Since Halloween is almost upon us I decided it was time to look for cute but easy recipes. Whether you’re having a party or just trying to make it fun for your kids I’ve found some recipes I think you will like. I think next to Christmas and our own birthdays, there isn’t a holiday that children look forward to more than Halloween. Who doesn’t like a holiday where you get free candy?
- Ghastly Pear Ghosts Recipe (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ghastly-Pear-Ghosts)
We all have seen candied or caramel apples at Halloween but have you ever seen a candied pear? I thought this was a very creative idea, especially since the pear does have that ghostly shape already! I can’t wait to try one. Since the pear is a softer fruit it seems like it would be an easier one for the very young and the very old alike to sink their teeth into! First they are dipped in caramel and then into white candy coating and then decorated with orange candy coating and semi sweet chocolate.
- Crispy Phyllo Wrapped Hot Dog Mummies (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/crispy-phyllo-wrapped-hot-dog-mummies-recipe/index.html) –
Most children I know love hot dogs; how about hot dog mummies? These are super easy to prepare and are so cute to serve for dinner before your little ones go trick or treating. They would be great for a Halloween party too. Cut your hot dogs in half, make a slit to stuff some cheese in, and then wrap them up with strips of phyllo dough that have been sprinkled with a little spice to look like a mummy. Then you can add a couple dots of ketchup or mustard for the eyes. These are the perfect Halloween treat for any age. You could even use sausages for an older crowd.
- Strawberry Ghosts Recipe (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Strawberry-Ghosts)
Here is another fruity treat. Since the kids will be getting so much candy I thought it might be a good idea to try to give them something healthier to eat. These are simple but really cute just like the pears above. Dipped in melted white chocolate and decorated with mini chocolate chips for the eyes and melted chocolate chips for the mouth, it just couldn’t get any easier. The crazy green hairs sticking straight up on top makes the freaked out look complete!
- Ghostly Graveyard Recipe (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ghostly-Graveyard)
This one is made out of rice crispy treats with a little bit of spooky flair. These are simple to make but very appealing to the kiddos. With the addition of chocolate frosting and chocolate sandwich cookies who could resist? The chocolate frosting is piled up on the crispy treat like a mound of dirt with the oblong sandwich cookie used as a tombstone. You take off about a half an inch of the cookie so it will sit flat and use the part you cut off to crumble and sprinkle around the base of the grave to look like freshly dug dirt. Pipe a RIP on the cookie and you have a creepy, yummy grave site.
- Frightfully Easy Ghost Cookies (http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/frightfully-easy-ghost-cookies/bed2af7e-59a0-4b68-be25-1dcaeca66254/)
Three ingredients are all you need for these cookies. Take peanut butter sandwich cookies (like Nutter Butter cookies), dip them in white chocolate or white candy bark and add mini chocolate chips or melted chocolate chips for the eyes. Couldn’t be easier!
- Brew Ha-Ha Punch (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/brew-ha-ha-punch-10000000257698/)
Put this punch in a second larger bowl with dry ice and change the atmosphere of your party completely. Your guests will wonder what book of magic you used to brew this tasty green potion! It’s made with lime juice mix, pineapple, ginger ale, sugar, and water. One comment I read on this site said that they would use less sugar next time so I suggest adding half the sugar and giving it a taste.
- Cobweb Cupcakes (http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/134751/Cobweb-Cupcakes/detail.aspx)
This recipe gives instructions to make yellow or devil’s food cake mix and prepare cupcakes adding chopped Butterfinger candy bars into mix. It sounds good but if you are not a Butterfinger fan then you can just make the cupcakes without them. Ice them with white icing and then melt chocolate chips in a sandwich bag in microwave. Cut off the tip of the bag and pipe concentric circles on top of cupcake (see picture). Then use a toothpick to make it look like a cobweb by pulling it from center circle to outer circle. They suggest using Nestles’ Goober Milk Chocolate covered peanuts for the spider’s head, adding two dots of decorating frosting for the eyes. You could use malted milk balls here as well.
- Spooky Spider Eggs (http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/holidays-occasions/good-halloween-candy-recipes-00400000047868/page2.html)
Nothing could be better for a Halloween party than devilishly good deviled eggs! The person who came up with this Halloween party idea used black olives to make a spider shape as a garnish. When you go over to this site if you don’t already have a favorite recipe you use for deviled eggs they offer up a recipe for Bacon Deviled Eggs.
- Fur Ball and String Monster Cupcakes (http://blog.hwtm.com/2010/10/fur-balls-string-monster-cupcakes/)
These sound a bit complicated when you read the instructions but they really aren’t all that bad. You need to bake cupcakes and mini cupcakes to stack on top for these. You need lollipops like Dum Dums, peach or green apple gummy rings, mini M&M type candies, neon food coloring, and orange, green, or purple cupcake papers. You take the vanilla frosting and divide into equal portions and use food coloring to dye and pipe on with sandwich bags. These are so cute for little ones, they may take a little more time but they are not difficult.
- Monster Eyeballs (http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/halloween/homemadehalloweentreats/recipes/food/views/Monster-Eyeballs-355109)
Balls of peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla rolled to look like eyeballs and refrigerated for an hour then dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate chips with a bit of shortening added. That’s all there is to these. Hand roll the peanut butter eyes, after chilling then dip into chocolate per the instructions, leaving part of the peanut butter showing for the cornea. A mini M&M type of coated candy for the pupil and then you have a bowl full of monster eyeballs. Everyone seems to love peanut butter and chocolate, child and adults alike!
- Mummy-Face Pizzas (http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/mummy-face-pizzas-114029.aspx)
Make these mini pizzas using bagels sliced in half and covered with pizza sauce. Using string cheese that you pull apart in thin strips to wrap the mummy in with a couple of sliced black olives for the eyes. Bake for approximately ten minutes in a 400 degree oven. There you have it, cute little mummy pizzas.
- Jack Skellington Cupcakes (http://family.go.com/food/recipe-774920-jack-skellington-cupcakes-t/)
The Night Before Christmas’ inspired cupcakes. Doesn’t look in the least bit hard but it does look scary! Chocolate cupcakes, white frosting, and black decorator’s icing are all you need to make this cute cupcake. I know my nieces and nephews loved The Night Before Christmas and would get a real kick out of these.
- Coffin Sandwiches (http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/coffin-sandwiches-57568.aspx?)
Nothing hard about these sandwiches, all you need is a template for the coffin shape which this site offers. It wouldn’t be hard to whip up your own template in a coffin shape. They suggest you make the template out of cardboard for heartiness. A little meat, a little cheese, a condiment, and some lettuce made into the shape of a coffin and you have a fun, wholesome Halloween appetizer.
I hope some of these recipes work for you this Halloween. My goal is always to keep things simple yet appealing to the eye. It doesn’t take a lot of work to make your party or your Halloween meal a hit with your children and your friends and family. Go check out some of these recipes to see just how simple they are before Halloween rolls around this year. Have a howling good time!
Author Bio:
Jack Meyer is a regular contributor for http://www.nannybackgroundcheck.com/. As a detective he wants to spread the knowledge of terrible things that can happen when people don’t fully verify the credentials of a caregiver or any employee. He also writes for various law enforcement blogs and sites.