Ghostly Custards Recipes

GHOSTLY CUSTARDS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; beat on low until smooth. Place eight ungreased 4-oz. custard cups in two 8-in. square baking pans. Fill each cup with 1/2 cup pumpkin mixture. Pour hot water around cups into the pans to a depth of 1 in. Bake at 325° for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. Before serving, top each with dollops of whipped topping in the shape of a ghost; add chocolate chips for eyes.

SIMPLE CUSTARD

Steps:

• Cook and stir milk, vanilla extract, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove mixture from heat before it comes to a boil.
• Whisk eggs, sugar, and cornstarch together in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
• Set saucepan back over low heat. Pour in egg mixture slowly, whisking constantly, until custard thickens enough to coat the bottom of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes.

FRIGHTFULLY EASY GHOSTS AND CUTIE BUGS

Steps:

• Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. In 2 (1-quart) saucepans, separately melt vanilla candy coating and chocolate candy coating over low heat, stirring each constantly, until smooth.
• Ghost cookies will be dipped in vanilla coating; bug cookies will be dipped in chocolate coating. Coat and decorate a few cookies at a time as coating sets up quickly. For each ghost or bug, place cookie in coating; lift out with fork, letting excess drip off. Place cookies, coated side up, on cookie sheets.
• For each ghost, place 2 miniature chocolate chips on each coated cookie to resemble eyes and 1 regular chocolate chip for mouth. Let stand 10 minutes until set.
• For bugs, cut pretzels into curved pieces for legs. Dip one end of each curved piece in chocolate coating; place 3 legs on each side of each cookie. Cut 2 short pieces for antennae. Dip one end of each pretzel piece in coating; place 2 antennae on top of each cookie. Place 2 candy-coated baking bits near antennae for eyes. Let stand 10 minutes until set.

GHOSTLY TREATS

Steps:

• Line large cookie sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper. Unroll fruit snack rolls; cut into 1-inch strips. With kitchen scissors, cut 3/4-inch-long fringe on one long side of each fruit snack strip. Cut each fringed roll into 2-inch pieces.
• To make each "broomstick," wrap piece of fringe around one end of pretzel, uncut edge toward long end of pretzel; press to seal. Place "broomsticks" on cookie sheet.
• Drop rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls of melted vanilla baking chips crosswise onto pretzels; shape to resemble "ghosts" seated on "broomsticks."
• Press 3 miniature chocolate chips onto each "ghost" for eyes and nose. Let stand at room temperature about 45 minutes or in freezer about 5 minutes or until set. Peel candies from waxed paper.

GHOSTLY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low; beat in half of the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined.
• Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, trim off the tops of the cupcakes so that they are flat.
• Place the dark chocolate and white chocolate chips in two separate bowls. Add 4 teaspoons coconut oil to the dark chocolate and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil to the white chocolate. Melt each bowl of chocolate in the microwave at medium power, stirring every 30 seconds, until just liquid and smooth.
• Working with one cupcake a time, spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the dark chocolate on top, spreading it evenly over the top with the back of the spoon. While the dark chocolate is still liquid, spoon 1 teaspoon of the white chocolate in the center of the cupcake. Drag a toothpick or skewer through the center of the white chocolate outward to form a "tail." Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
• Rewarm the dark chocolate until liquid again, if necessary. Scrape the chocolate into a resealable plastic bag, snip off one corner and pipe small dots of dark chocolate on the white chocolate ghosts to form 2 eyes. Pipe a third dot twice as big to form a mouth. Let the chocolate set for 10 minutes before serving.

OLD TIME EGG CUSTARD

Steps:

• Whisk eggs and sugar together in a large pot. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Stir in vanilla.
• Heat milk mixture over low heat, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 30 minutes. Pour into a serving dish and allow to cool.