Halloween’s not much of an Italian festivity. We have carnival, we have other days. Yet, little by little, with the help of TV shows and movies and lots of advertising from companies that just needed another occasion to sell their stuff, Halloween has become a sort of new celebration, especially among the youngest. My nieces will attend their second-year-in-a-row party tomorrow night, and asked for something to bring. Lots of things, and so little time. What’s better than spooky cookies and a muffin along the way?
\nThe dough for the cookies is just the same pastry, just need some invention to shape it differently. For the dough you need:
\n650 gr of flour (keep some more at hand, if the dough ‘s too wet you may need to add some more)
\n200 gr sugar
\n8 gr baking powder
\n4 eggs
\n150 gr vegetable oil
\nPut the eggs in a bowl and mix them with the sugar, then the baking powder and then the oil. Try to avoid any lumps. After that, little by little, add the flour. The dough is to become more solid as you pour the flour in. When it becomes less sticky, put it onto a pastry board, sprinkled with flour. Keep on kneading untile the dough is well elastic and smooth.
\nThen use your fantasy and start forming the cookies. For the skulls you may need a dough cutter (or a teacup) and a rolling pin. The dough must be half centimeter thick approximately.
\nCut as many circles as you like, then pinch the lower part to form the jaw of the skull.
\nUse a fork prong or similar to form the eyes and the nose, as for the teeth I have used pine nuts.
\nFor the witch fingers cookies use the same dough, forming little fingers by rolling bits of dough between your hands. For the nail, use a peeled almond. Mark the finger lines using a fork prong. if you want to add abit of spookiness, use any sort of jam – but it needs to be a red one (cranberries, cherries, anything you like). you can put some (very little actually) under the almons and at the basis of the finger.
\nBoth skulls and fingers will bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
Pumpkin muffins are just as easy, and you need
\n250 gr flour
\n120 gr sugar
\n125 ml milk
\n80 ml vegetable oil
\n2 eggs
\n16 gr baking powder
\ncinammon<\/p>\n
Put in a bowl the baking powder, the flour and the cinammon (the quantity depends on your personal taste. I added half a teaspoon, you may want to add a full teaspoon). Stir well and then form a hole in the middle of the dry powders. where you’ll pour milk, oil and the eggs. Whisk everything and avoid the unwanted lumps (I use a food processor). Once the dough is smooth, add the blended pumpkin.
\nPour the dough in the wrappers and then into the over at 180 degrees for the usual 15\/20 minutes.
\nIf you want a nice topping you may use the cheese cream I did with
\n200 gr fresh cheese
\n120 gr icing sugar
\n80’ gr butter
\nand some food coloring. Whisk the chees eand the sugar, and after it is well amalgamated add the butter (it must be soft but not melted). I used a pastry bag for the decorations.
\nHappy Halloween!!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"