Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes

Oh my, oh my! Would you just look at these little devils! Happy Halloween ya’ll! I know, I have been completely missing in action since back in early April. I have a good excuse this time…well kinda. You see, I actually didn’t have a functional kitchen from mid-April until the beginning of September! Get out, right?!! I might be exaggerating a bit there, but I promise I will explain in detail a bit later. Stay posted! But even once my kitchen was back in working order, the Husband and I went off to Iceland again. Yup, trip number 12, which I will also tell you all about it a short while. But today I’d like to share this recipe for these adorable little devils. Here you have malted chocolate cupcakes which are so moist and rich and are piled high with smooth, silky Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Without a doubt they are sinfully delicious!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Our modern holiday of Halloween, actually has Irish origins. Today’s celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes

And a couple of years ago, I had a howling good time making these little rascals:

Reese Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

And last year’s offering was Spooky Ghost Cupcakes!

So that brings us to Halloween 2021: Malted Chocolate Devil Cupcakes!

Some of you might notice that I used this same recipe from Joanne Chang for that amazing Malted Chocolate Easter Cake that I posted about back in April. I sure did. You might just say I am obsessed with (or maybe possessed by – these are little devils after all…) it. Seriously, this malted chocolate cake is shamefully delicious. And my go to frosting is pretty much always Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I just adapted the recipe to make these little fiends for Halloween!

I will say that although I do love the Wilton Gel food colors, I really wasn’t able to get that deep red colored frosting I was hoping for, so I thought the sanding sugar worked out well here. You can add it or leave it out as you wish. Diabolically pink little devils can be fun as well.

There’s still time to whip up a batch of the naughty little indulgences before the sun goes down on this Halloween. So what are you waiting for? Get baking! Happy Halloween!!!

• Servings: 18 cupcakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) malted milk powder
• 175 grams (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 200 grams ( 1 cup) sugar
• 2 large eggs ( about 100 grams) at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams) at room temperature
• 110 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable oil (such as canola)
• 240 grams (1 cup) whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Malted Milk Frosting (recipe noted below)

Vanilla Syrup (recipe noted below)

Black Fondant for horns and tails

Red sanding sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottoms of two regular cake pans with red foil cupcake liners. Spray the sides lightly with pan spray or very lightly brush with vegetable oil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the sugar, whole eggs and egg yolk on medium hight speed until the mixture falls back onto itself in ribbons when you lift the whisk up. Turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the oil. Turn off the mixer and add about one third of the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and mix just until most of the flour mixture has been incorporated into the eggs, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the whisk. Add about half the milk along with the vanilla and turn the mixer back onto the lowest speed. Gently combine until most of the milk is mixed into the batter. stop the mixer and again scrape the bowl and the whisk. Add half the remaining flour mixture; mix on low until it’s mostly mixed in, then stop and scrape. Add the rest of the milk and mix again on low util it is mostly mixed in. Remove the bowl from the mixer , add the last of the flour mixture, and gently fold by hand with a rubber spatula until all of it is incorporated into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake tins.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans midway through the baking time, until the cupcakes spring back when you poke them in the middle and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when you insert it into the middle of the cake. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the baking pans on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting and vanilla syrup and set them aside.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, remove them from the tins. Using a pastry brush, paint and soak the tops of the cupcakes with the vanilla syrup.

Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and fill it with the frosting. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Once all the cupcakes have been frosted, sprinkle with red sanding sugar if you desire and add the fondant horns and tails.

The frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients:

• 120 grams (1/2 cup) water
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the water and bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool before using.

The syrup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely.

Black Fondant Horns & Tails

Ingredients:

• One 4.4 oz package of black fondant

Directions:

Lay out a piece of parchment paper. Shape the fondant into 2 horns and one tail for each cupcake. 

Malted Milk Frosting

Ingredients:

• 135 grams (2/3 cup) superfine sugar
• 2 large egg whites ( about 1/4 cup or 60 grams) at room temperature
• 455 grams (2 cups or 4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 420 grams(3 1/2 cups) confectioners sugar
• 105 grams (3/4 cup) malted milk powder
• 2 Tablespoons whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt
• Wilton Red gel food color

Directions:

In a medium metal of heatproof glass bowl, whisk together the superfine sugar and egg whites to make a thick slurry. Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water, make sure the pot is small enough the the bowl sits above the water and not directly touching it, or you may end up with scrambled egg whites. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is hot to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes.

