Rural Missouri - October 2012 - (Page 24)

H E A R T H & H O M E Scare up some wickedly wonderful treats this Halloween by Heather Berry hberry@ruralmissouri.coop page design by Megan Schibi Tricked-Out Treats Meringue Bones 6 large egg whites 1-1/2 cups sugar Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; whisk by hand constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture feels warm to the touch (about 5 minutes). Return bowl to mixer and ﬁt mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until very stiff peaks form (about 7 to 8 minutes). Transfer meringue to a large Ziploc bag and trim off one corner of the bag (about 1/2 inch across) to pipe the meringue out of bag. Pipe bone shapes, each 5 to 6 inches long, onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Begin by piping an elongated heart shape at top. Continue piping meringue downward in a straight line to form the middle of the bone. Finish by making another elongated heart shape at the bottom. Repeat until all of the meringue is used up. Bake until crisp, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack. H alloween brings out all the ghouls and goblins in the countryside, and most of them want the same thing — sugary treats! So why not take the time to treat the cute little dressed-up kiddos with some homemade treats this year instead of the usual store-bought candies they ﬁnd at most homes? Better yet, invite any kids in the family or neighborhood over at a certain time on Halloween to enjoy your homemade goodies. If it’s not too cold, you could even host the youngsters on a porch or deck that’s been strung with fake cobwebs. Add a CD of spooky noises for the background, a bucket or two of dry ice to create some fog and maybe some glow-in-the-dark decorations, and you’ve scared up a spooktacular party that everyone in the neighborhood will remember. Not in the mood to host a gathering of trickor-treaters? No problem. Just have fun preparing these Halloween recipes for your own family. After all, wickedly delicious treats are fun to eat no matter how old you are. And you don’t even have to wear a costume to enjoy them! Ghoulish Peanut Butter Cookies 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/4 cup shortening 1 egg 1-1/4 cups ﬂour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Small tube of ready-to-use black gel icing (available at most grocery stores) Ghost Glaze: 3 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 4 to 5 tablespoons milk In a large bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, shortening and egg until well blended. Stir in ﬂour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half; roll one part of the dough at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator (that way, the dough won’t become too warm or sticky to roll.) On lightly ﬂoured surface, roll each half of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough with ghost-shaped cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheet, place shapes about 2 inches apart. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool for 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely, about 30 minutes, before icing. In medium bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread glaze on cookies. Make eyes and mouth of ghost with black gel icing. Note: If the ghost cookies are to be hung as decorations, cut a hole at top of each cookie before baking. It’s easiest to use the end of plastic straw or sharp knife when they’re placed on the cookie sheet. Once they’re cooled and iced, the cookies can be strung for decorating. 24 WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - October 2012

Rural Missouri - October 2012
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
The future of food
A grotesque spectacle
Outdoors
Out of the Way Eats
Summon your stomach
Soothing suds
Hearth and Home
Out of the woodwork
Marketplace
Around Missouri
A heart to serve
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - October 2012