October 26, 2016

Graveyard Cups (Gluten Free)

October 26, 2016/ Jeannie Carriere

We host an annual Halloween Party for my daughter's friends and so that every child can have the same dessert, I needed one that was nut, egg and gluten free. Graveyard Cups to the rescue!

With everything else I need to do for party prep I opt for pre-made components so I can simply assemble and still have a tasty and impactful halloween treat.

Ingredients

Chocolate Sandwich Cream Cookies
Oreos (Egg and nut free) OR Gluten Free KinniTOOs for a GF option

Chocolate Pudding
I used Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding which is delicious and gluten, nut and egg free. Plus it is widely available. If you have a favorite recipe, feel free to make you own!

Embellishments
One year I used these chocolate tombstones from Elle's Sweets on Etsy. They are gluten free and Elle's sweets never uses peanuts in her molds but per the chocolate manufacture the chocolate may contain peanuts due to shared equipment.*
This year I will these skeleton bones from C&KSweetShoppe on Etsy. All of their products are gluten free and they have a separate dedicated room to work in for nut free requests, which they get often.*
For a really young crowd, gummy works would be fun.

Cup to serve in
I like clear 9oz cups so you can see the pudding and dirt (cookie) through the cup. But small black or orange cups would be cute too.

Directions

Put cookies into a zip-lock bag and crush with the back of a large spoon or a rolling pin. I usually start with a rolling pin and then fine tune with the back of a large spoon.

Now it is as easy as assembling them. To make it easier, put out your cups, put the crushed cookies in a bowl with a spoon, have your embellishments at the ready and open up the pudding(s).

Fill each cup with pudding to about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Sprinkle on some crushed cookie to give your dirt texture and dimension. Then add your embellishments.

Serve!

One note, if the crumbled cookie sits on the pudding for long it will start to soften. If you want to get a head start and have the fridge room, you could prefill the cups with pudding but leave the rest to just before serving.

* Please always confirm directly with the producer or on packaging whether or not any items are truly gluten, nut or egg free if those are requirements. Things can change so please do not reply only on my comments.

October 26, 2016

Day of the Dead Marshmallows

October 26, 2016/ Jeannie Carriere

These are so fun and so easy! All you need are some lollipop sticks, marshmallows, edible markers and imagination.

Simply push a marshmallow onto a stick and decorate away! Day of the Dead images offer of lots of inspiration, but anything goes - bats, spiders, jack-o-lantern - anything!

I suggest drawing a couple examples as inspiration.

Here are a couple sources on Amazon:

October 01, 2015

Colored Sugar

October 01, 2015/ Jeannie Carriere

Rim your glasses with these halloween inspired sugars from Dell Cove Spice Company on Etsy.

Go for all black or a set of halloween colored sugars.

August 13, 2015

Edible Broomsticks

August 13, 2015/ Jeannie Carriere

What you'll need

6 String cheese sticks
Thin pretzel sticks

Directions

Unwrap and cut each cheese stick into thirds.
Using a small, sharp knife, fray one end of a of cheese by making small cuts on just one end and feathering them out a little. Be careful not to cut too high or the cheese won't hold together when the pretzel is added.
Insert the pretzel into the non-frayed end of the cheese very carefully so as to not break the cheese.
Repeat until you have used all of the cheese pieces.
Don't be dismayed if a few do not work and the cheese breaks apart, it is inevitable.
If you'd like to get extra fancy and have the time, tie a piece of chive to the top of the cheese, just below where it connects with the pretzel, it will make them look more like a broom and likely give them a bit more structural integrity.