Halloween Treats Part IV plus Giveaway Winners

First the winners of the tomato paste tubes:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

13 6 

Timestamp: 2009-10-24 15:18:57 UTC

Number 6 is Frieda

Number 13 is Charmed

If you'd email your address at n_baron@msn.com I'll get them in the mail next week.

On to the treats! You can make these Halloween doughnut holes with holes you buy from the store or with the holes from the yeast filled doughnuts I posted here. If you buy the plain doughnut holes from the store you'll still need to make the glaze so you can roll the doughnut holes through them, color the glaze for a more Halloween feel if you'd like. After putting glaze on your doughnut holes roll them through Halloween candy sprinkles or colored sugar sprinkles. I put the finished doughnut holes on skewers to serve them to the kids.

Chocolate Shadow Cake

This was a fun cake to make. To save time you could use a boxed cake mix but I have to tell you making a cake from scratch tastes much better. This would also make a fun cake to serve around Halloween time.

Chocolate Shadow Cake
Cooks Country Oct/Nov 2008

For this cake you will need:
4 large egg whites
3 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 (8 inch) chocolate cake rounds
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

For the icing:
Whisk egg whites, water, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in a large heat resistant bowl set over medium saucepan filled with 1/2 inch of barely simmering water (don't let the bowl touch water). With hand held mixer on medium high speed, carefully beat egg white mixture to stiff peaks, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove bowl from heat, add vanilla, and continue to beat until icing is very thick and stiff and cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

To assemble:
Spread 1 cup icing on bottom cake layer. Repeat with second cake layer and additional one cup icing. Top with final cake layer and spread top and sides with remaining icing.

To decorate:
Place chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in large heat resistant bowl set over medium saucepan filled with 1/2 inch of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water). Stir until melted and smooth, then remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Spoon 1/4 cup chocolate mixture over top of cake and then drizzle remaining glaze along top edge of cake, allowing it to drip about halfway down the sides.

Halloween Treats Part III

These cupcakes were very cute. I used a sugar bat but if your crafty enough to free hand a bat with black gel frosting that would be even better. I used red gel frosting for the two bite marks. I realized after making these that I should have poked holes with a toothpick and the put the drops of red frosting on top so it would look more like a bite mark. I made a devil's food chocolate cake recipe for the cupcakes but you could use any flavor. I think red velvet cake would make for an eye catching sight. I'll post the recipe later for the devil's food cake but if you wanted you could use a boxed cake mix. I used an easy to make frosting for the cupcakes but again if you wanted to you could use a canned frosting.

Easy Icing

1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups confectioners sugar

Beat the butter, vanilla, almond, and salt in a large bowl, with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Slowly add 2 cups sugar, beating well. Beat in 2 tablespoons water. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups sugar; add 1 to 3 tablespoons more water, as needed, beating to a spreadable consistency.

Halloween Treats Part II

These were too cute but I could not get my kids to try these cookies at all. They were too afraid the worms and dirt were real. The dirt is granulated sugar I colored black with black gel coloring. You could buy black edible glitter or even black sprinkles to use instead. I used a circle cookie cutter to cut out the cookie. I made my favorite sugar cookie dough but you could use the premade cookie dough from the store if you wanted. I tried making holes with a straw before cooking the cookies to weave the worm in the cookie. While trying to assemble the cookies I realized my worms were a bit bigger than my holes so in the end on some cookies I just laid the worm over the top of the cookie. Make sure you sprinkle the black sugar on while the cookies are still warm so it will adhere.

I have quite a few of the realistic looking worms left. Leave me a comment with a way to contact you if you'd like some free realistic worms. I'd be happy to send them your way.

Halloween Treats Part One

Over the next month I will be posting some fun ideas for Halloween. Today I start with these cute bone cookies. Using my favorite sugar cookie dough I made these cute cookies. I found the bone cookie cookies at The Cookie Cutter Shop. I made a royal frosting, recipe to follow, and used food safe markers to outline in black after the frosting was dry. They turned out really cute and they were the hit of the neighborhood. This would be a simple and fun activity to do with kids.

Royal Frosting
1 pound confectioner's sugar
4 teaspoons powdered egg whites (not reconstituted)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat together all ingredients with an electric mixer at medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat icing, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until it holds stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. Use immediately or cover surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.