Pumpkin Spice Maggots & Rabid Turkeys

This year I refused to make rice krispie turkeys for Thanksgiving.  I'm officially sick of making them and I don't even like to eat them, so I decided to try something different: Pumpkin Spice Maggots. Although if I was going to make turkeys, I saw they have red & green holiday colored rice krispies which I think would make some interesting zombies.

I bought these fantastic silicone molds at Michaels this fall. They were sold as "mini bug" molds, but I think maggot mold is more fitting.  Sorry but I can't find them available online anywhere, so if you didn't snag some you'll have to keep your eyes open next year. Although it probably sounds a bit cliché, when I purchased them I was dreaming of white maggots for Creepmas.

It turns out I couldn't wait that long and decided to make something suitable for Turkey Day. I'm really not big on the pumpkin spice thing. I mean you won't catch me with a pumpkin spice latte, candles or sex lube. I don't even really care for pumpkin pie, but I thought maybe maggot truffles might be the thing to turn me to the dark side. They didn't.  I thought they tasted good, but I guess I'm just never going to be a pumpkin spice kind of girl.  Other people had more favorable opinions, so if pumpkin spice is your thing you might want to try these recipes.

I don't like nutmeg or powdered ginger, so for pumpkin spice I mix 3 parts cinnamon to 1 part allspice and 1 part cloves.

If you were lucky enough to snag some maggot molds then you probably know each cavity holds a half tablespoon.  It took 3oz of white chocolate to coat 4 molds (24 maggots) and another 3oz to top them off after filling with a heaping teaspoon of truffle mixture. Having worked with a mold or two in my time, I really love these maggots. They are just the right size to finger paint with chocolate and fillings can be loosely rolled into a log and then pressed into the mold.  There's no awkward nooks and crannies to fill and they pop out like a dream.

The maggots picture at the top are from this recipe.  I only used half (1/8 tsp) of the pumpkin spice the recipe called for and of course used white chocolate to coat instead of semi-sweet.  I think more people preferred these, I know I did.  I'm glad I used less pumpkin spice, more would have overwhelmed the white chocolate.  The filling is very smooth and melts in your mouth. One recipe was enough to fill 24 maggots. Also I didn't do a great job tempering the chocolate, that's why you can see a white bloom on some of them. It doesn't affect the flavor, just the look.

The maggots to left used this recipe.  I like the way the darker filling contrasts with the while chocolate.  It tasted more like pumpkin pie to me and because of the graham crackers it was a much denser texture. Only half the recipe was need to fill all four molds. Some people preferred these, so I'm glad I tried them both.







I didn't entirely abandon the rice krispie turkeys, instead I passed the torch onto my kids. They used the 2016 recipe.  The one thing I did, was make frosting to glue the eyes and beaks on.  I thought that would be easier for them to work with than the melted chocolate I usually use.  I was wrong.  Maybe I made the frosting too thick, but it didn't stick to the cookie crumb coating very well and really needed to be pushed on.  My son thought they looked like rabid turkeys foaming at the mouth.  Seems it's just fated for us to have deformed turkeys.

I love the cyclops turkey.  I think next year they should all be cyclops.  

Or maybe we should have a zombies verses cyclops, turkey rumble.

Lastly, I don't know if anyone else is wondering what the hell you do with the rest of your pumpkin puree since the truffles only use a few tablespoons so I'm adding a recipe for  Pumpkin Spice Muffins. Despite my lackluster opinion of pumpkin spice, these muffins are fantastic and with the orange flavored frosting absolutely to die for.  I think this is the original recipe, but I've modified it beyond recognition. I've always used purchased orange juice, but if you were to squeeze your own, I would suggest also zesting it and tossing some in both the batter and the frosting.   

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 cup orange juice

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with the orange juice. Spoon batter into 24 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until it tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter; softened
8 oz cream cheese; softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar

Beat first 4 ingredients until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency.