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October 31, 2010

No mom, don’t be scared! These are not the usual Halloween treats




We had Halloween parties on both Thursday and Friday at the school where I work. I have to admit that I’m not a bit Halloween fan myself, but with the kids…everything is different. The problem in doing the party at a school is the treats. There are kids with allergies, there are kids with weight problems, there are kids that are vegetarian or even vegan, and there are kids that simply have parents that do not want them to eat processed food or too many sweets. I do not disagree on any of these standings. I respect everybody’s choice in life in general and in how to raise kids and deal with their diet in this case.

The only issue is that with all these restrictions to comply with, what the heck CAN moms (dads) bring to school?! Of course, their kids will want to bring something but it is very hard to accommodate everybody’s dietary choice. On top of all this, there are moms (dads) that don’t find cookies and cupcakes decorating as easy as it is for many food bloggers I know! There are also moms (dads) that work full time and can’t afford the luxury of spending an entire afternoon baking goodies for their kid’s Halloween party. And finally, there are moms (dads) that simply can’t afford buying expensive treats (because let’s say it…many of these whole grain, organic, fresh, local - or whatever else denomination they might have – treats are sold in expensive store that not everybody can afford!).

I spent the whole week thinking about this and feeling bad for those moms (dads) that would simply want to make their kids go to school happy with a fun treat. I looked around on the blogsphere and all I could find were very sweet treats…adorable, cute, scary, spooky, everything you might want in a Halloween treat. But also very much covered in icing and/or containing ingredients prone to create allergies problems.



This is what I came out with: puff pastry cream cheese ghosts. You don’t need much money. You don’t need much time. You don’t need to be Martha Stewart to be able to make them. You just need frozen puff pastry, cream cheese at room temperature (so that it can be spread easily) and raisins to make eyes and mouth (if you don’t have calories issue you could make eyes and mouth by piping some melted chocolate).

I let the puff pastry defrost for a few hours in the fridge and I rolled it out pretty thin. Then the only thing I did was to cut out a little ghost shape from parchment paper that I used to cut out the puff pastry of the right shape. After baking the puff pastry, I let it cool down and then I spread the cream cheese and decorated with raisins.

I have to admit they were a pretty sweet treat even if not covered with a thick layer of icing. And again, if you don’t have calories restrictions you could always make a sweeter version by pouring melted white chocolate on the puff pastry instead of spreading the cream cheese.

Have a sweet Halloween!

13 comments:

  1. I think this is a perfect compromise! I feel your agony, I was room mom for many years, and I heard alot of your same issues over and over. I'm sure all the kids would like these. Happy Halloween! Thank you from a mom who recognizes we need more caring teachers such as yourself!
    -Gina-

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  2. Sara, you're so thoughtful. I'm sure your made everyone happy with these fun treats. Love that this is so simple anyone can make it. Great job!

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  3. hehe
    they look so cute and funny! :D

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  4. Those are wonderful. I won't tell you how big the bag of candy is that Dudette came home with, not just from trick-or-treating, but from her parties at preschool too.

    You did a great job with those boo-tiful ghosts! :)

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  5. Wow, that's a great idea for a halloween treat! I'm sure everyone loved them. They are really adorable, especially the raisin eyes.

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  6. What a cool idea!! I bet the puff pastry mixed with the cream cheese tastes divine. :D

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  7. I don't have kids yet, but can only imagine the daunting task that treats to bring to school could be. You are so creative and smart with this recipe...what a great mom! :)

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  8. I would have never thought there were SO many considerations when making treats for school. I guess this makes it clear we don't have kids yet. Props to you for coming up with a creative and delicious treat that's fun for everyone! :)

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  9. Sara-I left you an award on my blog...come and get it:)
    These look so delicious!:)

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  10. Candy is like a drug. If you've never read, "THE SUGAR BLUES," I think you would enjoy it. I work with kids at church and yesterday I gave out "free french fry" coupons from Burger King instead of candy. Thank you for caring enough about the kids to find ways to "treat" them without "tricking" them into eating only sugar!

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  11. I don't have kids yet but being a teacher made me totally sympathetic with those poor moms that have to cope with the long list of allergies at school and still make their kids happy because, come on, everybody needs a treat, above all at Halloween!
    @Cake Duchess: thank you sweetie :) I'll come and get it!

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  12. This one is a good Halloween treat. I don't think kids will not like it because of our creativity. I know that we have lots of things to consider preparing food on kids but definitely this one, I adore it=)

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  13. this looks amaizing.. you are so creative. thank you for sharing this.

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