Boo-Schetta: Ghostly Caprese Bites

Boo-Schetta is a fun and ghostly twist on classic Caprese bruschetta. It combines grape tomatoes and fresh basil strips with flavorful olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing for a delicious treat served on toasted French bread. For the "Boo," I used fresh mozzarella shaped like ghosts rather than traditional fresh mozzarella pearls.

Jump to:

• Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
• Making the Ghosts
• Preparing the French Bread
• Making the Caprese Mixture
• Putting It All Together
• Recipe Tips and Tricks
• Other Spooktacular Halloween Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need

• The Veggies: For the veggies, I used grape tomatoes, fresh basil from my garden, and fresh garlic.

• The Caprese Dressing: In addition to the garlic, I used olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, Kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and freshly ground black pepper for the Caprese dressing.

• The Bread: I used toasted sliced French bread brushed with olive oil for the base of the Caprese Boo-Schetta.

• The "Boo": I used fresh sliced mozzarella cheese molded to look like ghosts, garnished with balsamic glaze for the eyes and mouths.

Making the Ghosts

1. I started with a silicone ghost cupcake pan that I got from Target. The size and shape of the ghosts were important to me. This pan had two ghost shapes, but I only used the cavities for one of the ghosts (the top and bottom cavities and the middle cavity). The size of the ghosts was 2 ½ inches high and 2 inches wide.

2. I pressed a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese into each cavity. Each slice weighed around 0.5 ounces.

3. I heated the mozzarella cheese in a 350°F oven for six minutes to soften it. After six minutes, I removed the pan from the oven and used a tart tamper to press the cheese into the mold. I also used a paper towel to remove the excess liquid given off by the softened cheese.

4. After allowing the molded ghosts to come to room temperature, I removed them from the mold. I repeated this process two more times for a total of 15 ghosts.

Preparing the French Bread

1. I started by slicing the French bread into ½-inch slices.

2. I placed the French bread slices on a half-sheet pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil and brushed each piece with olive oil.

3. I toasted the French bread for six to seven minutes per side in a 450°F oven until it was golden brown.

Making the Caprese Mixture

1. For the Caprese mixture, I started by making the dressing. I added the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper to a small jar with a lid. I secured the lid and gave the jar a good shake to combine the ingredients.

2. Then, I cut the grape tomatoes in half and then in half crosswise.

3. I layered the fresh basil leaves on top of each other and rolled them into a tight cylinder. Then, using kitchen shears, I cut the basil into thin strips, i.e., chiffonade.

4. I transferred the cut tomatoes and basil strips to a medium bowl and poured on the dressing.

5. Finally, I tossed everything together to coat the tomatoes and basil with the dressing.

Putting It All Together

At this point, the mozzarella ghosts were made, the French bread was toasted, and the Caprese mixture was ready. By the way, all of this could be done in advance!

1. I carefully spooned the tomato/basil mixture onto the toasted French bread.

2. For some added flavor, I drizzled the tomato mixture with balsamic glaze.

3. I topped the tomato mixture with a mozzarella ghost. Then, I added some balsamic glaze for the eyes and mouth. I used a toothpick to spread the balsamic glaze to fill the areas for the eyes and mouth. The narrow end of a chopstick also works well here.

I ended up with 15 ghostly Caprese bites. They were as delicious to eat as they were fun to serve.

So as you're planning your Halloween festivities, Boo-Schetta is a perfect way to wow your family and friends. Yum!

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• If you cannot find a suitable ghost silicone mold, you can use ghost cookie cutters. I recommend using cookie cutters that are around 2 ½ inches tall and 2 inches wide. You can use the narrow end of a chopstick to make indentations for the face.

• The fresh mozzarella cheese that I used had 15 slices in it.

• Fresh basil easily bruises. To minimize bruising, I used sharp kitchen shears to cut the basil. However, a very sharp knife would also work.

Other Spooktacular Halloween Recipes

For other ideas for your Halloween festivities, check out these Spooktacular recipes.

Recipe