November 16, 2010

Halloween Friend Caramel Bucket

Halloween recipes proved to be difficult to come by, unless you are into fake brains, witches fingers and gooey eyeballs, and which I'm clearly not.

But i would not let my friends and readers down! All 4 of you to be exact......just kidding.

I first acquired some rather fabulous plastic jack-o-lantern buckets which i filled with the following recipes!!!

Caramel Picnic Apples

Ingredients


6 Granny Smith Apples
1 x 250g bag Caramel Jerseys
4 full size Cadbury Picnic bars - smashed!
Paddle pop sticks - 1 bag

Method

Smash Picnic bars in a plastic bag wrapped in a towel. i like to use a rolling pin and for extra entertainment,
try making a grunting or yelling noise......very therapeutic indeed. Once bars have been suitably smashed put bits into a bowl.

Melt Caramels in a microwave proof bowl for 2 minutes checking constantly. Once jersey's have melted take them out of the micro wave. Let cool just a bit.

Stick Paddle Pop sticks into the underside of the apples. you may need to use more than one to support the weight of the apple.

Dip apple into the melted caramel then roll apple into the Picnic bar mixture.

Voila! very simple and really satisfying surprisingly. While eating this i felt very healthy and very fat at the same time :)




Pastry Twists with a Twist

Ingredients

2 sheets frozen puff pastry
left over melted caramel from above recipe
some white chocolate melts
melted butter for brushing

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line baking tray with baking paper.

Cut un-frozen puff pastry into strips and make a big plat like you would with your hair. Pinch ends together so the plat doesn't come undone.

Brush some melted butter over the plats and stick in the oven until they turn puffy and golden.

once cool, drizzle left over melted caramel (you might need to chuck this back in the microwave for a bit) and some melted white chocolate.

Stick in fridge until chocolate and caramel harden, then EAT!!!


Plats before chocolate, first one with caramel

And last but not least - the crowd favorite!

Quick Caramel Popcorn - http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/10859/quick-caramel-popcorn.aspx

Ingredients

100g (8 cups) freshly popped plain microwave pop corn (quicker than using the kernels)
125g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 tsp (heaped) bi-carb soda
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Pop the microwave popcorn and set aside in large bowl.
 
2. Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy based pot until just starting to bubble.
 
3. Stir in salt and then add sugar.
 
4. Stir sugar through butter until smooth and fully combined.
 
5. Reduce heat to low-medium temperature and allow sugar mixture to bubble (but not boil) for 3-5 minutes (until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is thick and sticky.)
 
6. Remove from heat and stir in bi-carb soda very quickly, followed immediately by vanilla essence.
 
7. Whisk until fully combined then pour quickly over popcorn.
 
8. Toss popcorn and caramel together quickly until popcorn is coated - serve as is if you like chewier popcorn.
 
9. If you prefer crunchier popcorn, preheat oven to 120 degrees celcius, spread popcorn into glass or casserole dish and bake for 15-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until caramel has hardened on the popcorn - ENJOY!
 
Tip
You can prepare the caramel in the microwave if you don't want to bother with the stove. In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter until it pops in the microwave. Stir in the salt and sugar until combined then return to microwave for 3 minutes on medium-high power. Whisk, then return to microwave for 2 minutes on high power. Follow steps 6-8 as normal. ENJOY!


I made the caramel mix in the micro wave and it was sooooo easy. This is seriously "the Shit".

And finally all assembled! Thank you Pie.




Unfortunately my dear friend Kate came down with some terrible Indian food poisoning so she never experienced the Caramel Bucket. The bucket may have been useful though!




2 comments:

  1. The caramel popcorn was freakin awesome! and I dont even like caramel that much.

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  2. The Halloween bucket has indeed come in handy! Now that we've finished the goodies I have had a go at planting flower seeds in it! We'll see if they grow...Lex

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