Halloween Links

Hi All! I just wanted to post the links to other Halloween inspired recipes on the site. This weekend I'll be making skeleton sugar cookies and some new marshmallow zombies and frankensteins so check back early next week for those posts!

Alien Donuts



Zombie Marshmallow Sticks


Halloween Cookies

My "Mummies" Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

Halloween is almost here! The kids and I sat down and decorated a bunch of gingerbread cookies last weekend. I didn't want to make royal icing so instead I used some premade Wilton icing that I had on hand. Since I only had white and red, we were limited in design options but the kids didn't seem to mind as they piled Halloween coloured sprinkles on top of everything!

The mummy and ghost and skeleton cookies are easy to create and don't take a lot of time or precision! My kind of cookie....especially when you have 60 cookies to decorate. The recipe below is simple and delicious. If you roll them thinner you will get a crispy gingerbread cookie but I like them softer so rolled them out to 6mm instead.

Happy Halloween!



Ingredients
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 c fancy molasses
2-3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda


What to do 

• In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar together for 4 minutes until light and creamy.
• Add and beat in egg and molasses.
• In another bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
• With a wooden spoon and in 3 additions, add the flour mixture to the shortening bowl.
• If dough is stiff, use your hands!
• Divide the the dough in two.
• Flatten dough into discs between pieces of wax paper and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness (6mm).
• Using 3 inch cookie cutters, cut out shapes.
• Place on cookie sheets lined with silpats or parchment paper.
• Freeze for 20 minutes.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before decorating.
• Makes about 30 cookies.

Skeleton Cupcakes Recipe

My Mom told the kids this joke a couple of years ago and it remains one of their favorites:

Question: What did the skeleton say to his guests before dinner?

Answer: Bone Appetite!


Funny, right?! Anyways, Halloween is quickly coming up and we are almost prepared - costumes layed out (Green Lantern and a Witch), candy is bought, and the decorations are ready to go. I also have a few Halloween recipes to make. The first one is this beyond cute skeleton cupcake - in the interest of time I used a prepared cake mix but feel free to do it from scratch with your favorite cupcake recipe. A couple more Halloween inspired recipes should be creeping up soon so check back next week!

Adapted from Women's Day

Makes 16-18 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 cup water
• 2⁄3 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tubs (16 oz each) cream cheese frosting (you'll have some left over frosting)
• 18 marshmallows
• 5 or 6-in. lollipop sticks
• Black food-safe writing marker
• 72 yogurt-covered mini-pretzels plus extra to allow for breakage
• 1/2 c white candy melts

What to do
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 18 medium sized muffin cups with liners.

2. Beat cake mix, eggs, water, vanilla and oil in large bowl on low speed for 1 minute until blended; increase speed to medium and continue to beat for an additional 2 minutes until batter is smooth.

3. Immediately pour batter amongst muffin cups, filling each 2⁄3 full.

4. Bake 20 to 22 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centres comes out clean.

5. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes before removing cupcakes to rack to cool completely.

6. Frost cupcakes with frosting (I used a large tip and decorating bag).

7. Insert a lollipop stick into the long side of a marshmallow. With the black food-safe decorating pen, draw the skeleton face.

8. Melt white candy per directions on bag.

9. Carefully thread the lollipop stick through the smallest hole of the pretzel. Secure with some melted candy (use another lollipop stick to smear the candy - especially under the pretzel so it doesn't fall down.)

10. Repeat with two more pretzels so you now have the skeleton ribs. Make sure you leave enough room at bottom of the stick to insert fully into cupcake. (BUT don't insert them yet!)

11. Lay down carefully on cookie sheet to set (about 5 minutes).

12. Repeat with remaining lollipop sticks until you have enough skeletons.

13. Once set, insert into cupcakes.

14. Cut two more pretzels in half legthwise to use as arms (see picture as a guide). Again use melted candy to adhere them to the rib cage.

Alien Donuts - A Daring Baker Challenge!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.


Well, ok, the "alien" wasn't part of the challenge but it is almost Halloween so they seemed fitting! Aren't they cute?!? My 4 and 6 yr olds loved helping dip the donuts (or doughnuts, as we write in Canada).


Sadly, I had some rather aggrevating camera problems during this challenge so I don't have any pics of the actual making of the dough process :( Also, if you don't have time to make the actual donuts at home, you could always buy some at Timmy's or Dunkin' and decorate yourself to save some time and effort.


The icing is good 'ol Betty Crocker Vanilla that I coloured with some food colouring gels. Then I microwaved the icing until it was quite thin and melted (maybe 15-20 seconds per cup of icing). Acting quickly, I dipped the donuts and donut holes and then placed them on a cooling rack on a pan. To help them set I then put them in the freezer for 20 minutes. Once set, I carefully placed the holes on top of the donuts and decorated with licorice and m&m's.


The whole process made for quite an afternoon! Messy and fun!

Here is Alton Brown's recipe for yeast donuts in case you decide to try these for yourself!

Yeast Doughnuts
 
Equipment required

• A Dutch oven or very deep skillet
• Deep fry thermometer, candy thermometer or any thermometer that will withstand and measure temperatures of up to 380 degrees
• Metal slotted spoon, metal slotted spatula or tongs
• Cookie sheets or a wire rack lined with paper towels to allow doughnuts to drain
• Electric hand mixer or stand mixer, or a bowl and a spoon if you are able to utilize a lot of elbow grease
• Doughnut or biscuit cutters or you can use a glass and a piping tip for the center

Preparation time

Hands on prep time - 25 minutes
Rising time - 1.5 hours total
Cooking time - 12 minutes

Yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size


Ingredients

• Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml
• Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
• Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz
• Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
• Eggs, Large, beaten 2
• White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz
• Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz
• Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz
• All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface

Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)


What to do:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan.
13. Decorate as you wish once cooled.
14. Enjoy!