Name: Halloween Ghosts
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 130 gms – 1 cup plain flour; 115 gms – ½ cup butter (at room temperature); 30 gms – ¼ cup icing sugar/powdered sugar; ½ tsp vanilla extract; 1 pinch salt; 250 ml – 1 cup fresh cream to whip; 125 gms – 4.5 oz. white chocolate (chopped and melted); 15 gms corn – 1/8 cup starch; Mini chocolate chips for the eyes

I can’t believe Halloween is almost here! Where did the time fly? I love this time of year… I love going trick or treating the kids and seeing their happy faces when they collect candies! And I love the fact that Christmas is around the corner. Off course, I would enjoy it more if it was autumn/winter… but it’s still a great time of year. I never used to celebrate Halloween while growing up. It wasn’t something that people really celebrated in Italy back then, but it’s getting more and more common nowadays. I personally love all the weird and spooky food that you see all over the Internet during this time of year. This time, I would like to show you how to make Halloween Ghosts. These are made with a whipped white chocolate ganache piped on shortbread cookies. Then all you need to do is apply 2 mini chocolate chips to make their eyes. Easy right? Sort of… I actually had to test this recipe a few times as I had some problems with the white chocolate ganache. I don’t really like working with white chocolate… it always gives me problems. Well, I am happy to report that I finally found the recipe for a fool-proof white chocolate ganache! Thank God for French chefs! If you like these Halloween Ghosts, make sure to check out my recipe for Fiamme di Cioccolato, which is a similar recipe, but made with dark chocolate! Have fun for Halloween!

Halloween Ghosts

Halloween Ghosts made with shortbread and white chocolate ganache - a fun and easy Halloween recipe!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French, Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Author Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookies

130 gms – 1 cup plain flour
115 gms – ½ cup butter at room temperature
30 gms – ¼ cup icing sugar/powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

250 ml – 1 cup fresh cream to whip
125 gms – 4.5 oz. white chocolate chopped and melted
15 gms corn – 1/8 cup starch
Mini chocolate chips for the eyes

Instructions

Shortbread Cookies

Put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment and beat them on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is very smooth. Add the vanilla extract. Then reduce the speed to low and add the salt and flour, mixing only until just incorporated.
Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the dough into a 0.5 cm – ¼ inch thick sheet. Cut into 4 cm rounds using a lightly floured cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on a tray lined with baking paper and place in the fridge for 15 minutes (this will help the cookies retain their shape when baked).
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C – 340°F on the middle rack for 13 to 15 minutes. The cookies should remain pale.
Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

Heat the cream in a saucepan until warm.
Pour half the warm cream onto the cornstarch and mix until completely dissolved, then sieve it and add it to the remaining cream. Cook for one minute. Make sure to stir well so you don’t get any lumps.
Now add the melted white chocolate and mix well. Cook for another minute. Then transfer it to a bowl, cover it with cling wrap (so that the cling wrap touches the ganache) and keep it in the fridge overnight.
The next day, whip the cold ganache with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
Pipe the whipped ganache with a piping bag (and a round nozzle) onto the shortbread cookie bases and add the mini chocolate chip eyes.
Serve immediately.