A New Take on the Halloween Jack O’lantern

I love everything about Halloween – the costumes, the trick-or-treating and even the pumpkin carving. Cutting out that jack o’lantern face is one of those traditions that is so strong, it wouldn’t feel like Halloween if we didn’t do it.

It’s quite an undertaking, though. Gutting the pumpkin takes work and doesn’t always smell that great. It’s a mess that many adults would just as soon forget if they didn’t have kids. And if we’re being honest, kids often lose interest in the process long before it’s over. They are much more interested in the end result.

If you just have to have a jack-o-lantern for Halloween, but you don’t want to mess with the pumpkin, try our jack o’lantern scary berry recipe. The process is much cleaner, it doesn’t involve pumpkin guts and the end result is 100% edible! That’s a project even kids can wrap their heads around. The hardest part is piping the face on the jack o’lantern with icing. If you don’t want to mess with that, you can probably use brown or black ice cream sprinkles.

Just a heads up, though. The yogurt for the recipe has to drain overnight in the refrigerator to eliminate as much moisture as possible. You’ll want to plan accordingly!

You will need:

• 18 large California Giant Strawberries
• 8 ounces nonfat Greek yogurt
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• powdered orange food color as desired (You can also use gel food coloring or mix red and yellow food coloring drops to get your desired shade of orange.)
• 2 ounces dark chocolate

Instructions:

1. Place the Greek yogurt in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place the cheesecloth and yogurt in a small colander and place in the refrigerator overnight on a shallow dish to drain more liquid. If you don’t have a cheesecloth, line your colander with paper coffee filters, a thin men’s handkerchief or (believe it or not) a cloth diaper (not previously used, of course).

2. Wash and dry berries thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Add yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and butter to a medium mixing bowl and beat until very smooth (about 3 minutes). Add powdered food color and beat until well combined. Check for color and add more as necessary.

4. Dip berries in the yogurt dip and place on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool/harden.

5. Melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a small saucepan with about an inch of simmering water. Pour the chocolate into a plastic piping bag or make one from parchment paper rolled into a cone with a tiny tip cut off.

6. Use the small tipped piping bag to draw a jack o’lantern face on the dipped berries with chocolate. Allow to cool/harden completely before serving.

Download our Scary Berries recipe book for even more ways to dress up your berries for Halloween. Once you try it, I would love for you to leave a comment about how this recipe worked for you. Happy Halloween!