When Halloween falls on a Thursday it usually means there will be ghosts and goblins all weekend long. Anyone hosting a Halloween party this weekend might be interested in making their own treats. It was with that in mind that we started looking for upscale treats suited to this ghoulish holiday.
There are so many cookbooks and websites overflowing with ideas and recipes ranging from the painstakingly perfect and beautifully sublime to the equally artful but, well, gross and disturbing.
Did you check out that link? Well, you should. They’re awesome. Maybe too gross for kids. Is that possible? Anyway, that’s a pretty tough act to follow, but we still want to get into the spirit of things, as it were, and try something that won’t take you all day to make, is a little more classic, something that you can serve at your Halloween party without giving you nightmares for a week.
Sprinkles!-Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts is a sweet cookbook by Jackie Alpers just released this year. Is Rainbowlicious a word? Well, it is now, and there are a few recipes in here that look like they might be Hallowicious as well. This is a delightful book, full of bright, beautiful photos and some pretty original ideas that turn frivolity into art you can eat. This is not about sustainably sourced foodstuffs, or high falutin’ ideals, it is about fun and creativity and a perfect fit for Halloween, a teddy bear’s picnic or a tea party with Alice. It is, after all, all about desserts.
Perusing the pages, and marveling at the craftsmanship and dainty, eye-popping appeal of the recipes (it’s ridiculously “pretty”) we come across a chapter for Snacks and Party fare. “Sweetheart Party Popcorn,” “Meringue Kisses,” “Fleur de Sel Caramels” “Starry Night Fruit Leather” and “ Cotton Candy Pops” are just a few of the sweet nothings that would brighten up any party, but especially a less sinister themed Halloween gathering. Do you have the sprinkles necessary to make most of these treats? Probably not, but Ms Alpers provides a “Sprinkles Sources” index at the back of the book, indicating where you can source all your rainbowlicious needs.
Here, in celebration of Halloween, is a lovely little recipe for Mini Candy Apples. Definitely not your country fair candy apples, these little charmers have class. Dipped in melted candy and gilded with sugar and “pearls”, they look like they could be served to your favourite courtesans at Versailles. Everyone else? Let them eat cake.
Mini Candy Apples (by Jackie Alpers)
Ingredients
About ½ cup white candy melts*
8-10 small apples with long stems (you can also use pears for this recipe, just dipping the bottoms in the candy)
¼ cup gold sugar. Silver sugar, red cinnamon flavoured sugar, and white sugar pearls
- candy melts are small discs that come in a variety of colours and are available at craft stores as well as some supermarkets
Steps
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl on top of a plate. Microwave for 60 seconds at 50% power, stirring once halfway through. If candy is not melted, continue heating with 20 second bursts. Note: The melted candy and the bowl will be very hot, so be sure to use an oven mitt when removing it from the microwave.
- Hold apples by the stem and dip them into the hot melted candy, twirling to coat but leaving some of the fruit showing at the top. Place on the prepared sheet to cool a bit. Roll apples in sugars and pearls.
- When all apples are coated, place sheet in freezer until candy hardens, at least 15 minutes. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.