"Ewww, That's Gross," A Dozen Weird and Easy Halloween Treats For You and the Kids

“I was working in my kitchen, late one night

When my oven belched out a frightful bite,

For my cookies from the pan, began to rise

And suddenly, to my surprise

We had snacks, we had monster snacks,

(The monster snacks) It was a Halloween smash

(We ate the snacks) They were gone in a flash

(Our monster snacks) We ate monster snacks.

(Wa hoo, monster snacks)

(Wa hoo, monster snacks)

(Wa hoo, monster snacks)

(Wa hoo, monster snacks)”

Okay, maybe I owe an apology to Bobby Pickett for this, but let’s face it, Halloween is right around the corner, and it is time to kick our imagination and kitchen into monster mode! The internet is a vast treasure trove of wonderful recipes which will grab the taste buds of your little pranksters and have them hooting, howling, and hollering for crazy Halloween treats. A quick search with your browser will lead to hidden recipes for everything from bazaar jello-brain salad, black cat cakes, worm dirt pudding cups, and more. So grab your laptop and little one, settle down on the couch and start your quest for the most bodacious Halloween treat you can make together. There you can start putting together the list of ingredients, purchase any weird molds you may need, and start planning your next foray into the howliday kitchen. Part of your challenge this month is to find the recipes for these Halloween treats. I have taken the liberty of adding some cooking and preparation tips which will add a significant level of “Ewww”:

1. Black Cat Cake You and the kiddos will enjoy baking and decorating the chocolate kitty for the howlidays. Moderate skills required and lots of patience are required with this recipe.
2. Easy Halloween Cookies This is a great starter recipe for kids in the kitchen. Depending on which website you find, the recipe will focus on the final icing decorations or the many different cookie types which lend themselves for this treat. Cookie cutters in the shapes of bat, cats, and spiders allow for the creation of a menagerie of nighttime critters.
3. Halloween Brownies My personal favorite is the milk chocolate brownie recipe with the addition of raisins (flies) and cooked Fettucine noodles cut to three-inch lengths (worms). Both, the raisins and the noodles, will weather the baking time well.
4. Chocolate Apples Covered with Halloween themed sprinkles, chocolate covered apples are a tasty alternative to the seasonal caramel apples. Speaking of gummy worms, on the same tray with the chocolate covered apples, have a couple of apples with gummy worms slithering out of holes in the fruit. Be sure to chill the apples prior to serving.
5. Pastry Snakes I like to use pre-made pie dough, sliced into the shape of snakes, covered with cinnamon sugar and candy sprinkles. This is a very easy recipe for kids and has a short start to finish time ‘til everyone can start snake snacking.
6. Albino Spider Biscuits I like to use the tube country biscuit dough you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. For legs, cut sections of the dough into strips and roll them to size. For eyes, try small black jellybeans cut in half, and white sprinkles for the body hair.
7. Chocolate Covered Halloween Pretzels Nothing scary here, but who can say no to chocolate covered pretzels? To give them the seasonal flair, sprinkle them with orange sugar.
8. Gory Guts Pizza Tear ‘n’ Share Bread Okay, this recipe (depending on which you decide to use) can easily become the grossest of the lot. A couple of recommendations to push it over the top: use shredded string cheese for the intestines and boiled orzo noodles for the maggots. Yummy!
9. Mini Monster Cheeseburgers Though burgers may not sound too spooky, it’s the garnish that makes the difference. Using cookie cutters, serve the burgers open-faced with cheese cats, bats, and jack-o-lanterns!
10. Halloween Mocktail Punch Picture it, blood red punch with frozen grape and lychee eyeballs keeping the drinks cold. And, don’t forget the gummy worms!
11. Eyeball Snot-Tail Truly a ghoulish mocktail, the lime Jell-O/pear juice drink with frozen lychee eyeballs is a deliciously disgusting refreshment - perfect for kids and adults alike.
12. Mummy Hotdogs We will close out your quest with a Halloween standard, the ubiquitous Mummy Hotdog! Cut pre-made croissant dough into strips and roll around your favorite franks for these spooky bandaged mummies. Some folks like capers for the eyes, personally, I prefer raisins. Serve with your favorite dip.

So there you have it. If you had always believed that Halloween meant filling up on candy and popcorn balls, you now have a slew of new spooktacular alternatives. Get creative and don’t be afraid to try something which will carry out the spooky howliday vibe without wiping out your sweet tooth.