by Therese de Grace

You don’t have to be a kid to love Halloween, but having one around make things a lot more fun.  My niece and I love this time of year, I use her as my reason for creating haunted gingerbread houses, crazy costumes and the over indulgence of candy consumption that puts me into a sugar coma.

During this festive time my 7 year old niece who has always been more of a short adult, drops pearls of wisdom on me with the most unabashed honesty. From the moment she could speak she has made me painfully aware of how OLD I am, whether or not my fashion choices are “Yucky” and continues to express her utter disappointment in the fact that neither my partner nor I have produced a cousin for her, there are two of us after all! 

When I claim to be her favourite aunt she reminds me that it is wrong to assume, she makes those decisions on a daily basis. I am shocked to admit that she is a mini-me in many ways and will no doubt give my sister a run for her money in a few years. 

The Awe, fright and fun of Halloween is amazing at any age but seeing through the eyes of my sassy-ass niece just makes it all more fun.   Halloween crafts and baking are not just for kids, they are cool accent to any Hallow’s Eve party.  The recipes below are only a few of the Ghoulish treats my niece and I prepare, we have a ball creating them and these snacks are well received by all. 

Happy Haunting! 

Witches Finger’s and Pumpkin Tears 

Witches Finger Cookies

You will require the following ingredients:

1 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Zest of one orange

2 and ¾ cups of white flour

3 tablespoons of raspberry jelly

¾ cups of sliced almonds 

Method

Using an electric mixture cream together your sugar and butter, whip on high speed for 4 minutes and add in your eggs, extract, orange zest until well combines.  Lower your speed and add flour slowly.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and kneed for two minutes.  Roll dough into 1 oz balls (about the size of a golf ball) and then use the palm of your hand to roll the dough into 3 inch finger width cylinders.  Place your cookie fingers onto a greased cookie sheet and use a paring knife to make little slits to represent knuckle lines, put a dab of raspberry jelly at the top of each finger and press a slice of almond on top for a bloody nail effect.  Bake for 20-25 minutes and allow them to cool for a half hour before serving. 

Toasted Pumpkin Tears 

Scoop the pulp and seeds out of a pumpkin, butternut squash or acorn squash (pumpkin seeds are definitely sweeter and preferred but the alternates work well) and separate the flesh from the seeds. Wash your seeds and spread them out on a clean cloth for a few hours to dry off.  Toss your dry seeds in olive oil, Cajun spice and sea salt.  Toast on a lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees until they turn golden brown.