Ghostly Graveyard Recipes

GHOSTLY GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine marshmallows and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until melted and blended. Remove from the heat; stir in cereal. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. dish; cool. Cut into 12 squares and set aside. , Cut a 1/2-in. piece from the bottom of each sandwich cookie. Crush removed cookie pieces; set aside. Write "RIP" on each cookie, using white decorating gel. , Position cereal squares on a large serving tray. With 2 tablespoons frosting, form a circle on each cereal square; top each with a decorated cookie. Sprinkle reserved crumbs around tombstones; add Halloween sprinkles.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• Beat pudding mixes and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Stir in 3 cups COOL WHIP and half the cookie crumbs. Spread into 13x9-inch dish; sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
• Refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, decorate sandwich cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones.
• Insert decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of remaining COOL WHIP onto dessert to resemble ghosts.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• Crush the oreo cookies in a plastic bag using a rolling pin, or in a food processor.
• Pour milk into large bowl.
• Add pudding mixes.
• Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended.
• Let pudding stand 5 minutes.
• Gently stir in 1/2 each of the whipped topping and crushed cookies.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch dish; sprinkle with remaining crushed cookies to be the"dirt" of the graveyard.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve.
• Decorate the remaining cookies with assorted icings to resemble tombstones,"RIP" and"BOO" are nice sayings; stand up cookies in top of dessert like graves.
• Add candies and plastic"scary" creatures, if using.
• Drop remaining whipped topping by spoonfuls onto dessert to resemble ghosts.
• What works best is to make the cool-whip"ghosts" ahead on a cookie sheet and store them in the freezer until ready to use.
• That way they don't flop over.
• Two or three small, round dollups of cool-whip (like a snowman) make nice looking ghosts.
• You should be able to make 2 or 3 ghosts.
• Remove"ghosts" from the freezer and give them"eyes" and a"mouth" using the brown decorating icing.
• Place"ghosts" in the graveyard.
• Small plastic spiders, cobwebs, or mini monsters are a nice addition too.
• To serve, just scoop out into bowls.
• Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Spray the bottom of your pan with non-stick spray. Next, line with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan. This will help release the cake from the pan and makes clean up much easier.
• Mix your batter in a large bowl or stand mixer according to the box directions. Deeper pans might need more batter - I used a deeper pan, 3 inches deep, so I mixed up 2 boxes of cake mix batter. Most pans are 2 inches deep.
• In a small bowl place 2 cups of batter, stir in orange food color until it's the orange you like. Now, pour dollops of the batter into the pan alternating from chocolate and orange. Try to place the batter on top of each area, it will begin to spread out.
• When all the batter is in the pan, use a skewer to pull lines from the center outward, and then do some slight swirls around the pan. This helps create the marble design. Rap the pan down on the counter to help level the batter and pop any bubbles in the batter that might cause uneven baking.
• Bake according to your box directions, most classic mixes require a 350-degree oven for 28 minutes for a regular 9 x 13 pan. (If you use a pan deeper than 2 inches, reduce baking temperature to 325 degrees and bake longer for 55 minutes). Check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean the cake is done.
• Beat soft butter and shortening in a mixer on high until creamy for 5 minutes.
• At low speed, add 10 cups powder sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth.
• Add 1 cup cocoa powder, mix well.
• On high speed, mix in vanilla, almond extract, and hot water for 5 minutes until fluffy and smooth. Add more hot water if necessary until frosting is smooth.
• Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cool the cake in the refrigerator for at least two hours or preferably overnight before decorating. I like to bake one day, then decorate the next. This helps release the steam and the frosting holds on when chilled.
• Place a dollop of chocolate frosting on a small piece of cardboard (cut to fit the cake) on a tray, or cutting board and set the cake on top. This keeps it from sliding around while decorating.
• Frost using a small offset spatula. Smooth out the frosting as best you can all over the top and sides. Chill it in the refrigerator while you make the chocolate decorations.
• Cut parchment paper to fit neatly inside a large baking sheet. Slide the downloadable chocolate design template under the parchment paper.
• Melt the chocolate for decorating. In a double boiler, add chocolate chips and a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and stir until melted over simmering not boiling water. IMPORTANT: don't splash water into the melting chocolate, or it might seize "freeze" up. You might need to add a bit more vegetable oil to get it smooth. Load into a zip-top bag fitted with a small round piping tip. I used a Wilton size 5 tip.
• Quickly pipe the graveyard fence, gate and tree onto parchment paper using the design I provided to guide you, or create your own! PRO TIP: Pipe the chocolate fairly thick, going over the lines. Thin lines will break and snap more easily as you decorate. Let the chocolate pieces chill in the fridge to set, they are fine to chill overnight too. Use a candy mold and fill the tombstones with melted chocolate, and the bones with white candy melts, let set until firm in the fridge.
• Crush Oreos for "dirt" in a small zip-top bag. First pop out the tombstones and bones from the mold. Place those on the cake with Oreo "dirt". Next, add the tree. You might want to pipe some frosting at the base of the tree to hold it up. Now add some chocolate buttercream on the lower part of the fences, and gate, this acts as "glue" to hold them to the sides. Place those pieces around the outside edges, and break off smaller pieces of fence if you need them.
• The cake will hold well overnight in the refrigerator for 1 day, and possibly 2 days. I would decorate either the day of your party or the night before. I have also had guests decorate it during the party which was SO much fun!
• NOTE: The chocolate pieces will melt a bit on a hot day. I recommend you keep the cake chilled until serving time!

