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Ask A Chef: Best Spooky Halloween Treats

Halloween is just around the corner, and the occasion usually arises for some spooky treats to be made, whether for your child's Halloween class party or for you or your friends and family. Check this list out for some great ideas.
Tiffany Martel
www.dailyleisure.com

Tiffany writes about travel, entertainment and cooking at her blog, Daily Leisure. She still gets good use out of her engineering degree while reviewing the latest gadget or cars. She sometimes attempts to do crafts, but those "experiments" usually don't get shown to the public on her blog. Here's what she had to offer for Halloween-themed treats for the kids.

Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treat Bars 
  • 3 tbsp Butter
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
  • 10 oz Marshmallows
  • 1 cup Candy Corn

Directions:

  1. In a medium to large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
  2. Add Rice Crispies cereal and stir until cereal is well coated.
  3. Add Candy Corn, making sure it is distributed pretty evenly.
  4. Prepare a 13 x 9 pan by spraying with cooking spray or coating with butter. Butter a spoon or your hands or use wax paper to press the mixture into the pan evenly.
  5. After cooling, cut into rectangles or squares.
Clementine Pumpkin and Banana Ghosts
  • Bananas
  • Chocolate chips
  • Mini Chocolate Chips
  • Clementines
  • Celery

Directions:

  1. Cut each banana in half and peel.
  2. Cut bottom at angle to help ghost stand.
  3. Using a toothpick in a circular motion, make a hole for each eye and the mouth.
  4. Use mini chips for eyes and regular chip for mouth.
  5. Peel each clementine by hand.
  6. Use a soft bristled brush under cool water to help remove white pithy material.
  7. Take a small piece of celery and cut into small pieces to make stems and insert.
Spider Web Pizza
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Round Crackers, Sandwich Slim Buns and/or Pita Breads
  • String Mozzarella Cheese
  • Black Olives

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. If using slim buns, seperate the halves.
  3. Take your pizza bases (cracker, bun or pita) and cover with pizza sauce.
  4. Take string cheese and open and pull into strings.
  5. Take 4 strings and lay across the base like you would cut a pizza.
  6. Cut more strings into smaller pieces to go across each "slice" of the pizza.
  7. To make a spider, cut the ends off of 2 olives, one slightly large than the other.
  8. These 2 will be the head and body.
  9. Cut 2 slices off of the already cut olive and cut those slices in half to make legs for the spider.
  10. Place on spider on each pizza.
  11. Place on cookie sheet and bake until cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).
  12. You can optionally put eyes on the spider by dipping a toothpick in mustard and touching it to the head.

Related: Best Halloween Parties in Downtown Detroit

Becky Fixel
www.week99er.com

Becky Fixel is a gluten-free reviewer and blogger who resides in Metro Detroit. She started Week99er.com when she hit week 99 of her unemployment benefits. Her site has grown over the years to be an "all inclusive lifestyle and review blog." When Becky is not whipping up recipes in the kitchen or behind the computer screen, she is teaching Interior Design as an adjunct at a local design college.

Cupcake Graveyard with Gluten-Free Devil's Food Cake
  • 1 cup Boiling Water
  • 4 oz Cocoa Powder
  • 10 1/2 oz Brown Sugar
  • 5 1/2 oz White Rice Flour
  • 4 oz Tapioca Starch
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 4 1/2 oz Sour Cream, at room temperature
  • 2 large whole Eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 large Egg yolks, at room temperature

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and prep 2 cupcake sheets with liners.
  2. In a small pan, bring your 1 cup of water to a boil. Pour into a small bowl and whisk it together with your cocoa powder.
  3. In your mixer bowl, mix together your sugar, white rice flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix together your oil, sour cream eggs and yolks.
  5. Put your mixer on low and slowly add in your oil mixture. Once combined, add in your cocoa mixture. Mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides and mix again for 1 minute.
  6. Spoon into your cupcake liners. Don't overfill! Only fill 2/3 of the way.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting!

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks of Butter at room temperature (1 cup)
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
  • 3 cups Powdered Sugar + Additional

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat your butter until smooth.
  2. Add in your vanilla and salt and continue mixing.
  3. Slowly add in your powdered sugar and beat until fully combined.
  4. Add in your heavy cream and mix until smooth.
  5. Your frosting may not be thick enough for piping yet. If you want firmer frosting, add powdered sugar until you reach the desired thickness.
  6. If it's too firm, add heavy cream 1 tsp at a time until you reach the desired thickness.
  • To get your ghosts and cats to stand straight up, add a toothpick to their base and set them in the frosting.
  • For Your "Headstones": Gluten Free Honey Grahams; pipe on RIP or whatever you want on top.
  • To get them to stand up, place a toothpick behind them.
  • When your cupcakes are done, arrange them in a cupcake tree or all together on a flat sheet.
  • The white icing gives them a ghostly icing to sit on. You can dye this any color you want with food coloring.
DIY Sugar Skull Candy
  • 4 cups White Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Meringue Powder
  • 4 tbsp Water

Directions:

  1. Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl, by hand - make sure you get all of the moisture up from the bottom (the water will go right down and sit there). You will be done when the sugar mixture almost has a silky but slightly sticky texture.
  2. Fill your candy mold - pack it in as much as you can. Extra on top is acceptable.
  3. Over the bowl, use a flat object to remove the extra sugar. It should be flush to the candy mold's back. Push any extra back into the bowl to reuse.
  4. On a flat surface, turn your mold over and set it down; skulls should come right out. There will always be one or two that get stuck and may need a little assistance.
  5. Let them sit for 1-2 hours - this will let the water dry and let them harden up.
  6. Once they're dry, store in a container with a lid. They can last a few weeks.
  7. This recipe can be used to make any shape you want - you can make your own custom sugar creations to top cakes, cupcakes and more.

Related: Best Places to Get Scary Good Costumes in Metro Detroit

Liz Parker is a freelance writer and a University of Michigan graduate with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature. Her work can be found at Examiner.com and yesnofilms.com.

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