6 Healthy(ish) Halloween Treats!

Keep your kids Healthy this Halloween

Halloween can be taxing on your heart from being scared stiff, but it doesn’t need to be hard on your heart nutritionally. Especially for your kids, the excess sugar and calories can wreck temporary havoc on their little bodies, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Halloween can be healthy and delicious, as you’re about to find out.

So trick your kids, and treat them with these…

Halloween Ghost Meringues

Source: www.donnahay.com.au

• 4 eggwhites
• 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 24 currants

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place the eggwhites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing 30 seconds between each addition. Whisk for a further 8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Add the vinegar and whisk to combine. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm (0.6 inch) -nozzle. Pipe 12 ghost shapes onto 2 large lightly greased baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Place 2 currants onto each ghost for the eyes. Bake for 25 minutes, turn off the oven and allow meringues to cool completely before removing. Makes 12.

Via Donna Hay

Wicked Cookie Sandwiches

Source: www.donnahay.com.au

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg yolk and beat well to combine. Add the flour and beat until a smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes or until firm. Divide the dough in half and roll out each half between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 5mm thick. Use an 8½cm (3 1/3 inches) cookie cutter to cut 16 rounds from the dough. Place the cookies on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Use a small, sharp knife to cut out faces on half the cookies. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until light golden. Cool on wire racks. Spread the whole cookies with raspberry jam and sandwich with the faces. Dust with icing sugar to serve. Makes 8.

Via Donna Hay

---

Darkly Delicious Apples

Source: www.everydayhealth.com

• 4 apples
• Sticks
• 1 cup dark-chocolate baking discs or chips
• Parchment paper

Remove the apple stems and insert the sticks into the top of the apples. Melt a cup of dark chocolate baking discs or chips in a double boiler (or just insert metal bowl into a pot of boiling water). When the chocolate has melted, slowly rotate each apple until all sides are covered in chocolate. Place on a tray lined with parchment or wax paper and set in the fridge to cool.

Via Everyday Health

Witches’ Broomsticks 

Source: www.everydayhealth.com

• Mozzarella cheese sticks
• Pretzel sticks
• Chives

To make the broom, slice the mozzarella stick across in thirds. Use a knife or scissors to cut a fringe pattern on the lower half of the cheese. Insert a pretzel stick into the cheese, making the broomstick, and tie a chive around the top.

Via Everyday Health

Scary Stuffed Peppers

Source: www.citronlimette.com

• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 4 medium bell peppers
• ¾ pound ground sirloin
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup bottled tomato-and-basil pasta sauce, divided
• ½ cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Wash the peppers. Cut jack-o’-lantern faces into the peppers with a sharp paring knife, making triangle eyes and nose, and pointy-teeth smiles. Slice off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds and cores.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and the next 5 ingredients (beef through allspice); cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, ½ cup pasta sauce, and cheese to beef mixture, stirring to combine.
4. While beef cooks, combine ½ cup pasta sauce and chicken broth in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
5. Spoon about ¾ cup beef mixture into each pepper. Place peppers in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; add chicken broth/sauce mixture to pan. Cover with foil and bake for about 35–40 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 5 minutes.

Via Citronlimette

Broken Finger Cookies

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 2 Tbsp red cake-decorating sugar
• 20 whole blanched almonds OR 20 pieces banana chips

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat until mixture is no longer “scratchy” sounding against bowl.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla and salt.
5. In separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder (tip for measuring flour: stir flour, spoon into measuring cup, then level).
6. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture.
7. Switch to working in flour mixture with hands when dough gets too stiff to beat.
8. Knead into smooth dough. Roll into 3/4-inch thick “ropes”. Break ropes into 3-inch sections. Pat one end smooth. Dip tip of other end of each piece into milk then red sugar.
9. Place on lined baking sheet. Pressing in sides of rope to prevent flattening, insert almond or piece of banana chip into rounded end. Repeat process to make 20 fingers.
10. Bake on middle rack of oven 17 minutes, or until dough is lightly golden.

Via Food Network