It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in Sacramento!
I’ve got my fingers crossed that there aren’t any more blazing 90-degree days in our near future, and that Mother Nature is making way for plenty of crisp fall days, cooler afternoons and chilly evenings. And lots of leaves changing colors, because nothing is more quintessential fall than the changing of the leaves!
That, and Halloween candy. Oh, how I love thee.
We finally got around to decorating for Halloween last week, and I’m pretty impressed with our assortment of decorations. Last year, I was inspired by clowns since WHO ACTUALLY LIKES CLOWNS and I decorated our front yard like a circus. I hung a scary clown ghost in the tree by a rope, and built two life-size clowns out of old costumes, newspaper and styrofoam wig forms with clown wigs and masks on.
We have a little enclave by our front door that isn’t super visible from the street and I placed a clown there on our bench, just chillin’ without a care in the world, smiling in his creepy clown mask. We named him Otis after a long-standing family tradition of building a dummy on Halloween and hanging him from the tree or staging him somewhere in the yard. Rumor has it that my dad used to throw Otis into the street in front of moving cars when he was younger. I can’t imagine the looks on people’s faces seeing a dummy made of newspaper in the street.
Anyway, it became slightly disconcerting when I’d come home at nighttime and see a clown hanging in the shadows of my porch, so I’ve taken to saying hello to him every time he catches me off guard. And since my family is also put off by the lifeless clown chillin’ on our porch bench, they too have taken to saying hello to Otis as they enter or exit the house.
The UPS man, though… he just tosses our packages on the porch now 🙂
What about you? Do you decorate cute or creepy for Halloween?
Let’s go back to talking about Halloween candy. One of my favorite seasonal treats are the Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. They’re so creamy and perfectly spiced, and taste just like a smooth-as-silk pumpkin pie. Plus, I love the cream centers! These candies are the inspiration for today’s delectable cookie cups.
First, you start with your cookie cup base: it’s a box of Krusteaz Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookie mix. Bake it up in your mini muffin tin, then make an indent in them with a wooden spoon handle. Let ’em sit for a couple minutes, then pop in a Hershey’s Kiss for the final touch. Similar to peanut butter blossom cookies, these cookie cups feature the soft and chewy cookie topped with a delectably smooth Kiss on top.
In other words, irresistible!
Pumpkin Kiss Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1 box Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookie Mix like by Krusteaz
- 1/2 cup butter softened to room temperature
- 1 egg
- About 20 Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 24-cavity miniature muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cookie mix, butter and egg until a soft dough forms. Drop rounded Tablespoonfuls of dough into each cavity. You should end up with about 20 cookie cups total.
- Bake the cookie cups for approx. 10-12 minutes or until the tops are set and the edges appear slightly crispy. Remove from the oven and make an indentation in the center with the handle of a wooden spoon. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Once cool enough to handle, pop in a Hershey Pumpkin Spice Kiss into the center of each. Allow the cookie cups to cool completely before gently running a knife around the edge to pop them out and serve.
Simple, delicious and seasonally satisfying, these cookie cups are the perfect fall treat!
Can’t find the Brown Sugar Oatmeal cookie mix? No fear! Substitute peanut butter, chocolate chip, or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough in place of the brown sugar oatmeal. Or, use your own homemade oatmeal cookie dough recipe!
Have a sweet day!
xo, Hayley
SaraLily says
Oh these are so CUTE!!! I bet they taste even better, too!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks SaraLily! I love them!