4 Delicious Treats to Indulge in this Halloween
Remember the excitement you felt when you were little and Halloween rolled around? Yes, getting your costume ready was awesome, but let’s get real: the main excitement revolved around more around the treat then the trick. No matter how old you are, this will help you relive some of those glorious food based memories by offering desserts ideas that are easy and affordable for you to make for yourself and friends.
1: Scarily Healthy Treats
This snack is great for a healthy option to go with some of the other baked goods offered here. For the bananas, grab yourself some mini chocolate chips and regular sized chocolate chips for the nose and mouth. For the clementine’s (which are in season this time of year and should taste great), I’d substitute green jellybeans for the stems to add a jolt of sweetness.
2: Blood-Swirled Brownies
Thanks to CoGro for fuelling our obsession with all things red-velvet. These swirled brownies look more impressive then they actually are to make.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for pan
Red Velvet Brownie Layer:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Special equipment: 8 by 8-inch baking pan
Directions
Preparation | Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.
Brownie layer | In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Remove the butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Stir in the walnuts and pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.
Cream cheese layer | Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.
3: Snow White’s Poison Apples
Throwback to the time when that wicked witch from Snow White scared the wits out of you. These classic caramel apples should be made the day ahead, since they need to be cooled for a couple of hours.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil cooking spray
6 small apples, washed and dried, stems removed *see Cook’s Note
2 (9.5-ounce) bags soft caramel candies, unwrapped (recommended: Kraft Classic Caramels)
1/4 cup pulp-free orange juice
1 (4-ounce) bar 53 percent cocoa dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (recommended: Nestle Chocolatier)
Assorted small candies, chopped nuts and sprinkles
Special equipment: 6 craft or thick wooden sticks
Directions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with vegetable oil cooking spray. Insert the craft sticks halfway into the stem-ends of the apples.
In a medium, heavy saucepan, over low heat, combine the caramel candies and orange juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the candies have melted and the mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for 2 minutes. Dip the apples in the caramel until coated and put them on the parchment paper until firm, about 2 hours.
Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and set it over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Using a fork, drizzle the melted chocolate over the caramel. Put the apples back on the parchment paper for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with small candies, chopped nuts or sprinkles and allow the chocolate to harden, at room temperature, for about 3 to 4 hours.
4: Boo-tiful Cupcakes
With cupcakes, you can either get as creative as you want or go for the boxed route (I’m guilty of the former). No matter what you choose, icing these is the fun part! I’d suggest buying pre-made icing as it’s a bit thicker – Betty Crocker is delicious and inexpensive. You can use a piping tool for this, or just put the icing in a freezer baggie and cut a hole at one corner of the bag. Slowly squeeze out icing in a circular motion around the cupcake and build inwards and upwards into a peak. Also, a great idea is to replace the chocolate chips in the recipe for chocolate covered raising/pomegranates/ anything!
Ingredients
1.5 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup water (or milk)
1/2 cup veg. oil (or melted butter)
1 tsp. white vinegar
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in 1 mixing bowl until batter is free of lumps and well blended (all brown not streaky).
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake can be removed clean.