Pumpkin Heads!

Halloween is swiftly approaching... So it's time for pumpkin carving! Hooray!!! But it also means a lot of yummy pumpkin going to waste! Boo!!!

Ask yourself this, how many pumpkins do you think you've eaten compared to how many you've carved? They're a little bit like marmite aren't they, love them or hate them... But we all love a carved pumpkin even if we don't fancy eating it.

So we've come up with a few alternatives this year! We may have gotten a little carried away so it's in two parts. Fun for the kids today and fun for the bigger kids tomorrow! 

Yummy Little Ghosties...

You will need:

• Apple
  
• White chocolate
  
• Black ready roll icing
  
• Lolly stick
  

Method:

Step one:

Stab your apple with the stick. Easy.

Step two:

Melt the chocolate and coat the apple.

Step three:

Take little pieces of the ready roll icing and mould into shapes. Make a ghostly face! Ooooohhhh spoooooky!

Hmmm. He looks like he may have been modelled on Freddie Mercury... Dependant on the variety some apples can ripen off in the trees right up until November. If you've still got some growing near you these little Halloween treats are a great way to use them and they're easy to tweak. If you add a touch of orange food dye you can make pumpkins or swap out the icing for decorations of your own choice. Raisins or melted dark chocolate perhaps?

Wonderful Witches...

You will need:

• Orange
• Sharpie pen
• Scissors
• Sellotape
• Sweets
• Tissue paper
• Black card
• Knife
  
• ​Spoon
  

Method:

Step one:

Chop the top off of the orange and hollow out with a spoon, as you would a normal pumpkin.

Step two:

Take a piece of tissue paper in any colour you fancy and stuff the middle into the orange. You should have plenty left hanging out.

Step three:

Trim part of the tissue paper to make a fringe. The remaining tissue will form the rest of the hair. Draw a face, the spookier the better.

Step four:

Stuff a few sweets into the orange, the tissue paper will help protect against extra stickiness.

Step five:

Cut a circle of black card. It will probably need to be bigger than you think so it will fit your orange at the end. You can always trim it back if needed.

Step six:

Fold the circle in half and then half again.

Step seven:

Open out the fold. You should have three layers of card on one side and a single layer on the other. This will create a cone.

Step eight:

Add a little sellotape to keep the cone in it's correct shape.

Step nine:

Sellotape the inside of the witches hat to the witches hair creating a hinge.

Step ten:

Flip the hat into position and your witch is ready to go!

Again, there are many ways to personalise this crafty little lady. You can use paints instead of pens and add as many decorations as you like. If you're really feeling fancy and have a steady hand then you with a sharp knife you could carve the face as you would on a pumpkin. 

Remember we don't like to waste anything so save the juices and pulp that you scraped out. You could use it to flavour jellies and truffles as an extra treat. If you've carved your orange that's pretending to be a pumpkin that's pretending to be a witch, then you can also use the peel later on. Use the zest in cheesecakes and brownies or make some preserved and candied peel  ready for Christmas!

It might be early but happy Halloween folks!