Sweet White Chocolate Ghosts
There is something ghoulishly great about topping your favorite vanilla milk shake with a hauntingly sweet white ghost .
To make, follow these steps:
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.
Coarsely chop desired amount of white chocolate (about 2 ounces). Place in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high about 1 minute or just until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds.
Place melted chocolate in a small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Use kitchen scissors to snip a very small piece off one corner of the bag.
Pipe small ghost shapes on prepared baking sheet. Add two miniature semisweet chocolate pieces to each ghost for eyes. Allow to stand until white chocolate sets. Peel off waxed paper.
Bloodshot Peanut Butter Eyeballs
You won't be able to take your eyes off of these eerie Halloween peanut butter bites. Not only are they eye-catching, but they're also irresistible at any festive event.
To make, follow these steps:
In a mixing bowl stir together 1/2 cup peanut butter and 3 tablespoons softened butter. Gradually add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, stirring until combined. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper. Let stand until dry (about 20 minutes).
Chop 8 ounces of vanilla-flavor white candy coating. Place in a heavy saucepan, cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Dip balls, one at a time, into coating. Let excess coating drip off peanut butter balls. Place on waxed paper; let stand until coating is firm.
Use a small paintbrush and red food coloring to paint veins on the coated peanut butter balls.
Pipe small dots of black icing for pupils.
Breadstick Skeleton
Transform ready-to-bake breadsticks into bones for this appetizing skeleton. They're so simple it's scary!
To make, follow these steps:
Cut the ends of purchased, ready-to-bake breadsticks before baking as directed.
Arrange the breadstick bites around a small dish filled with marinara sauce, which will be the head of the skeleton.
Create the skeleton face before serving using shredded mozzarella cheese and sliced black olives.
Cute Pumpkin Cookies
Looking for a treat that's a little less frightful and more traditionally delightful? Festively decorated sugar cookies are always a great go-to sweet -- they don't have to be pumpkin, either! Mix it up with colorful ghosts , bats, and witch hats.
To make, follow these steps:
Use a pumpkin-shape cookie cutter to cut pumpkins from rolled sugar cookie dough you buy or prepare according to your favorite recipe. Bake as directed.
Ice the cookies with orange royal icing (see recipe below) on the main portion of the pumpkin.
Add your favorite jack-o-lantern face shapes to the pumpkin cookies using back icing and ice the stems with green icing.
Tangled-Web Shakes
Spin a sugary spider web to entice your Halloween party guests to a thick, caramel chocolate shake. Drizzled caramel and dark chocolate ice cream toppings give an oozing effect to the glass.
To make, follow these steps:
Drizzle caramel and chocolate ice cream toppings in a zigzag design inside each glass. Freeze the glasses until needed.
Create the caramel and sea salt spider webs, following the recipe directions below.
Blend vanilla ice cream, milk, and chocolate and caramel ice cream toppings for each shake.
Top each shake with a salted-caramel web.
Editor's Tip: Because the webs set up quickly, we recommend that a second person add the salt as each web is drizzled.
Creepy Bug Buns
These little critters disappear so quickly you'll think they've crawled right off the table! Either prepare the Creepy Bug Buns according to the recipe, available below, or make the quick Halloween appetizer using the following steps.
To make, follow these steps:
Prepare your favorite bread bun dough recipe or prepackaged bread roll dough.
Place the dough rolls on a prepared baking sheet . Brush dough ball with egg white mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Halve three pretzel sticks to make six legs. Push three legs into dough on each side of ball. Place one pretzel nugget on top of the ball for the head. Let dough bugs raise for 10 minutes or according to package directions.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or according to package directions.
Sparkling Blackbird Sugar Cookies
Beady-eyed blackbirds aren't so menacing when they're Halloween treats. Use bird cookie cutters for the shapes, or sub in other black Halloween figures, such as a cat or a witch. A brushing of corn syrup after baking is the trick to getting the black sugar coating to stick.
Prepare your favorite sugar cookie recipe or purchased sugar cookie dough. Bake as directed. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.
Brush the tops of a few cookies lightly with corn syrup.
While still wet, coat with coarse black decorating sugar.
Add small yellow candies or sprinkles for beaks and small green candies for eyes.
Repeat with remaining cookies.
How-To: Make Ghostly Good Cookies
Pull together these cute ghost cookies as a super easy, last-minute Halloween treat, with tips and instructions from Evette Rios.
