1. Halloween Candy Bark
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 12
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 pound bittersweet chocolate chips
3 mini ("fun-size") Butterfinger candy bars, cut into small pieces
4 mini Twix bars, cut into small pieces
8 Reese's peanut butter cups, each cut into small pieces
3 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Green & Black's), chopped
Handful of Reese's Pieces
Handful of yellow and orange peanut M&M's, coarsely chopped
sea salt for sprinkling on top
Note: You can use a pound of bittersweet chocolate chopped into small pieces if you can't find chocolate chips.
PREPARATION
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Stir chocolate chips in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Pour chocolate onto foil; spread to 1/4-inch thickness (about 12x10-inch rectangle). Sprinkle with chopped up Butterfinger candy and Twix. Put white chocolate in heavy small saucepan. Stir CONSTANTLY as it heats over very low heat until chocolate is melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Remove from heat. Dip spoon into white chocolate; wave from side to side over bark, creating zigzag lines. Scatter Reese's Pieces and M&M's over, making sure candy touches melted chocolate. Top with sea salt. Chill bark until firm, 30 minutes. Slide foil with candy onto work surface; peel off foil. Cut bark into irregular pieces.
2.
Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart and Glorious Treats
Makes 16
ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 sticks butter
2 10-oz bags mini marshmallows
3/4 tsp. salt (table salt is fine here, kosher will work too)
2-3 lemons
yellow food coloring
1 12-oz. box Rice Krispie cereal
2 oranges
red food coloring
Here's the breakdown of that ingredient list by layer:
Yellow Ring
3 Tbsps. butter
5 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
2 drops yellow food coloring
4 1/2 cups Rice Krispie cereal l
Orange Ring
2 Tbsps. butter
3 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 tsp. salt
T Tbsp. orange zest (from 2 oranges)
2 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
3/4 cups Rice Krispie cereal
White Center
2 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 cups mini marshamallows
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups Rice Krispie cereal
PREPARATION
Grease two 8" cake pans and two spatulas with butter or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large saucepan, start to make the yellow layer: Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 5 cups miniature marshmallows and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt; stir until melted. Stir in lemon zest and yellow food coloring. Place 4 1/2 cups Rice Krispie cereal in a large bowl, then add marshmallow mixture and stir quickly with greased spatula until fully incorporated.
Divide yellow Rice Krispie mixure between the two cake pans, and use your hands to create a "ring" around the inside edge of the cake pan, about 1 1/2" wide. Rub a bit of butter on your hands as necessary to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands. Work quickly, as the mixture becomes difficult to manipulate when it cools.
Wash sauce pan and spatulas, then repeat the same process with ingredients for the orange ring, then the white center.
Let set 2 hours (or overnight). Run a small knife around edges of pan and invert loaf onto a cutting board. Cut the round in half then in quarters, then cut each quarter in half.
3.
Ghostie Peep S'mores
Recipe adaped from Bon Appétit
Serves 12
ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust
9 graham crackers
2 Tbsps. heavy cream
2 Tbsps. Nutella
1 ounce semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Coffee Ganache
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), finely chopped
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely ground coffee beans
12 Peeps ghosts
Special equipment: Casserole dish that's about 8" x 8". If it's not that exact size, it's no big deal. Optional: a kitchen torch (this is only necessary if you are a perfectionist, BuzzFeed Food didn't use one for these pictures, but also no judgment).
PREPARATION
Crust
Crush graham crackers into very fine crumbs. You can either do this in a food processor, or if you don't want to deal with that, put them in a sealed plastic zippy bag and whack at them with the back of a wooden spoon for a while until they are in tiny pieces.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with cream, Nutella, melted chocolate and melted butter in a small bowl to blend. Press mixture onto bottom of casserole dish. Chill until crust is firm, about 30 minutes.
Coffee Ganache
Place chocolate and butter in a large bowl. Bring cream, coffee, and 2 Tbsp. water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; cover and let steep ("steep" means "just let it sit there so the flavor infuses") for 5 minutes.
Strain cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve/strainer into a bowl with chocolate and butter; discard coffee grounds. Stir until melted and ganache is smooth. At first it's going to look like there's not enough chocolate but keep stirring, it'll thicken up. For some people this is a very satisfying process. Pour ganache into chilled crust; smooth top with a spatula. Chill until set, about 1 hour.
Peeps Topping
Put the Peeps on top of the chilled ganache. You could serve it as is, or to toast, stick it under the broiler for about 30 seconds, but watch it the entire time. (Seriously, this takes no more than 30 seconds, they go FAST.) Warning: This is going to ruin their little faces. If you care about their little faces (BuzzFeed Food did not care when we took our pictures), you can reform them as as this food blogger did, using mini chocolate chips. And if you really want them to look perfect, use a kitchen torch.
Cut squares out of the casserole and serve with a knife and fork.
Pumpkin-Feta Truffles
Before we get into this, know one thing: You have to use good-quality white chocolate to get this to work. BuzzFeed Food tried this twice with Lindt white chocolate and other not-so-fancy varieties. The inexpensive white chocolate, when melted, was more of a clumpy mess than the kind of liquid loving that you want to coat a truffle with. Green & Black's worked very well.
Makes 16 truffles
ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 9 crackers)
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled into very small pieces
2 Tbsps. candied ginger chopped into the smallest pieces you can do
14 oz. high-quality white chocolate
PREPARATION
Crush graham crackers into very fine crumbs. You can either do this in a food processor, or if you don't want to deal with that, put them in a sealed plastic zippy bag and whack at them with the back of a wooden spoon for a while until they are in tiny pieces.
Combine pumpkin, sugar and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Mix until they are very well combined. Add graham cracker crumbs and stir until it's all incorporated. This takes a little time and strength. Tip: Choke up on a fork (ie, hold it near the tines) and use the tines to sort of paw at the mixture all over the bowl until it's all mixed together. Stir in the feta and small pieces of candied ginger.
Put mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes (or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes). Form into 16 balls, each about 1 inch in diameter. Put balls in freezer for 10 minutes (or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes).
As your truffle balls are chilling, put parchment paper on a baking rack or cutting board if you don't have a rack. This is going to be a "dismount" for truffles once they are dipped in chocolate. If you don't have parchment paper it's fine, just put them on a plate, but the parchment helps them look prettier.
Once your dismount is ready, melt the white chocolate: First chop the bars into small pieces then place in heavy small saucepan. Stir CONSTANTLY as it heats over very low heat until chocolate is melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Remove from heat.
Using a spoon, dunk the chilled truffles in the melted white chocolate, roll them around until they are covered, then pick them up with the spoon and put them onto the parchment paper dismount.
Chill coated truffles 20 minutes in refrigerator.
4.
Cooking questions? Email BuzzFeed Food editor Emily Fleischaker
Psst! Did you hear that Tasty has its very own Halloween TV special? Snoop & Martha's Very Tasty Halloween is streaming now on Peacock. Check it out!
