Share some fun and yummy Spooktacular recipes and you could win a prize to be quacked (prize packs from a publisher – but we’re not sure which yet)!
And n-o-o-o-o, it has to be more than “Melt caramels. Dip apples. Eat.” You can share as many recipes as you want, but only one entry per person. Since the only fair way to judge them would be to make and eat them all, I’ll do a random drawing from all eligible recipes shared in the comments for this post. If you’ve already tried any of the recipes entered, feel free to give it your lip-smackin’ endorsement!
Here’s a couple of easy ones:
Fall Fruit Tray & Fruit Dip (this is so pathetically easy and good)
1-container CoolWhip Extra Creamy (size optional)
Lemon zest to taste
Fold together, adjust for taste
- Garnish with extra lemon zest.
- Slice fruit to dip. Apples and pears – the more flavorful and colorful the better (for example, Granny Smiths and Royal Galas) – grapes, strawberries, etc. Note: To prevent the sliced fruit from turning brown, toss it in cold water with Fruit Fresh. Drain well.
- Arrange (with peel colors showing) on a bed of colorful leafy greens (purple leaf kale looks particularly nice).
I found this recipe the other day and can’t wait to try it. Have any of you already tried it? Whatcha think?
PUMPKIN SEED BRITTLE, From the Black Cat Cafe & Bakery, Sharon Springs, NY
1/4 cup butter, room temperature (plus a little extra to grease the pan)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, shelled, washed, dried and toasted (can find shelled in grocery stores)
- Line a 9X13 inch pan with foil or parchment and grease with extra butter.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir in sugar and corn syrup, and bring to a boil.
- Stir constantly(or edges will burn) 5-8 minutes until mixture reaches 280-degrees F on a candy thermometer.
- Stir in pumpkin seeds.
- Pour mixture quickly into prepared pan, if necessary spread with back of a greased spoon.
- Let cool completely until hardened. Break into pieces as desired.
Okay, your turn! Lay some Spooktacular nummies of the season on me for a chance to win a prize. It can be recipe ideas for kids, family parties, hanging out with friends, or whatever. C’mon… make me hungry! 
One “looks easier than it is” idea is to take plastic gloves and fill them with popcorn for hands. What I did was take a candy corn in the finger tips and then fill with popcorn and seal. Not bad once or twice, but for 25 kids? What a pain in the ass!
Another fun idea is to make deviled eggs and put a black olive in the middle. They look like eyes! :o)
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Fudge
(Mary Sue would die for this!)
In large mixing bowl:
3 pkgs milk chocolate chips
1/2 lb butter or margarine
1 8-oz jar marshmallow creme
Boil together to a roiling boil:
4 1/2 c sugar
1 large can evaporated milk (Pet, Carnation, etc.)
Stir constantly.
Pour hot mixture over contents in large mixing bowl and stir well until mixed, adding nuts if desired. I add pecans.
Pour into foil-lined jellyroll pan or 13 x 9 foil-lined dish.
I use the larger dish for nice big chunks when cut.
Refrigerate.
Brain cookies with blood glaze. I got this from Foodnetwork.com.
Brain Cookies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup very finely chopped walnuts, or pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 5 drops red food coloring
About 9 drops blue food coloring
Blood Glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
35 to 40 drops red food coloring
2 to 4 tablespoons milk, as needed for thinning glaze
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Into a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternating with the eggs, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating well after the addition of each. Fold in the nuts, vanilla, and red and blue food coloring, being careful not to overmix the dough. (The food coloring will make the dough a grayish color, resembling the color of brains.)
Place the dough in batches in a potato ricer and push the dough out onto the prepared baking sheets in long tubes of dough. With your fingers, loosely pat and arrange the dough strands into clumps resembling brains, pushing to form 2 hemispheres and shaping into a walnut-like shape. Bake until golden brown on the bottom, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make the “blood glaze,” in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the food coloring to make a thick glaze, whisking together. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is a good consistency for drizzling. Drizzle the “blood” onto the cookies and serve either warm or at room temperature.
Okay, this is a family recipe and cake flour MUST be used or it does not turn out right! Cream Cheese Pound Cake
One 8-oz. pkg. of cream cheese
3 sticks of butter
3 cups of sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp butter flavoring
3 cups cake flour*
1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt or tube pan.
2. Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
3. Blend in the sugar.
4. Add eggs one at a time, blending well.
5. Mix in flavorings.
6. Mix in cake flour
7. With an electric mixer, beat for three minutes and hand mix for 300 strokes
8. Pour into pan and bake for 90 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Oh…I forgot…sometimes I make an icing for it by boiling a can of CONDENSED MILK…not EVAPORATED for about 3 or four hours. Then I let the can COMPLETELY cool and open it with a can opener. I get a great Dulce De Leche that way!
its alive cupcakes
*) ingrediants: 1 box devils food cake mix, 1 1/2 cups cola, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, 2 cans ready to spread chocolte frosting, oreos, package of small doll parts
*) directions
1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2: place cupcake papers in muffin pans and set aside
3: in a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, oil, eggs, cola
4: beat mixture
5: fill cups 2/3 of the way
6: bake for 25min
7: let cupcakes cool for 10min
8: frost cupcakes with chocolate frosting
9: place oreos in a ziploc bag and gently crush cookies into small pieces
10: sprinkle oreo pieces all over frosted cupcakes
11: place various doll parts sticking up from each cupcake, so for instance it will look as if a hnd is coming through the dirt
ENJOY YOUR MACABRE CUPCAKES, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Yum! These all sound so good!
