Jim and his family are huge Disney World fans. Everything from the parks to the films is an endless source of delight for them, and now that I’m “in,” I must delight in it too! To illustrate how dedicated my new family is to Mickey Mouse, at this very moment, Jim is on the phone with his twin, Joe, deliberating on whether he should read a book about the history of Disney World while we’re there for our honeymoon, and it’s a very passionate discussion.
Both of us share a love for trivia, too, so at the beginning of summer I put together a family game night where I created a trivia game based on Disney. Now we’re heading in to our second Disney trivia game night at the end of October and I was thinking through what sorts of goodies to serve. I finally settled on the below (yes, I got some colored pencils!) but it was not without overwhelming research! I wish I could just have a party dedicated to Halloween-themed desserts! Alas, people can’t live on sugar alone, but I thought I’d share some wicked sweet ideas if you’re as enthused about your desserts as the Flakes are about Disney.
The Disney Trivia Menu: A Culinary Cabaret
Chocolate log cake: the recipe belongs to Ree Drummond, but I add some orange food coloring to the cream cheese filling.
Honeycrisp and Rave apples with caramel and cheddar cut into Mickey using a cookie cutter!
Monster s’mores bars: see Jimmy’s S’mores Bars and add M&Ms.
“Beef ragu!” (aka: BBQ shredded beef) with brioche buns: I will probably just use the same recipe for BBQ shredded pork!
“Cheese souffle!” (aka: Mac & Cheese bundt): Jane is bringing this! She will coat the inside of the pan with some kind of crunchy chip to give a beautiful, golden crust to the tender, cheesy mac!
“Pie and pudding en flam–” just kidding. Veggie tray with homemade ranch dip so we can feel justified when we whimsically shove desserts and cheese in our mouths.
Halloween Dessert #1: Monster S'more Bars
These are the offspring of Monster Cookies and Jimmy’s S’more Bars. If you follow the s’more bar recipe, there is just one small change: instead of 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, use 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and put 3/4 cup mini M&Ms in the cookie dough.
These are so easy, marshmallow-y, chocolatey, gooey, and cookie-meets-brownie, it’s a for sure win at your Halloween gathering.
Halloween Dessert #2: Candy Glass
Super easy to make and customize with fun colors! You NEED a candy thermometer, though! This can make a great garnish for cupcakes (add some drops of red food coloring along the edges) or a beautiful mosaic on a cake (if you’re really dedicated). It’s also yummy on its own!
Ingredients
3 cups white or cane sugar (cane sugar will give a golden color like I’ve shown)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Flavorings or food coloring, if desired
Procedure
Bring all ingredients to a boil while stirring until it reaches 300F using a candy thermometer. If you want to add color or flavor, add it now! Pour into an aluminum foil-lined sheet cake pan and allow to cool for an hour. Have fun (but be safe!) breaking it apart!
Halloween Dessert #3: Spooky Chocolate Log
If you follow my Instagram account, you’ll know roll cakes are tricky treats. (See what I did there?) I followed The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for a Buche de Noel, but the biggest thing you have to look out for is baking time. Under or over baking the cake will cause the cake to crack! I baked mine for about 14 minutes, but Ree had suggested 10-12 minutes. It is so dependent on your oven! The filling is a tangy cream cheese frosting with vanilla that I dyed orange with food gel. Now that I have successfully made this cake without it cracking, I want to move on to decorating the “log” with some cute meringue “mushrooms” and piped chocolate “spiders.”