Halloween Treats That Are Friendlier To Braces

By GRETCHEN MCKAY
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Scripps Howard News Service

Halloween is a favorite holiday for kids, in great part because there are so many decadent, sugary treats free for the taking. And with Mom's approval!

But what if your child is among the 4 million kids in the United States and Canada who wear braces or a retainer? That's really scary when it comes to tricks and treats.

Along with strict directions to brush and floss well and often, orthodontic patients are warned against sticky, crunchy or chewy foods that could harm their delicate (and expensive) hardware.

They're also told to avoid excessively hard snacks such as lollipops, nuts and hard pretzels. In a nutshell, forget most everything that gets brought to school Halloween parties or is tossed in trick-or-treat bags.

Orthodontists stand firm on this. Even if it means being labeled a big ol' meanie.

"They could bend the wires or damage the bracket," explains John Buzzatto, a board-certified orthodontist in suburban Pittsburgh. Which is no small thing, considering a set of braces can run as much as $6,000.

That doesn't mean that kids with braces have to opt out of Halloween celebrations. Parents just have to get a little more creative with the treats they prepare for a party. Instead of caramel or candied apples, for instance, why not thinly sliced apples served with a creamy chocolate dip or flavored yogurt? Rather than popcorn balls or brownies with nuts, how about creamy edible eyeballs made with peanut butter, confectioners' sugar and melted chocolate?

Similarly, why not rethink how you make those much-beloved Rice Krispies treats. It's just as easy to bind the crisped rice cereal with melted chocolate as with marshmallows. Actually, it's easier because it's not as sticky.

Just remember to brush afterward, or your smile could end up resembling that crooked, toothy grin on the jack-o'-lantern.

EYEBALLS

(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

You won't believe your eyes how fast these sweet treats will disappear -- even with all those veins.

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 to 2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 bag (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1 tube each red, white and green decorating frosting
36 brown M&Ms

Stir peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar until thick and smooth and well combined. Mixture should be thick and easy to roll into balls.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Shape mixture into 36 1-inch balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheet and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

Meanwhile, melt white chocolate with shortening over a double boiler until smooth. Carefully drop chilled peanut-butter balls into chocolate to coat, and scoop them out with a fork, letting excess drip off through the tines (be careful not to stick the balls). Return the balls to waxed-paper-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until set.

Squeeze frostings into separate zip-top bags. Snip a very small corner from each bag. Pipe red frosting lines from center out for veins; pipe a dot of green frosting on top. Place M&M in center and pipe a white line on one side of it. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 36 eyeballs.

-- "A Ghostly Good Time" (Filipacchi)

COBWEB COOKIES

(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

These crispy cookies are frighteningly easy to make, and even easier on your child's braces-hardware.

3/4 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients except powdered sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Pour batter into plastic squeeze bottle with narrow opening.

Heat 8-inch skillet over medium heat until hot; grease lightly. Working quickly, squeeze batter to form 4 straight, thin lines that intersect at a common center point to form a star shape.

To form cobweb, squeeze thin streams of batter to connect lines.

Cook 30 to 60 seconds or until bottom is golden brown; carefully turn. Cook until golden brown; remove from skillet.

Cool on wire rack.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 5 to 7 minutes or until almost crisp (cookies will become crisp as they cool).

Remove from cookie sheet; cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store cookies in container with loose-fitting cover.

Makes 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

-- Bettycrocker.com


WITCHES' BREW

64-ounce bottle white cranberry juice
2-liter bottle of ginger ale
1-liter bottle of orange-flavored seltzer water
Green food color

Mix the cranberry juice, ginger ale and seltzer in a punch bowl. Tint with 3 to 5 drops food color. Serve immediately.

Makes about 20 cups.

-- "Halloween Tricks and Treats" by Matthew Mead (Time)


CHOCOLATE CRACKLES

This crispy treat, chilled in cupcake papers, won't stick to metal hardware like Rice Krispie treats.

2/3 cups chocolate (milk, dark or white)
1 tablespoon liquid honey
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/3 cups cornflakes or puffed rice

Break the chocolate into small pieces. Place into a microwave-safe mixing bowl with honey and butter. Put the bowl in the microwave on the defrost setting and cook for 2 minutes, or until the chocolate has melted. Or, heat 2 inches of water in a large saucepan until steaming, then put the mixing bowl on top to melt the chocolate.

Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it's smooth and then carefully stir in the dry cereal until it's completely covered with the melted chocolate.

Spoon a tablespoon of the mixture into each of the paper cupcake cases, leave to cool at room temperature and then place them in the refrigerator to set.

Makes about 15 crackles.

-- "Kids' Cookbook" (Igloo)


SCREAMWICHES

1 pound confectioners' sugar
4 teaspoons powdered egg whites (not reconstituted)
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
24 chocolate wafer cookies
1 quart orange sherbet, softened slightly

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, egg whites, water, lemon juice and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat icing, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until it holds stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. Use icing immediately on 12 cookies or cover icing surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Using decorating icing, pipe Halloween designs (jack-o'-lantern faces, skulls) on the tops of 12 cookies. Let them dry completely. Sandwich scoops of softened sherbet between pairs of cookies, placing the decorated ones on top. Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet until serving.

Makes 3 cups icing and 12 screamwiches.

-- "Halloween Tricks and Treats" by Matthew Mead (Time)


VAMPIRE FANGS IN BLOOD

Candied apples will wreak havoc on braces. But thinly sliced apples, dipped in a creamy chocolate or sweet fruit sauce, get a stamp of approval from orthodontists.

8 large red delicious apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
10-ounce jar strawberry or cherry sauce

Wash, peel and core the apples. Then cut each apple into 16 pieces. Dip the cut apples into the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

To prepare the fangs, cut the apple slices into long, narrow triangles, making pointy tooth-like shapes. Redip slices in the lemon juice and lightly sprinkle them with sugar.

Arrange the fangs on a serving platter with the strawberry or cherry dipping sauce in the middle. Make sure you splatter some of the "blood" over the fangs.

Make about 10 servings.

-- Adapted from Familyfun.com


Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@post-gazette.com
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.