Spooky Stuff
on this page:
- Lady's Fingers
- Spooky Spider Cookies
- Witches Hats
- Scary Eyeballs
Lady's Fingers
Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 -1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch by 3-inch strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Smoked Spanish or regular paprika
Romesco Dipping Sauce
2 large red sweet peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed, flattened
1 cup day old crusty bread, cubed
3/4 cup chopped fresh tomato (1 large)
1/3 cup sliced natural almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish or regular paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
1.Prepare sauce; cover and chill. For Chicken Fingers, in large bowl combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Coat chicken strips in flour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken strips, one-third at a time, browning well on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Dip the end of each chicken strip in ground paprika. Serve with Romesco Dipping Sauce. Makes 10 servings (about 40 pieces).
Romesco Dipping Sauce:
For sauce, preheat broiler Place peppers on a broiler pan. Broil peppers, 4 to 5 inches from the heat, until skins are blacked, turning once. Remove, stack pieces together, cover with aluminum foil and let stand 15 minutes. Peel off skins; discard skins. In blender combine peppers, bread, tomato, almonds, vinegar, garlic, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and blend. Add 1/4 cup olive oil in steady stream through the top of blender until mixture is almost smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl or storage container. Cover and chill until serving time.
Tip: You can prepare the sauce ahead of time. Cover and chill up to 3 days.
Scary Eyeballs
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
12 ounces white candy coating, chopped
1 tablespoon shortening
20 blue milk chocolate M&M's
20 brown milk chocolate M&M's
Red decorating gel
Directions:
In a small mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Shape into 1-in. balls. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip peanut butter balls into coating; place on waxed paper. Place M&M's, plain side up, on top. Let stand until set. Use red gel to create "bloodshot" eyes. Yield: 40 pieces.
Witches Hats
1-3/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup milk chocolate chips
4 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon shortening
1 package (4-3/4 ounces) chocolate ice cream sugar cones
Halloween sprinkles
12 thin chocolate wafers (2-1/4-inch diameter)
For mousse, in a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup cream to a boil; remove from the heat. Stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Transfer to a bowl; cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the remaining cream until stiff peaks form; fold into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt semisweet chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip pointed tips of ice cream cones a third of the way into melted chocolate; roll in sprinkles. Refrigerate until set. Just before serving, spoon mousse into cones. Top each with a chocolate wafer. Invert onto a serving platter. Yield: 1 dozen.
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My Favourites Place by Earline Hines Bradt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.
Spooky Spider Cookies
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup mild-flavored molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered Sugar Icing
Black and orange paste food coloring
Directions
1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds.
2. Add the brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg, molasses, and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in half. Cover; chill at least 24 hours or until easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 375F. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough portion to about 1/4-inch thickness. With spider- and web-shaped cutters, cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. (Dip cutter in flour between cutting out each cookie. This helps prevent the dough from sticking to the cutter.)
4. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes for spider cookies (9 to 11 minutes for web-shaped cookies) or until edges are firm and bottoms are light brown. Let cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute. Carefully remove cookies; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Decorate with tinted Powdered Sugar Icing.
5. Powdered Sugar Icing: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together 4 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches spreading consistency. Divide icing into portions and tint as desired.
