The Dark Side…of Halloween Treats

By Marcia Passos Duffy

    If you want to add some creativity to you’re your kids’ Halloween and Pumpkin Festival revelry try baking something more daring than a sugar cookies cut out to ghosts or pumpkin shapes; instead considering delving into the dark side…of treats.
    To really create a stir (and lots of giggles), try some of these haunting concoctions, such as witch fingers, bat poop trail mix, or eyeball pie. They’re not real, of course, but look close enough to the real thing to make your kids and their guests squirm a bit – that is, until they taste how yummy these creepy treats really are (if they dare)!

Witch Fingers
Recipe contributed by Lisa Kothari of Peppers and Pollywogs, Inc.

Ingredients
    1 cup Butter, softened
    1 Egg
    1 tsp Almond extract
    1 tsp Vanilla extract
    2 2/3 cups Flour
    1 tsp Salt
    3/4 cup whole Almonds, blanched
    2 squares of melting chocolate, or chocolate bark
    Yield: 5 dozen

Directions
    1. Combine the sugar, egg, butter, almond extract, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix in the flour, and salt. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, or until it's firm.
    2. When you're ready to shape the cookies, only take out a small portion of the dough at a time. Shape the cookies into fingers by rolling and working with your hands. Score the top of the cookie with a knife or spatula to make it look like the wrinkles in your knuckle. Press an imprint into the tip of the cookie with your finger to make a spot for the almond finger nail. Press an almond into the tip of each finger to look like a fingernail.
    3. Placed on a cooking sheet lightly coated with no-stick cooking spray and bake at 325°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are a very light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on a drying rack.
    4. Use melting chocolate to go around the outside of the almond nail, giving a ghoulish appearance. Just melt the chocolate, put it in an icing piping bag, and cut a very small hole in the tip. Then pipe around the nail.
    5. If you use red melting chocolate the look will be even more dramatic, you can also make small drops of chocolate blood, or chocolate cuts on the cookies if you really want to gross out your guests.

Halloween Bat Poop Trail Mix
Recipe contributed by Marianne O’Connor, author of “Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire”

    Naturally, real bat poop would be hard to come by, and probably pretty gooey! You will need semi-sweet chocolate morsels for the "bat poop".

Ingredients
    1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
    1 cup dry whole grain cereal such as Kix, Cheerios, etc. Capn' Crunch also works well as it is orange in color.
    1/8 cup raisins or other dried fruit like cranberries/pineapple or bananas
    1/8 cup sunflower , or pumpkin seeds

Directions
    Mix together in a sandwich size zip lock bag. This energizing healthy snack is a great home-made recipe that kids will love to dig into while taking a hike this fall.

Healthy Eye Ball Mini Pies
Recipe submitted by Chef Jim Coleman, host, "Healthy Flavors" cooking show (www.healthyflavors.com)

    Nothing can be quite as scary as a plate of jiggly eye balls served in the dark on Halloween. Try this recipe for a spooky – but delicious and nutritious – treat.

Ingredients
    1 package Nasoya all natural Square Won Ton Wraps (48 wraps)
    White Chocolate Filling (see Below)

Filling
    1 cup white chocolate chips
    1 lb. Nasoya Organic Silken Tofu
    1/4 cup Vitasoy Organic Chocolate Soymilk
    1/3 cup honey
    1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
    For eye, use dark chocolate chips.

Directions
    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    2. Press wraps into small muffin tins greased with all natural cooking oil spray.
    3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
    4. Combine the tofu with the melted chips and remaining ingredients in blender.
    5. Process until velvety smooth.
    6. Spoon mixture into each “muffin” and bake until filling is firm and crust golden. Chill, add dark chocolate chip for eye, and serve.

Spooky Floating Hand Punch
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
    1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened grape soft drink mix
    1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix
    2 cups white sugar
    3 quarts cold water
    1 liter ginger ale

Directions
    1. To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove (use a latex free glove in case any of your guests are allergic), fill with water, seal with a rubber band and freeze until hard. You may want to freeze an extra hand for when the first one melts.
    2. Stir together grape soft drink mix, orange soft drink mix, sugar and water until solids are dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving. Make sure all the ingredients are very cold or the fingers will melt off the hand too quickly. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, then peel off the glove. Float the prepared hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect.

    Marcia Passos Duffy is a freelance writer who lives in Keene, NH. Visit her web site at www.backporchpublishing.com.

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