Pour the sugar-egg white mixture into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium high for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture cools. Add the butter bit by bit and whip on medium until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Add the confectioners’ sugar, malted milk powder, milk, vanilla, and salt and whip on medium until the frosting is smooth and satiny. Add red food gel color and mix until your desired shade of red is achieved.

The frosting can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using, let it sit out at room temperature for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight. Place the frosting in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until it smooths out again. It will look broken (curdled and very lumpy, possibly even separated with some liquid seeping out) for a while until it warms up, but don’t panic – just keep beating it and be patient.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Malted Chocolate Easter Cake:

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Ateco disposable piping bags

King Arthur Bensdorp Dutch Process Cocoa Powder

Carnation Malted Milk Powder or King Arthur Malted Milk Powder

Vanilla Bean Paste

Wilton Icing Colors – Gel will not thin icing

Pastry Love by Joanne Chang – LOVE this cookbook!

Black Fondant

Red Sanding Sugar

Reese’s Cup Werewolf Cupcakes

 

There is absolutely no way you won’t have a howling good Halloween if you make up a batch of these terrifyingly adorable Werewolf cupcakes! And, not to toot my own horn or anything, but this year, just like last year, I am blogging about a Halloween recipe, prior to the actual date of the holiday. So yeah, I guess I’ll just say “Toot Toot!” Not only do these werewolves look irresistible, but they are also made with multiple Reese Cups – full size and minis, so they also undoubtedly taste irresistible to boot. I love Reese Cups, so I am totally psyched about these naughty little treats. Also I must say, Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact, all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day!

Halloween actually has Irish origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

 

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

A few year’s ago I managed to combined whimsical and boozy altogether in my Halloween treats with these adorable – I mean terribly frightening Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes.

And last year was all about the whimsy with these

Black Velvet Frankenstein Cupcakes.

I guess I’m still in the whimsical mood this year because I absolutely could not resist these Reese’s Cup Werewolves when I saw them over at Hungry Happenings.

She makes the most amazing creations there, so you should definitely take a peek. These little devil dogs were not terribly hard to make, but I will say they were a bit fiddly. You had to have a steady hand and plan ahead by piping out all the fangs ahead of time so that they would harden. But would you just look at the end result!! I don’t think I’m barking up the wrong tree when I say these werewolves are just perfection!

So, I’ve given you enough time to gather all your supplies to make these lovely lycanthropes. What are you waiting for? I just bet that you and your friends will be howling at the moon come Thursday night! Happy Halloween ya’ll!!!

• Servings: 24 Cupcakes
• Print

Werewolf Cupcakes inspired by: Hungry Happenings

Chocolate Frosting Recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addition

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 1/4 cup (290 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (420 grams) confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 cup (65 grams) dutch process cocoa powder
• 3 – 5 Tablespoons (45 – 75 ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Werewolves:

• Full Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• White Cookie Icing or White Candy Melts
• Wilton Candy Eyes
• Chocolate Candy Melt Wafers (for ears)
• Whoppers (malted milk balls)
• Candy Bones (or make them using white candy melts)
• Chocolate sprinkles (for eyebrows)
• Valhrona Chocolate Crunchy Pearls (for nose, you could also use a mini M&M)

Directions:

For the Reese Cup Werewolves:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the full size Reese Cups flat. Put a dollop of cookie icing on the top of a corresponding number of mini Reese cups. Attach the mini Reese cup “snout” to the full size Reese Cup. Place in fridge to harden.

Using White Cookie Icing or white chocolate melts, pipe “teeth” onto a sheet of parchment paper.  If you are making the bones from chocolate melts, pipe these out as well. Place this in the fridge to harden.

Cut unmelted chocolate melts into triangle shaped “ears”. Set aside.

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. With your mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix for 2 minutes. The batter will be quite soupy – this is ok!

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling just slightly more than halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

While you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make your frosting.

For the frosting:

Place butter in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat it on medium speed until it is light and fluffy – approximately 2 minutes. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Add this sugar/cocoa mixture to the creamed butter 2 – 3 Tablespoons at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add 3 Tablespoons of the cream, the salt and vanilla. Beat on low speed initially, increasing until you reach high speed. Beat for 1 -2 minutes. Add more sugar or cocoa is frosting is too thin or add cream if it seems too thick.

