Nutty Phyllo Ghosts Recipes

PASTRY PHYLLO NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough out flat. Pick it up from the center as if it were a handkerchief. Continue with remaining 3 sheets. Set it down on a baking pan and twist and flatten the center down to create a free form "nest" of phyllo. Brush with butter and bake for 20 minutes or until crackling crisp and golden. Serve one per person and top with fruit, whipped cream or ice cream or drizzle with honey and scatter with chopped pistachios, almonds or walnuts.

MERINGUE GHOSTS AND PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until very foamy and almost forming soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and salt and increase the mixer speed to medium high. Gradually add the sugar while mixing, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Remove 1/4 cup of the meringue to a small bowl and stir in 2 drops of green gel food coloring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
• Transfer half of the remaining meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Set aside.
• Add 4 drops of orange gel food coloring to the meringue still in the mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. Dip a toothpick or skewer into the bottle of orange gel food coloring and drag 3 or 4 lines of food coloring lengthwise along the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, spacing the lines apart evenly. Transfer the orange meringue to this piping bag.
• Pipe a dot of meringue in each corner of a baking sheet and press a sheet of parchment paper on top, using the dots to keep it in place. Make ghosts by piping the white meringue into small mounds on the parchment, alternating pressure on the piping bag to create two or three stacked mounds for each ghost. Carefully press two mini chocolate chips, flat-side out, to make eyes for each ghost. Press another mini chocolate chip, pointy-tip up, in each of a few ghosts to make a mouth.
• Make pumpkins by piping the striped orange meringue into small mounds, making sure to hold the piping tip far enough above the baking sheet so that they have some height. Pipe leaves and stems with the green meringue on top of each pumpkin. Carefully press mini chocolate chips, pointy-tip up, into some of the pumpkins to make the eyes and a nose. Line up 4 or 5 chips the same way to make a mouth for each jack-o'-lantern.
• Bake the meringues for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside with the door closed for 2 hours 30 minutes more to fully dry out.