Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin Carving

~Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Carved Pumpkin~

Ingredients:

-Pumpkin seeds, washed and dried slightly with paper towels

-15mL olive oil

-Salt

*Optional spicy-1mL Tabasco Sauce, 5mL cayenne pepper, 1mL cumin, 15mL chili powder

*Optional sweet-15mL sugar, 1mL cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, dash allspice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.

2. In a small bowl, toss together pumpkin seeds and olive oil; season with salt.

3. Evenly spread pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and transfer to oven.

4. Cook until toasted and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes.

Spider Web Cookies with Royal Icing

~Spider Web Cookies with Royal Icing~

Ingredients:

Cookies:

-375mL flour

-300mL cocoa powder

-2mL salt

-185mL margarine

-300mL sugar

-1 egg

-3mL vanilla

Royal Icing:

-250g icing sugar

-2mL cream of tartar

-15mL whip powder

-50mL water

Method:

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt. Set mixture aside.

2. Use an electric mixer to cream the margarine and sugar until fluffy.
    Beat in the egg and vanilla.
    Add flour mixture; mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.
    Divide the dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap.
    Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer.

3. Heat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
    Roll the dough out between two pieces of wax paper until about 5mm thick.
    Cut out a tracer for the web shape from scale paper.
    Cut out each cookie.

4. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Cool completely on wire racks.

6. To make royal icing whip together the icing ingredients in a medium bowl.

7. To make the cobweb design, begin by icing cookie with white royal icing. To 50mL of the icing sugar add 30mL melted chocolate chips or use black icing paste.

8. Pipe out a spiral of black icing starting from the center to the edges of the cookies.

9. Draw a bamboo skewer (toothpick) or use the tip of a sharp knife and drag it from the center to each point of the cookie, then from the inner curves back to the center.

Vocabulary

-Royal Icing: a hard white icing, made from meringue powder or beaten egg whites, icing sugar, cream of tartar and water. (Sometimes lemon or lime juice is added).

Yellow Cupcakes with Classic Buttercream Icing

~Yellow Cupcakes with Classic Buttercream Icing~

Yellow Cupcakes

Ingredients:
-375mL cake flour sifted
-5mL baking powder
-1mL salt
-220mL granulated sugar
-85mL margarine
-1 egg
-5mL vanilla extract
-150mL milk

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. Cream sugar and butter together until light.
5. Add the egg and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed.
6. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute.
7. Pour into prepared pan.
    Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack; remove and cool completely before decorating.

Vocabulary
-Cake flour: a fine-textured, soft-wheat flour with a high starch content. It makes tender cakes and pastries.

Classic Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:
-250mL vegetable shortening
-5mL vanilla
-30mL water
-454g or 1000mL icing sugar
-15mL egg white powder

Method:
1. In a large bowl, cream shortening, icing sugar, egg white powder, vanilla and water.
2. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
3. Blend together an additional minute until creamy.
(This icing can be refrigerated or you can freeze it.)

Rainbow Cookies

~Rainbow Cookies~

Ingredients:
-250mL margarine
-250mL sugar
-2 eggs
-5mL vanilla
-625mL flour
-5mL baking soda
-10mL cream of tartar
-2mL salt

Method:
1. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar.
    Add one egg at a time. Beat until well incorporated. Add the vanilla.
2. Sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture.
4. Divide the dough into 5 unequal amounts.
5. Mix in 2-3 drops of food colouring to each amount.
6. Start by rolling the smallest ball into a snake.
    Surround the snake with the next largest ball until all dough is used up.
    OR Roll each ball into a snake place each side by side and shape into a rainbow.
7. Put in the freezer for 10 minutes or until the dough hardens.
8. Slice the cookies in half and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake in a 350°F or 180°C for 8 to 10 minutes.
10. Let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Vocabulary
-Cream of tartar: a fine white powder derived from a crystalline acid deposited on the inside of wine barrels.
       -is added to candy & frosting mixtures for a creamier consistency, and to egg whites before beating to improve stability & volume.