Boo-tiful Halloween treats: Spider Cookies, Chocolate Eyeballs & Ghost Lollipops

These recipes are ghoulishly good.

By Kirsten Tibballs

Halloween is the perfect time to get creative and have some spooky fun in the kitchen with your kids.

Australia’s Queen of Chocolate, Kirsten Tibballs has outdone herself this Halloween with an array of sweets that are not only visually captivating but also irresistibly scrumptious.

From ghostly lollipops to chocolate eyeballs, these tasty treats are perfect for trick-or-treating and Halloween parties.

So, gather your little goblins and witches, put on your aprons, and let the Halloween baking begin!

Spooktacular Halloween treats

Chocolate Eyeballs

Upping the gross factor, these dark and white chocolate eyeballs have a rich chocolate taste kids will love.

Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache
Makes: approximately 30 truffles

87g       Bulla Pure Cream 
20g       Honey
½ tsp    vanilla bean paste
150g     Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture 
300g     Callebaut W2 White Chocolate, for dipping 

Callebaut white chocolate truffle shells

Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.

Temper the white chocolate and transfer some of the chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top to seal the truffle shells. Once the chocolate sets, place a toothpick into the base of each truffle and dip the shell into the tempered white chocolate. Tap the shell off the surface of the chocolate to create surface tension and remove any excess chocolate. Wipe the base of the truffle on the side of the bowl and carefully place the shell onto a sheet of baking paper, twisting the toothpick to remove it. Allow to set.

Chocolate Eyes

50g       Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
50g       Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
3g          green oil soluble colour
3g          blue oil soluble colour

Temper the white chocolate and divide the chocolate between 2 bowls. Add the green colour to the chocolate in one bowl and mix together to combine. Repeat this process with the blue colour so in total you will have 2 colours of chocolate: green and blue.

Temper the dark couverture and transfer to a paper piping cone. Create the pupil of the eye by piping a small quantity of the dark chocolate into a half sphere chocolate mould. Tap the mould against the bench and allow to set. Once set, pipe the tempered green chocolate on top of the dark couverture. Tap the mould against the bench and leave to set. Repeat this process with the tempered blue chocolate to create the blue eyes. 

Assembly

50g       Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
5g          red oil soluble colour
10g       Callebaut cocoa butter, melted

Temper the white chocolate. Remove the blue and green eyes from the chocolate mould once they’re set. Secure the chocolate eyes onto the truffle shells with some of the tempered chocolate. Create the blood by adding the red colour to the chocolate and mixing together to ensure it is fully incorporated. Melt the cocoa butter to 29-30˚C and add it to the red chocolate to make it more fluid. Use a teaspoon to randomly place drops of the chocolate blood over the truffle shells. Allow to set fully before handling.

Spider Peanut Cookies

These rich and chewy peanut butter cookies are topped with a charming yet creepy chocolate spider.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes: 30-35 cookies

240g     unsalted butter
80g       caster sugar
300g     brown sugar
2            whole eggs
1 tsp     vanilla bean paste
130g     crunchy peanut butter
400g     plain flour
1 tsp     baking powder
200g     Callebaut milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Mix the butter, caster sugar and brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until the butter is fully incorporated. Add the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter and continue mixing. Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a bowl. Add the sieved dry ingredients to the mixture and lastly add the chopped chocolate chips. Remove from the stand mixer.

For each cookie, weigh out 40g of the dough and roll into balls. Place each ball onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between each cookie to allow for spreading. Lightly press down on each ball. Bake at 170 ˚C for 10 minutes. 

Remove the cookies from the oven and using a teaspoon, make a small dent in the middle of each cookie while they’re still warm. This will allow the spider to sit on top of the cookie. Cool the cookies at room temperature.

Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache

Makes: 30 truffles

87g       Bulla Pure Cream 
20g       Honey
½ tsp    vanilla bean paste
150g     Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture 
300g     Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture, for dipping 
Callebaut milk chocolate truffle shells

Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.

