Dia De Los Muertos

Happy October!! May I say? welcome last quarter of the year, mother of all holidays! Halloween season is here! Yay! my favorite holiday! How I love all things spooky, pumpkins, ghosts, spiderwebs, witches, skulls, etc. I am huge on Halloween and I enjoy everything about it from the first day of October, well even al little before October too. :) I celebrate Halloween the entire month and you will see more that one post about it, I promise. Dia De Los Muertos (Day of The Dead) is such a fun and meaningful celebration. Mexicans actually have a date to celebrate and party with those who have passed away. The celebration in Mexico is huge. I have heard that the Mexican culture is the only one that actually celebrates the dead. I have amazing memories of this holiday, for all the colors, the flowers, the food. The tradition is so beautiful and festive! My inspiration for these "Halloween" treats came from this tradition that I love! 

 My husband and I are huge Mexican candy fans and a lot of our most favorite ones are made with tamarindo. If you don't know what tamarindo is, I will try to briefly explain it. It is a tangy fruit that comes in a somewhat weird shape, but its pulp makes the best combination with chili powder. Many Mexican traditional candies are made with this peculiar fruit, and it is one of my favorites. Since my husband and I love tamarindo, apples covered in it are our new favorite treat. As I already mentioned, its tangy flavor makes the best combination with other fruits, and apples are one if its best pairings. So to kick off our Halloween celebrations, I made these gorgeous and super festive "sugar skull" inspired apples. We love tamarindo but I also did a pair of chocolate covered ones to balance it out a bit.

 

They are too, too cute!!

I made two chocolate, and two tamarindo ones.

Green apples usually work better, but it all depends on what you like. 

Here are the ingredients I used to decorate them.

mini M&M's 

round gummies

flower gummies

cookie icing 

pulparindo candy

For the chocolate apples, I used the mini M&M's to make the decorative eyes, and I cut a gummy to put in the center of the eye. I used the cookie icing to make the mouth. This part was a little complicated but it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Isn't it adorable and perfect for a Dia De Muertos party?

For the tamarindo apples, I used this tamarindo paste that my husband brought from Mexico but there are other kinds that can be found at regular grocery stores.

To decorate this, I used flower gummies that I found at the candy by the bulk section, and I thought they were just perfect, especially because they were different shapes and colors. I used round gummies for the center of the eye too as well as the nose.

I automatically became in love with them. The eyes and the flowers on the "head" are adorable!!

I loved putting together these treats for my loved ones. We all share our love for Halloween, Mexican Traditions and yummy treats. 

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I am going to enjoy October and the celebrations that come along. Happy first day of October everyone!!