Halloween tricks for treats!

BRAIN CHEESE SPREAD

Brain shaped mold

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup 

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 package unflavored gelatin

1/s c. chopped chives

3 lbs. chopped cooked shrimp

1 c. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Hot sauce to taste

Prepare gelatin:  Soften gelatin in 1/4 c. water. 

Prepare mold:  Lightly coat inside mold with vegetable oil.

Heat soup and cream cheese together in saucepan.  Stir in gelatin.  Fold in remaining ingredientsand pour into brain mold.  Chill until firm, preferably overnight.  Before turning mold over onto serving platter, dip in warm water for 10 seconds to loosen.  

Serve with breads or crackers.

BUGS IN A BLANKET

11 oz. refrigerated breadstick dough

24 Cocktail Sausages

3/4 c. shoestring potatos

Ketchup

Mustard

Unroll dough and cut pieces to wrap each cocktail sausage, leaving ends exposed.  Place seam down on  ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for approximately  11-14 minutes.  Place on serving plate.  Insert shoestring potatoes to resemble "legs".  Dot or stripe tops to decorate with ketchup and mustard.

CAULDRON DIPS

Use small decorative cauldrons for festive dipping

SPICEY SPIDER CHEESEBALLS

1/2 c. salsa

1/4 c. green onions

2 tbsp. softened butter

6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 tsp. chopped garlic

1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce

Decorations:

3 tbsp. poppy seeds

2 pitted black olives

1 red bell pepper, pieces

4 pretzel rods

Beat all cheese ball ingredients together until creamy.  Refrigerate 1 hour.

Divide cheese mixture:  2 tbsp. (legs) 1/2 c. (head) Remaining (body)  Shape round body and head.  Roll each in poppy seeds.  Place on platter to form spider.  Black olive and piece of red pepper on toothpick for each "eye".  Red pepper slice for "mouth"  Refrigerate overnight. (4 hours minimum).  Before serving, complete spider with legs.  Break pretzel rods 3 pieces. Start with 3 rod "legs" on each side of body.  Use saved cheese mixture to join together remaining rods to form bent legs.

Serve with crackers or vegetable sticks.

MONSTER PIZZA 

Bagels or English muffins

Pizza sauce

Shredded mozzerella cheese

Toppings:

Olives

Pepperoni

Onion

Peppers

Split breads in half. Place face up on cookie sheet.  Spread sauce, then cheese on top of each "pizza"  Create monster faces with toppings.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

MUMMY MEATBALLS

1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage

1/2 lb ground beef

1 egg

1/4 c. Italian bread crumbs

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Olive oil

1 pkg. refrigerated crescent dough

Black decorator gel

Candy eyes

Combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasonings.  Form into meatballs.  Place into heated olive oil in skillet.  Brown meatballs.  Unroll crescent dough and cut into long, thin  strips.   Lightly wrap each meatball as a "mummy face".  Bake according to Cresent dough directions.  Attach eyes with black gel.

SKELETON VEGETABLE TRAY

Vegetable dip

Round bread with center removed to hold dip  (head)

Black olives (face)

Peppers (Rib cage)

Celery sticks (bones)

Mushrooms (guts)

Cherry tomatos (joints)

Cucumbers (breast bone)

Cauliflower and Broccoli Flowerettes (hands)

Place "body parts" on long serving tray to resemble skeleton.  Fill bread bowl (head) with vegetable dip.  Create face with olives.

WART WEDGES

4 - 8" tortillas

1/2 c. shreaded pork with bar-b-que sauce

2 tsp. dill pickle relish

1/2 c. + 4 tsp.  shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend

8 pitted green olives, halved

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Place 2 tortillas on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Spread half pork mixture over each tortilla.  Sprinkle half relish over each.  Top with 1/2 c. cheese.  Cover with remaining tortillas.  Spray tops with cooking spray.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Top with 1/4 tsp. shredded cheese, evenly spaced.  Top cheese with "wart" olive.  Put in hot oven for 1 minute to melt cheese.   Cut wedges. 

WITCH GUACAMOLE

2 large avocados

1/4 chopped red onion

2 minced garlic cloves

1 lime (juice of)

Shredded carrots (hair)

2 green olives (eyes)

Black olive slices (eyebrows)

Red bell pepper slices (lips)

Blue chips (hat)

Mash Avocado.  Add garlic, onions and lime juice, mixing well.  Form in  a  triangle on bottom half of serving tray, with point down slightly rounded for "chin", and flat on top of "head".   Arrange shredded carrots as "hair", olives and peppers as "face".  Arrange blue chips on upper half of serving tray as "hat".

VAMPIRE SLIDERS

Meatballs or mini burgers

Dinner rolls

Ketchup or red sauce

Cheese slices

Olives on a tooth pick

Cook meat.  Cut dinner rolls in half to separate top and bottom.  Place meat on bottom half of roll.  Place cheese on meat, leaving pointed "fangs" to hang down.  Top with ketchup or sauce, (blood).  Cover with top half of roll. Insert toothpicks holding olives as "eyes".

SEVERED FINGERS AND TOES

Red food coloring

Almond slices

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 stick softened butter

1/2 confectioner's sugar

5 tbsp. granulated sugar

salt

1-2/3 c. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Dip some almond "fingernails" in red food coloring and let dry.  Leave "toenails" natural.

