You know what’s really scary? Ghosts and vampires? Not really; they don’t exist. What really freaks me out is plagues, pestilence, serial killers, bio-hazards!

I spent the last week thinking about the Martha Stewart lollipops, and how they could be made more scary. I tried to brainstorm more gruesome fillings but it wasn’t creepy enough. Then I started thinking of what’s really scary. Serial killers! I immediately thought of Dexter and his blood slides.

For any of you who aren’t familiar with the show, Dexter is about a serial killer of the same name, who works by day as a forensic analyst for the Miami police department, and by night, cleansing the city of the evil criminals who slip through the cracks of our faulty judicial system. Every serial killer has to keep his mementos and Dexter’s trophy case, consists of a box of slides, each containing one drop of blood from each victim.

For this years gruesome Halloween treat, I decided to create a trophy case of my own. I followed the same basic recipe as the Martha one, but I cut mine in half since the slides are much smaller and thinner then her lollipops. Here’s the recipe and directions with a few of my own small changes.

Biohazard Blood Slides

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

2 Tbs water

red food dye

bamboo skewer or tooth pic

Directions

1. Line a few baking sheets with Silpat nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.

2. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and 2 Tbs water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Don’t stir, but occasionally wash down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to prevent crystals from forming; boil until mixture turns golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Pour the melted sugar mixture in a line down the center of the pan. Using a skewer or the flat edge of a large knife, spread sugar into a thin flat sheet. Glass slides are pretty thin, so the thinner the better. It will also be easier to cut in the next steps.

4. Once you have the mixture spread into a flat sheet, let it cool and harden for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture is hard, pull it away from the mat or parchment. If its super thin, try not to crack it.

5. Place the blade of a large knife (not necessarily your best) directly into your burner to heat. If you have an electric stove, you can use a lighter. Once the blade is hot, begin to cut your sheets of sugar into strips. Cut edges to be the length of a real slide. Its good to have a glass slide to use as a template.

This step can be a bit annoying. Don’t worry if you break a few, it happens. Reheat the blade for each cut. Between each cut, wash your blade off with water to keep the sugar from burning to your blade. I don’t suggest using your best knife, since this heating and cooling isn’t the best treatment for your chef’s blade. If the edges are really rough, dip your finger and water and smooth them out.

6. Lay your cut slides on your baking tray and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

7. Take slides out of fridge. Using a tooth pic or a bamboo skewer, paint on the blood circle in the center. You don’t need too much. A small droplet off the tip of your tooth pic will be enough. If you put too much on, it will run all over the slide and make a huge mess. Refridgerate again until the dye is dry and you’re done!

You can serve these guys up with a pile of latex gloves to protect the hands while handling these dangerous items or you can serve with tweezers. Either way, the point comes across clear (with a big bloody red spot in the center. Ha!).

I took a quick visit to the Science Surplus Store hoping to find a wooden slide box. No luck! So I just got one of the cheesy slide kits which came with a cardboard box to display the slides at an angle. Maybe for next year, I’ll try to find a box on ebay or something.

One way or the other, even if you don’t know about the show, blood slides are still gross. You can tell people they are blood samples infected with ebola or something like that. Biohazards are super scary. If you don’t believe me, watch season 3 of 24. Actually you can watch any season of 24, because I think they throw a little Biohazard chemical warefare wherever they can.

ENJOY!

If you liked this, check out my other Halloween themed snacks.

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Live in the Chicago area and want to learn how to make these and some of our other favorite terrorific treats? Join me and a few other foodie friends for a class in the Forkable Kitchen.

Halloween Bootcamp: Saturday, October 16th (2010) 12 – 3 p.m.



Reserve Your Spot Today. Seats are very limited!

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