‘Tis the season to… get a little ghoulish? Okay, so Christmas is 35 days away (but who’s counting?) and Halloween has come and gone. But, I felt that it was time to rehash on my ghastly baking. And, make up for all of those cheesy ghost and goblin jokes that I missed out on the first time around.
I found all of my inspiration on www.marthastewart.com. I have found this to be a reliable source for both baking and cooking information. And, I’m sure that anyone who knows me, knows that I worship the corporation that IS Martha Stewart. Maybe not the woman herself, but the castle that is built around her. Think about it. Hundreds upon thousands of employees… all working hard to maintain the façade of the perfect housewife. It’s amazing, really.
Back to business. I decided to bake Sweet Bones (meringue shaped like bones), Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, and Ghost Cupcakes.
*The recipe for Sweet Bones can be found at: http://www.marthastewart.com/342498/sweet-bones?czone=holiday/halloween-center/halloween-center-desserts
I set my oven to preheat to 200ºF. Many ovens will not actually allow you to go this low. So, check your temperature settings before choosing to make this recipe. Using my metal Kitchen-Aid bowl, I separated 6 egg whites and mixed them with 1-½ cups white sugar.
In a medium saucepan I brought about 2 cups of water to a rolling boil, and heated the metal mixing bowl, whisking the mixture quite constantly. When all of the sugar had dissolved into the egg whites (about 5 minutes), I whisked on high for about 10 minutes.
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In the meantime, I fitted a large Ziploc bag with a Wilton #12 tip. I used to use icing bags that I purchased at a local bulk store, until I realized that with a little extra care, any sort of bag would do. I have piped out of a No Name sandwich bag, a Loblaws shopping bag, and even parchment paper folded into a cone. By the time I was done this, the egg white mixture had formed hard peaks.
I piped the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. It is important to note that these bones are very easy to pipe. Start by piping a heart and then working your way (in a straight line) to form another upside-down heart. You can go for any length that you would like, but try to imagine how architecturally sound each bone will be!
www.marthastewart.com suggests 5 or 6-inch bones.
Bake for approximately 1 hour and VOLIA! They were BONE to taste good.
Next, the Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies would be as easy as… well… pie! Whoopie pies are essentially very soft cookies, placed back-to-back, with a creamy center.
*The recipe for Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies can be found at: http://www.marthastewart.com/354430/mini-pumpkin-whoopie-pies?czone=holiday/halloween-center/halloween-center-desserts
First, to prepare the cookies, I set my oven to preheat to 375ºF and mixed 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ tsps baking soda, and ½ tsp salt.
I went without vegetable shortening and substituted in ¼ cup butter. I mixed this with another tbsp butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ½ cup packed dark-brown sugar. I mixed on medium speed with the paddle attachment of my Kitchen-Aid mixer and waited until it appeared smooth.
By lowering the speed I lessened the chance of egg-splash back, and added 1 large egg. After about two more minutes on a high speed, the mixture began to look pale and fluffy. I incorporated half of my dry mix, 1 cup of whole milk, and ½ tsp pure vanilla extract into the butter mixture. Then, I mixed in the remaining half. I treated the end result like drop cookies and set them up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
They baked for 12 minutes before the cookies began springing back to touch. While these cookies cooled, I whipped together 4 oz. cream cheese, ½ cup butter, and ½ cup confectioners sugar on medium speed. To reduce the splash back, once again, I changed the mixing speed to low and added ¼ cup canned pumpkin, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg. Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl to avoid undesirable patches of flavor explosion.
Using another Ziploc Bag, I piped the filling onto the bottom of one cookie, and sandWITCHed the creamy center with another cookie.
Finally, I made two-dozen chocolate cupcakes and rolled out approximately 1-½ cups of stored fondant. I mixed some icing sugar and warm water to make a thick mixture and used this as an edible glue to attach the marshmallows.
Using a toothpick, I skewered the marshmallows standing straight and draped the fondant over another layer of icing “glue”.
They looked so good it was FRIGHTENING! Here are a few other photos that didn't make the list...
That’s it for Halloween, now on to Christmas recipes. Keep your eye out for December contests.
Eat, Drink, and be Scary.
