Chocolate, Spooky Goodies

I had this already to publish when I got an email from Costco. They are advertising a chocolate gift basket, full of lots of different chocolates and quite a lot of it. But it's $1,699.99. I am absolutely gobsmacked. Who in their right minds would pay that much for a basket of chocolate. OK it's full of good stuff such as Lindt and Godiva, but I just couldn't believe anyone would pay that much not even a company. For that kind of money I would want something in gold not just something which disappears over time.


Hallowe’en is getting close now. I am being inundated with spooky recipes which I just have to share with you. I couldn’t resist these cookies, biscuits in England of course.

Chocolate bat biscuits

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2014

Servings

Makes 25-30 biscuits, depending on cutter size

Let a friendly bat perch on your glass of milk or cuppa this Halloween with these spooky biscuits - add vanilla buttercream for bourbons

Ingredients

• 125g butter, softened
• 85g icing sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp milk
• 175g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tsp fine espresso-style powder coffee (I used Azeera)
• 50g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt

To decorate

• 100g bar dark or milk chocolate
• chocolate hundreds and thousands
• coloured writing icing (or make your own with 100g icing sugar, 3-4 tsp water and some colouring)

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale, then beat in the yolk, the vanilla and milk. Sift the flour, coffee, cocoa and salt into the bowl, then mix together to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap and chill for 15 mins.
2. Dust the dough all over with a little flour, then roll it between two large sheets of baking parchment, to the thickness of a £1 coin. Remove the top layer of the paper, stamp shapes with an 8cm bat (or other) cutter, and carefully lift to the lined sheets using a palette knife. Re-roll the trimmings. Cut a 1.5cm x 5mm notch at the base of each bat’s body. This is about right to sit the bats on thick tumblers; if your glasses are finer-edged, make the notches thinner so that the bats stay put. Bake for 10 mins or until the biscuits feel sandy and smell rich and chocolatey. Cool on the sheets for 5 mins, then lift the cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely.
3. To decorate, melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave. One biscuit at a time, brush chocolate over the bat ears and wings with a small paintbrush, then cover with chocolate sprinkles. Tap off the excess. Pipe faces and fangs onto your bats, then leave to dry. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Then there’s these spidery eggs from My Recipes. Now this one I would advise you to make your favourite recipe for devilled eggs and then just add the spider decoration.

Halloween Spooky Spider Devilled Eggs

By Lighthouse Rita




Servings 8

6 hard-boiled eggs, halved

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

black olives

 

Directions:

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Slip out yolks and mash.
2. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.
3. Cut whole olive in half.
4. Put one half on mashed yolk for the spiders body.
5. Thinly slice the other half for the spiders legs. Put four legs on each side.

Have a great day