Fall brings a season of delicious harvests. But who cares? It is October! I can feast on apples and pears any ol’day. But at the end of this month it is Snickers and Mars bars. Bite size, king size, oh-h-h-h for a chocolateholic is there any better holiday than Halloween?
What other holiday do you send your child out to roam the streets in the dark to come home and deposit $100 worth of candy on the kitchen table. There gleaming under the kitchen light: Butterfingers, M&M’s, Baby Ruths, Dots and Hershey bars.
You beg and cajole with your children to pleaaassse share that tiny Tootsie Roll, only to have their grubby (oh, I meant chubby) little hands grab it and yell, “NO!”
Halloween is such a wonderful time for children, full of spooky stories, costume parties, games and good things to eat.
With all that trick or treating children will be thirsty. Have big pitchers of cold apple cider or have a large bowl of punch or grape juice, and tell the children they have to stir it well to make their spells jell!
Let’s face it. Halloween is sugar, sugar, sugar! Let’s get the kids (and Mom) started now!
Trick or Treat!
P.S. It is October–the beginning of the frightful threes: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Soon we will be plunged into heavy holiday eating. But stop right there, because the fact is, like a lot of us, I need to regain my composure and admit there are only two months until Christmas! We have got to paint the living room, sew drapes, hook a carpet, make matching outfits and bake! Help! Share your favorite quick and easy recipe. Keep those e-mails coming!
MONSTER MUNCH
1 cup chocolate pieces
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup peanuts
1 cup corn Chex cereal
Melt chocolate pieces until all are smooth. Mix remaining ingredients with the chocolate. Shape into round balls, place on wax paper. Chill.
KEEN HALLOWEEN ICE CREAM
1 gallon of any flavor ice cream. Width-wise slice one inch thick and place each slice on top of a graham cracker. You have an ice cream sandwich! Freeze on wax paper until serving time.
TRICK OR TREAT BASKETS
Cut firm oranges in half and scoop out the pulp. Be careful not to break the skins. Save the pulp and press through a strainer and use for juice at breakfast. Fill the empty orange halves with canned or fresh fruit cocktail and before serving, top with scoops of vanilla and orange sherbet ice cream.
JACK O’LANTERN CAKE
Mix together: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp. ginger (powdered) 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt. Set aside. In a large bowl beat one egg until fluffy. Add 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup dark molasses. Sift 1 tsp. baking soda with 2 cups flour and add to above mixture. Bake at 325 degree in ungreased round cake pan for about about 35 minutes. Cool before icing.
ICING: 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. milk, orange food coloring. Mix the sugar and butter in a bowl with a fork. Add the milk slowly. Stir until creamy. Add drops of food coloring, stir until you get a pumpkin color. Spread icing on the cake
PUMPKIN FACE: You will need gum drops, candy corn and red licorice. Arrange some gumdrops in a triangle shape to make the eyes. Arrange the candy corn in a triangle shape to make the nose. Use the licorice whole as as strip or in pieces to outline the shape of the pumpkin’s mouth. Presto! You have a Jack O’Lantern cake!
GLOWING JACK O’LANTERN COOKIES: Carve each pumpkin, then put in the “glow”
1/2 cup shortening
6 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup sugar
Beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl. About 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy.
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
Add egg, vanilla and milk to shortening mixture. Beat well.
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
In a separate mixing bowl coming flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture, beating well. Cover and chill three hours.
Roll out half of the dough on a floured surface. Cut into 4 to 5 inch circles. With a sharp knife, cut pumpkin eyes, nose, and mouth out of each circle. Fill holes with crushed hard orange sour candy. Attach cut out stems.
Place cookies 2 inches apart in a foil covered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes until cookies are light brown. Cool. Makes great pumpkin-head cookies that you can see through.