Trick or treat takes on a whole new meaning this year and we are all in when it comes to making our own treats—chocolate covered figs as Halloween candy ghosts and pretzel spiders! They’re ghoulishly good and fun to make figs in white chocolate and semisweet (in costume).
First Thing: Figs
Described as nature’s candy, Orchard Choice and Sun-Maid California Dried Figs are packed with fiber, potassium, calcium, and micro-nutrients. You could eat them straight out of the bag as a solid snack, but they are the star of our homemade Halloween candy ghosts and pretzel spiders.
For the ghosts, we decided to go with amber-colored Golden Figs in white chocolate. The nutty mild sweetness of goldens pairs well with the bright sweetness of white chocolate.
The spiders need to be spooky, so our black mission figs fit the bill best, especially when covered with dark chocolate. For an anatomically correct spider, you’ll want to aim for eight legs.
Pretzel Spiders: Oodles of Legs
Pick up a bag of thin pretzel sticks, passing over the pretzel rods. How big the legs need to be is dependent on the size of your California Dried Figs. If you use the Sun-Maid or Orchard Choice mission figs in the resealable container, breaking the pretzel sticks in half should do the trick. If you’re using the Orchard Choice Figlets for smaller spiders, you’ll want to think about breaking the sticks in threes. Really, whatever looks proportionate to you should work fine. To ensure the pretzel spiders legs stay attached, dip the tip of the pretzel sticks in chocolate and lightly press into the side of the “bodies” of chocolate covered figs.
Tips for Chocolate Covered Figs
Chocolate can be a bit finicky when melted, but don’t be scared. Here are a few of our tips for homemade Halloween candy success.
The type of chocolate you use is key. You could use chocolate chips or a bar of chocolate, chopped up. We’ve tried both and you’ll find an even melt is possible for chocolate covered figs. Chocolate chips have an emulsifier in them to help them keep their shape (think chocolate chip cookies with chips that might be melty but still are mostly intact). Whereas chocolate bars don’t have that constraint (think puddles of chocolate chunks in chocolate chip cookies). You could also use meltables (a type of chocolate known as “couverture,” a lower quality chocolate but excellent at melting and holding shapes) that can be found in arts and crafts stores in the cooking craft aisle.
For the candy ghosts, we used good white chocolate chips and achieved ghostly perfection of figs in white chocolate. Semisweet chocolate chips enrobed the chocolate covered figs for the pretzel spiders, though you could use dark chocolate.
There’s no need to use a double boiler to melt the chocolate (but you could if you want to bring an element of Halloween to it… “double, double, boil and trouble” and all). We used a microwave-safe bowl and short 30 second bursts with stirring in between to great success.
Be on the lookout for blooming: if the chocolate once set takes on an ashy color or white dots on the surface, it’s known as “blooming,” described in the chocolate glossary as brought about when chocolate is exposed to moisture, the sugar in chocolate rises to the surface and recrystallizes. (It’s a reason also, to not refrigerate your chocolate). Keep your homemade candy covered on the counter and you should be a-okay.
Things to do on Halloween at Home
So, stay in this year and make the evening festive with figgy Halloween candy ghosts and pretzel spiders. No special equipment is required—just a few ingredients. So, put on a costume, set Spotify to a spooky playlist and begin.
Golden Fig Halloween Candy Ghosts
Golden Fig Halloween Candy Ghosts
Equipment
- Wax paper
Ingredients
- 8 ounces white chocolate chips, chopped up bar, or meltables
- 1 bag Orchard Choice California Golden Figs or Sun-Maid Golden Figs
- Candy eyes
Instructions
- Prepare a cutting board with a sheet of wax paper. Set the candy eyes nearby, along with the figs and a fork.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl—about 4 ounces—in the microwave in 30 second blasts, stirring with a fork afterwards until smooth. (If the chocolate cools too much and is difficult to coat the figs, warm up briefly in the microwave. Add and melt more chocolate as needed).
- Tumble one of the figs into the chocolate—the chocolate should easily coat and cling to the fig. Use the fork to lift the fig out of the chocolate. Pinch the tip of the fig with your finger tips and place it, bottom down, onto the wax paper. Wipe your hands if needed on a paper towel. Place two eyeball candies on the fig.
- Continue dipping and adding eyes to all the ghosts. Cool until set. Store in a covered container.
Notes
Mission Fig Pretzel Spiders
Mission Fig Pretzel Spiders
Ingredients
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, chopped up bar, or meltables
- 1 bag Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Mission Figs , stems removed and cut in half lengthwise
- Pretzel sticks , broken in half or threes
- Candy eyes
Instructions
- Prepare a cutting board with a sheet of wax paper. Set the candy eyes nearby, along with the figs and a fork.
- Break the pretzel sticks in half and place in a small bowl near the wax paper.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl—about 4 ounces—in the microwave in 30 second blasts, stirring with a fork afterwards until smooth. (If the chocolate cools too much and is difficult to coat the figs, warm up briefly in the microwave. Add and melt more chocolate as needed).
- Tumble the fig half in the chocolate, turning with your fork until coated.
- Using the fork, place the fig, cut side down on wax paper. One at a time, lightly dip the pretzel sticks into the chocolate and stick them to both sides of the fig like little legs. Lightly press three eyeball candies on top of the fig.
- Continue dipping and adding legs and eyes to the spiders. Cool until set before eating or moving. Store in a covered container.