Crispy Spiderwebs Recipes

SPIDERWEB CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil three 8-in. cake pans and line bottoms with parchment; grease parchment.
• Into large bowl, sift together flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk until nearly all combined. Gradually add coffee, whisking until smooth.
• Divide among prepared pans and bake until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 28 to 32 min. Transfer pans to wire rack for 10 min., before inverting onto racks to cool completely. Once cool, chill cakes, lightly wrapped, at least 30 min. or up to 1 day before decorating.
• Make frosting: In large bowl of electric stand mixer, beat butter, sugar and salt on low speed until fully combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 min. Gradually add cream to reach spreadable consistency and beat until fluffy, about 3 min.
• To assemble, place 1 cake, flat side up, on cake board or serving platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting on top of cake to edges. Place second cake layer on top, rounded side down, and repeat. Add final layer, rounded side up or down. Coat entire cake in thin layer of frosting and chill at least 10 min. or until frosting is no longer tacky.
• Transfer 1/2 cup remaining frosting to small bowl and tint black. Transfer to piping bag fitted with small round tip and set aside.
• To remaining frosting, fold in crushed cookies; avoid over-mixing so frosting does not turn gray. Spread thick layer of frosting over cake and use an offset spatula to smooth evenly around cake. Save any remaining frosting to help stick spiders and webs to cake.
• To make spiders and webs, draw or print a spiderweb template and stick to your work surface. Place waxed paper on top and tape down corners. Place two-thirds of chocolate in bowl and microwave in 30-sec. increments on 50% power, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Add remaining chocolate, stirring until melted.
• Make piping bag: Starting with large sheet of parchment paper, fold one corner over until edges line up to make a triangle. Cut off and discard excess. With folded side toward you, take bottom right corner up to meet top point of triangle, curling paper inward to line up. Holding points together with one hand, use other hand to wrap final point around to meet points. Fold points into piping bag.
• Fill bag no more than halfway with melted chocolate and fold down open end to seal. Cut small point off bottom of piping tip and trace webs onto waxed paper. Let set completely before transferring to cake.
• To make spiders, use black Sixlets candies and pipe legs with black frosting. Let set completely before transferring to cake.

SPIDER WEB DEVILED EGGS

Steps:

• Combine 2 quarts water with the food coloring in a saucepot. Gently place the eggs in the water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Remove the eggs from the water and place on paper towels. Lightly tap the eggs with a spoon to crack the shells. Transfer the eggs to a container with some ice and pour the cooking liquid over the eggs. Chill until completely cold.
• Gently peel the eggs. Slice a thin sliver off the narrow end of each egg so the eggs can stand upright when plated. Cut off the wide end of each egg and use a small spoon or the tip of a butter knife to gently scoop out the egg yolk into a mini food processor or mixing bowl. Process the yolks (or smash with a fork). Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper and mix until smooth. Spoon or pipe the yolk filling into the egg white cups.
• Place the egg white cups upright on a serving platter. Sprinkle a pinch of paprika on top of the yolks. Finish each egg with a sprig of fresh dill. Serve chilled.

PRETZEL SPIDER WEBS

Steps:

• Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In sets of 8, arrange the pretzel sticks into the spokes of 10 webs, with the centers touching and the outer edges spaced.
• Melt the melting wafers according to the package instructions, approximately 2 minutes in a microwave or 3 to 5 minutes over a double boiler. Transfer to a piping bag and cut the tip to create a small hole.
• Pipe a small amount of the melted candy onto the center of each web where the pretzels meet; this will hold the webs together. Then pipe a web pattern by starting in the center and spiraling out to the edges. Go around the outer edges a couple times to create a firm border. Carefully spoon over the sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining webs.
• Place chocolate spiders in the center, if using. Let set 1 hour.

SPIDERWEB CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cupcakes as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
• Tint frosting with red and yellow food colors to make orange frosting. Spread frosting over tops of cupcakes.
• Squeeze circles of decorating gel on each cupcake; pull knife through gel from center outward to make web. To make each spider, roll out 1 gumdrop and cut out 8 strips for legs; place another gumdrop on top. Place spider on cupcake. Store loosely covered.

SPIDER WEB DIP WITH SPOOKY TORTILLA CHIPS (OPTIONAL)

Steps:

• Place cream cheese and salsa in blender or food processor container and blend until almost smooth.
• Spread cream cheese mixture on round serving dish or pie plate, smooth guacamole over top, leaving 1/2-inch border.
• Place sour cream in small resealable plastic food storage bag, seal bag.
• Cut off tiny corner of bag and pipe sour cream in spiral shape over guacamole.
• Run tip of knife through sour cream to make"spider web.
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• Spooky Tortilla Chips:Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
• Using 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut tortillas, one at a time, into shapes.
• Lightly spray tortilla shapes with cooking spray.
• Place on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
• Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

SPIDERWEB BROWNIES

Steps:

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in sugar. Cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts. Pour into a greased foil-lined 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Immediately drop marshmallow cream by spoonfuls over hot brownies; spread evenly. Cool on a wire rack. , Lift out of the pan; remove foil. For web decoration, melt semisweet chocolate in a microwave; stir until smooth. Transfer to a small resealable plastic bag. Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag; drizzle chocolate over top in a spiderweb design. Let set before cutting into bars.