Happy Halloween season, and she hopes you come back for more Halloween fun!

Some of Zoulah's work.

Ta-Ta for now!

Posted with Tablescape Thursday