Open-Face Bird Sandwiches
Heading off for trick-or-treating? Fuel up with these hearty sandwiches costumed as featherbrained birds.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Spoon two hot marinara-sauced meatballs on top of a split, toasted roll.
2. Roll two small pieces of cream cheese into balls. Gently press a cream cheese ball onto the front of each meatball, making an eye.
3. Cut pitted ripe black olives into small pieces; press into the front of each cream cheese ball as a pupil.
4. Cut orange and/or yellow sweet peppers into pieces; arrange on meatballs as beaks and eyebrows.
5. Arrange julienne carrots and/or chives on sandwiches to resemble feathers.
Haunted Hooting Owl Pretzels
Whoo-oo dare eat this menacing owl? Everyone! Though they look especially spooky, these chocolate-dipped pretzels are a hoot to make.
To make, follow these steps:
Dip large pretzels in melted confectioner's coating. Place the pretzels on wax paper.
As the coating sets, sprinkle with coarse black decorating sugar. Press a black jelly bean to the twist of each pretzel for the nose and small pieces of licorice candy onto the base of the pretzels for the talons.
Separate a sandwich cookie and press the halves onto the pretzel for eyes.
Ice white candy pieces and press onto each cookie eye, then add chocolate chips to them for pupils.
Use black licorice twists as eyebrows.
Vampire Bagel Bites
Sink your teeth into this well-clad Transylvanian bagel. We dare you to count the number of bites it takes before this spellbinding treat disappears.
To make, follow these steps:
Spread cream cheese on a mini bagel half.
Add triangle strips of red pepper for a colorful collar.
Cut one Kalamata olive in half lengthwise, then slice one half lengthwise again. Use the two slivers as eyebrows. Slice the other half horizontally to make a triangle and use as the widow's peak hairstyle.
Use a shred of carrot as the nose and capers as the eyes.
Decorate with thin slices of green onion for the mouth.
Mad Scientist Wraps
Create your own mini laboratory with these Halloween wraps. Gather as many add-ons as possible -- olives, carrots, sweet pickles, and parsley work great -- then let imaginations run wild.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Make a wrap with your choosing of fillings. Roll up and secure with wooden pick.
2. Stuff one end of rolled tortilla with sweet red pepper strips, shredded lettuce, parsley sprigs, and julienned carrots.
3. Attach olives for eyes and the nose and a piece of pepper for the mouth with mayonnaise or honey mustard.
4. Cut an apron shape from the cheese and lay atop tortilla.
5. Add pickles or peppers for shoes and use cheese as a blanket .
Ghost Sandwich
A simple but spooky ghost sandwich makes a lunchtime staple into a fun Halloween treat. For multiple hungry goblins use a variety of Halloween-theme cookie cutters such as pumpkins, witch hats, and cats to make a festive and tasty sandwich platter.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
2. Use a ghost-shape cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into a ghost shape.
3. Press two raisins into bread -- use peanut butter if necessary -- for the ghost's eyes.
Jack-o'-Lantern Chocolate Cake
This devilishly delicious chocolate cake is anything but somber. Pick your favorite jack-o'-lantern faces to adorn the chocolate wafer cookies or gingersnaps and have your little monster put the cookies all over the cake.
To make, follow these steps:
Prepare your favorite chocolate layer cake as directed.
Frost the cake with orange icing.
Put more of the icing in a cake decorating bag fitted with a #1 or #2 tip and pipe jack-o'-lantern faces on chocolate wafer cookies or gingersnaps.
Stand the decorated cookies around the cake and embed a half dozen (or as many as you'd like) in the top.
Owl Cupcake
Try this wise idea for creating cute Halloween cupcakes . This hooting fellow could be the star of your Halloween food tray.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Spread tops of purchased cupcakes with white frosting.
2. For eyes, arrange two round raspberry-and-vanilla-creme sandwich cookie halves side by side on top of the cupcake, top sides up. Use frosting to attach green mini candy-coated milk chocolate pieces to centers for eyes.
3. For a beak, insert a cashew between the eyes. Cover cupcake top with overlapping rows of sliced almonds.
Mice Cookies
With crunchy chow mein noodle tails and a flavorful cookie crunch, these Halloween treats won't make you scamper away. If anything, you'll be happy to see these little mice around.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Form cookie dough into a 9-inch-long roll about 2 inches in diameter. Chill until firm enough to slice.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut roll into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice in half.
