It’s officially Spooky Season! Little ghosts and ghouls may argue over their favorite candy from trick-or-treating hauls, but adults know that the best goodies are homemade with easy gourmet touches. We’ve collected four treat recipes that make the perfect additions to any Halloween gathering. Whether you’re hosting or attending, you’ll want to have these on hand to share.
Red Velvet Vampire Cupcakes
You don’t need bandages for these gory desserts, but you will want to take a bite! These blood-hued delicacies perfectly capture the spooky nature of Halloween. Despite their deceptive white frosting, each red velvet cupcake holds a secret: a center filled with gooey chocolate and raspberry jam. Use your Crescendo Plan 2201 kitchen counter for baking, filling, and frosting — we won’t tell if you need to sample more than one!
Pumpkin Hand Pies
You can take your favorite fall dessert on the road when you make these portable handheld pumpkin pies. After combining ingredients in your food processor, chill for an hour — or up to two days — then roll out the flaky dough on your spacious kitchen counter. If your family’s littlest chefs want to help, let them use a cookie cutter to make the perfect shapes — one for the bottom of each hand pie and one for the top. Pro Tip: Cream cheese is the secret ingredient to make a pie filling with a creamy and luscious consistency. Assemble, brush with egg for a picturesque golden crust, and bake!
Trisha Yearwood’s Bloody Cheesecake Bars with Broken Glass Caramel
If you don’t have the time to make your own dough from scratch, use premade cookie dough in this impressive-looking dessert. The bars and cheesecake topping come together easily so you can focus on making the delicate caramel “glass.” Once the caramel has set, break into shards then poke each shiny piece into the top of the cheesecake bars. Drip with “blood” — a simple but delicious raspberry sauce — for an elegant oozing effect. This is a gorgeous dish from a gorgeous celebrity that you can easily make in your gorgeous Stepping Stone™ kitchen! Keep in mind that you will need to chill the bars before adding the glass, so give yourself a little extra time after you finish for a quick rest in the fridge.
Apple Cardamom Cakes with Apple Cider Icing
Applesauce is the secret to keeping these little cakes moist without adding fat, but cardamom is the unexpected ingredient that takes them to a gourmet level. A touch of sour cream mellows the intense flavor of the Indian spice while the apple cider glaze washes each cake with a sweet and understated touch. With a total prep and cook time of 40 minutes, these fall treats will have you in and out of your Stepping Stone™ kitchen to enjoy the lovely sunset from your patio.
Halloween is a festival of community and we can’t think of a better community than Stepping Stone™! Cook with your family, invite neighbors over to bake, share trick-or-treating chaperone duties, or simply connect over the delicious goodies you made yourself. Find your Shea home here at Stepping Stone™ by visiting us today.