Werewolf Assembly:

Frost  the cupcakes with enough frosting to hold the Reese Cup “wolves” upright.

Remove the Reese cups from the fridge. Using a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #233 tip, pipe frosting fur all over the prepared Reese cups. If you don’t have this tip, you can paint some frosting over the Reese cup and use a paint brush to give it a rough, fur-like texture.

Carefully put the eyes, nose and teeth in place.

Place the Reese cup on the frosted cupcakes. Push two malted milk balls (paws) in front of the decorated Reese cup and pipe “fur” frosting over them.

Add a bit more fur to the top edge of the Reese Cups so that you can attach the candy melt ears.

Place bone between paws.

Enjoy!

Reese’s Cup Werewolf Cupcakes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Reese’s Werewolf Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

Wilton Mini Candy Eyes 

King Arthur Double Dutch Process Dark Cocoa Powder

Ghirardelli White Candy Melts

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melts

Valhrona Crunchy Pearls

Wilton Graveyard Bones

Wilton #233 Decorating Tip

Wilton Cookie Icing

 

 

 

 

Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes

So what in the world?!! I’m posting again so soon! Usually months go by between my posts. It must be some sort of Halloween miracle! It is just that I couldn’t wait to share these adorable Itsy-Bitsy Tipsy Spider cupcakes with you. I made them for our Halloween festivities last night, but then ran out of time to actually post the blog about them. So even though Halloween is over, I’m sharing this recipe anyway. You’ll be all set for next year.

These cupcakes not only look fantastic, if I must say so myself, but they also taste amazing. The cake portion is a moist Guinness chocolatey, coffee cake. And then it is frosted with a smooth and velvety Baileys Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Oh be still my heart…I am in Cupcake Heaven! No wait….I mean to say the torturous depths of Hell (it is Halloween right?).

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, think about it…You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact all of that fun stuff is encouraged. How could you go wrong on such a day! Halloween actually has Irish origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. I’ve posted some great Halloween recipes in past years ranging from the historically based traditional recipes such as:

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

To the more whimsical offerings such as:

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

As well as some wonderful boozy libations to kick your celebrations into high gear:

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

This year’s Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes combine the whimsical and boozy together in one perfect Halloween treat! The little spider darlings (I mean horrible, terrible scary spiders) are fairly easy to make. I used two malted milk balls for the body and head (turns out Maltesers -the body- are slightly larger than Whoppers – the head), but you could also use a malted milk ball and a chocolate covered peanut. You get the idea. The legs are made with black candy melts. I piped them out onto parchment paper, let them harden and then attached them to the body with more candy melt. Then I used Wilton mini Candy eyes for their googly eyes. You could also probably use mini M&M’s here. And There you have it…. Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes!

Truth be told I am terrified of spiders, so it is a bit weird that I decided to make these cupcakes. And  I’m not one of those girly girls that is scared of all bugs and mice and snakes. Nope, I pretty much like most bugs – mosquitos excepted – but it’s more hate where they are involved rather than fear. Snakes are pretty cool and I love mice. But spiders….no way!  I keep trying to make a treaty with them in which I will leave them alone as long as they are outside, but they are not allowed to come into my house. Rather than squish spiders that do venture inside despite the treaty, I show them mercy by capturing them and escorting them outside- all the while telling them that they must spread the word of our treaty to their friends. Those jerks agree at the time (spiders are full of deceit..), however once they get outside unscathed, I think they tell their little spider friends that I’m a softie and they shouldn’t worry about going into my house. Sigh….spiders are the worst! I’m just saying!

• Servings: 20 - 24 cupcakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Cake portion of the recipe from: Wife in Progress

Frosting recipe from: Handle the Heat

Ingredients:

For the Cakes:

• 3/4 cups Guinness
• 1/4 cup strong black coffee (or King Arthur Espresso Powder works well here)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sour cream

For the Frosting:

• 5 large (150 grams) egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream (or you could substitute Kahlua or your favorite)
• green gel food coloring

For the Spiders: 

• 24 Maltesers or Whoppers (Malted Milk Balls)
• 24 chocolate covered peanuts or raisins (or just use another malted milk ball as I did)
• 6 ounces Black or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts, melted
• 48 (or more if you prefer – spiders sometimes have lots of eyes!) Candy eyes (small size)

Directions:

For the Cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)

Line 2 cupcake tins with liners.

