Spider Nest Candies Recipes

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips, stir until smooth. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until well coated. , Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line muffin tins with 15 muffin cases (bake a second batch of the extra 3 if you only have one 12-hole tin). Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, flour, vanilla and milk in that order. Quickly stir in the hundreds & thousands with as little effort as you can, then divide the mixture between the cases - the more you work the batter, the more the sprinkles will bleed their colour, so it's best to do this quickly and efficiently. Bake for 20 mins until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool.
• Peel off the paper cases, and turn the cakes upside down. Cover with cling film until it's nearly party time.
• Just before the party, mix a splash of water into some sifted icing sugar, and add a good blob to the top of each cake. Tease off some candy floss and stick a little pile on each - the less you handle it, the less it will disintegrate. Add a toy spider to each, or make your own - stick 4 long liquorice lace strands to the back of giant chocolate buttons with some more runny icing, flip over and leave to set.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and 1/2 packet of taco seasoning with 1 cup of the sour cream (hold the rest of the sour cream to decorate). Set mixture aside.
• Spread a thin layer of refried beans in the bottom of a microwaveable serving dish. Add a layer of shredded cheese. Heat dish in microwave for 1 minute, until cheese is slightly melted.
• Drain the salsa and layer it over the cheese. Drain the olives and layer over the salsa. Add a layer of the sour cream mixture. Add a layer of guacamole.
• To decorate the top, spoon a medium sized dollop of sour cream in the center. This is the spider's "nest."
• Spoon the rest of the sour cream into an air-tight bag. Cut a very small piece out of 1 of the bottom corners of the bag and, starting at the outer edge of the dip, pipe a thin circle around the perimeter. Create another circle half way between the perimeter circle and the center dollop, creating 3 circles.
• Using a knife blade, toothpick or skewer, drag a thin line of the sour cream from the "nest" outward toward the edge of the dish. Continue making lines all around the "nest" to complete the spider web design. Position whole black beans onto the sour cream "web."
• Embellish with plastic decorative spiders. Serve with a bowl of blue tortilla chips, and watch your guests scurry to get a bite!

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Mound 30 small clusters of pecans, about 3 or 4 pecans each, spaced a couple inches apart on the pan.
• Make caramel: Warm the cream over low heat and keep warm while you cook the sugar.
• Put the sugar and corn syrup and in a deep, heavy-bottomed large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring, raise heat to medium-high, and simmer until the sugar reaches the hard crack stage, or 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.
• Whisk the butter and salt into the sugar mixture. Gradually pour in the cream and vanilla taking care since the mixture will bubble up. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar reaches soft ball stage, 240 degrees F on the thermometer, about 5 minutes more. Immediately remove from the heat and cool for a minute.
• Ladle a couple tablespoons of warm caramel over some of the nut clusters, to make the spider bodies. Then press 6 pieces of licorice into the warm caramel to make the legs. Repeat with the remaining caramel and licorice. (It's helpful to have an extra hand here, since the caramel can set quickly. If caramel hardens, warm over very low heat. ) Let spiders cool 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1-inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, 2 to 3 minutes more.)
• Spoon about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate on top of each spider. Sprinkle with jimmies or chocolate curls, if desired. Let cool until firm.