Eerie Eyeballs Yields approximately 9 dozen bite-sized eyeballs 3 oz (small box) lemon gelatin (can be sugar-free) 1 cup hot water 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows 1 cup pineapple juice 8 oz cream cheese (can be lowfat/Neufchatel) Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup water in double boiler, add marshmallows and stir to melt. Remove from heat. Add pineapple juice and cream cheese. Beat until well blended. Cool slightly. If you have a truffle candy mold or round ice cube trays, spary them with non-stick cooking spray first, then pour the mixture in the molds and leave to set in the fridge. Otherwise pour into a deep ceramic dish and chill until thickened or firm enough for scooping into eyeballs. Using a melonballer, scoop full balls of the mixture and set aside for decoration. To decorate, use liquid food coloring and an old detail paintbrush and get creative. You will need black food coloring for the pupils. Also, if you are in a hurry, instead of painting the colored irises, you can carefully dip the ball in a small pool of food coloring to approximate the iris, but still paint on the pupils. Note: if you are using the melonballer method, you might need to add one package of plain gelatin to your mixture. The molds work fine with just the lemon gelatin to make gently squishy eyeballs. For 1999, I found rubber ice cube trays that worked beautifully with much less waste than the melonballer technique. I sprayed the rubber trays with non-stick cooking spray beforehand like you would any gelatin mold, let the gelatin mixture sit in the refrigerator to set, then I was able to carefully pop the eyeballs out to paint them. Some of the eyeballs did break, and they do have one flat side, but that actually works, since then they don't roll around while you are trying to paint them. Since 2001 I have found that Wilton truffle candy molds are even better, since the swirl design on the top is the right size for the cornea shape on the eyeball. When using the truffle molds, one recipe makes about 9 dozen eyeballs - plenty for a party crowd! -------------------------------------------------------------------------     -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Creepy Witches' Fingers Yield: 5 dozen 1 cup Butter, softened 1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar) 1 Egg 1 tsp Almond extract 1 tsp Vanilla 2 2/3 cups Flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Salt 3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched 1 Tube red decorator gel (optional, not pictured) Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies. In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda*, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. (Accompanying picture showed long rolled shape with bulge at centre for knuckle; you puff it out rather than squeeze it in.) Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle. Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood." (ed. note - I opted not to go for the bloody effect as you can see in my picture above, and my guests were still grossed out! - Britta) Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough. (Collected by Bert Christensen, Toronto, Ontario) *The recipe is reproduced above exactly as I found it, but please note the stars I added. I used baking powder for several years just fine, assuming the baking soda listed in the instructions was an error. However, when I moved to a new place with a different oven, my witches' fingers kept puffing during baking and not keeping any detail, which was disappointing! I finally realized that the dough was very similar to a Christmas cookie recipe I had, so I just used neither baking powder nor baking soda and had a more shortbread-like recipe that keeps the detail perfectly, since it has no leavening ingredient. I recommend that method as most reliable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Brittle Meringue Bones 3 large egg whites 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar 1/8 tsp. salt 2/3 cup white sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla Preheat oven to 200F. Line cookie sheet with brown paper bag or parchment. In a medium sized bowl at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt till fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla. Place in pastry bag fitted with a medium plain piping tip. Pipe 3" bone shapes onto parchment or brown paper bag. Bake 1 hour until set. Turn off oven, dry in oven 1 hour. Be sure to store in airtight containers or they will become soggy. Makes 4 to 5 dozen small finger-sized bones. -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Bizarre Brain Pate 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup 8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened 1 (.25-ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water 1 bunch green onions, chopped 3 pounds cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped (or 1 pound crab meat) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon lemon juice Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste Heat soup, undiluted, and mix in the cream cheese. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into a lightly-oiled mold. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers. I originally found this recipe for MardiGras 2000, which was quite yummy. When I got a brain mold for my birthday - can you tell my friends know I love Halloween? - I started thinking of what I could use for making a brain. Since the brain mold is only about 3 cups, I halved this recipe except for the amount of gelatin, left out the green onions, and finely chopped the shrimp in a food processor into more of a paste for the sake of making it look more smooth-textured like a real brain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Freshly Flayed Flesh on Ectoplasm Crusts Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized appetizers. 1 package oil-packed sliced smoked salmon 1 package cream cheese (can be Neufchatel) 1 package crackers, melba toasts, bagel chips, or be creative! Cut the smoked salmon into small thin strips. Spread a dollop of cream cheese on each cracker, then place a strip of smoked salmon curled on top of the cream cheese. This is another standard tasty appetizer just renamed to be gory for the season! -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Sinister Skulls plastic wrap 1 small party favor plastic skull candy container 1 package cream cheese 1 jar chili sauce or salsa crackers for spreading Set the cream cheese out to thaw to room temperature. Line the inside of the plastic skull dish with plastic wrap leaving enough edges to wrap around later. Spoon the softened cream cheese into the plastic-lined skull dish, mashing in as much cream cheese as possible to pick up the most detail in the mold. Scrape any extra cream cheese off the top so it is flat. Close the plastic wrap over the flat cream cheese top and place in the freezer to set. Once set, remove the plastic wrap from the skull dish, and carefully wrap in foil to cushion the face shape. Line the skull dish with fresh plastic wrap to make more cream cheese skulls. Store in the freezer until night before the party, then thaw in the refrigerator. To serve, place the skull in a shallow dish, garnish with your preferred bloody salsa or chili mixture, including inside the eye sockets, and stab with your favorite spreader. You can extend the time before needing to refill by placing the skull on half a block of cream cheese, but cover the plain cream cheese with enough sauce so you can only see the skull above the "blood." -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Fried Spiders Inspired by the traditional Cambodian delicacy, in 2003 I tried making my own Fried Spiders out of pre-made ingredients. They are quite fragile, but tasty! For each fried spider: 1 frozen ready-to-bake breaded cream-cheese-filled jalapeno popper 4 frozen ready-to-bake breaded onion rings egg wash wooden toothpicks soaked in water Thaw the jalapeno poppers and onion rings enough to be able to use toothpicks and knives on them. Cut the onion rings in half to make the curved legs. Attach the 8 legs to the jalapeno pepper body with egg wash and hold in place with the wet toothpicks. Bake in the oven according to the jalapeno popper package instructions, taking care not to burn the legs. Carefully arrange on a serving platter, since the legs might fall off, just like real fried spiders! -------------------------------------------------------------------------   Spooky Sugar Cookies 2 cups margarine or butter 2 1/4 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 6 cups flour 3/4 tsp salt 4 Tbsp milk (can use water) Divide dough in half (or sixths). Only add milk or water if the dough is too dry. Chill 1 hour. Roll out half of dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375F/190C for 12 minutes. These can be frosted. Makes about 5-6 dozen standard-sized cookie cutter shapes.     Home History Safety Tips Stories Movies Music Recipes Costumes Bindaas Poll Mera Gang GlamnGlory