Shrunken Head Apples
If you want to make something creepy and delicious for a Halloween gathering, or you just want to show your friends how spooky you are, these shrunken head apples will do the trick. They’re easy to make, effective, and cheap! You could serve these as a chewy apple snack by themselves in a bowl, or you can get creative and bake them into a tart, use as a garnish on a cocktail, float them in punch, use as a cupcake topper, or scare the shit out of your kids by putting them in their morning oatmeal. The options are endless. All you need are apples, 1 lemon, and some patience. Let’s get right into it.
Step 1. Prepare your apples: Peel, chop in half lengthwise, and scoop out the core.
Step 2. Begin carving faces into the apples. I like to start by scooping out two hollows as eye sockets, then carving out a round shape for the lips, then going back and shaping a nose and slits for eyes. There are a million ways to carve a face into an apple, so try and find your own style, and start to play with expression after you get the hang of it.
Step 3. Combine the juice of 1 lemon with a half cup of water in a shallow bowl. Begin dunking each apple head into the liquid, coating both sides. Pat dry, then place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 6 hours. Flip the apples face side down about halfway through the baking time to dry out the bottoms.
You should end up with something that looks like this:
Now the fun begins as you decide how you want to use your shrunken friends. I baked mine into a strawberry tart and loved the result. It was very ghoulish with the red color from the strawberry filling without being too gorey. You could even make mini tartlets that each have their own shrunken head. And of course you can float them in a punch bowl or use as a garnish to up the creepy factor on just about anything. Let me know how you used your shrunken heads in the comments below. Stay spooky 👻
