Halloween beverages punch up the party

You can borrow the witches' chant from Shakespeare's MacBeth—"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!"—as you stir these special Halloween punches from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Young boys and ghouls will love to add the candied worms and other sweet creepies to the Ghoulish Gummy Punch below, a tasty concoction filled with healthy fruit juices.

For a special trick, add candy that fizzes to their glasses before you fill them up.

Treat those of drinking age to delicious Tea Punch. Made with Green Tea or any other type of tea you prefer, the combination of rums and simple syrup will surely please your guests.

 Ghoulish Gummy Punch

Yield: 1/2 gallon

• 2 cups pineapple juice
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 2 cups apple cider
• 2 cups sparkling cider
• 1 cup of your favorite gummy candies
• Ice or dry ice as needed
• 16 Fizzies candies (optional)

1. Combine pineapple juice, pomegranate juice, apple cider, sparkling cider, and gummy candies in a punch bowl.
   

Add ice or dry ice to cool. Be sure to include some gummy candy in each glass served. If using Fizzies candies, place one candy in the bottom of the glass and add punch.

Nutritional analysis without candy per cup: 130 calories, 0 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 20 milligrams sodium.

Tea Punch

Yield: 1/2 Gallon

• 1 cup dark rum
• 1 cup white rum
• Juice from 2 lemons
• 5 cups Green Tea (or your favorite tea)
• 1/2 cup simple syrup (recipe below)
• Ice or dry ice as needed

Combine the rums, lemon juice, Green Tea, and simple syrup in a punch bowl. Adjust sweetness to taste by adding more simple syrup. Add ice or dry ice to cool.

Simple syrup: Combine 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and cool to room temperature.

Nutritional analysis per cup: 160 calories, 0 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 0 milligrams sodium.

Knackerli

Makes 24 Knackerli

• 1 cup dark, milk, or white chocolate morsels
• 24 pistachios, peeled
• 24 dried cherries or cranberries
• 6 dried apricots, quartered
• 24 slivered almonds, toasted

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Spoon the chocolate or fill a parchment cone with the chocolate and pipe 1-in disks (1 teaspoon per disk) onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Arrange 1 pistachio, 1 dried cherry or cranberry, 1 piece of dried apricot, and 1 piece of slivered almond onto each disk of chocolate.

Let the chocolate fully set before removing the disks from the parchment paper.

Notes: The chocolate can be piped in larger or smaller disks, if desired. Any type of nuts or dried fruit can be substituted for the pistachios, dried cranberries, and apricots.

When making Knackerli, it is important to remember that the size of the nuts and dried fruits corresponds to the size of the chocolate disk and that the colors and flavors complement each other.

Chef's Note: When preparing Knackerli, work in small batches so that the chocolate disks don't set before you've had a chance to garnish them. For Halloween, you can add candy corn kernels or make ghosts using white chocolate and dark chocolate chips.

Nutritional analysis per 16-ounce candy: 80 calories, 1 gram protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 3.5 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 0 milligrams sodium.