The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids
by Cindi Sutter - Reprinted with permission from Ulysses Press. New York, NY. All rights reserved.-#2
Fun and Easy Recipes for Tricks, Treats, and Spooky Eats Inspired by the Halloween Classic by Bridget Thoreson from Ulysses Press; September 2023. A kid-friendly follow-up to the USA Today best-seller The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook (Ulysses Press, 2021).
Come little children (and their grown ups), we’ll take thee away to a land of kitchen enchantment! Join the Sanderson Sisters in your own “torture chamber” and whip up some spellbinding treats in this first-ever Hocus Pocus cookbook designed for kid chefs.
Craft some fun kitchen magic just in time for Halloween with more than 50 recipes inspired by the two movies. These kid- friendly ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions are perfect for All Hallow’s Eve, Salem Scare Fest, or any time of year. Young witches and wizards will learn to conjure:
Magicae “Mac”-xima n’ Cheese
Ahh, yes, the Power Spell. The witch or parent who uses this recipe shall be all powerful, as no little one can resist the lure of mac’n’cheese. But be ye warned—doomed as well is the witch who uses this spell, as it may come to pass that littles will request this and only this for every meal to come.
Adding broccoli is an easy way to make this spell just as powerful but a little more nutritious (in case it does end up on the short list of favorite spells).
Serves 8
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound large-shell pasta
1 TBSP olive oil
10 oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz gruyere cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook al dente according to the package directions.
Drain the pasta in a colander and pour it into a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
Add the olive oil, toss, and set aside.
While the water is boiling, grate the cheddar and gruyere
In a medium saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat.
Add the flour to the butter and whisk well until fully combined.
Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper, and whisk well until the mixture simmers.
Lower the heat to low and add the grated cheese in batches, mixing well after each addition so the cheese fully melts. Continue until only about a third of the cheese is left.
Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta in the cast-iron skillet and mix well.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the pasta.
Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into thin slices and distribute over th top of the pasta. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
Bake in the skillet for 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and slightly browned.
“When we started talking about a follow-up project, my mind first went to my daughter Beatrice,” author Bridget Thoreson said. “I was excited for the day when she could watch the movie with me and share a part of my own life as a kid. I knew that many other millennial parents probably felt the same way, and so I knew I wanted to do a book that would enhance that experience. Not only could I share the movie with my daughter, but I could share the experience of cooking a recipe related to the movie. We could make Black Flame Pretzels or Petrified Spiders together in the kitchen, then sit down and snack while we watched the movie. I wanted to take the nostalgia of The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook and make it un-nostalgic, suitable for a new ‘batch’ of children so that they might grow up and look back fondly on the movie for a different reason.”
Perfect for children of all ages and ’90s kids who now have children, nieces, and nephews of their own, these nostalgic recipes are so delectable that there will be no crumbs left behind. So store away those brooms and robot vacuums, unless of course it’s time to fly!
