Meringue Bones and Ghosts – Scary Easy

While I know no one is ever actually scared by the "spooky" Halloween treats you see posted this time year, I do know for a fact that many people are terrified to work with meringue. Hopefully, these bones and ghosts will help chase those demons away.

As long as your bowl is clean, and you don’t accidentally get any egg yolk in there, you should be fine. It may take a while, especially if you do it by hand, but if you keep whisking, eventually you should get a nice, glossy meringue that will hold a shape when piped.

Speaking of which, you can make this in any shape you want, in case you were thinking about trying to do a full skeleton (show off). Of course, different shapes may change the cooking time, but you’ll figure it out.  As long as your meringue feels firm and dry, you’re probably in good shape to let it cool in the oven.

By the way, I did these on a very humid day in San Francisco, and as they sat on the plate, they sort of stuck together a little bit.  They came apart fairly easily, but I wanted to ask our experienced bakers and candy makers if there’s a trick to prevent this kind of thing? Maybe some powdered sugar or cornstarch? Let me know if you have any ideas.

These are probably a little too time-consuming, delicate, and completely inappropriate to use for Halloween trick-or-treaters, but if you’re having a holiday themed party, these would be a hit. I hope you give these meringue bones and ghosts a try soon, and as always, enjoy!

Ingredients for  about 2 dozen small bones, or other shapes:

2 large egg whites, room temp (don’t get any yolk in it or it will not work!)

1/8 tsp cream of tartar or fresh lemon juice

a scant 1/2 cup sugar (that means almost, but not quite full), added a spoon at a time, once the egg whites start forming a very soft meringue

* bake at 225 F. for 1 hour, then turn off oven and let cool with door closed another hour

Pumpkin Seed Brittle – Break Some Off This Halloween

This pumpkin seed brittle recipe was a lot easier to make than film. The procedure for nut brittle, or in this case, seed brittle, is very simple, but there are points in the recipe when you have to move fast, which is unfortunate when you have to move a camera and set up shots. 

Even with these challenges, it came out just fine, and I’m only complaining as a way to build confidence. Once your sugar mixture has turned a nice caramel color, you have to immediately turn off the heat, add your baking soda (be careful), then your nuts or seeds (be careful), and hastily mix until combined. As the concoction cools it hardens quickly, so transfer into your pan and press as soon as you can (be careful).

After that, you can relax, unless you are scoring yours into shapes. No pressure, but you only have about two minutes to make your marks. After the brittle is cool, simply break it up, and you’ll be enjoying a crispy, delicious, and very seasonally appropriate treat.

Regarding the salt: you can add it right into the mix like I did, or sprinkle it over the top surface before the brittle is completely cool. That does look kind of cool, but either way, it’s critical, and should not be omitted.

I can’t help you with the tricks, but at least you have one more idea for a treat now. I hope you give this pumpkin seed brittle recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes enough Pumpkin Seed Brittle for 12 witches or 8 zombies:

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (3/4 to 1 tsp if using fine salt)

Edible Holiday Gift Special: Vegan Miracle Fudge!

I’m calling this “miracle fudge” for several reasons. First of all, the odds of me seeing a vegan fudge link on Twitter, and actually clicking on it, are roughly zero. That alone makes this video miraculous, but that cocoa, maple syrup, and coconut oil can combine to create something so pleasurable and fudge-like, also makes it worthy of the title.

Michele actually discovered the link on Twitter, and called my attention to it since she recognized the Tweeter as my friend, Stephanie Stiavetti aka @sstiavetti. Nothing against Ms. Stiavetti, but this still usually wouldn’t have been enough to tempt me, except that I heard mention of coconut oil.

This was significant because another friend, Ariyele Ressler, posted something called a "The Triple Luxe" on her YouTube channel(pictured here), which featured this fascinating fat. I was captivated by her delicious looking creation, and the coconut oil's butter-like properties, and told myself that I needed pick some up for experimentation.

Anyway, as a result of this perfect storm of social media synchronicity, I decided to check out her recipe, and it rocked. I did a bunch of tests, and even though you’re forfeiting some health benefits, I found the refined coconut oil worked better than the raw, extra-virgin style, if you want something closer to real chocolate fudge. The other key is to keep these in the freezer. They work at room temp, but the texture is much better cold.