In a large saucepan heat Guinness, coffee and butter together until it comes to a gentle simmer.

Add cocoa powder while whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Mix until smooth. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Place flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl. Set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs vanilla and sour cream.

Once the Guinness/cocoa mixture has cooled, add it to the egg/sour cream mixture. Mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, mixing on low speed until just combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup scoop, fill the lined cupcake tins.

Bake for 25 minutes

Cool completely on wire rack.

For the Frosting:

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice or vinegar to remove any trace of grease. Make a double boiler by placing the mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl, whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140°F, or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add the butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Continue beating until it has reached a silky smooth texture. If the buttercream curdles simply keep mixing and it will come back to smooth. If the buttercream is too thin and runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes before continuing mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add the vanilla and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Add Baileys slowly, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and mix until well combined.

Add green food coloring gel to frosting until it reaches desired hue.

If you would like to make this frosting ahead of time, keep in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature and rewhip in the mixer with the paddle attachment before using.

When you are ready to frost the cupcakes, place frosting in pastry bag fitted with whatever tip you desire and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.

Melt 6 ounces of Candy Melts in the microwave. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Pipe “L” shapes onto the parchment to form spider’s legs. Let harden.

Place a Malteser “spider body” on the center of the frosting. Place the chocolate peanut “head” in front of it. Pipe dots of melted chocolate on the side of the spider’s body to hold the legs in place. Gently place 3 – 4 legs on each side of the spider. Use a dot of the melted chocolate to stick the eyes onto the head.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Itsy Bitsy Tipsy Spider Cupcakes:

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop

King Arthur Espresso Powder

Maltesers

Wilton Mini Candy Eyes

Merkens Dark Cocoa Confectionary Melts

Roasty Toasty Cocktail

It’s almost Halloween, which is my favorite holiday! And I have a great recipe to share with you – The Roasty Toasty Cocktail! Full of vodka and toasted marshmallow syrup, one small taste will conjure up autumn thoughts of Halloween bonfires and s’mores. It is just the perfect libation to sip while handing out candy to those adorable little trick or treaters. I must admit, it is a bit on the sweet side, so you’ll feel like you’re indulging in a bit of candy yourself. Why should the kids have all the fun anyway? But let me tell you… this candy cocktail is definitely for adults and has a much better kick to it than your average old Snickers bar! Guaranteed to keep you warm on the most chilly Fall evenings.

I found this delicious cocktail recipe through a fun company called Cocktail Courier. A good friend got the Husband and I a subscription to it a bit back and we have loved it! The way it works is you select your favorite spirits, you know like Vodka and Gin and then the Cocktail Courier folks send you a box with everything in it that you need to create a fabulous cocktail at home.

That’s right – you get the recipe, the booze, mixers and garnish all delivered right to your door (3,6 or 12 month subscriptions are available). Each kit makes 4 -12 amazing cocktails. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving! And Christmas isn’t very far away – so it might be a good gift idea for any boozy buddies you have. Or maybe you could just treat yourself! It’s never been easier to be a hip and happening bartender.

Roasty Toasty

• Servings: 1 cocktail
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe by: Cocktail Courier/ Laila Grainawi

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Vodka
• .75 ounces Marshmallow Syrup
• .50 ounces Manzanilla Sherry
• 3 Drops Cherry Bark Bitters
• Garnish: 3 roasted and toasted mini marshmallows

Directions:

Chill Rocks glass by placing in fridge/freezer or by filling with ice water and setting aside for 5 minutes.

Measure and add all ingredients (except for garnish) to Mixing Beaker

Fill Mixing Beaker with ice, stir contents by placing shaft of Bar spoon or teaspoon between your index and middle finger. Insert spoon into the beaker until spoon touches the bottom.

Stir for 15 seconds.

Remove Rocks Glass from fridge/freezer or if using ice water, empty the glass.

Strain the contents of the mixing beaker using Julep Strainer, into your Rocks Glass. Top with ice.

Create your garnish by sliding three mini marshmallows onto each skewer. Carefully toast your marshmallows using a lighter or kitchen torch. Place atop each drink.

Enjoy!

