I know — Halloween snuck up on me, too. Between midterms and fall break, October passed almost unnoticed. Maybe you're hosting a party Friday night, maybe you're supposed to bring a snack to your weekend function. Maybe you forgot all about it. Oops.
Don't worry, because this week, Gamecock Cuisine is staying home. We've got three last-minute Halloween sweets to satisfy the trick-or-treater in you.
Spooky Toffee-Pretzel Bars
This recipe comes courtesy of the former PTA Hospitality Parent at Simpsonville Elementary (otherwise known as my mother). It's a quick and easy way to make people think you did something time-consuming and difficult.
1 bag of pretzel sticks
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup of butter
1 pack of miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
Candy dot eyes (find these at Hobby Lobby)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper. Arrange the pretzel sticks in rows across the sheet.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and stir for three minutes. Pour mixture over pretzels. Place baking sheet in oven for eight minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Pour chocolate chips evenly over baked toffee and pretzels. Wait one minute for chocolate to melt, then use a spatula to smooth across the surface.
4. While still warm, press candy eyes into chocolate.
5. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then cut into bars, or break into brittle.
Ghoulish Ghostberries
This one is pretty straightforward. It's strawberries and chocolate. You can either go the easy route and buy pre-dipped berries, or melt your own white chocolate at home. Option A is more expensive and option B is tricky to master.
1 package of strawberries
1 package of white chocolate chips
Tube of decorator's gel
1. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler using a low temperature setting. (Pro tip: never try to melt chocolate in the microwave. Your chocolate will, as they call it on Food Network, "seize up," and become a terror worthy of your Halloween nightmares. Also, add a little butter, around one tablespoon, to ensure the chocolate stays creamy and workable.)
2. Dip your berries in the warm chocolate and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Allow chocolate to set and use decorator's gel to add your own faces. I prefer the classic wide-eyes and O-shaped mouth.
Graveyard Dirtcakes
This takes the childhood classic "worms and dirt" to the next level. What's a more upscale dessert than cupcakes? (Don't answer that.) Again, you could go the pre-made route and buy cupcakes from the store. Either way, this treat is nostalgic.
Chocolate, chocolate-iced cupcakes (as many as you need)
1 pack of gummi worms
1. Bake cupcakes according to package directions and allow to cool before icing. Make sure to leave one uniced. (If you elect to buy pre-made cupcakes, see if the bakery will sell you one that's uniced. Save yourself some trouble for step two.)
2. Crumble a cooled, uniced cupcake into a bowl. Dip the top of the iced cupcakes into the crumbles. Roll them around to ensure full coverage. (Note: for larger batches of cupcakes, it may take two or three cupcakes' worth of crumbles.)
3. Get creative with your worms. Poke a few into the top, stick some out the sides. Or better yet, get your guests to decorate their own.