Chocolate Pumpkin Candy Dish Food

DARK CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN TRUFFLES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in pumpkin, pie spice and vanilla. Stir in cracker crumbs. Freeze, covered, 20 minutes or until firm enough to shape., Shape pumpkin mixture into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Freeze 20 minutes or until firm., In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip truffles in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Return to baking sheets; refrigerate until set. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CANDY DISH

Steps:

• Make the pumpkin candies: Fill a piping bag with tempered white chocolate. Fill each pumpkin cavity with the chocolate and allow it to set. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to help the chocolate to harden. When set, the pumpkin candies should pop out of the mold. You can serve them as they are or you can sandwich 2 together. To sandwich them together, pipe a little of the white chocolate on the back of 1 piece and press another candy back-to-back. Let the chocolate harden.
• Make the pumpkin candy dish: Place some powdered orange food color in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of cocoa butter to the food color and stir until well combined. Use a pastry brush (or a clean pastry brush used only for food, not for paint) to paint the inside of the mold (top and bottom) with the color. Make sure the inside is completely coated. You can use a hairdryer to warm up the cocoa butter paint if it begins to cool. Place the mold in the refrigerator for a few minutes until the cocoa butter sets.
• Use a cornet filled with bittersweet chocolate to pipe the chocolate into the stem at the top of the mold. Allow the chocolate to set.
• When the painted mold has set, use a ladle to completely fill each piece (the top and the bottom) of the mold with white chocolate. Tap the mold on the counter to encourage the air bubbles to depart. When the mold is full, empty it into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of the mold should be evenly coated with chocolate. Scrape the mold clean with an offset spatula and place it upside down on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. It may be necessary to give each mold more than one coat. This will make the candy dish stronger. Once the chocolate starts to harden, about 5 minutes, scrape the edge clean with a chef's knife. When the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to harden. Repeat with as many molds as you would like to make.
• Unmold the pumpkin candy dish. It should pop out of the mold. Fill the bottom of the mold with pumpkin candies. Place the top of the mold in place.
• Whenever I use cocoa butter mixed with food color, I like to use an electric yogurt maker. The yogurt maker will keep the cocoa butter melted. Leave the "paints" in the yogurt maker at the end of your project. When you are ready for the next project, just plug in the yogurt maker and, in 60 minutes, you are ready to go.
• The pumpkin candies are made with a special Halloween transfer sheet. It is 3-dimensional and you will need to purchase it before you begin. You will also need to purchase the 3-dimensional pumpkin dish mold.

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CANDY DISH

Steps:

• Make the pumpkin candies: Fill a piping bag with tempered white chocolate. Fill each pumpkin cavity with the chocolate and allow it to set. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to help the chocolate to harden. When set, the pumpkin candies should pop out of the mold. You can serve them as they are or you can sandwich 2 together. To sandwich them together, pipe a little of the white chocolate on the back of 1 piece and press another candy back-to-back. Let the chocolate harden.
• Make the pumpkin candy dish: Place some powdered orange food color in a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of cocoa butter to the food color and stir until well combined. Use a pastry brush (or a clean pastry brush used only for food, not for paint) to paint the inside of the mold (top and bottom) with the color. Make sure the inside is completely coated. You can use a hairdryer to warm up the cocoa butter paint if it begins to cool. Place the mold in the refrigerator for a few minutes until the cocoa butter sets.
• Use a cornet filled with bittersweet chocolate to pipe the chocolate into the stem at the top of the mold. Allow the chocolate to set.
• When the painted mold has set, use a ladle to completely fill each piece (the top and the bottom) of the mold with white chocolate. Tap the mold on the counter to encourage the air bubbles to depart. When the mold is full, empty it into the bowl of chocolate. The inside of the mold should be evenly coated with chocolate. Scrape the mold clean with an offset spatula and place it upside down on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. It may be necessary to give each mold more than one coat. This will make the candy dish stronger. Once the chocolate starts to harden, about 5 minutes, scrape the edge clean with a chef's knife. When the chocolate sets, it shrinks or retracts from the sides of the mold. A clean edge will keep it from sticking and cracking as it shrinks. You can place the mold in the refrigerator for several minutes to help the chocolate to harden. Repeat with as many molds as you would like to make.
• Unmold the pumpkin candy dish. It should pop out of the mold. Fill the bottom of the mold with pumpkin candies. Place the top of the mold in place.
• Whenever I use cocoa butter mixed with food color, I like to use an electric yogurt maker. The yogurt maker will keep the cocoa butter melted. Leave the "paints" in the yogurt maker at the end of your project. When you are ready for the next project, just plug in the yogurt maker and, in 60 minutes, you are ready to go.
• The pumpkin candies are made with a special Halloween transfer sheet. It is 3-dimensional and you will need to purchase it before you begin. You will also need to purchase the 3-dimensional pumpkin dish mold.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the pumpkin and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; gradually mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown. Cool on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN BARK

Steps:

• Line a 9 x 13 (or 11 x 7) dish with wax paper or parchment paper. In a double boiler (or my ghetto way of filling a pot with water then putting a metal bowl over the top of it) place the milk chocolate chips inside, until nearly fully melted (should be about 5 minutes or less) and pour into the pan evenly.
• Clean out the metal bowl/top part of the double boiler and melt the white chocolate chips, blending with the pumpkin and spice.
• Pour into the pan and stir up here and there with a fork to create a marbled look and mix it up a little.
• I prefer to leave the bark smooth but if you want to add the crunchy fixins like the pumpkin seeds, nuts, oats, etc. sprinkle them on now and press some of them into the bark with a fork if you like.
• Place the pan in the fridge and chill until completely firm, I play it safe and leave it in a couple hours.
• Extract the bark from the pan once it's fully set, and break up into random pieces (always fun) or for a more professional appearance, cut with a large sharp knife, keep covered and chilled until ready to serve but trust me, this will barely last leaving your house en route to the fall parties!