Roasty Toasty Cocktail brought to you by Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Roasty Toasty:

Torani Toasted Marshmallow Syrup

Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters

Oxo Streel Double Jigger

Libbey Glass Studded Mixing Glass with Julep Strainer & pourer

Hiware 12 Inches Stainless Steel Mixing Spoon

 

Fireball Cider Cocktail

Happy Halloween ya’ll! I’m sitting here with cocktail in hand and candy at the ready! I thought you might also like to enjoy a lovely cocktail that is just bursting with Fall/Halloween flavors – The Fireball Cider Cocktail.

It is made with Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and hard apple cider with a few slices of apples thrown in cuz you want to make sure you’re eating healthy and all… It is delicious and packs quite a punch! You can serve it over ice or if it is going to be a really chilly Halloween where you are, this cocktail also tastes great when served warm. You know…think mulled wine…’cept better, with a fiery cinnamon punch to delight the taste buds. Have one or two (or so…) of these tipples to keep you warm on your wanders. Happy Hauntings!

• Servings: one cocktail
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: What’s Cooking America

Ingredients:

• Ice Cubes (approximately 4 or 5 ice cubes)
• 2 ounces Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
• 3 ounces hard apple cider
• Apple slices

Directions:

Fill a glass (highball glass or white wine glass) 1/4 full with ice cubes.  You want to chill the drink and not water it down.  Pour in the Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and then top with the apple cider. (If you chose to enjoy this drink warm, heat the cider and just before you are ready to serve, stir in the Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. If you heat the whiskey too long you risk evaporating all of that lovely alcohol…)

Gently stir until mixed.  Garnish with apple slices.

Enjoy & Happy Halloween!

Fireball Cider Cocktails brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels

 

Oh ho ho! It’s getting close to my favorite holiday! No not Thanksgiving – not that I’m not thankful or anything…I am. But….I’m talking about Halloween! Whats not to like? You get to dress weird, drink booze and eat candy for dinner. In fact all of that fun stuff is encouraged. That is my kind of holiday! These White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels will be a welcome addition to all of your Halloween festivities. Quite tasty and maybe a bit more on the cute than scary side of things, they will prove to be very popular with all of the ghosts and ghouls your encounter on All Hallow’s Eve.

Dogs can have white chocolate right?

Halloween actually has Celtic origins. Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. Oh and I shouldn’t forget mummies. Yup they’ll be about too.

These treats are very easy to make. Just melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Use a spoon to pour chocolate over 3/4 of the pretzel rod. Tap the rod lightly against the side of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate and then just add the eyes and bandages. I actually made it a bit harder on myself because I was convinced that I didn’t want to eat those candy eyeballs which come oh so conveniently in a pack from the store. No, I decided it would be a good idea to use and upside down white chocolate chip for the white of the mummy’s eyes and then add a mini M&M for the iris bit. Well, that required me to whittle the pointy bit off of 40 chocolate chips so that they would sit flat on the mummy’s face, then stick the M&M to the chip with a bit more melted chocolate and finally to draw the pupils onto the M&M with an edible marker. Yeah….store bought candy eyeballs would have probably worked just fine! Oh well, live and learn. And you can benefit with the knowledge of my travails. Though the M&M eyes are pretty cute, you gotta admit…

• Servings: 18 - 20 Mummy Pretzels
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe from: Lets Dish Recipes

Ingredients:

• 18-20 pretzel rods
• 12 ounces white melting chocolate (such as Ghirardelli)
• 40 white chocolate chips*
• 40 mini M&Ms*

Directions:

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip pretzel rods into white chocolate, or use a spoon to coat, covering about 2/3 of the pretzel. Gently tap pretzel rod on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate.

Place two candy eyeballs on each pretzel rod (if they slip off, let the chocolate set for about a minute first). Place on waxed paper to set. Repeat with remaining pretzels. Or if you want to spend a bit more time fussing over them, place white chocolate chips upside down on the mummies for the whites of their eyes. You will likely need to whittle the pointy bit off of the top of the chip so that it sits flat.

Carefully spoon remaining chocolate into a pastry bag, zip-top bag or squeeze bottle. If using a bag, snip of a small corner. Drizzle white chocolate over the pretzels to form bandages, being careful not to cover the eyes, to resemble a mummy. If using mini M&M’s for eyes, squeeze one drop of chocolate on each M&M and stick it onto the white chocolate chips you placed earlier. Use an edible marker to add the pupil of each eye in the center of the M&Ms. Let white chocolate set completely before serving.

