Want play a trick on those, Trick or Treating rascals that call on your house this Halloween? We have the perfect Trick or Treat, treat - Chocolate covered brussel sprouts!

We all know how much children hate to eat their greens, especially brussel sprouts. So this little treat is sure to trick them. Just imagine their little faces when they bite down on these festive goodies! Ad remember, he who laughs last, laughs longest.

All you will need is a bag of brussel sprouts, some milk chocolate cooking chocolate, some greaseproof paper and some Hundreds and Thousands to decorate (Optional)

First take the brussel sprouts and prepare them as if you were going to cook them by taking off all the outer leaves. Give them a wash and pat them dry. If they are wet the chocolate won’t cover properly.

Now take the chocolate and break up into chunks and put them in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Take out and stir. Return back to the microwave for 30 seconds if needed. Be careful not to microwave too much because it burn the chocolate and spoils it.

If you don’t have a microwave, don’t worry. Break the chocolate up into a heat proof bowl and stand in a saucepan of boiling water on the hob. You need to make sure that the pan doesn’t boil dry, and that no water splashes out of the pan and into your chocolate, else it will spoil. Remember to keep stirring your chocolate.

When the chocolate is melted, add the brussel sprouts and give them a good mix to ensure that all the brussel sprouts are evenly covered and no green leaves are showing.

Then carefully lift each brussel sprout out with a spoon and leave it on a sheet of greaseproof paper. When you have all the chocolate covered brussel sprouts out of the mixture, use a tea spoon to drizzle chocolate over each brussel to ensure coverage and use up the left over melted chocolate.

If you would like to decorate the brussel sprouts sprinkle some Hundreds and Thousands over them whilst the chocolate is still warm. They will stay in place when the chocolate sets.

Place the chocolate treats in the fridge to harden for about 30 minutes. Divide into little goodie bags ready for the Halloween trick or treaters, wont they be surprised? Please do expect to have your garden covered in half bitten chocolate covered brussel sprouts, however, that all adds to the amusement!

by: S. Roberts

Recipe for Halloween Snacks
 by: Rachael Willerton

Instead of the usual sandwiches, at Halloween why not surprise the kids with these spooky snacks!

Pumpkin crackers

A round cracker with a slice of red cheese cut into circle on top. Decorate to look like a pumpkin with either soft cheese piped or a white cheese cut into shapes.

Skull sandwiches

Cut two slices of bread into skull shapes. Cut eye and mouth shapes into the top slice. Spread with butter. Spread the bottom slice thickly with jam and place the top slice on letting the jam ooze through the gaps.

Devil egg eyes

Slice a hard boiled egg in two. Scoop out the yolk and in a separate bowl mix in some mayonnaise. Spoon egg mixture back into boiled egg. To make the eye look bloodshot use tomato ketchup.

Ice scream eyes

Scope of raspberry ripple ice cream with a cherry on top. Add strawberry sauce for more blood.

Bat wings

Arrange chicken wings on a plate to look like bats.

Dried scabs

Simply a bowl of dried fruit. Red berries and raisins look good.

Blood and guts

Make up a red jelly and allow to set. Chop up jelly and add red fruits for a gory look.

Fangs

Slices of peeled apple with a strawberry (blood) sauce.

Witches fingers

Simply cocktail sausages with red or green peppers. Cut a small (1cm) slice out of the top of the sausage to form a shelf for the finger nail to rest. Cut the pepper into finger nail shapes and add a bit of soft cheese on the back to stick it onto the sausage.

Witch heads

Cover a fairy cake with green butter icing (or add green food colouring to cake mixture – a lot less messy and time consuming). Cover an ice cream cone in melted chocolate and allow to set. Add a little spare butter icing to the base of the cone to stick it to a chocolate digestive to form a hat. Cut up some liquorice laces and add to the top of the fairy cake to form hair. Place the hat on top. Use dolly mixtures for eyes and pipe black icing to form the rest of the face.

Blood

Any red fruit juice or squash.

Mud

Chocolate milkshake, mixed with ice cream and crushed chocolate flakes.

Lastly why not serve up crisps in a bowl with plastic skeleton or bats for decoration.

For other recipes and activities for the kids go to www.b4school.co.uk

Ingredients

For the pastry:
Sweet short crust pastry case
or a packet of ready made sweet short crust pastry with 40g/1½oz crushed pecans mixed in.

For the filling:
450 g/1lb prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 1in/2.5 cm chunks
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk (use the white for another dish)
3 oz/75g soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger
10 fl oz/275 ml double cream

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Use a shop bought sweet crust pastry case, about 9 inch/23 cm diameter and 1½ inches/4 cm deep.
3.  To make the filling, steam the pumpkin then place in a coarse sieve and press lightly to extract any excess water.
4. Then lightly whisk the eggs and extra yolk together in a large bowl.
5. Place the sugar, spices and the cream in a pan, bring to simmering point, giving it a whisk to mix everything together. Then pour it over the eggs and whisk it again briefly.
6. Now add the pumpkin pureé, still whisking to combine everything thoroughly.
7. Then pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time it will puff up round the edges but still feel slightly wobbly in the centre.
8.  Then remove it from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Serve chilled (stored loosely covered in foil in the fridge) with some equally chilled créme fraïche, but warm or at room temperature would be fine.