THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410180060
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Morsels
SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
WHETHER IT'S A school event, Scout meeting, costume party or all of the above, Halloween can require a variety of goodies.
But providing treats for every little haunting doesn't mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen. Here are some tips for making Halloween a sweetly simple success:
Make witches' hats from cookies and candy. These treats from ``Betty Crocker Cookies, Brownies and Bars'' (General Mills, October, 1994) are easy and quick. Simply turn a striped shortbread cookie upside down and place a Hershey kiss in the center. Use canned decorative frosting around the base of the Kiss to seal the ``point'' to the ``brim.''
Hershey's has introduced Nuggets, a rectangular version of Kisses in three flavors - Cookies `N' Mint, milk chocolate and milk chocolate with almonds.
Use Nuggets to build haunted houses and castles (upside down ice cream cones makes great spires), bugs and reptiles. With cookies, circular candies, canned decorator frosting and a little imagination, you can create just about anything.
Halloween shaped cookie cutters are available in kitchen stores, selected arts and crafts stores, and department stores and even at McDonald's. Yes, the top of the Happy Meal bucket includes a cookie cutter.
Make cookie dough from scratch, or save time by using refrigerator dough or a mix. Use ready-to-spread frosting to make sandwich cookies. Wilton, the cake decorating folks, suggest filling cookies with ice cream and fudge sauce for frozen treats.
If you're tired of handing junk food to the children, use the cookie cutters to cut sandwiches or cheeses into spooky shapes.
Wilton, by the way, makes two sets of Halloween cookie cutters. The Spooky Halloween Cutter Set includes 10 full-size shapes. There's also a Bite-Size Halloween Set.
Don't forget apple dips, which come in a variety of flavors at area grocery stores and make a wonderfully easy stand-by.
If you have the time to spend in the kitchen, try some of the Halloween treats inside. RECIPES ON PAGE F7 by CNB