Legoland's Brick Or Treat: Witch Hat Cookies

It's that time of year again, time for us to dig into as much Halloween fun as we can find.  As usual, this means starting the holiday off with a BOO at Legoland's Brick or Treat.

Brick or Treat happens every Saturday in October, so this coming Saturday is the last night of the event.  It's an additional add on to your regular ticket (or membership for most levels), but well worth it.  It's so much fun to get dressed up and run around the park in the dark, with the bonus of collecting candy and treats!

Brick or Treat starts at 5pm and goes until 9pm, so after years of experience, we know not to get to the park too early.  It's a long day for kids.  We usually head over after nap time.  Which also helps the little guy not turn into an actual monster.  Once we get into the park we usually ride a few rides before changing into our costumes.

Costumes are not required for this event, but they make everything so much more fun, don't you think?  

The entire park is decorated in fun Halloween decor that is perfect for kids - not too spooky.  Even spooky elements like spiders take on an air of fun when they're jamming to rock music.  There are seasonal specialty foods offered, although we always end up at the pizza and pasta buffet - a good deal for refillable drinks and a place to fill up on something other than candy.

There are so many different events during the night.  Dance parties, shows, stilt walkers and entertainers, people who go around with bubble carts.  The kids usually enter the costume contest, which is always emcee'd  by the best performer who interviews all the kids and is so quick witted.  This year the kids opted not to participate in the contest so they could have more time for rides.   And we rode lots of rides this year.  While most of the rides aren't done any differently for Halloween, it's fun to ride them in costume, or get to ride them at night when it's dark.  The one exception is the "Coast Cruise" which is revamped as the "Ghost Cruise" with corny Halloween jokes instead of corny regular jokes.

In addition to the costumes, shows, and rides, the big draw for Brick or Treat is, obviously, the Treat part.  There are treat stations set up all over the park.  The treats handed out are things that don't melt - things like granola bars, apple sauce, jolly ranchers, sour straws, lollipops, starburst, laffy taffy, and there's always a collectible lego brick and a lego magazine. 

We always end up closing down the park, so our pro tip is to bring pajamas for the kids to change into for the ride home.  They always fall asleep during the drive, which is nice for Thatboy and I.  Because they're not the only ones exhausted!

Know Before You Go

Hours:  5-9pm

Admission: $64, parking is not included and costs $18 on the weekend

Packages: Packages available to add on a day at Legoland, 2 day admission, or even a hotel stay.

See Brick or Treat Tickets on Legoland's website for more information.

In honor of our classic monster costumes, I wanted to make a classic monster cookie.  I've been seeing witch hat cookies all over the internet.  I grew up with these, called peanut butter blossoms, which my mom made every Christmas.  It's weird to see them rebranded as Halloween cookies.  Especially when they don't even look like witch hats - have you ever seen a two toned witch hat?  I felt like I could improve upon the idea very easily.  Take away the peanut butter base and sub in something darker.  My original thought was a chocolate crack cookie, but then I was thumbing through my Maida Heatter cookie book and found something even better.  She calls them "Down East Chocolate Cookies" - an almond chocolate cookie with no flour, so they spread into a nice, flat circle.  But also, because of the use of almond paste, instead of flour they have the most wonderful, dense, chewy quality.  I've seen them described as the texture of a tootsie roll, and that's not far off.  So delightfully decadent, dark, and sinful they make the perfect Halloween treat.  No tricks.

Witch Hat Cookies (Adapted from Maida Heatter's Down East Chocolate Cookies)

1 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate

3 oz unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 1/2 oz almond paste

1 egg

1/2 tsp almond extract

24 Hershey kisses, unwrapped

1. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a large double boiler, uncovered, over warm water on moderate heat.  Stir frequently until melted.
2. Add the sugar and salt and stir to mix. 
3. Add the almond paste and stir until the almond paste is completely blended.
4. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and whisk in the egg and almond extract until smooth.  Let the mixture cool, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 300.  Place aluminum foil on a cookie sheets with only one raised side.  Drop batter by rounded teaspoons-ful onto the cookie sheet.  Do not place more than 6 on each cookie sheet because they will spread.  Bake for 21 minutes reversing sheets top to bottom and front to back during baking to ensure even baking.
6. Remove from oven and let them cool for one minute, before putting the kisses in the middle of the cookies.  Let cool completely on the foil.  When completely cool, peel the foil away from the backs of the cookies.

Crave Wednesday: Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce

Before Thatkid started camp for the summer, I decided to let him take a couple of days with no school, no camp.  "Camp mom" if you will.  I let him pick the activities we did on those days.  One day he wanted to spend at Legoland.  Which makes sense.  When we go as a family, he doesn't always get to do all the big rides he wants to.  Because Thatbaby doesn't want to go on the big rides.  And the lines are long.  The following week, I kept Thatbaby home from school for his yearly physical and decided that turnabout was fair play, so he got a day at Legoland all to himself also.

One of Thatbaby's favorite rides is the Jungle Safari, which always has a super long line.  But we made it our first ride, before the rest of the park opened, so it wasn't as big a deal to wait.

Meanwhile, on his day, Thatkid rode every roller coaster, speed ride, and ride that Thatbaby is too short for.

They both had a great time on the pirate ride.  Thatbaby even went on it twice.

I let each of them pick a special treat while we were there.  I guess no matter how different they are, they both have a sweet tooth for the same thing.

