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Frugal Crafts & Homemade Gifts
Jack-O-Lantern Centerpiece with Apples & Caramel Dipping Sauce by Betsy West
Last year I went
to a Halloween party and needed to take a snack to share. For
an inexpensive and seasonal appetizer, I decided on apples and caramel dipping
sauce. To make it more festive, I "dressed it up"
for the occasion and put the sauce inside of a pumpkin. I
drew a jack-o-lantern face on it, put it on a platter, and encircled it with
sliced apples. It was a hit! After the party, I got my
money’s worth out of that pumpkin decoration too. More...
Here’s how…
Items Needed:
Small pumpkin Pre-made caramel dipping sauce (found in the grocery store produce department) Apples Platter Black marker Pencil Sharp knife
With a pencil, draw a circle around the bottom of the container of caramel sauce on the top of the pumpkin.
Cut the pumpkin along the circle. Remove the top and clean out the seeds. Reserve the seeds.
Set the container of caramel into the top of the pumpkin. It should push down so that the top of the container is flush with (or close to flush with) the top of the pumpkin. If it does not fit at first, carve a little more around the opening of the pumpkin and try again. Continue this process until the container of caramel fits.
Draw a jack-o-lantern face on the front of the pumpkin.
Set the jack-o-lantern with the caramel sauce in the center of a platter.
Slice apples and arrange them on the platter around the jack-o-lantern.
Now, you have a very cute, very yummy centerpiece for a Halloween party.
After the party, there is more…
Clean off the seeds that you removed and reserved from the pumpkin. Roast them for another snack.
Slice the pumpkin in half and roast it. Peel off the skin. Put the pulp in the blender to make pumpkin puree.
Use the pumpkin puree to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, or another one of your favorite pumpkin treats. There are lots of pumpkin recipes on the Internet.
Read our recipes for Pumpkin Pie and Don't Throw Out those Pumpkin Seeds (And Other Tasty Treats).
Out of my little pumpkin, I made 2 loaves of pumpkin bread and 3 dozen pumpkin-apple muffins (not pictured). I had some apples leftover after the party that went into the muffins.
Except for the skin and the plastic caramel sauce container, there was really no waste from this cute little centerpiece!
* * *
Copyright © 2009 by Betsy West. All rights reserved. Want to see more frugal craft ideas like this? Get a FREE Subscription to our monthly newsletter!
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