Here’s mine it’s from my favorite magazine for cool and fun recipes Family Fun.
2 10oz packages frozen strawberries defrosted
1 6oz can lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 quart ginger ale
2 cups raisins
6 gummy worms (my kiddos favorite part)
Mix the strawberries and lemonade concentrate in a blender until smooth and thick. Gradually add the ginger ale. Transfer the beverage to a punch bowl. Stir in any remaining ginger ale and the raisins. Place the gummy worms on the rim of the bowl for a swampy effect.
Creepy Witches’ Fingers (teehee, I love the name!)
Yield: 5 dozen
1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 Egg
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla
2 2/3 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched
1 Tube red decorator gel (optional)
In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda*, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.
Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with “blood.”
Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies! 😀
Great for guests:)
Green Chocolate Slimedoo:
2 cups heavy cream
2 ounces sugar
2 ounces butter
2 pounds white chocolate
6 to 12 drops green food coloring
2 bags pretzels
Strawberries, bananas, pineapples, apples for dipping
Candy corn and Halloween shaped sprinkles
Make a ganache. In a non-reactive double boiler set over medium-low heat, bring the cream, sugar, and butter to a boil. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small chunks – a serrated knife works best for this.
Add the chocolate chunks to the cream mixture in the double boiler, whisking, until it is melted and incorporated into the cream. Finally, add the food coloring until it is the desired shade of green.
Keep mixture warm in a fondue pot near the door. Set out the fruit and the pretzels for dipping with long wooden skewers next to the fondue pot. Guests can dip their pretzels or fruit into the fondue and then roll them in the candy sprinkles, if desired.
Very easy… Pumpkin Parfaits (a friend just e-mailed it… I have not yhet tried it!)
2 cups pumpkin pie filling (scooped from cooked pie)
2 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened
8 tablespoons whipped cream or whipped topping
4 tablespoons candied walnuts or pecans
Spoon 1/4 cup of pumpkin into 4 tall glasses. Top with 1/4 cup of ice cream or frozen yogurt. Repeat layers of pumpkin and ice cream. Top with whipped cream and candied nuts.
omg, lol, I think I am gaining weight just by looking at all of these yummy recipes – now i havta go shopping 4 ingredients. muhahahahah
My sister goes all out with Halloween treats, but this is real easy and the kid’s love them.
Ghost Pretzels:
One bag of large pretzel sticks ( Big ones, like huge sharpie pen)
one bag of white chocolate chips
small tube of black drawing frosting. or use mini M&M’s
Melt white choc. chips in microwave.
Take pretzel stick, and roll top part in melted chips. Let drip down, put on wax paper. Draw in eyes or use M&M’s to make a ghost face
( dot eyes and O for a mouth) let dry..
Graveyard Cake
1 sheet cake left in baking pan
chocolate frosting
package of chocolate biscuits or Oreos (crushed)
Oval Vanilla cookies
white frosting
gummy worms
pumpkin shaped candies
Frost cake (do not remove from pan) using chocolate frosting. Sprinkle crushed chocolate biscuits or Oreos thickly over frosted cake. Decorate Oval cookies with the white frosting to look like tombstones. Embed tombstones in cake and continue decorating cake by adding gummy worms, pumpkin candies, and piling/shaping white frosting into ghosts using chocolate frosting for eyes and mouth.
***Some people prefer a crumb cookie crust and a pudding layer instead of cake and sweetened whipped cream instead of frosting. Decorate as above.
Witches Hats
3/4 C. Margarine or butter
1/2 C. Sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C. Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
48 chocolate kisses
Melt chocolate over low heat constantly sitrring. Set aside
Combine the remaining ingredients and cream butter and sugar.
Add egg whites and vanilla and beat until blended.
Stir in flour, baking soda.
Fold in melted chocolate
Divide dough in half and refrigerate 2 hours.
Roll dough into 1″ balls and place 2″ apart on cookie sheet.
Bake for 7-9 minutes at 375. Remove and immediately press the chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie.
Crap, I am so screwed, I want to make ALL of these!
And where is Gwen? Let me tell you what the Gewn (note spelling) did– before this contest was posted, she went into it and CHANGED MY RECIPES!! You do NOT go and change a bitch’s recipes!! That’s just wrong! Well, they are changed back now, but I still expected her to comment here that HER way was better. Brat!
Sharmi:
I’m confoozled. Are you saying you boil it IN the UNOPENED can?, Do you just set the can on the stove burner, or is it in a double-boiler with water? You don’t have to vent it while it’s boiling? This intrigues me!
Witch’t Hats
3/4 C. Margarine
1/2 C. Sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
48 Chocolate kisses
Melt chocolate over low heat stirring constantly
Combine and ceam butter and sugar, then add egg whites, vanilla and beat until blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and fold in melted chocolate.
Roll dough into 1″ balls on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes.
remove immediately and press chocolatekisses in center.
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE. To. Die. For.
From the November 2004 issue EverydayFOOD magazine.
Serves 12
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CRUST
1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese , very soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.
2. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
4. Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).
5. Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.