Wacky Halloween Lollipops

What You Need:

1 1/2 C of sugar
3/4 C of water
2/3 C of light corn syrup
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t peppermint oil
Black and orange paste food coloring
10 lollipop sticks

How to Make It:

Butter 10 assorted size round cookie cutters and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Place the sugar, water and corn syrup into a saucepan and place the pan over medium heat.
Stir in the cream of tartar and cook the mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
Stop stirring and bring the mixture to a boil.
Continue cooking without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peppermint oil.
Be careful to keep your face away from the pan when stirring in the oil as the aroma is very strong.
Spoon 1/4 C of the mixture into two separate custard cups and tint one cup orange and one cup black.
Pour the remaining mixture into the prepared cookie cutters.
Drizzle the black and orange sugar mixtures over the cookie cutters and use a toothpick to swirl the mixture through each lollipop.
Remove the cutters just before the lollipops completely harden and place a lollipop stick into each lollipop.

These lollipops can be made with size or shape of cookie cutter. Once they have hardened wrap them in plastic wrap and tie them with a Halloween bow. They make great hand out treats for all those scary trick-or-treaters.

Makes 10 lollipops

Trick-or-Treat Ice Cream Cones

What You Need:

1 (4 oz.) pkg. German sweet chocolate
1/4 C of butter, cubed
3/4 C of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C of flour
1 t vanilla extract
24 (3 inch) ice cream cones
24 scoops orange sherbet
Black sprinkles

How to Make It:

Preset the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Place the chocolate and butter into a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave on high for 1 minute then stir until very smooth.
Cool the mixture for 5 minutes.
Pour the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bow and add the sugar.
Break the eggs into the mixture and mix until completely blended together.
Fold in the flour until well blended.
Add the extract and stir well.
Place the ice cream cones, standing straight up, into muffin tin cups.
Fill each cone 2/3 full of the batter.
Bake 20 minutes or until the brownies are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, being careful not to over bake.
Remove the cones from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Place one scoop of sherbet on top of each cone.
Sprinkle the top of the cones with the black sprinkles and serve immediately.

What a fun twist to an ice cream cone. Kids will love this special Halloween treat. If you can’t find black sprinkles use chocolate sprinkles instead.

Makes 24 cones

Wicked Witch Popcorn Balls

What You Need:

4 qt. popcorn, popped
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 C of sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 C of water

How to Make It:

Preset the oven to 200 degrees.
Place the popcorn into a large heat proof bowl and place in the oven to keep warm
Put the chocolate into a heavy saucepan placed over low heat.
Stirring constantly, heat the chocolate for 5 minutes or until completely melted.
Stir in the sugar and the corn syrup until blended in well.
Add the water and stir to blend in.
Adjust the heat to medium and stirring constantly cook until it comes to a steady boil.
Continue cooking until a candy thermometer reaches 250 degrees or hard ball stage.
Remove the popcorn from the oven and pour the chocolate mixture over the popcorn stirring until the popcorn is evenly coated.
When the mixture cools enough to handle form it into 3 inch balls.
Place the balls on a wire rack to cool.

These popcorn balls are a fun change from the classic popcorn balls most of us grew up with. When forming these balls, dip your hands in cold water to keep the popcorn from sticking. Wrap the popcorn balls in plastic wrap and tie the tops with a spooking Halloween ribbon.

Makes 1 dozen

Sweet and Salty Pirate Caramel Apples

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples
6 wooden sticks
1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Extra chips for decorating

Instructions:

Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple.
Combine caramels and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir often to get a smooth caramel mixture. Dip apples into caramel. Place standing up on a sheet of foil or a cookie sheet for easy decorating and chilling. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and place in the fridge. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish. This is easiest if you microwave for 30-40 seconds, stir, and repeat until you have a whole bowl of smooth creamy melted chocolate. Drizzle melted chocolate over the apples. Sprinkle with the extra chocolate chips. Return to refrigerator until ready to eat.

Oh So Gooey Nachos

What You Need:

8 graham crackers
3/4 C of milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 C of mini marshmallows

How to Make It:

Preset the oven to broil and allow the broiler to preheat.
Break each of the graham crackers into 4 squares.
Place the graham cracker pieces in a 9 inch aluminum pie plate.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the graham crackers.
Layer the marshmallows evenly over the chocolate chips.
Place the pie plate in the oven 6 inches from heat.
Broil 45 seconds or until the marshmallows are lightly browned and puffy.

Watch your nachos closely to ensure they don’t burn under the broiler. Never use a glass pan when making these nachos as it may break under the intense heat of the broiler.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation Time: approximately 10 minutes
Broiling Time: approximately 45 seconds
Total Time: approximately 10 minutes 45 seconds

Nutritional Information: (approximate values per serving):
Calories 340; fat 12 g; sodium 190 mg; carbohydrates 55 g; sugars 40 g; protein 4 g

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