Treat Yourself

We all have our favorite Halloween candy, ranging from Reese’s to Skittles to M&M’s, and everything in between. However, we often take Halloween’s traditions of costumes, trick-or-treating, and candy for granted.

America’s modern day Halloween ritual of trick-or-treating for candy did not develop until the 1950’s after World War II. Before the war, October 31st was a popular day for teenagers to pull pranks on their local communities. In attempts to reduce the antics by the teenagers, neighborhoods began to pass out candy to young children.

During this time, cookie cutters also became widely used to bake cookies in the shape of witches and pumpkins. They also baked devil’s food cupcakes with orange and black frosting. These treats were often passed out to the young children on Halloween. Although Halloween candy and chocolates are no-doubt delicious, why not celebrate the holiday in a more traditional fashion by indulging in some witch and pumpkin shaped cookies or even devil’s food cupcakes with friends and housemates? Below you will find a more traditional recipe for homemade Halloween cupcakes.

 Devil’s Food Cupcake Ingredients:

  • 2 ½ cups of sifted white cake flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¾ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 4 oz. unsweetened dark chocolate
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk, divided
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 eggs, well-beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Orange Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. vanilla, coconut or orange flavoring extract
  • 1-4 tbsp. milk
  • A few drops of red and yellow food coloring

Yield: 24 cupcakes. Visit the website for specific baking instructions here.

For those of you who are not bakers, however, there are many delectable treats around Ann Arbor that perfectly capture the tastes of fall and are definitely worth trying. Savas, for example, offers a pumpkin cheesecake that perfectly combines the savory flavors of pumpkin, ginger, dark chocolate ganache, and eggnog. Iorio’s is also currently selling a Pumpkin and Cream gelato flavor that makes you want to come back for more.

Whatever you decide, try stepping outside of the current traditions of Halloween candy. Why not treat yourself to something really special?

 

Contributed by Julie Ramus

Information & recipe courtesy of toriavey.com/history-kitchen/2012/10/halloween-devils-food-cupcakes/