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HALLOWEEN FACE PAINT
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. cold cream
2 drops food coloring
In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well.
WITCH'S BREW PASTA SALAD
With all of the sweets this holiday provides,
you'll want to serve a healthy dish as well.
Ingredients:
Pasta - (combination 3 or 4 types)
Rainbow, Bow-ties, Shells, Fusilli, Radiatore, Wagon Wheels
Black Olives
Cherry Tomatoes
Diced Red, green, yellow pepper
Raw Broccoli Pieces
Sliced Carrots
Sliced Zucchini
Chunks of pepperoni or salami
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Raisins and nuts (optional )
Bernstein's Italian Dressing
Cook (aldante) and drain the pasta.
Chop the veggies, salami etc. Combine pasta and all other ingredients.
Toss with dressing and chill.
Serve in a NEW, CLEAN plastic Witch's Cauldron
JACK-O-LANTERN PIZZAS
You'll need:
English muffin halves
Pesto or Marinara Sauce
Grated Cheddar cheese
Sliced Black Olives
Lightly spread sauce on the English Muffin halves.
Cover with grated cheese. Make a jack-o-lantern face
with olives. Place mini-pizzas on a cookie sheet and
broil in oven until the cheese is melted.
TIP: This is a great party activity as well as a menu item!
SKELETON BONE SANDWICHES
Use a Bone shaped cookie cutter to cut PB & J bones,
Bologna bones, Tuna bones etc. Serve piled high on a
black plate. Make several sandwiches these will get
gobbled up!
MERINGUE SKELETON BONES
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line cookie sheet
with brown paper bag or parchment. In a medium sized
bowl at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar
and salt till fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla.
Place in pastry bag fitted with a medium plain piping tip.
Pipe 3" bone shapes onto parchment or brown paper bag. Bake 1 hour until
set. Turn off oven, dry in oven 1 hour. Makes 4 to 5 dozen small bones.
HALLOWEEN SPIDERS
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 med. can of chow mein noodles (may not need all of them)
1 pkg. M & M candy
Melt chocolate in microwave. Stir in noodles. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed
paper. Add 2 M & M's for spider eyes. NOTE: Add 2 to 4 tablespoons water,
if needed, to thin chocolate.
CARAMEL
PEANUT EYEBALLS
3 cups finely chopped dry roaster peanuts
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lb. chocolate confectioners' coating
red M & M's
In a heavy saucepan,
combine nuts, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Over medium heat, cook
and stir 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture forms ball around spoon and
pulls away from side of pan. Cool 10 minutes. Chill if desired. Shape into
1-inch balls. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt confectioners'
coating . With a wooden toothpick, dip each ball into melted coating and
place on wax paper. Immediately press 1 red M & M's into center of each
ball.Store covered at room temperature or in refrigerator.
Makes about 4½ dozen.
WITCH'S WARTS
1/4 C. butter, cubed
8 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 C. heavy cream
2 bags 3 MUSKETEERS® FUN SIZE® Bars, chopped into small pieces
Melt butter. Remove from heat and add the semi-sweet chocolate. Cover and
let rest for about 3 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until
smooth. Add the heavy cream gradually, stirring until totally incorporated
and chocolate loses its shine. Refrigerate until slightly firm (approx. 20
- 30 minutes).
Roll into balls and then into chopped 3 MUSKETEERS® Bars, pressing gently
to adhere.
Makes about 60 warts.
MAD CAPS
6 ounces good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, tempered
(see note)
One 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Creamy Caramel Coating, cooked to 235 degrees
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Temper
chocolate in a small bowl or microwave container. Holding a marshmallow by
one end, dip it into chocolate, covering bottom and about 1/4 inch up the
sides. Shake it and scrape excess chocolate off on edge of bowl as you
lift it.
Place marshmallows, chocolate-side down, on prepared baking sheet. Repeat
with remaining marshmallows. Work quickly so chocolate doesn’t harden
before you are done.
Refrigerate until chocolate is set, 5 to 15 minutes. If properly tempered
and fully set, they will
adhere slightly to parchment but will lift off without leaving a mark.
Slide small palette knife under each marshmallow first to release it. Any
leftover chocolate can be reused.
To dip marshmallow tops in caramel: Caramel should be thick and fluid, but
not runny. If too cool and stiff, heat in microwave or over low heat,
stirring occasionally, until barely warm to touch. Grasping chocolate end
of marshmallow with fingers, dip top half about 1/2 inch into caramel;
shake gently to remove excess.
Set marshmallow, caramel top up, back on baking sheet. (If caramel drips
down sides of marshmallow, it is too warm.) There should be a stripe of
white marshmallow between chocolate and caramel. Repeat with remaining
marshmallows. If caramel becomes too stiff, gently rewarm. Serve that day.
There will be leftover caramel, which can be reused.
To do ahead: Make Creamy Caramel Coating up to 1 week ahead and
refrigerate. When ready to dip marshmallows, warm caramel over low heat,
stirring, or in microwave for less than 1 minute. Makes about 40 Mad Caps.
