The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Ingredients
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbs brown sugar
1 ¾ cup warm water
Pinch of salt
1 tsp red food coloring (optional)
1.5 cups red velvet box cake mix (dry)
2.5 cups flour
Filling
⅓ cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 tsp milk
Instructions
Start in a mixing bowl by combining yeast, brown sugar, and warm water. Whisk well until thoroughly combined and let sit for about 5 minutes, it should get a little bubbly. To the bowl, add salt, cake mix, optional red food coloring, and flour a bit at a time, with a wooden spoon, mix the dough until you can knead it by hand without it sticking too much. Flour a large, smooth surface and fold the dough in half pressing it out flat and repeat several times by turning the dough 90 degrees after every fold. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour to rise or until doubled in size. The rising time may vary depending on the temperature of your home.
To begin making your tasty zombie guts re-flour your surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large, thin rectangle. If the sides are not even, cut the dough so it is a perfect, flat rectangle. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl and sprinkle it over the dough. On top of that, sprinkle on cinnamon and work the spices into the dough by rolling it out, the dough should be flat. Roll into a single long tube and cut every 2 inches. Unroll each of them and fold in half, longways.
Now for the fun part! Roll each piece of dough to make your ‘intestines’. In a greased 8×8 baking dish, arrange the pieces to look like ‘guts’. After they are looking creepy, cover again and let it rise for another 45 minutes. After the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the cover and bake your guts for 25-30 minutes. When it is done cooking, combine milk and powdered sugar in a small bowl to make a glaze. After taking it out of the 8×8 dish, cut into pieces or pull apart and dig in!
Commentary
Do not be fooled by their appearance, these “Zombie Guts” are after all very tasty red velvet cinnamon buns! Halloween needs two things this year: an A-lister costume and hauntingly sweet and spooky snacks. These are the perfect dessert whether you are hosting your own Halloween bash or heading to a friends.
To add just a bit more fun, swap out your food coloring with any color you choose! You could even go one step further in making a rainbow of different colors by changing one key step. Before letting your dough rise the first time, split into even parts of however many colors you’d like. Knead in the food coloring into each piece and set aside to rise.
I hope you liked this spooky treat, stay safe this Halloween, no boozing and cruising.