Jack O Lantern Faces Food

JACK-O'-LANTERN FACES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture. Divide dough in half; form each half into a disk and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with one disk at a time on lightly floured parchment, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour; transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut into 4 1/2-inch pumpkin shapes with cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as needed. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets; cut faces with the tip of a sharp paring knife. (If dough starts getting too soft, freeze 10 minutes.) Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake, rotating once, until just set, 12 minutes. Remove from oven; fill cutouts with crushed candy. Bake again until cookies begin to brown at edges and candy is melted, 3 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKIN SPICE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with orange paper liners.
• Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns, 6 to 9 minutes. Immediately transfer to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the granulated sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla.
• Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. Add the brown butter mixture and whisk until just combined (do not overmix).
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them three-quarters of the way. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioners' sugar, about 1 cup at a time. After each addition, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy again, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the milk, vanilla and orange food coloring and beat until smooth.
• To decorate: Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes with a round pastry tip. Level off the top with an offset spatula to an even and smooth layer. Next, use a toothpick or small skewer to create "grooves" in the frosting to look like a pumpkin. Insert a chewy chocolate quarter in the top of each cupcake to look like a "stem" and drape the green sour gummy belt candy to look like a "vine." Repeat with the remaining cupcakes and candy. Refrigerate until the frosting is slightly firm, about 15 minutes.
• For the royal icing: Whisk together the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft, glossy peaks form, adding up to 1 more tablespoon water if necessary (it should be thick but pipeable). Tint with black gel food coloring until very black. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap to prevent the icing from drying out until ready to use. (Makes about 1 cup.)
• Transfer the royal icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pie jack-o-lantern faces on each cupcake. Set aside until the royal icing has set, about 30 minutes.

JACK-O'-LANTERN CHEESEBURGER PIE

Steps:

• Cook first 5 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in ketchup and Worcestershire sauce; cool.
• Unfold 1 piecrust, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spread mustard evenly over crust. Stir together meat mixture and 2 cups cheese; spoon onto center of crust, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Unfold remaining piecrust, and cut out a jack-o'-lantern face, reserving pastry cutouts to use as a stem. Place crust over meat mixture; crimp edges of crust, and fold under. Place stem on top of jack-o'-lantern face.
• Whisk together 2 tablespoons water, egg, and 1 drop each of red and yellow food coloring; brush over crust.
• Bake at 425*F (220*C) for 20 minutes; remove from oven, and brush again with egg mixture. Fill eyes, nose, and mouth with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until golden brown.

CARAMEL APPLE JACK O'LANTERNS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and dry apples thoroughly and remove stems. Insert a candy stick into the top of each apple and set aside.
• In a liquid measuring cup, combine heavy cream, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice and orange gel food coloring. Stir until color is evenly blended and set aside.
• Fill a large, heatproof bowl halfway with ice and water and set aside.
• Add sugar and corn syrup to a tall saucepan and stir with rubber spatula just to mix. Remove spatula and begin to melt sugar and corn syrup over medium heat. Once fully melted, add in heavy cream mixture and stir until incorporated.
• Clip candy thermometer to side of saucepan and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, but do not stir during this process. Once caramel reaches 242-244°F, remove saucepan from heat and place directly in ice water for a couple seconds to halt cooking process. Remove from ice water and stir in butter until incorporated.
• Pour caramel into a tall, heatproof liquid measuring cup and immediately begin dipping apples until completely coated. Allow excess caramel to drip off for a few seconds, then transfer to parchment paper. Once all apples are dipped, chill them in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before decorating, or up to 2 days.
• Before serving, roll out a small amount of black fondant and carve jack o'lantern faces from it. Arrange faces directly on the caramel apples and twirl pieces of green sour candy belts around candy sticks and down the sides of the apples to resemble pumpkin vines.
• Prep tip: Make sure apples are at room temperature before dipping so that the caramel adheres well to the skin.
• Note: If caramel cools too quickly before all of the apples are dipped, reheat in the microwave for a few seconds until warm and pourable.

JACK-O'-LANTERN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Tint frosting orange. Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert #12 round pastry tip. Fill bag with frosting. Pipe frosting on cupcakes to resemble pumpkins. Decorate faces as desired with assorted toppings.

JACK-O'-LANTERN BBQ CHICKEN POT PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 6 to 8 min. or until lightly browned. Add vegetables; cook 3 to 4 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Add all remaining ingredients except pie crust; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate sprayed with cooking spray.
• Unroll pie crust onto cutting board. Use small sharp knife to cut shapes out of crust to resemble a jack-o'-lantern face. Reserve pastry cutouts.
• Place crust over pie; seal and flute edge. Place pie plate on baking sheet. If desired, use pastry cutouts to make leaves, then add to top of pie.
• Bake 25 to 30 min. or until golden brown.

JACK-O'-LANTERN HAND PIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine first 4 ingredients.
• Split biscuits horizontally in half. Roll out each dough piece to 4-inch round on lightly floured surface.
• Place 8 dough rounds in single layer on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; top with 2 Singles pieces and potato mixture, adding about 2 Tbsp. potato mixture to each round. Lightly brush edges of dough with water.
• Use sharp knife to cut jack-o'-lantern faces out of remaining dough rounds; place over topped dough rounds on baking sheet. Press edges together with fork to seal. Make 2 small cuts, about 1/2 inch apart, at top of each pie, then fold under dough at cuts to make pumpkin stems as shown in photo.
• Whisk egg and food colorings until blended; brush onto tops of pies.
• Bake 16 to 18 min. or until pies are puffed and golden brown.