Enjoy!

*You can just use store bought candy eyeballs if you prefer.

White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links to Useful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for White Chocolate Mummy Pretzels:

Wilton Candy Eyeballs

Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers

Still looking for additional spooky Halloween treats for your festivities? Take a look at some of my past Halloween offerings.

Yeasted Irish Barmbrack Bread (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Irish Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Glaze (traditional Halloween/Samhain)

Soul Cakes (Traditional Halloween/ Samhain)

Halloween Cookies & Cream Owl Cupcakes

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

Colcannon (Cál Ceannann)

Ahhhh….Colcannon! Irish Comfort food at its finest! I can’t believe in all my years of St. Patrick’s Day blogging I haven’t shared this recipe. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this dish, it is buttery mashed potatoes whipped up with cabbage, leeks and bacon. OMG right?!!! With that list of outstanding ingredients, you just know it is going to be to die for.

Colcannon or Cál Ceannann in Irish simply means white-headed cabbage. There are many regional variations on this dish, sometimes ham is used rather than bacon, sometimes you’ll find spring onions included rather than leeks. Indeed, I was rather horrified to discover that some peculiar folks will use kale rather than cabbage. This is disturbing to me for a couple of reasons. First off, the dish’s actual name is the word for cabbage, so….

And then of course, I hate kale. Yup…hate it. I know it is good for me. However, I find it bitter and evil. In fact the mere thought of kale inspires this same look I have when I find caraway seeds in my soda bread.

I’m flexible on swapping around some of the other ingredients in my Colcannon, though I do believe that leeks, cabbage and bacon are supreme. But, please… don’t get that nasty old kale anywhere near my Colcannon! Anyhoo…In Ireland, Colcannon is traditionally served on Halloween. It is a bit like Barmbrack that I just recently told you about, in that it was used in Halloween divination rituals. Several charms or trinkets, such as a ring, thimble or coins would be stirred into the Colcannon before it was served. The item you ended up with on your plate would tell your fortune. (i.e.. if you got a ring, you would be married before the year was through.) In the 1800’s, Irish immigrants brought this recipe with them to the United States and Colcannon came to be associated more with St. Patrick’s Day, rather than Halloween. I can definitely say, for me, Colcannon is great any time of the year. Sheer Comfort Food perfection!

• Servings: 6 -8
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup milk (or cream if you are feeling particularly decadent)
• 4 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 large leeks, white and light green portions,
  halved lengthwise, rinsed well and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small head cabbage, about 1 lb., cored
  and coarsely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and milk and heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot, 8 to 10 minutes.

Set a potato ricer over the bowl of a stand mixer and press the potatoes through in batches. Mix in the milk mixture in two additions. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water to keep warm.

Heat a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

Pour off all but 3 Tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium heat, add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and toss until tender-crisp, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly ground nutmeg and the bacon, and season with salt and pepper. Stir the potatoes into the cabbage mixture and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Colcannon brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Links to Useful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Colcannon:

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

Potato Ricer

 

Two loaves of Barmbrack (Báirín Breac) Bread – A Yeasted Barmbrack & A Tea Loaf with Whiskey Honey Butter Glaze

 

Here we are, March 9th and I’ve already shared 4 Irish-y recipes here in this lead up to St. Patrick’s Day. Today I’ve got a twofer for you. I’m actually going to remind you of two recipes I posted back in October for Barmbrack. Barmbrack is a traditional Halloween treat in Ireland, so I told you all about it back then. But it would certainly be very welcome on any St. Patrick’s Day table as well. Not to mention, I needed a bit of a breather before my blog-a-thon starts to pick up speed. Yup….starting tomorrow I am going to share one new recipe a day all the way to March 17th! A veritable blitz of dishes I tell you. But for now, back to that Barmbrack I just mentioned.

