Endless Night

Cooking With Christie: Chocolate and Spice!

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Inspiration: A few months back, whilst perusing a new independent kitchen shop, I uncovered a bite-sized cake pan just waiting for me (and my pocketbook) in their clearance section. After I brought it home, it sat next to my mixer for a month while I got distracted by one thing and another. Then, a request for something sweet came from my husband’s coworkers, and I decided to give the kull pan a whirl!

Aware, from previous disasters, that the first recipe baked in a novelty pan should be the one provided by the manufacturer and knowing Nordicware’s test kitchen churns out reliable recipes — I set about whipping up some mini skull cakes.

The only change I made to the ingredients was swapping the called for cayenne for ancho chili powder (because I was out of the former). And, due to ancho being milder than cayenne, I added a full teaspoon rather than the half teaspoon called for in the recipe.

All the spices, flour, and such required by the recipe ready to be sifted!

Then, because not everyone is as excited for any sort of heat (sweet or otherwise), I dipped the skulls in melted 72% dark chocolate to help mitigate the burn.

They were a hit!

Christie: I can easily see these tiny cakes gracing the festive snack table in Christie’s mystery, Hallowe’en Party. They are bite-sized, not particularly messy (after the chocolate cools & hardens), and not particularly sugary! Making them ideal for a kid’s party. 

My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2025

Cooking With Christie: I Never Thought I’d Get Into Candy Making

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This Week’s Recipe: Old Fashion Caramels

Inspiration: A little short on cash this year, my husband and I decided to make a bunch of our gifts to save a few pennies. With this idea on my mind, I flipped through the Magnolia Journal’s Holiday Recipe magazine while standing in line at my local co-op. Not typically one of my go-to magazines, I decided to invest in this issue after I spied the Old Fashion Caramel recipe….And boy howdy, am I glad I did!

Surprisingly, this recipe is relatively easy to make. (I had more trouble keeping my candy thermometer off the bottom of the pan and locating waxed paper than I did with any other step.) In point of fact, the hardest part is not stirring the mixture as it boils away on the burner!

Moreover, this recipe is extremely versatile, flavor-wise! Our favorite version used orange zest with Shanky’s Whip, an Irish Alcohol with a spicy, vanilla(y) flavor.

I know I don’t ordinarily include pics of brands in my blog, but not only did I love the label, this particular variety of alcohol isn’t one I’d heard of prior to spying it on the shelves of our local independent grocery store.

Even better? After all is said and done, you end up with 72 small (or 50 medium-sized) pieces of candy. Making this an extremely budget-friendly gift! (Especially if you can find some small cheap tins at your local craft store to fancy things up a little bit!)

A Helpful Hint From Me to You: The instructions ask you to use a butter knife to cut the caramel into pieces. However, I found a pair of kitchen sheers works even better!

Christie: I can totally see Miss Marple making treats like this for the exact same reason! Because up until her last mystery, Nemesis, she was very prudent with her money. 

(My Personal Rant: While The Sleeping Murder is the last published Miss Marple mystery, Christie actually wrote it much earlier in her career. And I really wish Nemesis would be recognized as the last in the series as Christie gives Miss Marple the send-off she deserves in the final chapter. Whilst The Sleeping Murder feels more like a mid-series book.)