Every autumn, I like to read something spooky to get me in the mood for Halloween. Since I’m currently drafting a series of Edwardian paranormal short stories (like you do), I wanted my seasonal read to be set near the same time period as my stories to keep me in the right mindset. To that end, I found myself turning to an old favorite: “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
Jekyll & Hyde has that spooky Victorian Halloween aesthetic that makes my gothic-literature-loving heart go pitter pat. We’re talking foggy London streets, a troubled scientific genius, murder, mysterious potions, and the dichotomy between good and evil. What’s not to love? Plus it’s a super quick read—easily done in less than a day—which is just what I need in my chaotic mom-with-2-small-kids life.
I actually made a Jekyll & Hyde moon pie a looooong time ago as part of a set of classic monster moon pies, but I’ve always wanted to create a recipe dedicated to JUST this story. Granted, it barely mentions food, but that was ok with me. I already knew I wanted my recipe to riff off the famous potion that turns the good, kind Dr. Jekyll into monstrous Mr. Hyde.
I’ve seen lots of food bloggers make cocktails inspired by Hyde’s potion before, so to make it my own I decided to turn it into a cocktail/dessert pairing: a potion AND antidote. A truffle made the most sense for an antidote, since you can finish it in 1-2 bites, and it looks a bit like a pill if you use your imagination. But what to do about flavors? The story offers no description of the potion’s flavor, so I could basically do whatever I wanted.
I knew for sure I wanted something autumnal to go with Halloween. After tossing around a few ideas, I decided to make a hard cider-based cocktail with an apple pie spice truffle. An apple base left me a lot of options for a cocktail strong and sharp enough to suit Hyde without overpowering the more delicate flavors of the Jekyll-inspired truffle.
I recently heard of Wicked Grove cider, the name of which alone made it a perfect candidate for my base. In fact, I named the cocktail Wicked Ways after the main ingredient! Since the cocktail is meant to represent Hyde, I wanted it to have some kick as well, which I achieved with whiskey. Blood orange bitters made its way into the mix too, because—as we’ve established—I’m a sucker for themed names. I balanced out the flavors with some rich pomegranate juice, zingy ginger ale, Angostura bitters for depth, and just enough grenadine to make it red. In the end, I had a zingy, sharp, slightly sweet drink with a light whiskey burn and the redness and effervescence of the potion in the story. I like that the red also visually communicates the apple flavor and complements the colors of the truffle sprinkles.
Once the cocktail was finalized, the truffle was pretty easy: just add apple pie spice to my go-to Golden Oreo white chocolate truffle recipe. Top it with some black and lime green Halloween-y sprinkles, and you’re set!
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WICKED WAYS: Jekyll & Hyde Hard Cider Whiskey Potion & Apple Pie Truffle Antidote
“The mixture, which was at first of a reddish hue, began…to brighten in colour, to effervesce audibly, and to throw off small fumes of vapour. Suddenly…the ebullition ceased and the compound changed to a dark purple, which faded again more slowly to a watery green.”
— The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
INGREDIENTS:
- THE ANTIDOTE: Apple Pie Spice Golden Oreo Truffles
- 7 Golden Oreos
- 1 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 6-8 oz white almond bark
- black and lime green sprinkles
- THE POTION: Wicked Ways Cocktail
- 1 oz Wicked Grove hard cider, Crisp Apple flavor, chilled
- 3/4 oz whiskey, chilled (feel free to adjust this upwards if you want more kick)
- 3/4 oz blood orange bitters
- 3/4 oz pomegranate juice, chilled
- 3/4 oz ginger ale, chilled
- 1 splash grenadine (enough to turn it red)
- 3 drops Angostura bitters
Makes 1 potion and 7 antidotes
INSTRUCTIONS:
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- FOR THE ANTIDOTE: Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside. Twist the Oreos in half and place in a food processor. Process on low until it reaches a consistency like fine crumbs. Add the cream cheese and apple pie spice and process on low for 1-2 minutes until the mixture forms one big lump.
- Divide Oreo mix into 1/2 oz pieces and roll into balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Melt almond bark according to package instructions and transfer to a ceramic mug. Using a fork, submerge a truffle in the almond bark and return to the baking sheet, tapping the fork against the rim of the mug several times to remove excess coating. Top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining truffles. Allow to set for 10 minutes. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- FOR THE POTION: Combine in a rocks glass and stir.
- Serve to a brilliant young scientist on Halloween!
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Check out my other Halloween recipes! 🙂
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