Barmbrack is also known as Báirín Breac in Irish. Breac means “speckled” which this bread definitely is, being shot through with a variety of fruit. Báirín can either be the word for “loaf” which would make sense since that would make its name be “speckled loaf” in English. However, I’ve also come across the theory that Barm is derived from the word “beorma”, which refers to a fermented liquor which would have been used back in the day to rise the cake. Barmbrack loaves were traditionally baked up on Halloween as part of an ancient fortune-telling ritual. Yup. Several different trinkets or charms (perhaps the origin of that “lucky charm” bit…) were wrapped in parchment paper and baked  into the bread. When the bread was sliced and handed out, your future was foretold by whatever bit you found in your portion. A wedding ring meant you’d be married within the year, a pea meant that you would not, a coin signified wealth, whereas a piece of rag meant a lean year, a thimble predicted a spinster and button meant bachelorhood was in your future. Back in October, when I first set out to make Barmbrack, I quickly discovered that there were two different types of the bread to be found, a yeasted version and a non-yeasted version which was more like a tea bread. I couldn’t decide which one to make, so I did a loaf of each. I found the yeasted version to be light, airy, slightly sweet and spicy (in a nutmeg/cinnamon/clove kind of way – not my usual set your tongue alight kind of way.) It was chock full of whiskey & tea soaked raisins, sultanas and cranberries. Lovely still warm from the oven, it was even better I think when toasted and slathered in butter!

The second Brack I made was a Tea Barmbrack, which is a rich, dense loaf similar to a fruitcake. But not one of those yucky things some great Aunt sends you at Christmas. No sir-ee, this crave worthy loaf will completely erase all of your pre-conceived fruitcake notions with just one delectable bite. This Tea Barmbrack is full of boozy soaked raisins, sultanas, currants and dates. And it has that Whiskey Honey Butter Glaze. Pure ambrosia I tell you! One taste and you will be hooked!

So which one should you choose? That’s a hard one. I thought they both were pretty scrumptious. The yeasted one takes a little longer to make when you factor in all of the rise times, but if you love yeast bread, that might be your winner. The Tea Barmbrack is a one bowl wonder and doesn’t require any rise times. Hmmm…decisions, decisions. Rest assured there is no wrong choice. They are both winners and will be a great complement to your St. Patrick’s Day table.

Get the Recipe for Barmbrack Bread (Yeasted Version)

Get the Recipe for Tea Barmbrack with a Whiskey Honey Butter Glaze

Enjoy!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a brand spanking new recipe for Guinness Pistachio Sweet Rolls with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting. Bet that’s got you drooling!

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes

Are you my Mummy? Ha! I couldn’t resist! Happy Halloween ya’ll! I thought I’d celebrate with some adorable Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes. These little devils are actually pint-sized rich and chewy brownies chock full of mini chocolate chips and all wrapped up in Vanilla Buttercream “bandages”. Spooky in an adorable sort of way and definitely delicious!

I really love Halloween! I think it might actually be my favourite holiday. I know last year I was lamenting that the husband and I have not attended a proper Halloween party since 2010 and I am sad to say that we have no Halloween plans yet again this year, Booo! (Ha! get it….”boo”) aside from these delightful little Mummy Cupcakes, that is. I have actually made quite a few fantastic Halloween treats in years past. Probably my all time favourite was the Soul Cake.

It might just be the historian in me that makes me love it so much, because truth be told, unlike most sugar laden, tooth-achingly sweet candies found in abundance on Halloween, these little cake like cookies are only mildly sweet. There is not a speck of chocolate to be found in them, only a few currants top the cakes arranged in a cross pattern. What can I say, sometimes less is more. Here is a little bit from my Soul Cake blog post which talks about the origins of Halloween and the Soul Cake connection.

Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun-god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our Halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. As Christian beliefs took hold, Samhain celebrations became re-branded as All Soul’s Eve. By the eighth century beggars, rather than the spirits from the other world, would travel door to door on this night. In exchange for their prayers for the family’s departed, they were given a small cake, known as a Soul Cake.

Last year I did some very tasty Cookies & Cream Salted Caramel Popcorn Bars.

But enough reminiscing. Lets talk about these awesome tiny terrors from this year, the Mini Mummy Brownie Bites.

They are actually very easy to make from scratch. In fact I would recommend making up the brownie bites the day before you need them and then making the frosting and decorating them the next day. I chose to go with the smaller brownie bites baked in a mini cupcake tin. I find mini bite sized things go over much better at a party. And they are super cute….And that you can eat more than one and not feel any guilt about it… after all, they’re just a wee little tiny bit of a thing. But you could also go for full size manly mummy cupcakes baked in a regular cupcake tin. Whatever you prefer. This is a very versatile recipe. Indeed, if you are really pressed for time, you could even throw the recipe to the wind and whip up a box of brownie mix and use some store-bought frosting for decorating. Likely no one but you and I will know and I’m not talking!

