Jack O Lantern Smoothie Food

JACK-O-LANTERNS

Steps:

• 1. Fill 3½ - to 4-cup container with Keebler® Fudge Stripes™ Dark Chocolate cookie crumbs to form base, if desired. Set aside.
• 2. Prepare Kellogg's® Eggo® Mini Homestyle waffles according to package directions. Cool for 5 minutes. Press one lollipop stick into each waffle. Cool completely.
• 3. Use white frosting, chocolate frosting, food coloring, orange sprinkles, green sprinkles, chocolate morsels and marshmallow pieces to decorate waffles as jack-o-lanterns. Press pretzel pieces into each as pumpkin stem. Push lollipops sticks into cookie crumbs to stand upright.

GINGERBREAD JACK-O'-LANTERNS

Steps:

• Beat together the shortening, sugars and the egg until fluffy. Stir in the molasses. Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt, and blend into the sugar mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 3-4 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. This is a tender dough, so work quickly to roll the dough 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut out pumpkin shapes using a pumpkin cookie cutter, or freehand using a small knife. If you're cutting your pumpkins freehand, don't make the stem too thin or it will break off after baking. Use a spatula to lift the pumpkins onto lightly greased baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes. Don't overbake. Cool completely on wire racks before decorating.
• To decorate the pumpkins, set aside 1/3 cup of the royal icing and color it green. Color the remaining icing orange by blending in red and yellow food coloring. (Start with 5 drops of red and 6 drops of yellow and add more coloring as desired to make the color more intense.)
• Spread orange frosting over the pumpkin, avoiding the stem. Allow to set, then use a toothpick to dab green frosting on the stem.
• You can press on candy corn or chocolate chips to make a face on each pumpkin, or you can pipe a face on with melted chocolate using the following method. Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave in a heatproof bowl for 1 minutes. The chips may look unmelted, but stir them with a spoon to see if they have actually softened before putting them in for another minute, if necessary.
• Spoon the melted chocolate into a zipper-lock bag. Seal the bag, pressing out any air. Use a toothpick to make a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag to release a thin stream of chocolate. Pipe eyes and noses and jagged grins as desired. Allow the chocolate to set before stacking the cookies.
• With beaters or a standing mixer, whip the egg white and lemon juice until frothy. At medium speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is thick but still liquid enough to beat. Then beat on high until the mixture is thick and glossy, about 3 minutes. Cover the surface with plastic wrap while waiting to use it. Royal icing will set to a firm, glossy finish when applied to a cookie. The icing can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

STRAWBERRY JACK-O-LANTERNS

Steps:

• In a large microwavable glass bowl combine white chocolate chips and food coloring. Melt in microwave for 1 to 1/2 minutes stopping to stir every 30 seconds
• Dip the extra-large strawberries into the white chocolate allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Set on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper. Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes. If chocolate sets up while dipping just place it back into the microwave for 15 seconds.
• While the strawberries are cooling, place milk chocolate chips into a releasable plastic sandwich bag and close. Microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Snip 1 corner with scissors and decorate the strawberries like Jack-O-Lanterns.

GLUTEN-FREE CHILLING JACK-O'-LANTERN SMOOTHIES

Steps:

• In small microwavable bowl, melt chocolate chips on High for 1 minute or until melted. With tip of knife, spread chocolate on inside of each plastic cup to resemble eyes, nose and mouth of jack-o'-lantern. Repeat with 3 more cups. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.
• Meanwhile, in blender container, place all remaining ingredients; cover and blend until smooth. Pour into chocolate painted cups.