The extra-virgin oil has a very pronounced coconut flavor, and seemed to not provide quite as firm a bite. Of course, I expect you to experiment and report back. As advertised, I think this would make a fun, and unique edible gift for the foodies on your holiday gift list. I hope you give this fudge recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Bonus Holiday Gift Idea: 

Not only does Stephanie have great taste in vegan fudge recipes, she also writes cookbooks! I just received a copy of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese, which she co-authored with Garrett McCord, and it’s very well done. It’s getting rave reviews on Amazon, so if you’re still in shopping mode, go check it out.

Ingredients for about 2 dozen squares of Miracle Fudge:

1/2 cup really good unsweetened cocoa (I used this one)

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

few drops of vanilla

pinch of salt

Notes:

- You can make this without the nuts, but make sure your oil is nice and warm, so the mixture is liquid enough to pour.

-  If the mixture gets too firm to work with, just place over a bowl of hot water until it melts.

Lemon Bars for a Lasting Mother’s Day Impression

Mother’s Day is coming up, and since so many of you brave souls will be attempting a celebratory brunch, I thought I’d post this much-requested lemon bars recipe, in case things don’t go as smoothly as anticipated. 

Preparing brunch can be tricky anytime, let alone under mom’s watchful (aka “extremely concerned”) eyes. Can someone please get her a mimosa and walk her into the garden?

So, even if a few poached eggs break, or the toast gets a little too golden-black, no worries! If you finish the meal with these gorgeous, and absolutely impossible to mess-up lemon bars, she'll be as proud as she will be impressed. Our moms may have taught us the importance of a good first impression, but its America’s restaurateurs who discovered the importance of a delicious last impression. There's nothing like a well made pastry to make one forgive a tough steak.

Other than a baking dish, there’s no special equipment or techniques required. Both the shortbread base and the lemon custard take only minutes, and are simply hand-mixed in a bowl. 

Basically, if you can move your arm in a circle, and effectively set a timer (there’s one on your phone), your lemon bars should look just as good as these (maybe better – see meringue note below). Anyway, whether you’re going to make these for Mother’s Day or not, I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 16 Small Lemon Bars:

For the shortbread crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup room temp unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Bake crust at 350 degrees F. for 22 minutes

For the lemon layer:

2 large whole eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes

Garnish with powdered sugar; or top with *meringue (the extra egg white whipped with 1 tablespoon of sugar) and brown with torch.

*My Meringue
If you decide to turn these into lemon meringue bars, do yourself a favor and actually measure the sugar. I couldn’t be bothered to check a recipe, so I only tossed in a teaspoon of sugar, and it should be closer to a tablespoon. The technique is the same; beat the extra white to the ribbon stage (where drips of white stay on the surface for a few seconds), and then add the sugar and continue whipping until you have nice, glossy peaks. My “by eye” batch worked fine, but it was a little too dry, and not quite sticky enough. Be advised.

View the complete recipe

“Red Hot” Liqueur – Nicer AND Quicker

There’s an old Valentine’s Day saying that goes, “Candy is nicer, but liquor is quicker.” It’s really a lovely sentiment, but implies you have to choose one or the other. Hopefully this beautiful and delicious homemade cinnamon liqueur will prove that you can use both.

This is dead simple to make, and I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it came out. As I mention in the video, the candy’s spicy cinnamon flavor and sweetness really mellows the burn of drinking straight 80-proof booze. This makes for some very smooth sipping, but at the same time demands at least a modicum of restraint.

I enjoyed mine neat, but imagine this would be great over ice, maybe with a splash of soda. I’m also wondering how it would be in a mug of hot cider, and by wondering, I mean obsessed with finding out. Stay tuned.

I’d like to extend a very special thanks to my friend, and fellow food blogger, Sean Timberlake. Sean publishes Hedonia and Punk Domestics, and he’s the one who turned me on to this brilliant elixir. His only request was that I use the knowledge for good, and not evil. Sorry, too late!

Anyway, giving edible gifts like chocolate is very traditional on Valentine’s Day, so why not a drinkable gift? And if you do decide to bottle some up, don’t forget your own customized warning label, as it will really show how much you care. I hope you and your Valentine give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes about 2 1/2 cups of “Red Hot” Liqueur 

1 cup Red Hots candy
2 cups cheap vodka