The Berkshire Eagle
The new cookbook makes it easy for kids to conjure up ‘Hocus Pocus
By Jennifer Huberdeau
October 17, 2023
“Come little children, I’ll take thee away into a land of enchantment …”
So sings Sarah Sanderson (Jessica Parker) in not one, but two movies about the Sanderson sisters — Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah — three Salem witches brought back from the dead in the 1993 cult classic, “Hocus Pocus,” and its 2022 Disney+ sequel, “Hocus Pocus 2.”
Try it yourself
“The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids” by Bridget Thoreson
Published by Bloom Books for Young Readers
128 pages
$17.95
Don’t worry, the Sanderson sisters aren’t running amok again — yet! (A third movie is in the early stages of production at Disney.) The land of enchantment we’re talking about here is the kitchen, where a new kid-friendly cookbook awaits. Once opened, aspiring young chefs will find “50 fun and easy recipes for tricks, treats, and spooky eats inspired by the Halloween classic.”
Author Bridget Thoreson, who released “The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook” in 2021, writes in the introduction that, since its release two years ago, “a great deal has happened in my world. “The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook” became a USA Today best-selling book, the movie “Hocus Pocus 2″ premiered on Disney+ and I became a parent for the first time.”
Her newest cookbook, “The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids,” she says, is the culmination of all those things. “When we started talking about a follow-up project, my mind first went to [my daughter] Beatrice. 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 millennial parents probably felt the same way, and so I knew I wanted to do a book that would enhance that experience. Not only would I share the movie with my daughter, but I could share the experience of cooking a recipe related to the movie.”
This ‘Hocus Pocus’-themed cookbook will ‘cast a spell on you’
- 4 minutes to read
But the goal of this cookbook was a little different than the first, she writes in the introduction: “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 may grow up and look back fondly on the movies for a different reason.”
And while you will find recipes for Black Flame Candle Pretzels, Krispy Rice Booooooks and a bright green Life Potion drink, all made to look like their movie namesakes, most of the recipes have movie-themed names, but are designed to be “friendly to a child’s palette” with nothing that “strays to far from the familiar.” For example, the only thing scary about the Oil of Boil Soup is its name. It’s a traditional chicken soup with orzo pasta, diced tomatoes, celery and herbs. Likewise, the Dead Man’s Chungs are merely lamb rib chops with fresh rosemary, thyme, sage and garlic.
This cookbook is sure to please fans of this franchise, as it’s filled with fun references to the movies and stacked with delicious recipes to make with your aspiring witch-in-training. Bottomline, there’s no need for magic spells to conjure up these treats.
BLACK FLAME CANDLE PRETZELS
(Recipe courtesy of “The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids”)
Serves: 8
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
16 pretzel rods
16 candy corns
DIRECTIONS
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Boil water in the bottom of a double boiler. Place the chocolate in the top of the double boiler along with the vegetable oil. Set over the boiling water. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted and creamy. Remove from heat.
Dip the top part of each pretzel rod in the melted chocolate, then place on the parchment-lined pan. Stick a candy corn on the top of each pretzel rod.
Using a teaspoon, drizzle more chocolate over the pretzels to add texture.
Place in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens, at least 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
KRISPY RICE BOOOOOOKS
(Recipe courtesy of “The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook for Kids”)
Serves: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 10-ounce package of marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal
12 white milk chocolate Hershey’s kisses
1 tube black or brown cake-decorating icing
DIRECTIONS
Place the butter and marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, then microwave for another minute. Stir until smooth.