Note: Chocolate that is being melted to work with must be re-tempered
(bought chocolate has already been tempered for appearance and handling).
Tempering is simply melting, cooling and stirring. An easy way to do it is
to reserve about one-third and melt the rest in a microwave or double
boiler until smooth. Finely chop the portion set aside. Stir chopped
chocolate into melted chocolate; continue to stir occasionally and gently,
until all lumps are melted and chocolate has cooled to touch (test with
skin just below your lower lip).
Work quickly once chocolate is tempered; there is a small window of
opportunity. If chocolate becomes too cool, it will thicken and be
difficult to work with.
CREAMY CARAMEL COATING
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Fill a bowl — large enough to accommodate bottom of saucepan you are using
— half full of ice water.
To make caramel: In heavy, medium-size saucepan, gently stir together 1/2
cup sugar, the water and lemon juice. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down
sides of pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, undisturbed,
occasionally washing down sides of pan, until sugar starts to color around
edges. Gently swirl pan to even out color and continue to cook until
mixture turns light amber. Immediately remove pan from heat and, at arm’s
length, gradually stir in heavy cream; it will bubble up.
Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the salt, corn syrup and butter to mixture.
Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel dissolves and
butter melts. Wash down sides of pan again with wet pastry brush and
increase heat to medium-high.
Insert thermometer and cook until temperature reaches 235 degrees, 6 to 8
minutes. Immediately remove from heat.
Plunge bottom of pan into bowl of ice water for few seconds to stop
cooking. When bubbles subside, stir in vanilla. Use immediately or pour
into heatproof container. Let cool, cover and refrigerate.
To make ahead: Creamy Caramel Coating keeps for up to 2 weeks, covered and
refrigerated, because the cream has been boiled briefly at high
temperature. Reheat in microwave, checking frequently, or over low heat on
stove, stirring occasionally, until fluid but still thick. Makes about 2
cups.
CHOCOLATE
COVERED BUGS
Red-licorice twizzlers
24 ea caramels
6 oz Chocolate chips
Decorations:
Colored sprinkles
Small cinnamon candies
Sliced almonds
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Cut licorice into tiny pieces.
Flatten each caramel into a small oval. Press pieces of licorice onto the
edges of 12 out of the 24 flattened caramels; this is for the legs (use as
many legs as you want for your bug). Top each caramel with a second
caramel and press edges to seal. Put on prepared baking sheet.
Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
Stir and then microwave on high another minute longer. Remove from oven
and stir until melted. Spoon melted chocolate over each candy. Decorate
with nuts and use the cinnamon candies for the eyes.
SUGAR SKULLS
You can also make sugar skulls by pouring a boiled sugar and water syrup
into plastic skull-shaped molds, but as those may be hard to find on short
notice and in many areas, this recipe requires only your hands and a bit
of artistic skill." Makes 8 skulls
For skulls:
1 TB powdered egg white
3/4 cup water
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 cups powdered sugar
2 cups cornstarch
For Icing:
1/2 tsp powdered egg white
3 TB water
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 drops red food coloring
2 drops cinnamon extract
3 drops blue food coloring
2 drops peppermint extract
metal sequins for decorating eyes
Whisk powdered egg white and water together until foamy. Add vanilla
extract and corn syrup. Whisk until blended. Add powdered sugar. With a
spoon, and then by hand, mix until a firm paste forms.
Dust a jelly roll pan with 1 cup of the cornstarch. Knead sugar paste in
cornstarch for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and pliable. Roll the
dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it until chilled.
Begin by forming dough into round balls, each about the size of a small
fist. Use more cornstarch to prevent sticking, if needed.
Use your hands to sculpt the ball into a skull shape. Sculpt eye and nose
hollows with your thumbs or a blunt knife.
To prepare the icing, whisk powdered egg white and water together until
foamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Divide mixture into two
small bowls. Add red food coloring and cinnamon extract to one and blue
food coloring and peppermint extract to the other. Mix to blend the colors
in each bowl.
Fill two pastry bags with icing mixtures. Decorate skulls with icing.
Allow objects to dry. Weather conditions affect drying times. Skulls may
take anywhere from several hours to 48 hours to fully dry.
If you have bought your alfeniques and would like to add chocolate candy,
the directions are simple. Melt your favorite chocolate in a double
boiler. While chocolate looks best with the skulls. Use a funnel with a
rounded stopper to pour your chocolate (or use a spoon, messier but less
expensive) into shaped molds (found below). Wipe any drips off the edges
of your molds and place in the freezer until the mold appears frosted and
the candies hard. More time is better than less. Flip the mold over and
tap lightly over a towel. Any candies that do not drop out easily should
be placed in the freezer a little longer.
Most often found in the
shape of skulls, they can also be formed into lambs, fruits, donkeys, and
doves, and are decorated with brightly colored sugar icing and sequins.
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