No, I didn't make the Frankenstein truffle. I was so excited when I found out they were all-natural so I had to have one! But it was the inspiration for these lunches!
Box Full of Frankenstein for Big Sis
GF cheesy biscuit (dairy-free) olive pizza sandwich, mozzarella, dye-free truffle; organic carrots, peas, and grapes |
To help the veggies stay in-theme, I used a mini foot cutter - Frankenstein is pieced together from various body parts after all!
And this time I remembered to include a heart! Yay! I added a heart pick to the grapes, along with a disposable paper Frankenstein pick I got on clearance last year (Target exclusive, I think.)
Keep scrolling to the bottom of this post for details on how I made the biscuit sandwiches themselves!
My Frankenstein muffin pan came from JoAnns or Rite Aid or somewhere, but this one or this one would work for something Frankenstein-y, or this one for other Halloween shapes! I used some natural black food color (powder mixed with water) and painted it on with a cheap plastic-bristle paint brush I reserve for food (plastic bristles are easier to keep sanitary versus hair bristles!)
For the neck bolts, I used these bone picks, although the dot ones were a close second choice!
Frankenbaby
GF cheesy biscuit grilled (dairy-free) cheese sandwich; organic carrots, peas, apples, and grapes |
So I made lemonade and just painted on a friendlier face. I didn't add any "filler" foods because E was sick (bad virus with a fever and a Croupy cough) and she wasn't going to eat much anyway. I didn't want her just eating crackers or treats instead of the healthy stuff.
Tools of the Trade
Molded Cheese Shapes
I was inspired by this tutorial from Hungry Happenings, but I did my Franken-cheese a little different.Instead of grating mozzarella, I just cut up a stick of string cheese and jammed as many nibblets as I could into my mold, making sure to get pieces in the sticky-outy bits, like the bolts at his neck.
I microwaved for 15 seconds, then took it out and poked at it a bit and added a few more nibblets to fill the space made by the melting. Then I put it in for another 10 seconds, and made sure to poke the back in a little more, to hopefully fill out all the details in the mold.
Shaped Biscuit Sandwiches
I used a gluten-free Chebe Cheese Bread mix and instead of dropping it in balls onto a baking sheet, I divvied it up and jammed it into the muffin cups of some shaped muffin tins. I pressed down a bit, to make sure to get all the details.
After baking, I sliced them in half, toasted the insides for a few minutes, added the sauce and grated dairy-free mozzarella on both halves, and put sliced olives on just one half of each pair. (Just dairy-free cheddar for the grilled cheese ones, on both halves.) Then broil them for 3-5 minutes, pair the halves together while the cheese is still melty, so they stick. And then done!
*The Chebe mix was a bust. It was flavorless (according to Hubby. Dairy makes me sick, so I didn't taste-test, as I'd added real sharp cheddar to the bread, plus the mix contains dairy.) And super dense. So I'll use a regular biscuit recipe or mix next time.
That's actually what inspired me to turn these into sandwiches! Gluten-free baking is often bland, so you want to add extra herbs and spices to the mix before baking. Which I neglected to do. Doh! So I had some tasteless Frankenstein hockey pucks, and figured slicing them thinner would make them easier to chew, and the sauce and "cheese" would help salvage and moisten them! Yay!
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