Combine butter, sugars, and a pinch of salt.  Wisk together egg yolks and vanilla then add to butter and sugar mixture.  Beat 2 minutes.  Add flour to form dough.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Work with dough in sections, keeping dough refrigerated until worked.  Roll into finger shapes, 3-1/2" long, and toe shapes 2" long.  Use fork prongs to create "knuckles" (2 on fingers, on toes).  Place on parchment paper covered baking pan.   Brush with egg whites. Place red almond "fingernails" and uncolored "toenails" securely in dough.   Bake 10-12 minutes.

COOKIES 

Ghosts, Bats, & Pumpkins, oh my!

Using pre made sugar cookie dough, cut with cookie cutters for an array of Halloween shapes!  Be sure to have food coloring for frosting, piping bag or sandwich bag with cut tip, Lots of decorations, sprinkles and photo ideas!  Let the kiddos help!  There's no such thing as an ugly Halloween cookie!

CUPCAKES

Bake cupcakes using festive Halloween cupcake tin liners

Using food coloring separate frosting and color portions according to use

Spiders & Webs

Orange frosting

Black decorating gel

Black plastic spider rings (1 for each cupcake)

Frost with orange frosting.  With black decorating gel, draw a circular coil from the center of cake out.  Drag a toothpick through the coil from the center out to create web.  Place spider in center.

Tombstones

Green frosting

Black decorating gel

Nutter Butter cookies (1 for each cupcake)

Oreo cookies, with cream filling removed

Candy pumpkins (1 for each cupcake)

Frost cupcakes with green frosting.  With black gel, write "epitaph" (R.I.P.) on top, front of each Nutter Butter cookie.  Press cookies into cupcakes to form "gravestones".  Crush Oreo cookies to form crumbs.  Sprinkle "dirt" crumbs around base of "gravestones".  Place a candy pumpkin in front of "gravestone" to one side.

Eyeballs

White creamy frosting

Food Coloring of choice 

Red decorating gel

Black decorating gel

1 package M & M candies

Set aside approximately 6 teaspoons of white frosting for each dozen cupcakes.  Color remaining frosting with food coloring, then frost cupcakes.  Using 1/2 tsp. of frosting, mound "eyeball" in center of cupcake.  Using an M & M candy, lightly press into center of "eyeball".  Use black gel to place a dot in center of M & M.  Use a little red gel to make squiggly lines on white eyeball to resemble veins.

Ghosts

Frost cupcakes with dark colored frosting.  Use white decorator icing to draw on cupcake.  

For a 3-D effect, create ghosts to stand up on cupcakes using meringue

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 200 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.  Add sugar 1 tbsp. at a time while beating on high speed, until meringue is very stiff and glossy.  Reduce speed to low to mix in vanilla. In decorating bag or plastic storage bag with tip cut off,  put meringue mixture.  Close top of bag.  Squeeze meringue into 4" ghost shapes onto cookie sheets.  Place eyes and mouth using chocolate chips.  Bake 2 hours.  Cool.  Remove  meringue ghosts and place on top of freshly frosted cupcakes.

CAKES

Pumpkin

2 Bundt cakes

2 containers white creamy frosting

1/2 tsp. orange paste icing color

1/2 c. brown creamy frosting

1 small flat bottomed ice cream cone

1 pkg. M & M candies

Candy corn

Green candy jellies or fruit snack rolls

Bake and cool Bundt cakes

Mix orange color with white frosting

Place 1 Bundt cake rounded side down on serving platter.  Spread a layer of  orange frosting on top. Place 2nd Bundt cake on top, rounded side up.   Frost entire cake orange, making final passes with spatula from top center to bottom, forming lines to resemble pumpkin skin.  

Frost outside of ice cream cone with brown  frosting. Place open end onto top center of cake to resemble stem.  Draw frosting out from edge of cone to attach to pumpkin.

Pipe brown frosting to draw eyes, nose and mouth.  Use M & M candies for "eyeballs".  Use candy corn for "teeth".  Cut "vines" from green jellied candy and place on top, coming from "stem".

Best served by cutting slices from top cake first.

Frankenstein

1 container white creamy frosting

1/4 tsp. green paste icing

1/2 c. chocolate creamy frosting

1 marshmallow

1 orange gumdrop

2 red gumdrops

2 small peanut butter cups

2 small chocolate rolls

Candy corn

Bake rectangular cake and cool.

Mix white frosting with green paste icing.  Frost entire cake with green frosting.

Create Frankenstein face.  Use 1/2 marshmallow for each "eyeball", 1/2 red gum drop in center of each  "eyeball";  Use orange gumdrop to flatten and shape into nose.  Use red gumdrop to flatten and shape into "mouth".  Use candy corn for "teeth".  Use peanut butter cups and chocolate rolls as "bolts" in neck.  Pipe chocolate frosting to create "hair", "scars" and "pupils" in eyes, and to draw "chin" line.

Dirt Cake with worms

New, clean flower pot

Imitation stemmed flowers

Gummy worms

1/2 c. softened buttter

1 pkg. cream cheese

1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

2 pkgs. vanilla instant pudding mix

3-1/2 c. milk

12 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed

32 oz. cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies

Chop cookies until fine. Set aside.   In bowl, mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar.  In separate bowl, mix milk, pudding, and whipped topping.  Combine mixtures together.

In flower pot, (with drain hole covered with food wrap), layer creamy mixture and crumbed cookies, alternately, finishing with cookie crumb top layer "dirt".  Add gummy worms to "crawl" out of "dirt".  Place flowers.   Keep refrigerated until served.