Temper the milk chocolate and transfer to a paper piping cone. Pipe some of the chocolate on top of the truffle shells to seal them. Once the chocolate sets, place a toothpick into the base of each truffle and dip the shell into the tempered milk chocolate. Tap the shell on the surface of the chocolate to create surface tension and remove any excess chocolate. Wipe the base of the truffle on the side of the bowl and carefully place the shell onto a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray, twisting the toothpick to remove it. Allow to set.

Spider Eyes

50g       Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture
50g       Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
5g          white oil soluble colour (titanium dioxide)

Temper the dark couverture and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the dark chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate into a half sphere mould. Allow to set.

Temper the white chocolate and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the white chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top of the dark chocolate, covering it. Allow to set. 

Assembly

100g     Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture
50g       Callebaut W2 White Chocolate
5g          red oil soluble colour 
10g       Callebaut cocoa butter

Temper the milk couverture. Transfer to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate onto the middle of each cookie. Place a truffle shell on top of the cookie and pipe lines of chocolate on each side to create 8 spider legs (4 legs on each side). Remove the chocolate eyes from the moulds and secure them to the truffle using the tempered chocolate.

Temper the white chocolate. Create the blood by adding the titanium to the tempered chocolate. Mix together to combine then add the red colour and mix again to ensure it is fully incorporated. Melt the cocoa butter to 29-30˚C and add it to the red chocolate to make it more fluid. Use a paper piping cone to randomly place drops of the chocolate blood around the spiders and cookies. Allow to set fully before handling.

Ghost Lollipops

The ultimate trick, these lollipops are actually floating, ghost-shaped truffle shells made from white chocolate and a milk chocolate honey ganache.

Makes: approximately 30 truffles

Plastic Chocolate

500g     Callebaut W2 white chocolate, melted
100g     Callebaut cocoa butter, melted
150g     glucose
20g       white oil soluble colour (titanium dioxide)
50g       water

Callebaut white chocolate truffle shells

Place the chocolate, cocoa butter, glucose and white colour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture reaches an even consistency. Add the water and emulsify again. Pour the mixture onto a tray lined with plastic wrap and cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Allow the mixture to crystallise at 16˚C for 24 hours. 

To use the plastic chocolate, knead it with your hand to get an even consistency and softness. Store the plastic chocolate at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache

87g       Bulla Pure Cream 
20g       Honey
½ tsp    vanilla bean paste
150g     Callebaut 823 Milk Couverture 
300g     Callebaut white chocolate W2, for dipping

Place the cream and honey in a saucepan, add in the vanilla bean paste and bring to a boil. Place the milk couverture in a bowl and pour the boiling cream over it. Whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to create a ganache. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the ganache. Leave at room temperature until it cools. Transfer the prepared ganache into a piping bag and pipe it into each of the truffle shells, filling to the top.

Temper the white chocolate and add in the titanium dioxide, mixing together until fully incorporated. Transfer some of the chocolate to a paper piping cone and pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top to seal the truffle shells. Stick the lollipop sticks into the base of the truffles immediately before the chocolate sets. Once the chocolate sets, dip each truffle shell into the tempered white chocolate and place onto a lollipop stand or stick into a polystyrene base.

Ghost Eyes and Mouth

50g       Callebaut 2815 Dark Couverture

Temper the dark chocolate and transfer to a paper piping cone. Pipe a small amount of the chocolate in the shape of eyes and a mouth onto a piece of baking paper or a guitar sheet on top of a baking tray. Allow to cool.

Assembly

QS         cornflour or corn starch, for dusting
50g       Callebaut W2 White Chocolate

Lightly dust the top of the bench with cornflour. Roll out the plastic chocolate to a round shape 10-13cm and 2-3mm thickness. Temper the white chocolate and transfer some to a paper piping cone. Pipe a small amount of the chocolate on top of the truffle shells to ensure the plastic chocolate sticks to the shell. Cover the outside of the truffle shell with the plastic chocolate and create the desire ghost shape by immediately curving it with your hand. Finally stick the eyes and the mouth onto the body of the ghost, securing with the tempered chocolate. Leave the plastic chocolate until it sets completely.