Are you going Spooky or Glam?

It’s the time of year to get dressed up! Whether you’re glamming it up this Halloween or going full-on spooky, Halloween is all about the sweet treats! Here at Aberdeenshire Larder, we have some spooky treats exclusive to the shop! But, worry not! For those who can't make it to the shop, to make sure you don’t miss out on these tasty treats and add some spookiness to your party we are sharing a few of our secret recipes with you!

We all love a treat!

Halloween is the one time of the year apart from Christmas, that you can indulge in endless sweet treats! No matter how old you are, Halloween is loved by everyone. With the relaxation of covid, this means nothing better than to have a small get together with family and friends!

We have been brainstorming here in the kitchen some of the best spooky treats that are easy to make. Take a look below for delicious recipes!

Spider shortbread

We all love a slice of shortbread, especially when it is decorated as a spider! These 8 legged biscuits are perfect for kids and adults alike, add them to your spooky decorations or stack them on a spider web plate! To make these delicious treats, you can decorate shop bought shortbread with black piping icing and sweets such as rolos or bueno pieces or make your own shortbread from scratch. To try to make your own shortbread try the easy recipe below!

Ingredients:

200g unsalted butter, softened

125g icing sugar, plus a little extra to sprinkle

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

Method

Cream the butter and icing sugar together, covering the bowl with a tea towel to begin with so that the icing sugar doesn’t fly everywhere. When fully combined, sift in the flour and mix to a soft dough.

Bring the dough together in your hands and place it in a bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Take the dough out of the fridge, dust a clean, dry worktop and a rolling pin with some plain flour, and roll out the dough to a thickness of around 1cm. Using the round cutter cut circles out of the dough and place them on two baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper, around 3cm apart.

Prick each round a few times with a fork before putting the tray back in the fridge for another half-hour. When the time’s nearly up, preheat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan. Bake the rounds for 35 minutes, switching the trays halfway through.

Take the rounds out when they’re a pale golden colour. Allow them to cool on a wire rack before dusting with icing sugar.

Witches Hat cupcakes

These witches hat cupcakes are perfect for getting in the witchy spirit! For those who live at 100mph simply decorate the cupcakes with black buttercream icing to create little hats. You can add in some sugar shaped bats and cats to make those cupcakes extra special! If you want to make your own then follow the easy recipe below!

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g self-raising flour

4 medium eggs

4 tablespoons milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line two muffin trays with 12 cupcake cases or bake in batches of 12 using one muffin tray.

Start by creaming butter and sugar together in a bowl using a wooden spoon or electric whisk (an electric whisk is best to cut down on time). Beat until soft and fluffy. Then add the flour, eggs, milk, and salt and whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Use a traditional-style ice-cream scoop, or spoon, to divide the mixture between all the paper cases making sure to get an even amount of mixture in each.

Place both muffin tins in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then swap over the position of the tins over and bake for a further 3-7 minutes, until both trays of cupcakes are a light golden colour.

Remove the tins from the oven. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Once completely cooled, the cupcakes can be decorated.

Graveyard brownie

Brownies can be moreish to anyone, you really can’t beat warm gooey chocolate that is crispy on the outside! We know creating the perfect brownie can be challenging, so to make it easy you decorate a brownie slice with digestive biscuits or biscoff biscuits as headstones then cover with jelly worms and eyes! Add some extra spook! If you want to take on the challenge of making your own brownies then try the easy yet delicious recipe below!

Ingredients

145g unsalted butter

250g granulated sugar

80g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large cold eggs

65 g all-purpose flour

Method

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Add enough water to a medium saucepan so that it is 1 to 2 inches deep. Heat water until barely simmering.

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium heat-safe bowl. Rest the bowl over simmering water (if the bottom of the bowl touches the water, remove a little water). Stir the mixture occasionally until the butter has melted and the mixture is quite warm. Don’t worry if it looks gritty; it will become smooth once you add the eggs and flour.

Remove the bowl from heat and set aside for 3 to 5 minutes until it is only warm, not hot. Stir in the vanilla with a spoon. Then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.

When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until fully incorporated, then beat with the wooden spoon or spatula for 40 to 50 strokes or use a hand blender to save time!

Bake the brownies for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out with a few moist crumbs. As a visual test, brownies are done when the edges will look dry and the middle still looks slightly underbaked.

Cool completely then remove from pan and cut into 16 squares.

Get Creative!

These are just a few recipes and ideas for getting your spook on this halloween! There are plenty of other Halloween treats you can easily create such as gingerbread mummies, spider-web cinnamon rolls, spider truffles and jack skellington cupcakes! Why not get the kids involved in creating these spooky snacks, more may be eaten than made though!

In the meantime take a look at our desserts and bakery items here all available for delivery nationwide!