3. Cut candy bars into 12 rectangles each.
4. Top a half slice of cookie dough with one chocolate bar rectangle.
5. Place a chow mein noodle on one side, close to the flat edge, so it resembles a tail.
6. Top with a second half slice. Gently press sides of slices together to seal.
7. Press an almond slice into the cookie for an ear and candy-coated chocolate pieces for an eye and nose.
Mummy Appetizers
The true flavor of these tasty mummies is under wraps. Assemble a few for a fun appetizer or a legion for a Halloween-worthy entree.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Skewer a purchased meatball and a 4-inch piece of summer sausage stick with a 6-inch wooden skewer.
2. Combine 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1 teaspoon of purchased pesto. Spread some of the mixture over the meat skewer.
3. Wrap skewer with cooked fettuccine noodles.
4. To complete, add capers for eyes. Serve with pasta sauce for dipping.
Editor's Tip: For a more bulky body, spread with additional cream cheese mixture and wrap with another layer of cooked fettuccine.
Halloween S'Mores
You won't need a bonfire for these fright-night snacks: These coveted snacks heat in the microwave oven . Dip the edges of each treat in sprinkles or orange and yellow sugar for extra Halloween flair.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Break graham crackers into squares.
2. Spread four squares with chocolate-hazelnut spread.
3. Spread remaining four squares with marshmallow creme.
4. Place graham crackers, marshmallow sides down, on top of chocolate-hazelnut spread; place on a microwave-safe plate .
5. Microwave each s'more, uncovered, on high for 30 seconds.
Editor's Tips:
Mummy Dogs
Hot dogs are a party favorite and will become the star of a Halloween buffet when given this mummy wrap treatment using refrigerated breadsticks.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Stretch uncooked breadsticks to 12 inches.
2. Wrap dough around hot dogs; be sure to let the meat show slightly through the wraps.
3. Press in capers for eyes.
4. Bake until bread is golden brown (about 12 minutes). Serve with ketchup and mustard.
Haunted House Treat
This house might be haunted, but there's nothing wicked about the sweets holding this home together. With toaster pastries and fudge-stick cookies as building materials, even ghosts and bats won't scare hungry goblins away.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Use cocoa powder to tint some icing brown and yellow food coloring to tint some icing yellow.
2. Use a sharp knife to diagonally cut one toaster pastry in half and secure one half to the second toaster pastry with brown icing for the roof.
3. From the graham cracker, break off one rectangle for the door and cut two 1-inch squares for the windows.
4. Frost the windows with yellow icing. Attach the windows and the door with brown icing.
5. Attach 1-inch lengths of pretzel sticks along the vertical edges of the windows for the shutters.
6. Attach a rectangular chocolate cookie and a small candy pumpkin to create the door.
7. Use brown icing to secure a fudge stick cookie at the bottom of the house for the step and at the top of the roof for the chimney.
8. Use black decorating gel to pipe the windowpanes and to add squiggle lines over the house.
9. To complete, use icing to attach edible bat and ghost decorations.
Fruity Owl Bagel
Invite an owl or two to share in your Halloween festivities. Give kids prewashed, cut-up fruit to create their own nocturnal creatures, or assemble them yourself for a flock of Halloween treats.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Spread bagel halves with cream cheese.
2. Use mango slices for the owl's wings, grapes for feet, a strawberry for the nose, and kiwi slices for eyes.
3. Attach two blueberries to the kiwi slices with cream cheese to complete this fruity snack.
Editor's Tip: Use cheese, olive slices, pepperoni, and veggies to create a savory owl treat.
Spider Pasta
Have a Halloween pasta night with these ravioli critters. A spiderweb made out of pasta sauce makes the spooky spiders feel right at home.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Fill a narrow-tip squeeze bottle with pasta sauce (look for plastic condiment bottles in a retailer's kitchen section). Use the bottle to pipe a spiderweb shape onto a plate .
2. Place a few round ravioli on top of the web.
3. Add strips of orange pepper for legs and put two drops of sauce on the ravioli for eyes.
Fondant-Marshmallow Ghouls
For a quick and spooky treat, use marshmallows and fondant to form tasty ghouls. Tint fondant and use candies and pretzels to decorate each ghoul to ghastly perfection.
To make, follow these steps:
1. For a tall white ghoul, use clean scissors to snip one end each from two large marshmallows. Press the cut ends together.
2. Roll fondant to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out a 4-1/2-inch-diameter fondant circle. Shape the fondant over the marshmallow stack.
