RETRO HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATE ADS

Every year I post  Vintage Halloween Chocolate Ads from the 40s and 50s. Hope you like these as much as I do! Trick or Treat!

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Vintage Halloween 'Cooky' Cutters: Cats, Bats, Witches and Brooms: Chocolate Cookies

I found these wonderful 1960s Halloween Cookie (Cooky) Cutters a few years ago at the Alameda Flea Market. Love the box and the shapes.

I've posted some great chocolate cookie recipes, but here's one I adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Just a few changes, and since Martha uses this recipe with her own bat and cat cookie cutters, these cookies are great to make with these retro cookie cutters. The chocolate cookies are very crisp. I think using dark cocoa gives them an even richer taste.

Chocolate Cats and Bats, Witches and Brooms: 
Halloween Cookies

Makes 40 to 50

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled) plus more for rolling and cutting out dough
3/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons sweet butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
Small candies or sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
2. In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg. On low speed, mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half, and form into 2 disks, each about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic; chill until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days.
3. On lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate for a few minutes.)
4. Using 2- to 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut out shapes, dipping cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking; place on baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
5. Bake until surface is dry to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes (if decorating, press candies into dough halfway through baking-as in eyes on the cats, etc). Cool cookies 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to rack to cool completely.

Cartoon of the Day: Locavore

Happy Halloween!!!

CHOCOLATE MICE: HALLOWEEN TREATS

This is one of my favorite Halloween recipes. I discovered it a few years ago on allrecipes.com. I've tweaked it a little, and, as always, feel free to do the same. These Chocolate Mice are fabulous! They look adorable. Warning: They can be pretty sweet, but then they're for Halloween! That's why I substituted dark chocolate for milk chocolate in the recipe.

CHOCOLATE MICE

Ingredients
4 ounces dark chocolate - - 65-75% cacao
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (whirl chocolate wafers in a blender)

2/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
24 silver dragees decorating candy (those tiny silver candy balls) or icing gel or pearl candies
1/4 cup sliced almonds (try to match pairs)
12 (2 inch) pieces long thin red vine string licorice

Directions
1. Melt chocolate, and combine with sour cream. Stir in 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
2. Roll by level tablespoonfuls into balls. Mold to slight point at one end (the nose).
3. Roll dough in chocolate cookie crumbs. On each mouse, place dragees (or other decorating candy or icing) in appropriate spot for eyes (on the sides/not directly at front), almond slices for ears, and a red licorice string for the tail.
4. Refrigerate for at least two hours, until firm.

Place on a bed of graham crackers crumbs or vanilla wafer crumbs or Rice Crispies.

Hint: You can use this recipe to make White Chocolate Mice for Christmas!

Photo: Allrecipes.com