Ask A Chef: Top Spooky Halloween Treats

(credit: Maggie & Molly's Bakery)

Seasonal treats are always a lot of fun but there is no season more whimsical and playful than Halloween. Once October rolls around, it's time to get really creative with all of your fun treats. Whether these are for parties or your kid's school lunch, there are lots of different things you can do to show off your creativity with sweets. As you plan out some creepy, crawly Halloween treats, think about your audience and then you can get as gross as you want, or you can keep it on the cute side. Both work equally well. Here are a few fun suggestions from the owner of Maggie & Molly's Bakery, Mary Lovett.

Mary Lovett
Maggie & Molly's Bakery
2908 E. 6^th Ave.
Denver, CO 80206
(720) 328-4073
www.maggieandmollys.com

Mary Lovett started Maggie & Molly's Bakery in 2006, bringing lots of tasty sweets along with her own creative charm. The bakery was founded to offer her own home-style baked goods, using recipes that Lovett gathered throughout the years from her mother and grandmother, along with flavors and tastes from her childhood in Kansas, Georgia and South Carolina. Everything is small-batch and made from scratch, with only the best ingredients. When Maggie & Molly's Bakery really shines, however, is during the holidays, when Lovett pulls out all of the stops to create fun, whimsical and creative treats that celebrate the different seasons. As Lovett explains, "I love the holidays and I love Halloween. It's funny because as an adult, I'd lost some interest in it, but now with the bakery, I remember how much fun it is. And it's great to see the kids come in and I just love it."

The following recipes can all be made with your own favorite snacks. Just by adding a few extra ingredients, you bump up the creative factor and you'll have the best Halloween treats in town.

Pot of Fingers

"The concept here is to make it look like fingers coming out of a grave, and we purposely make the fingers look really gross and old," Lovett explains. "Basically it's a sugar cookie that is molded to look like a finger. And you go through with a knife and cut little slashes to look like the lines on your fingers. You also use a sliver of an almond as a fingernail, which makes it look even better. Then after the cookies are baked, while it's still hot, we take really fine chocolate cookie crumbs and rub those all over the cookie and it makes it look even older." Of course, the decoration doesn't stop there. "Then we take about 8 or 9 cookies and get a flower pot, you fill the flower pot with more cookie crumbs to look like dirt. Then you put the cookies in there, adding more dirt to make the cookies look like they are coming out of the grave."

Recipe for classic sugar cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Almond slivers for decorating
• Crushed chocolate cookie crumbs

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Beat egg and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour mixture until it's all combined.
5. Shape dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
6. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
8. Transfer half of the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll to about 1/2-inch thick.
9. Shape for the finger cookies, and use a small butter knife to create the knuckle lines.
10. Place a slivered almond at the top as a fingernail.
11. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes.

Related: Five Halloween Themed Cocktails

Bloody Cupcakes

Use this recipe with any store-bought red velvet cupcakes or you can bake your own from a boxed mix. It's all about the decoration that really makes these cupcakes perfect for the Halloween season.

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup corn syrup
• Butter for pan
• Red food coloring

Directions

1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Do not let it brown.
2. Once the sugar and water boil, while it's still clear, pour onto a buttered cookie sheet to harden.
3. Once the sugar mixture is hardened, it will look like glass. Just break small pieces off by hand.
4. Place the pieces in the cupcakes to look like glass shards sticking out.
5. Mix a few drops of red food coloring into the corn syrup until it looks like blood.
6. Pour the "blood" over the glass shards and the cupcake, as much as desired.

Related: Best Halloween Costume Ideas

Creepy Cookies

For this one, you can use the sugar cookie recipe above, and add some cocoa powder to make it chocolate, or just pick up your favorite store-bought chocolate cookies. Oreos work well but the best part is making your own cream filling and coloring it green or orange for the holiday. This is a cute spin for a Halloween treat, perfect for younger kids.

Chocolate sugar cookies

For Filling:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Green or orange food coloring

For Icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Food coloring

Directions

1. Cream the butter and shortening until fluffy.
2. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla.
3. Add a few drops of your favorite color of food coloring into the cream and mix well.
4. Spread a little cream between two chocolate sugar cookies and sandwich together.
5. Set aside to make the icing.
6. Stir together powdered sugar and milk until smooth.
7. Beat in the corn syrup and almond extract until it's thick and glossy.
8. Separate into two bowls, one for the eyeball and one for the pupil.
9. Color the eyeball any color you wish (or leave it white)
10. Add a few drops of several colors to make the other color black, for the pupil.
11. Take the icing and make two round eyeballs on each cookie.
12. Make a small dot in the middle of each eyeball, as the pupil.
13. Let cool completely so the icing can harden.

Deborah Flomberg is a theater professional, freelance writer and Denver native. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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