88 October 2014 www.womanthismonth.com Spooky Foods LIFESTYLE | food While Halloween today is an event of merchandise, costumes and fun parties, it is in fact derived from a solemn time of year in which Christians remembered the dead, saints, martyrs (hallows) and loved ones who had passed. Today, it is just a fun time to enjoy the celebrations — and the food! by JAMES CLAIRE 140g unsalted butter, softened 175g plain (all-purpose) flour 50g icing (powdered) sugar 1 orange, finely grated 100g mascarpone 1 tspn icing (powdered) sugar 25g dark chocolate, melted 50g icing (powdered) sugar 1 tbspn fresh orange juice • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until soft. Add the icing sugar and mix together before adding the flour and orange zest, and scraping down the bowl. Mix further until the dough is formed. Remove it from the machine and wrap in cling film. Chill for one hour. • Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut 24 circles with a 7.5cm round plain cutter. Put the cookie discs on lined baking sheets. Refrigerate the cut discs so that they are firm. • Using a small sharp knife, cut out Halloween faces on half of the circles. Make lines on the face biscuits with the back of a knife to look like the markings on a pumpkin. • Bake the cookies for approximately 12 minutes in the preheated oven or until pale golden brown around the edges. Leave to cool on a wire rack. • Mix the ingredients for the glaze to make a smooth, runny icing, adding a bit more juice if needed. Set aside. • For the filling, beat the mascarpone with the icing sugar in a small mixing bowl by hand, then stir in the cooled melted chocolate. • Spread the filling over the cooled plain biscuits. Press the ‘face’ ones on top. Brush with the glaze, using a clean paint brush or pastry brush. • If you wish to make truly spooky cookies, use a little coloured royal icing to pipe complete faces on the cookies. JACK O’ LANTERN COOKIES
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