Halloween Candy

by Joyce Chng

Let’s Get Creative!

When it becomes chilly at night and gorgeous yellow-orange pumpkins start appearing in markets for the ritual carving  of scary faces - it is time for Halloween.  And Halloween paraphernalia appear in a wide variety from witches’ hats to glow-in-the-dark skeletons. Creative costumes are worn for trick-or-treat and of course, for the kids, you will definitely love Halloween candy. For adults, this is the time to be creative with your treats.

Now, Halloween candy comes in all shapes and sizes. They are tasty and designed to attract the eyes of any kid. You can get sugar skulls (reminiscent of the ones found in South America), chocolate skulls, and all sorts of yummy ghostly sweets. If you are the crafty sort or very adventurous, you can try making your own candy from cookies to delicious toffee apples, guaranteed to please any sweet tooth (kid or adult)! Besides, making your own sweets is a very unique and special celebration of Halloween, way better than any store-bought lollies or chocolates.

If you have a kitchen and have a working oven, you can start your Halloween candy making experience. Kids, if you are reading, make sure that you have an adult to help you.

Sticky Yummy Toffee Apples

Toffee apples are great for Halloween, because they are easy to carry and are ready to be consumed on the go. What you need are dessert apples, demerara sugar, butter, golden syrup, and wooden skewers. First, you need to melt the sugar in water with moderate heat, making sure that it is completely dissolved. Next, add in the butter and golden syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Kids, you can help your mom or dad by piercing the apples with the wooden skewers. Make sure not to hurt yourself!  Once the apples are all pierced and ready, get the mixture for some serious dipping. Make sure the whole apple is coated evenly. Place the apple on a lightly oiled tray until the coat has hardened.

Do so for the number of apples you plan to use on Halloween night. If you want the apples to be kept for a day or more, wrap them in red or blue cellophane. If you want to be really spooky, you can draw eyeballs on the wrapped apples.

Big Scary (Marshmallow) Skulls  

This is more a party food than trick-or-treating. But no Halloween candy is complete without big scary skulls. Get some store-bought marshmallow, chocolate sauce and biscuits. On the marshmallow, draw a face and place it on the biscuit (Remember to coat the biscuit with the chocolate sauce too). Place the marshmallow inside a microwave oven, press 60 seconds on high and watch the marshmallow puff up like a skull.

Take it out with care and you can start ripping into it. Be careful. The skull can be hot!

The skulls are perfect for a quiet winding-down, when all the trick-or-treating is done and everyone is relaxing in the living room with all their candies in buckets or bags. This recipe is good for kids who like a bit of adventure and for adults who like a bit of fun.

Moderation, moderation and moderation.

Halloween candy is nice. But too much of it can give you an awful stomachache. So, remember not to consume all your candies in one sitting. Have fun, everyone! Remember to be creative!