Pumpkins!

In my Church, I work with the girls that are ages 12 to 18. They are such a fun group! October is my month to plan activities with them so we decided to have a Halloween dinner at the end of the month. This past Wednesday, the girls made Bat invitations to give to all the single "Ghoul Groan-ups" (girl grownups). I also had them make cheesecloth ghosts. I was very surprised that they had never made them before!

We also made these cute simple pumpkins. Takes all of 30 seconds! Just get a fat quarter or scrap of fabric. Place toilet paper roll in the center of fabric then bring fabric up and into the roll. Finish it off by adding a leaf and a stick for the stem. The girls loved making them! We plan on using them and the ghosts for the centerpieces on each table. Should be a fun night!

 

Success!

And I don't even have any pictures to show for the fun night I had last night! I was so busy trying to talk over the girls chatter that I didn't even think of pulling out the camera to take pictures of the yummy muffins they made. I do want to post the Master Mix recipe and the recipes we made last night though.

The girls were so fun. They loved their aprons I made them. Two girls weren't there and I guess I didn't count correctly since I only have one apron left so I will be making one more so I can give them both an apron on Sunday.

Here is the Master Mix recipe I used:
A-B-C Muffin Master Mix
18 cups all-purpose flour
5 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups nonfat dry milk
6 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Store in a large airtight container labeled with the date and contents in a cool, dry place.
Shelf life: 6 to 8 months. Makes enough for about 5 batches of 24 muffins each.
If desired, sugar can be omitted then stir in 1 cup honey for every 24 muffins as you make them.

To make 24 regular size muffins:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat muffin tins with an oil/lecithin mixture, grease with shortening or butter, or spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat:
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable oil
Stir in 5 1/2 cups muffin mix and any additional ingredients just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.

Then I divided the girls into 3 different groups so each group could make a different version of muffins from this basic recipe.

First group made a sinful, chocolaty muffin. It was almost like a cake and OH SO GOOD!
Kisses and Hugs Muffins:
1 1/2 cups cocoa
1/2 cup granulated sugar
After filling muffin tins 3/4 full, drop one Hershey's kiss into the center of each muffin, pushing down slightly until kiss is covered. Ice cooled muffins with confectioners' sugar and water glaze.

Next group made a healthy muffin. I was worried that the girls would turn their noses up at this recipe but they dug right in on grating those zucchinis and carrots!
Garden Fresh Muffins:
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Last group made the basic muffin with a filling. Again it was delicious!
Streusel Topping for 24 Muffins:
Mix together:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Cut in 1/2 cup cold butter until mixture is crumbly.

We ate each muffin and tried to critique each recipe but that was hard for the girls to do. Each muffin seemed to taste better than the first. Finally by a show of hands (and since the noise level in the kitchen was getting crazy), the Garden Fresh Muffins were claimed to be the winner out of the 3. I was quite surprised. Nice to see the girls like to eat healthy!

You can go to this site and print out the rest of the different versions of muffins you can make from the basic mix if you want. It's a great one to have on hand for the family!