3. Add eyes and a mouth with decorating gel.
4. To color ghouls, tint fondant with a small amount of food coloring. For the striped version, roll small ropes of different colors of the fondant. Press ropes together and roll out with a rolling pin. Finish as directed above.
5. If desired, use small candies for features, attaching them with decorator frosting.
Editor's Tip:
Truffle Tarantulas
Spiders usually aren't on the guest list. But these tarantulas are made from sweet candies, so these scurrying spiders will have partygoers squeal with delight -- not fright.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Melt candy coating or candy disks and place in a resealable plastic bag; snip off a small corner.
2. Pipe spider legs onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with nonpareils (if desired). Chill legs in the refrigerator until firm.
3. Squeeze small circles of melted coating onto another waxed paper-lined baking sheet and insert eight chilled legs into each circle.
4. Add a 1-inch candy truffle on top of each circle for the spider's body.
5. Add small candies or frosting for eyes; chill in refrigerator until firm.
Apple Monster Mouths
Spooky green lips and scary yellow teeth create a cringe-worthy combination for this easy Halloween treat. Good thing these monster mouths taste so sweet!
To make, follow these steps:
1. Core two green or red apples; cut each into eight thick slices.
2. Spread about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on an apple slice.
3. Assemble about five pieces of candy corn as "teeth" on the apple slice.
4. Spread another apple slice with about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter; press on top of first apple slice.
Cookie-and-Candy Cat
More friendly than fierce, this cookie-and-candy cat is just what a wicked witch needs as a broom-riding companion.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Use chocolate icing to assemble two chocolate cookies for the cat's head and body.
2. Cut two mint patties into the shape of pointed ears. Place the ears behind the head, adhering them with icing.
3. Use two smaller multicolor-chip cookies to form the muzzle, attaching to the face with frosting.
4. Place a round red candy in the middle of the face for a nose.
5. Assemble chocolate candies to form paws; attach with icing.
6. For the eyes, flatten a green jelly candy, then cut two thin diamond shapes. Use icing to attach one to each chocolate candy; attach to cat.
7. Use a chocolate twist candy to form the tail, microwaving to make pliable and attaching with icing to the back of the body.
8. Use melted almond bark or frosting to attach a red lace candy mouth and whiskers to the muzzle.
Halloween Snake Sandwich
Oozing with yummy pizza ingredients, this overstuffed snake sports a sinister smile and a long, forked tongue. But don't worry; its taste is much better than its bite.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Roll a thawed loaf of frozen bread dough into a 22-inch long rope; place on a large greased baking sheet forming a "snaky S" shape. Allow to rise, then bake.
2. Once the loaf is cool hollow out the center portion of the loaf about 1-inch deep and 1-1/2-inches wide, leaving about 2-inches on each end of the loaf.
3. Layer cheddar and mozzarella cheese around the center of loaf, pressing cheese slices down into the hollowed portion of the loaf.
4. Spoon a mixture of pepperoni and pizza sauce on top of the cheese. Top with strips of sweet pepper; bake.
5. To complete, make a slit in the front of the loaf and insert a roasted red pepper strip for the snake's tongue; insert two pimento stuffed olives with toothpicks for eyes.
Doughnut Witch Hat
What do a chocolate-covered sugar cone, a chocolate doughnut, and plenty of sprinkles have in common? They all taste great when put together to form a spooky witch hat -- quite the Halloween treat.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Melt semisweet chocolate according to the package instructions. Holding the open end of a sugar cone, dip the bottom half at an angle into the melted chocolate.
2. Immediately press candy pumpkins into the chocolate. Place the cone on waxed paper and let sit until the chocolate sets.
3. Frost the top and side surfaces of a doughnut with chocolate icing. Sprinkle icing with nonpareils or sprinkles.
4. Center the open end of the cone on the frosted doughnut. Use a sharp knife to cut candies or gum pieces into quarters and adhere them around the bottom of the hat with icing.
Pepper Frog
Make veggies fun to eat at Halloween by making them into a silly frog. Serve with a favorite salad dressing if desired.
To make, follow these steps:
1. Remove the top of a green pepper and set aside. Remove all seeds and membrane.
2. Cut out leg shapes from another green pepper and attach to the frog body using toothpicks.
3. Fill pepper with favorite vegetables.
4. Add a long slice of carrot for a tongue.
5. Using toothpicks, place two large pimento-stuffed green olives on top of the pepper lid for eyes.
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