Trick-or-Treats: Cookies, Cupcakes & Truffles, OH MY!

This post is a few days late, but with GOOD reason! Friday, we hosted our annual Halloween party. I started baking Wednesday, and didn't completely finish until Friday afternoon (thanks to some arduous sugar cookies that I'll never make again!). My mom and I started decorating Thursday evening. We decorated well into the early morning hours of Friday. We slept in a little Friday morning, but as soon as we got up we kicked it into high gear to finish all the decorations. We went all out in the kitchen where the food would be served, as well as on our back porch where most of the guests would be hanging out. We had a blast! The place looked great, the food was delish, everyone had a great time! Wanna know the sad part? I barely took any pictures. I wasn't even thinking! Well, it could've been the Jell-O shooters... (I lost count after 12, hahaha). But I got pictures of the important stuff: DESSERT! I'll post those pictures, along with recipes. If I find any cool pictures on anyone else's camera, I'll post them here later. *Pinky promise*
(PS: Sorry the pictures aren't very great. Photoshop is acting up on my computer, so I had to use some random Dell program to edit them =/ )

The sugar cookies are what demanded all of my attention! I made the dough, baked them, and outlined them with royal icing on Wednesday. Then I finished decorating them for almost 5 hours on Thurday. Although they are seriously delicious, I probably won't decorate them like this again because it took up soooooo much time. :(
UPDATE: Here's an awesome tutorial via Annie's Eats to show you how to decorate with royal icing!

The cupcakes were perfect! I made my favorite vanilla cupcakes (Amy Sedaris' recipe) and dyed them purple and orange. I topped them with my grandma's chocolate frosting. SOOO good!The most addicting treats I made were the Red Velvet "Truffles". People couldn't stop popping them into their mouth! They were so easy and so yummy. I'll be making these often!

Sugar Cookies (This is a scaled down recipe from the Valentine's Day cookies I made)
Makes 50-60 cookies (I got 58 1/4"-thick cookies)

2 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until barely golden around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

Royal Icing (From Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss)

1/3 cup (3 oz) pasteurized egg whites (about 3 egg whites)
4 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (I used almond extract)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Scrap thoroughly between additions. Add the lemon juice and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and the icing is no longer shiny, 6-8 minutes. Use immediately or place in an airtight container. You can keep the icing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow it to come to room temperature before using it.

Halloween Cupcakes (Amy Sedaris' Vanilla Cupcakes)
Makes 12

3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Add flour in 3 batches, alternating with milk. If you want to color the batter 2 different colors, divide it into 2 bowls before completely mixing in the flour. Add food color to each bowl. Mix until batter is smooth with no lumps. Do not overbeat. Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 45 minutes or until at room temperature.

My Grandma's Chocolate Frosting
Makes about 3 cups (Enough to frost 12 cupcakes + 1 cup leftover)

1 stick (4 oz) butter or margarine (Grandma always uses margarine)
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat milk for about 30 seconds in microwave until hot. Stir in vanilla and instant coffee until dissolved. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and cocoa powder. Add warm milk and mix on high speed until fluffy.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 4
Frosting: 5

Red Velvet Truffles (My own recipe)
Makes about 60-70

1 box Red Velvet cake mix (+ ingredients on box)
1 can (12 oz) whipped chocolate frosting
1 teaspoon almond extract
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Red melting chocolate wafers (optional)

Bake the cake according to package directions in any size pan (I used a 13x9"). When the cake is completely cooled, crumble it into a large bowl. Stir in chocolate frosting and almond extract. Mix well until there are no visible pieces of cake. Using a small ice cream scoop, shape into bite-sized balls and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze for at least 1 hour. In the top of a double boiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate and shortening over medium heat. Dip truffles into chocolate and let set on wax paper (A special fork made for chocolate dipping works, but you can do what we do. If you have one of those huge 2 prong forks used for holding a turkey or ham while you're carving it, those work great as dipping forks! Just drop the truffle into the chocolate, fish it out on the end of the fork, tap it on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and slip it onto the pan). In my opinion, these are best served chilled, but they do not require refrigeration.