Happy Hauntings!

• Servings: 48 - 52 Mini Mummies or 18 Big Kahuna Mummies
• Difficulty: easy to ridiculously easy
• Print

Recipe from: A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes by Dede Wilson

Ingredients:

For the Brownie Cupcakes:

• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into squares
• 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips ( if you are making the big mummy cupcakes you could use regular sized chips)

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar; plus an additional 1/2 cup if necessary
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Decorate:

• 96 mini chocolate chips to form the pupils of the eyes (36 regular chips if you are making big mummies)
• food coloring to tint the buttercream for the eyes
• round piping tip
• Ateco or Wilton tip #47 (basketweave tip – use the smooth side rather than the ridged side, for bandages or wraps)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place paper liners in all wells of cupcake tins

Melt chocolate and butter together in top of large double boiler or in large bowl in microwave; stir until smooth and combined, then cool to lukewarm.

Whisk in brown sugar until well blended. then whisk in eggs one at a time, allowing each one to become incorporated before adding the next one. Whisk in vanilla extract and salt. Add flour and mini chocolate chips, if using, at the same time and fold in until no streaks of flour remain.

Divide batter evenly among cupcake wells. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows moist crumbs. The tops will be dry and crackled in appearance.

Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the frosting. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar gradually. I usually do about 1 -2 tablespoons at a time, waiting for each addition to be incorporated before adding the next tablespoons. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add 1 more cup of sugar slowly and then half of the milk. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add 1 more cup of sugar, again slowly, then add the remaining milk. Beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the final cup of sugar and the vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until very light and creamy. Evaluate the texture of the icing. If too soft, add remaining sugar until desired texture is reached.

To Assemble the Mummies:

Place cupcakes on clean work surface. Place frosting in a pastry bag fitted with tip #47. Pipe frosting onto cupcake to form mummy’s bandages or wraps. (Make sure you reserve a bit of frosting to tint for the eyes).

Tint remaining frosting whatever color you prefer for the mummy’s spooky glowing eyes: red, yellow, green or blue all work well. Fit another pastry bag with a round tip and pipe eyes onto each mummy cupcake. Insert chocolate morsels, tip side down, in the center of the eyes.

Enjoy!

Mini Mummy Brownie Bite Cupcakes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

 

 

Happy Halloween!!!

 

Arwen Witch

 

Arrrgh...me matey!

I LOVE Halloween! Unfortunately this year, Jay and I did not have an actual costume party to attend. We’ve had a lot of fun with our outfits in the past years, and had even started to get something together for this one, but I supose it will have to wait until next year.

 

Amish Halloween 2006

Space Odyssey 2008

Steam Punked 2009

At the last minute, we decided to have a few folks over on the Saturday before All Hallow’s Eve for some adult beverages, a bonfire and weenie roast.

Princess Giuliane was in attendance

All Hallow's Snacks

Spooky Halloween fog!

Our modern Halloween celebrations are derived from the Celtic holiday of Samhain. Samhain was Celtic New Year. It was a harvest festival which marked the dying of the sun god and a turning to the colder, dormant half of the year. On this night, the celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its lowest point. The dead could more easily travel back over to our side, and if we weren’t careful, we could accidentally wander over in to their world and be trapped-a good reason to stay close to home and bonfires, no doubt! This belief likely gave rise to our halloween legends of ghosts, ghouls and witches wandering about on this night in particular. As Christian beliefs took hold, Samhain celebrations became re-branded as All Soul’s Eve. By the eighth century beggars, rather than the spirits from the other world, would travel door to door on this night. In exchange for their prayers for the family’s departed, they were given a small cake, known as a Soul Cake. Paying homage to the history of my favourite holiday, I made some soul cakes for our gathering.

Soul Cakes

They are a mildly sweet, spicy cross between a cookie and a cake that is topped with currants. Perhaps more of a historical novelty than a culinary delight, but fun to have nevertheless. Thanks to all who stopped by and Happy Halloween!

The Dread Pirate Arwen