Halloween Caprese Skewers

These Halloween Caprese Skewers are not only super festive, they are the perfect finger food for your next spooky party or gathering.

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 11

Cook Time 15

Cooling Time 30

Total Time 56

Servings people

Calories 151kcal

Author Mara

Ingredients

8 ounces mozzarella
24 cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
24 pieces purple basil or sweet basil
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic glaze I personally love the flavor of Alessi Premium Balsamic Reduction, Traditional Balsamic but found that the De Nigris Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena was super thick and dark which is what I used in the photos.
salt & pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. While oven is preheating, put several sheets of paper towel on a large plate. Then, spread out the mozzarella balls and place several more sheets of paper towel on top of the mozzarella. Finally, place a large book or cast iron skillet on top, to act as a weight and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
Once oven is pre-heated, take a small ceramic baking pan and add in 8 pieces of mozzarella to the pan. Bake in the oven for about 6-7 minutes.
Remove pan when the cheese if softened and some of the liquid is released/slightly melted but not completely melted or cooked! Place pan on a cooling rack.
Using a spoon(s) or mini tongs, carefully pick up one piece of mozzarella at a time and add it to the mold. Then, using the back of one spoon press down on the mozzarella for 20-30 seconds until it molds more to skull. Repeat with remaining mozzarella. If the mozzarella isn't taking to the mold. Put back mozzarella back into the pan and place back into the oven for a few more minutes and try again. Once all the mozzarella is pressed in the molds, place the molds in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Pop mozzarella skulls out of the mold and into a bowl or airtight container if storing for later. Keep in the fridge. Rinse and dry our molds and pan and repeat steps 2-5 until you have used all your mozzarella. (I had to do this a total of 3 times = 24 mozzarella skulls total)
On a small 3.5 inch skewer, carefully skewer through a mozzarella skull, then piece of basil, then cherry or grape tomato. Repeat until used all ingredients are used. If you want to make them stand read my Recipe FAQs or look at the last point on my notes.
Then, drizzle olive oil, and top with salt and pepper. Either fill the eyes of the mozzarella skull with balsamic glaze using a dropper or pipette or drizzle on. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Use the freshest ingredients you can and make sure that the tomatoes are ripe for the best tasting caprese skewers.

Spookify your guests with this extra step! Black gushing eyes on your mozzarella skulls are a creepy twist to these skewers. I used a pipette/dropper to carefully insert the balsamic balsamic glaze in. If you have a really steady hand you can try using the bottle to pour directly in. When your guests pick them up or if you make them stand, the balsamic will drip down creating a truly spooky edible effect.

Not all balsamic glazes are the same! Balsamic glazes are a reduction of balsamic vinegar and usually some sort of sweetener like sugar or honey. However, how long you reduce will greatly impact the overall thickness and taste of your How reduced they are will effect how quickly they drip out of the eyes if you are using the above tip.

If you have big basil leaves, fold them over and then skewer them.

Feeling saucy!: Serve a small bowl of extra balsamic glaze on the side for you and your guests to dip into if you love the taste of balsamic.

Are these molds safe to put in the oven?While these molds are primarily for ice they can also be used for candy making, sugar, mousse and ice cream. I reached out to the seller/manufacturer and confirmed that these molds we're safe to be in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius which equals roughly 356 degrees Fahrenheit. However, because some peoples ovens can run hot, etc. I decided it was better for me to add in a step of having the mozzarella softened in a baking pan then added to the mold.

Want to make the caprese skewers stand? I find that after the skewers have been made, but not drizzled with olive oil or balsamic glaze, you can put a skewer on a cutting board, cut the tip off of the tomato. Make sure it can stand on a plate and repeat until all skewers can stand. Then, you can drizzle/fill the eye sockets with balsamic glaze. While the skewers are standing the glaze will slowly flow out creating a creep-etizer.

Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. Please calculate your own nutritional information if you want it exact to what you make and use my calculations as a guide only.

Nutrition