AVE has a real treat for you. We asked some of our team members to share their favorite Halloween sweets recipes, so this October 31, you’ll be the ghostess with the mostest.

Team Member: Jodi Gordon, Corporate Sales Manager, White Plains
Treat: Chocolate Chip Anise Boo-Scotti
Ingredients:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1 teaspoon ground anise seed
-2 large eggs
-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
-orange icing
-Halloween sprinkles
-candy corn
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter and anise seed in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Form the dough into a 16-inch-long, 3-inch-wide log. Transfer the log to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen. May be prepared 2-5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. After the biscotti completely cools, spread orange icing on one side of the biscotti. Arrange on your plate, and sprinkle Halloween sprinkles over the icing. Add candy corn in the middle of your plate for display.

Team Member: Tracy Casale, Senior Resident Representative, Union
Treat: Graveyard Cupcakes
Ingredients:
-chocolate or vanilla cupcakes
-orange and white frosting
-chocolate sprinkles
-Milano cookies
-black gel icing
Instructions:
-Prepare chocolate or vanilla cupcakes using your favorite recipe. To make the tombstone, cut the bottom off the Milano cookie to make it straight. Write “RIP” across the top of the Milano cookie with the black gel icing. Frost the cupcakes generously with the orange icing. Use more icing than usual so that the tombstone sticks in place. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles over the frosting to represent dirt in the graveyard. Place the tombstone into the cupcake, pressing down firmly, but gently, to make sure it is secure.
*To make ghosts, frost cupcake and Milano cookie with white icing, and use black gel icing to draw eyes and mouth.

Team Member: Margaret Fitori, Resident Representative, Downingtown
Treat: Witchy Waffle Cones
Ingredients:
-1 & 1/2 cups chocolate frosting
-1 4 & 3/4 ounce package chocolate cones
-orange nonpareils
-1 16-ounce can vanilla frosting, divided
-neon green food coloring
-12 cupcakes, removed from paper liners
-chocolate chips
-green tube icing
-red tube icing
-Mike and Ike Tangy Twister candies
-chocolate sprinkles
Instructions:
Place chocolate frosting in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe base of cones, dip in orange nonpareils, and set aside. Place 1/2 cup vanilla frosting in a another zip-top bag and snip off a small corner. Tint remaining frosting green and frost cupcakes. Turn cupcakes on sides, then place decorated cones on top. Using vanilla frosting, pipe eyes on cupcakes. Attach chocolate chips for pupils and pipe a dot onto chips. Use red icing for mouths and green icing for warts. Shape candies into noses. Pipe chocolate icing onto cupcakes for hair and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.

Team Member: Nicole Conte, Resident Representative, Somerset
Treat: Pumpkin Pies
Ingredients:
-1 stick of butter
-1 cup of dark brown sugar
-1 egg
-2/3 cup canned pumpkin purée
-2 & 2/3 cup self-raising flour
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup of plain yogurt
Cream cheese filling:
-7 ounces cream cheese
-1 stick butter
-3 & 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and cream for 2 to 3 minutes using an electric whisk, until light and creamy. Add the egg and pumpkin puree and mix again. Salt the flour, cinnamon, mixed/apple pie spice, ginger and baking powder into the bowl and add the salt and yogurt. Whisk until everything is incorporated. Add the hot water and whisk into the mixture. Put a large spoonful of mixture into each hole in the prepared pie pans. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pies from the oven and allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack until cold. To make the cream cheese filling, whisk together the cream cheese, butter and icing/confectioners’ sugar until light and creamy. Remove 4 tablespoons of the mixture, mix in a drop of green food coloring, cover and set aside. Spoon the remaining filling into a piping bag fitted with the large star nozzle/tip and pipe a generous swirl of filling onto 12 of the pie halves. Set aside.
To decorate, first make an orange glace icing. Mix together the 1 & 2/3 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar, orange juice and a few dots of orange food coloring until you have smooth, glossy icing. Cover the remaining pie halves with the icing using a round-bladed knife and allow to set. When the icing has set, mix the 3 tablespoons of icing/confectioners’ sugar with 1-2 teaspoons of cold water and a few dots of orange and red food coloring to make a thick, darker orange icing. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle/tip and pipe 5 lines from the middle of each pie (to resemble the ridges on a pumpkin). Spoon the green cream cheese filling into a clean piping bag fitted with a leaf nozzle and pipe green leaves and a curly stem on top of each pie. Cut each chocolate stick into 6 pieces and stick in the middle to look like stalks. Top the cream cheese filling topped pie halves with the decorated pie halves and your whoopie pies are ready to enjoy.

Team Member: Emily Forbes, Guest Services Manager, Malvern
Treat: Black Cat Cookies
Ingredients:
-2 cups sugar
-1 cup of butter, softened
-3 eggs
-1 tablespoon vanilla
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-candy corn
-red cinnamon candies
Instructions:
Combine sugar and butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed. Combine all remaining ingredients except candies in medium bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture to butter mixture. Beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball; flatten to 1/2 inch. Wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours). Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch round cookie cutters. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Using fingers, pinch up ears at top of each circle. Place 2 pieces candy corn onto cookies for eyes and 1 red cinnamon candy for nose. Press tines of fork on each side of cookie below eyes to form whiskers. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack.