We don't really buy in to Halloween in our family. It's not a tradition we grew up with, and it's not really a big celebration in our neighbourhood, so my boys have never really gone 'Trick or Treat'-ing, which apparently makes for an incredibly deprived childhood, or so I'm told.
But our lovely neighbours at In A Pickle, host kids' cooking classes at this time of year, so I send my boys along to bake Halloween treats and help ease the sting of that deprived childhood. That's my youngest in the pic, showing off his Dracula Dentures. He was so pleased with his efforts.
And cooking with kids has so many benefits!
- It's lovely, quality time together - kids open up when you talk shoulder-to-shoulder, so it's a great opportunity to start a conversation.
- Excellent maths skills (fractions, mass, measurement - what if you double the quantity?!)
- Cooking is a basic science experiment (accuracy or inaccuracy means results are different, chemical reactions, physical reactions - liquid to solid).
- Comprehension - being able to read instructions, follow them, understand what to do
- Essential Life Skills - let's raise a generation of children who can be self-sufficient, confident in their abilities and creative
Esther has generously shared her Halloween Recipes for cooking with kids, below.
Dracula Dentures
Chocolate Chip Cookies (chewy is best)
Vanilla Frosting (store bought works a treat)
Red (gel) Food Colouring
Mini Marshmallows
Slivered Almonds
1. Cut choc chip cookies in half
2. Add red colour to the frosting and mix well to make gory red colour
3. Spread one side of cookies with frosting
4. Place mini marshmallows in the frosting around the edges of one cookie half. Sandwich with the other half and stick slivered almonds on each side to resemble fangs.
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
120g unsalted butter, plus more for pan
170g biterweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups cooked and pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan and line with baking paper
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs and vanilla in thee bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until fluffy and well combined.
4. Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In the other, stir pumpkin, oil cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer half of the chocolate batter to prepared pan, smoothing top with a spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more layer each of chocolate then pumpkin. Work quickly so batters don't settle.
5. With a small spatula or table knife, gently swirl the two batters to crate a marbled effect. Sprinkle with nuts and bake until set , 40-45 min. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.
Ghost Cupcakes
Cupcakes
155g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
Icing
125g butter
1 1/2 cups icing mixture
Decorate
Get creative - use ghoulish lollies (e.g. spiders) or make bloodshot eyes using red decorating gel and black lollies/chocolates for eyeballs.
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees, line muffin trays with cupcake papers
2. Place ubtter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, milk in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are combined, then increase to medium speed and beat for about 3 minutes.
3. Spoon mixture into cupcake cases and bake approximately 15-20 min or until cooked. Allow to cool before icing and decorating.
4. To make icing, beat butter until smooth and then add icing sugar and beat until creamy. Ice and decorate cupcakes.