Bats, Spiders, Webs, Oh My…

Today
I have two recipes for all of you for Halloween by Martha Stewart.
Those two recipes include “Caramelized Cobwebs and Licorice
Spiders” and “Bat and Cobweb Cookies”. The “Caramelized
Cobwebs and Licorice Spiders” recipe looks like a lot of fun! Don’t
forget to substitute any regular ingredients for organic ingredients.
Keep in mind, though, even if you are not able to make any of the
recipes that you find on this website 100% organic/eco-friendly don’t
worry about it. Not everyone can do that. The reason being is due to
the two most common reasons: organic ingredients are sometimes much
more expensive than regular ingredients and also organic ingredients
aren’t always the easiest to find. If you live near a “Whole Food
Market” check them out for plenty of organic finds.

Caramelized Cobwebs and Licorice
Spiders

Ingredients:

Makes: 16 to 18

Unsalted butter, for parchment paper

1 cup sugar

1 stick (6 inches) black licorice, for
garnish (optional)

Directions:

Lightly butter two large sheets of
parchment paper; set aside. Prepare a large ice water bath; set
aside.

Pour 3 tablespoons water into a medium
heavy-bottom saucepan. Add sugar. Cook over medium-high heat,
stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is clear.
Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil,
washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush two or three times
to prevent crystals from forming. Let syrup boil, gently swirling pan
occasionally, until syrup is medium amber.

Immediately remove from heat; set pan
into ice-water bath to stop the cooking.

Working quickly, drizzle caramel with a
spoon onto buttered parchment paper, forming cobwebs. If the syrup is
thin and runs too quickly, let it cool a bit longer. Alternatively,
if the syrup is thick and slow to drizzle, reheat it gently. Garnish
with small licorice spiders if desired.

To make the licorice spiders, cut
licorice into twelve 1/2-inch pieces; split horizontally. On each
end, cut out two triangles, forming an M. On each side, cut out one
triangle from middle. Use caramel to stick to webs. Let stand until
hardened and cooled.

Bat and Cobweb Cookies

Ingredients:

Makes about 30

6 cups all-purpose flour (sifted, then
measured), plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter,
softened

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground ginger

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unsulfured molasses

Royal Icing

Directions:

Sift flour, baking soda, and baking
powder together into a large bowl; set aside.

Put butter and sugar into the bowl of
an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on
medium-high speed until fluffy. Beat in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and
salt. Beat in eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour
mixture.

Divide dough into three equal pieces,
and flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1
hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Print out
the bat and cobweb templates found here and cut them out. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough
to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Using
templates and a paring knife, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes
to baking sheets and refrigerate 15 minutes.

Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to
10 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Decorate with royal
icing.

jennl | My Bio & Articles

Jennifer is a freelance writer, and has written for various health and environmental blogs, which includes running her own green living blog. Currently she is studying to become a C++ Programmer.