As for me, this is the perfect season for ice cream.  I don't like it when it's cold outside, and it has been one hot summer.  So hot in fact, that I'm already jonesing for cooler fall weather.  I'm picking out fall wardrobes, and dreaming of chili.  And once that weather hits, ice cream time is over.  Then it's time for those warm, cozy desserts.  The chunky sweater desserts.  Warm, rich sauces over bread puddings and apple pie.  Are you there with me? 

Vanilla Rum Custard Sauce  (From Cooking Light)

2 cups 2% milk

1 vanilla bean, split length wise

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp dark rum

1 tsp butter

1. Place milk and vanilla bean in a large heavy saucepan.  Heat to 180, or until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Let stand 30 minutes.
2. Remove vanilla bean from pan.  
3. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk mixture.  
4. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt, stirring with a whisk. 
5. Add to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk.
6. Add egg yolks to milk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until slightly thick.  Remove from heat.
7. Stir in rum and butter, until butter melts.  

Very Berry July: Frozen Blackberry Margaritas

Our Fourth of July has been pretty predictable since we moved into our house.  Hang out in the backyard all day, eating chips and drinking margaritas in the blow up pool.  When it got dark, we'd cross the street to watch the fireworks from our neighbor's front yard. 

This year we decided to move our backyard pool party to a new location.  We took advantage of our annual passes to Legoland and spent the afternoon at the waterpark.

The boys had a fantastic time, playing in the splash pad, floating down the lazy river, and riding down the slides.

The water park closed at 7pm, so around 6pm we grabbed dinner before the restaurants closed.  We went semi-traditional with grilled food.  I had a sausage topped with peppers.

And the boys all had hamburgers.

After dinner, we headed over to Mini-Land to see the fireworks.  As a tip for any first time firework-goer, this is NOT the best place to see the fireworks.  The year I went with Thatkid, we stayed in The Beginning, but really the parking lot may be the best place.

We made our home there anyway, because it was nice lawn for the kids to hang out - similar to sitting in a yard!

Plus there was music for the kids to dance and play.

One of the reasons we went to Legoland is because they have such early fireworks.  By 9pm we were heading to the car and heading home.  Both the kids were asleep by the time we got home.

Overall it was a very low key and enjoyable Fourth of July experience.  Thatboy, who really wanted nothing more than to sit in the backyard even admitted it was better than he was expecting.  The only thing missing was the margarita (although Thatboy found me a Michelada replacement).

The nice thing about the Fourth of July is that it happens early enough in the summer that there's plenty of time for margaritas later on.  And the last of those blackberries I picked became the prime subject for my makeup margarita.

Sure you can just blend the ingredients with some ice, but really, is that how you want your margaritas?  All watered down?  For me, there's no comparison - throw the whole thing in an ice cream maker and you don't lose that flavor, in fact, it just might intensify it.  Sure it takes a little longer, but aren't you worth it?

Frozen Blackberry Margaritas

1 3/4 cups blackberries

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp tequila

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp triple sec

1 tsp lime zest

juice of 2 limes

1. Combine blackberries, 1/3 cup water, tequila, sugar, triple sec, lime zest and lime juice in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.  
2. Place in an ice cream maker and process until thick and slushy.
3. Pour into glasses.

Crave Wednesday: Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos

I hope you all had a great Halloween, I know we did.  But really, we've been celebrating all month.  I think we got more use out of our costumes this year than any year prior.

We started out with our annual trip to Legoland for Brick or Treat.  This year Thatbaby wanted to be a kitty cat.  So I got him a cat costume. Then he wanted to be superman, then ironman, then a host of other things.  I finally convinced him to wear his car costume if I dressed up like a cat too.

 

Thatkid was easier this year.  He wanted to be a vampire for a while, and didn't change his mind.

And Thatboy was very eager to join him in the costume theme.

We also met up with the Ks who joined us in the costume contest!

The next weekend we tried  a new experience - The Haunted Aquarium!

It wasn't really haunted.  Just filled with fun Halloween activities.

Like the slime lab, where Thatkid made his own slime while Thatbaby felt all the slimey things.

There were Halloween decorations galore.

Even in the tanks!

There were also stations throughout to learn about various ocean animals and phenomena, like squid or bioflouresence.

For Thatbaby the highlight was the band. He spent a lot of the evening singing and boogie-ing down.

And interviewing his family members about their costumes.

It was another great Halloween adventure.  We have been less adventurous with food lately.  Maybe it's like that saying "lucky in life, unlucky in cards," if you're getting your adventures in outside the kitchen, you won't be getting them in the kitchen?  These adventures have us eating out more than we usually do.  Which usually involves foods I don't make at home often, or ever.  But that doesn't have to be the case.  Like the night we grabbed dinner and ended up making a meal of  jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and bacon, drizzled with a bourbon maple reduction. I never make stuffed jalapenos at home.  But I was inspired. These grilled jalapenos aren't as unhealthy as the fried variety, and possibly more flavorful.  In addition to the cream cheese and bacon, these also have cheddar, making then extra cheesy.  Meal worthy.  An adventure.

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos (from Cooking Light)

2 center cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup fat free cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup minced green onions

juice of 1/2 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

14 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat grill. Combine bacon, cheese, green onions, lime juice, garlic, and salt to taste.
2. Divide cheese mixture among pepper halves.  Place peppers on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Cover and grill 8 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are charred and cheese mixture is lightly browned.
3. Place on a serving tray and sprinkle with cilantro and tomato.