GHOSTLY GRAVEYARD CAKES

Steps:

• Tint frosting green with 3 drops each blue and yellow Neon food color. Set aside. Place coconut in resealable plastic bag. Add 6 drops each blue and yellow Neon food color; shake until coconut is evenly tinted.
• Frost cakes with green frosting. Sprinkle with green coconut for grass.
• For the "tombstones", place chocolate frosting in small plastic bag. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag. Squeeze out the letters "RIP" onto each cookie. Place cookie into one end of each cake. Arrange cakes on serving platter to create a graveyard.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD CAKE

Steps:

• Line a 13x9-in. baking pan and an 8-in. square baking dish with foil, and grease the foil. Prepare brownie batter and bake according to package directions, using prepared pans. Cool on wire racks., Break pretzel rods into various sizes; dip into melted chocolate. Arrange into a tree shape on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet., Place melted white candy coating in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Outline three small ghosts on waxed paper. Fill in ghost outlines, adding a lollipop stick to each for support. Place unmelted chocolate chips on ghosts for eyes. Let dry completely., Using foil, lift brownies out of pans. Discard foil; place 8-in. square brownie on a large serving plate for graveyard. Spread chocolate frosting over top and sides., Cut remaining brownie into 3-in.x1-1/2-in. tombstone shapes. Combine confectioners' sugar and cocoa; sprinkle over tombstones. With black food coloring, tint vanilla frosting gray; decorate tombstones., Using toothpicks, insert three tombstones into graveyard. Insert tree into graveyard (support as needed with brownie scraps). Insert ghosts into graveyard; sprinkle with wafer crumbs for dirt and coconut for grass. Place remaining tombstones on a serving platter.

GHOSTS IN THE GRAVEYARD

Steps:

• 1. MAKE PUDDING AS DIRECETD ON PACKAGE USING 31/2 CUPS MILK;LET STAND 5 MIN.
• 2. STIR IN 3 CUPS OF THE COOL WHIP AND 1/2 OF THE CRUSHED COOKIES
• 3. SPOON INTO 13X9 IN.DISH, SPRINKLE WITH REMAINING CRUSHED COOKIES.
• 4. REFRIGERATE 1 HOUR
• 5. DECORATE WITH CANDY,RECTANGULAR SANDWICH COOKIES(TOMBSTONES)AND SPOONFULS OF WHIPPED TOPPING (GHOST)