Every Halloween, the vampires and werewolves come out to feast! Frankensten's monster wakes up and is hungry! It's time to make some spooky treats for your haunted house to enjoy!!!
Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar,
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar for rolling
24 chocolate candy spheres with smooth chocolate filling (such as Lindt Lindor Truffles), refrigerated until cold
48 decorative candy eyeballs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with baking parchment.
Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat egg into the creamy mixture until fully incorporated. Stir milk and vanilla extract into the mixture until smooth.
Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl; add to the wet mixture in the large bowl and stir until completely incorporated into a dough. Divide and shape dough into 48 balls.
Spread 1/4 cup white sugar into a wide, shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in sugar to coat and arrange about 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and quickly press a dimple into the middle of each cookie using the blunt end of a wooden spoon. Cool cookies on sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Cut each chocolate sphere into two hemispheres. Put one piece atop each cookie with the rounded side facing upwards.
Spoon frosting into a pastry bag with a small round tip or a plastic freezer bag with one end snipped off. Dab a small amount of frosting onto the back of each candy eyeball and stick two onto each chocolate candy to resemble eyes. Then pipe frosting in four thin lines, starting at the base of the candy, on each side atop the cookie to resemble spider legs.Let frosting harden at room temperature, about 30 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Vampire Blood (Tomato Soup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 cups homemade vegetable broth or low-sodium canned
2 cups tomato juice
6 basil leaves, torn
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seed and crushed pepper, if using, and cook until vegetables soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve juice from the tomatoes, then crush tomatoes gently with your hands. Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until they begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
Add the reserved tomato juice, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until vegetables are cooked through and soup reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes.
Remove pot from stove and puree the soup in batches, with an immersion, regular blender, or food processor. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Serve.
Monster Sandwiches (Above next to the Vampire Blood)
16 (3 1/2-inch square) slices Westphalian Pumpernickel, or other thin black bread
1/2 cup apple jelly
8 slices muenster cheese, about 3 ounces
8 slices yellow cheddar cheese, about 3 ounces
Optional garnishes:
Special equipment: Cookie cutters (pumpkins, ghosts, black cat, bats and witches), optional
Toast bread in toaster or toaster oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes (or less if using a toaster.) Spread one side of each slice of bread with apple jelly. Layer the cheese over the apple jelly, top with remaining slice of bread. Cut out as desired. Garnish as desired.
Yield: 8 sandwiches
Pecan Caramel Spiders
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, in pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces thin black licorice strands, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
Chocolate curls or jimmies, optional
Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Mound 30 small clusters of pecans, about 3 or 4 pecans each, spaced a couple inches apart on the pan.
Make caramel: Warm the cream over low heat and keep warm while you cook the sugar.
Put the sugar and corn syrup and in a deep, heavy-bottomed large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring, raise heat to medium-high, and simmer until the sugar reaches the hard crack stage, or 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.
Whisk the butter and salt into the sugar mixture. Gradually pour in the cream and vanilla taking care since the mixture will bubble up. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar reaches soft ball stage, 240 degrees F on the thermometer, about 5 minutes more. Immediately remove from the heat and cool for a minute.
Ladle a couple tablespoons of warm caramel over some of the nut clusters, to make the spider bodies. Then press 6 pieces of licorice into the warm caramel to make the legs. Repeat with the remaining caramel and licorice. (It's helpful to have an extra hand here, since the caramel can set quickly. If caramel hardens, warm over very low heat. ) Let spiders cool 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1-inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, 2 to 3 minutes more.)
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate on top of each spider. Sprinkle with jimmies or chocolate curls, if desired. Let cool until firm.
Witches Brew (punch)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries, thawed
2 1/2 cups cranberry juice
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 liters ginger ale
2 liters sparkling apple cider (non-alcoholic)
6 gummi snakes candy
To make the frozen hand: Wash and rinse the outside of a rubber glove. Turn glove inside out and set aside. In a 4 cup measuring cup, combine the thawed raspberries and cranberry juice.
Pour 2 cups of the raspberry mixture into a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand 2 minutes. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves. Mix back into the reserved raspberry mixture in the measuring cup.
Pour raspberry mixture into the inverted glove. Gather up the top of the glove and tie securely with kitchen twine. Freeze until solid, or several days if possible.
To serve: Carefully cut glove away from frozen hand. Place frozen hand, palm side up, leaning against side of a large punch bowl. Pour in ginger ale and sparkling cider. Garnish with gummy snakes.
Caution!!!!!:To avoid issues with people who may have allergies to latex, use a disposable glove that is latex-free. There is usually an alternative available in the cleaning department of your grocery store
Jack O Lantern Cupcakes
1 dozen store-bought, un-iced cupcakes (pumpkin if they have seasonal flavors)
1 can dark chocolate frosting
1 box prepared orange fondant (recommended: Wilton)
Special equipment/ decor:
Spatula
Rolling pin
2 -inch round cutter (or one that is same diameter as the tops of the cupcakes)
Small shaped cutters and/or large pastry tips
Frost all of the cupcakes with a smooth even layer of the chocolate frosting. Wipe off the spatula frequently, and dip it in warm water, if necessary, to get the frosting as smooth as possible.
Roll out the orange fondant to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut out 12 rounds from the fondant. Using small cutters, cut a jack-o-lantern face of your design in each round. Lay the rounds on top of the cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes on a serving a platter and serve.
There you are my friends! Some scary Halloween treats for Halloween!
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