Ingredient: Candy eyes

Soot Sprite Treats

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Spirited Away Soot Sprite Treats

If you’re a fan of Ghibli movies, you may remember the cute Susuwatari or Soot Sprites from Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. These easy-to-make chocolate covered treats are also known as haystacks or tumbleweeds. They’re often made with shredded coconut or chow main noodles. I love using potato stick snacks for a delicious, crunchy salty-sweet snack.

In Spirited Away, the cute sprites are fed handfuls of Japanese konpietō candy. If you aren’t able to find it, candy star sprinkles are a nice substitute for decorating your Soot Sprites. (See the links below.)

 

Soot Sprite Treats

by Mari Vasseur
Chocolate covered potato stick snacks shaped like the beloved Spirited Away Soot Sprites
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 24 treats

Ingredients
  

  • 5 cups (210g) potato stick snacks
  • ⅔ cup (65g) chopped toasted salted cashews or peanuts (optional but recommended)
  • 2 cups (340g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (170g) butterscotch chips
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • A few drops black oil based food coloring (optional)
  • 48 Candy eyes
  • Konpeitō candy or pastel star candy sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. In an extra-large bowl, combine the potato sticks and nuts.
  • In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and the oil. Heat in the microwave for 20 second bursts, stirring gently between each burst, until melted and smooth. Stir in the food coloring if using.
  • Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the potato stick mixture. Stir gently with a spatula until the mix is completely coated with the melted chocolate.
  • Scoop or spoon rounded 2-tbs-size portions of the mixture onto the baking sheets. Add candy eyes and stars. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

Notes

*To find black oil based food coloring, click here.
**To find candy eyes, click here.
***To find Konpieto candy, click here.
****To find pastel star candy sprinkles, click here.
 
Keyword candy, snacks, soot sprite treats, tumbleweeds

Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars

If you’re looking for an easy, delicious and cute Halloween bake, Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars are perfect for you. These spooky bars are crisp and golden on the outside, buttery, soft and chewy on the inside. They’re loaded with milk chocolate M & M’s and semisweet chocolate pieces which makes these the best Halloween cookie bars ever! I used a chocolate bar broken into pieces, rather than chocolate chips because the chocolate pieces melt into generous, silky pools of chocolate. The fun part is adding the spooky candy eyes. You can even create expressions with sprinkle eyebrows.

 

Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars

by Mari Vasseur
Crisp and golden on the outside, buttery, soft and chewy on the inside with M & M's and chocolate pieces. The best Halloween cookie bars ever!
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 9 bars

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 ½ cups (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ¾ cup (149g) M & M's milk chocolate candies preferably Halloween colors
  • 1 4 oz (113g) semisweet or dark chocolate bar broken into bite size pieces
  • Candy eyes
  • Green sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • In a medium-sized, light-colored saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until it's deep golden and fragrant. When brown specks start to appear, remove it from the heat and immediately transfer the butter with the brown specks to a large bowl. Set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan*** with parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches of overhang.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl until well blended. Set aside.
  • Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract to the brown butter and stir until combined. Add the egg and egg yolk and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Set aside a few of the larger chocolate pieces for the top. Gently stir the remaining chocolate pieces and the M & M's into the dough.
  • Press the dough evenly into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the reserved chocolate pieces on the top. Bake until the top is set and light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, about 20-25 minutes. Add the candy eyes and sprinkles while the bars are still warm. Let the bars cool in the pan.

Notes

*To find candy eyes, click here.
**To find green sprinkles, click here. Alternately, if you have rainbow sprinkles, you can take the  green ones out to use for your cookies bars if you don't want to purchase green sprinkles.
***To find the 8-inch baking pan I used, click here.
Keyword bars, monster cookie