Conjure up some magical Crescent Roll Witch Hats for your Halloween party. These festive appetizers are sure to impress your guests.

Originally published on October 6, 2011.

Crescent Roll Witch Hats

If you are hosting a Halloween party with a witch theme or a traditional Halloween theme, then these appetizers are a must. They are rather simple to make, although a bit time consuming, but they are really magical and they will definitely dress up your food table.

Back in 2011 when I originally wrote this recipe post, we were hosting a witch and wizard themed Halloween party. I had already created an entire chapter filled with witch themed desserts and appetizers for my book, Hungry Halloween featuring Movie Monster Munchies, Bewitched Buffet, and Dead Man’s Diner and had planned to serve Cackling Crackers and Full Moon Dip, a Cheese Ball Cauldron, and a Black Cat Cheese Ball to our party guests but I wanted something else to serve that would not only look magical but taste great.

Earlier in 2011 I had created my ever popular Crescent Roll Carrots for Easter and thought it would be fun to use that idea to make something for Halloween and I decided to use crescent rolls to make these chicken salad filled witch hats.

How to make crescent roll witch hat appetizers for your Halloween party…

You will need the following ingredients and supplies:

• flour
• Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
• egg wash
• poppy seeds or black sesame seeds
• cheese (white or orange cut into 1/2″-3/4″ wide by 6″ long strips)
• softened cream cheese
• filling (pesto chicken salad, tuna salad, plain chicken salad, ham salad, shrimp salad)

Special Equipment Needed:

• template -create it out of paper or card stock
  • Draw a 4″ line.
  • Then create a triangle with two 3 3/4″ sides.
  • Under the 4″ line create a curved area.
• pizza cutter or knife
• 3″ round cookie cutter
• 5 metal cream horn molds
• pastry brush
• parchment paper or foil
• baking sheet

Instructions:

Cut crescent dough into witch hats.

• Roll out a a tube of Pillsbury Crescent Roll Creations Seamless Dough Sheet on a lightly floured cutting board.
• Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten out and even out the thickness of the dough, stretching it out a bit.
  • You can find the tubs of this soft crescent roll dough in the refrigerator section of your grocery store near the refrigerated biscuits.
  • If your grocery store does not carry this product you can use puff pastry. You’ll need to dock the puff pastry dough (poke it with a fork all over the surface of the dough) to keep it from puffing up too much.
  • I don’t recommend using traditional crescent roll dough that is cut into triangles. In order to use this dough you would need to pinch together all the seams, but when the witch hats bake, I’m not sure how well all those pieces will hold together.
• Use a piece of paper or card stock to make a template.
  • Draw a 4″ line.
  • Then create a triangle with two 3 3/4″ sides.
  • Under the 4″ line create a curved area.
• Set the template on the dough and cut out 5 triangles using a pizza wheel or knife.
• Then cut 5 circles using the 3″ round cookie cutter.

Wrap crescent dough around cream horn forms.

• Lay out your triangles of dough.
• Set the seam of the cream horn mold along one straight edge of the triangle.
• Roll the cream horn form over bringing the dough with it until both straight edges of dough meet up.
• Press the two edges of dough together, flattening it and smoothing it out so the seam wont puff when baked.

Roll crescent dough witch hats in poppy seeds (or black sesame seeds).

• Place poppy seeds or black sesame seeds in a shallow dish (or lid.)
• Brush the cones of dough with egg wash then roll them in poppy seeds, being sure to completely cover the cone.
  • If you have bare spots you may have to carefully drip on some more egg wash then press the poppy seeds onto the dough.
• Brush the rounds of dough on one side with egg wash. Set the egg washed side of the dough into the poppy seeds and press gently.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Set poppy seed covered cones on baking sheet, seam side down.
• Place at least one of the poppy seed rounds with the dough facing up, so that you can easily see how the dough is browning in the oven.  Set the others any way you like on the baking sheet.
• Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

 

 

 

 

• Bake for 6-8 minutes until deep golden brown.
• Allow the cones to cool for about 5 minutes then carefully remove them from the cream horn forms.
  • Slide them off the cones for easy removal.
  • If they are sticking allow them to cool a few more minutes then try again.
• Depending on how the dough baked, your cones may not sit perfectly straight on the rounds (see the first hat on the left which is leaning – it needs trimmed), so use kitchen shears or a knife to level off the bottoms of each cone.

• Carefully fill each cone with your savory filling.
  • I used pesto chicken salad which I made by combing about 1 cup of diced chicken breast with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons homemade basil pesto, and a pinch of salt.
  • Whatever filling you use, be sure it isn’t too chunky. You need small pieces to fit into the narrow hats.
• Set each cone down in the center of a round.
• Cut thin slices of cheese into 1/2″-3/4″ wide by 6″ long strips.
• Brush a thin layer of softened cream cheese over one side of each cheese strip.
• Wrap one strip of cheese with the cream cheese facing the crescent roll hat around the base of each cone.
• Press the two edges of the cheese together gently.
• They are ready to serve.
• NOTE: If you are making more than 5 hats, be sure to clean your cream horn forms before repeating the process to make more hats.

VIDEO TUTORIAL – Crescent Roll Witch Hat Appetizers

 

You can refrigerate your hats for a few hours or up to a few days, depending on the filling.  Mine kept well for several days – the hats didn’t get soggy at all.

If your filling is a bit wet, then you might not want them sitting around for more than a few hours. I think those filled with a cream cheese or cheese spread would also keep for several days.

I was happy with how these hats looked, but do think they could have had a few embellishments.  If you make them, you might want to add a buckle using orange cheese.

To give the actual hat more character, you could allow the tip of the cone to bend over.  Just form the triangle of dough on the cream horn mold allowing the very top point to hang over. After you cover it in poppy seeds, bend the tip over and set on your baking sheet. Add whatever you’d like or keep them as is.

I will be making these for my Halloween party this year and will be sure to take some pictures. Hope you will too.

Be sure to check out all the Halloween recipes here on Hungry Happenings.