Halloween Treat Recipes

Adorable Halloween Treats

Halloween food, haunted houses, tons of candy, scary movies... Hallooooooweeeeeeen is right around the corner!! When Oct. 31st rolls around I get all antsy and excited! I can spend hours in the Halloween store just browsing and visually party planning. There is just something fun about being spooked (although I refuse to watch scary movies) because weird things always happen around this time.

If you have a Halloween party in the works then here are a few quick and easy Halloween treat recipes that are great for kids parties or even for adults! 

Watch this video to see how I create all of these adorable Halloween treat recipes!

Halloween Googly Monster Cupcakes 
I love a unique looking cupcake and these googly monster cupcakes certainly fit the bill! Great for kids Halloween parties. (Thanks Taste of Homes for providing this cool recipe!!)

Ingredients:
6 chocolate cupcakes, prepared (I used black cupcake liners)
1 can of vanilla icing
Orange food coloring (or any color of choice)
1 cup of chow mein noodles
12 pretzels sticks
12 mini marshmallows
blue or black icing pen to make eyeballs (got mine from walmart) 


*NOTE:* If needed, clean up any running frosting off the cupcake paper while the icing is still wet.

Halloween Bones
These bones are just so adorable and pretty realistic looking if you take your time. (clearly I didn't) Arrange them in a heaping pile on a tray.


Ingredients:
15 preztel sticks
30 mini marshmallows
4-5 squares of almond bark (can also use white chocolate)


*NOTE* Be sure to clean up any extra almond bark on the bones. These bones will freeze exactly how you leave them, so try to get them as neat looking as possible before you freeze them. If you're a perfectionist, use a paint brush for a flawless finish. Be careful when removing them from the baking sheet. Store in the refrigerator.

Halloween Severed Witch Finger Cookies
These little boney, wrinkled, green witch cookies are so fun to eat! Make them look even more gross by adding red food coloring around the fingernails and the bottom with a food coloring pen. Or tint the "fingernail" dough brown or even black! (Use my homemade sugar cookies recipe if you have time, it taste much better than the tubed stuff)

Ingredients:
Sugar Cookie dough (can use homemade or store-bought. If using store-bought make sure you get the roll and cut-out kind, not the kind you slice and bake)
green food coloring

Bake at 350 for 6-9 minutes.
(cookies will look sorta undone when you bring them out of the oven. This will allow them to be chewy yet firm once cooled. Let them cool in the pan completely and then place the pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm them up a bit.

*NOTE* Do a test run and bake 1-2 fingers so that you will know how much the dough will spread. that way you will know how thin you need to make your witch fingers. 

Be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter over on the right and be on the look out for my Halloween Edition newsletter filled with more Halloween recipes and tips!

Need more great Halloween recipes? Check out these other yummy Halloween treats!

Moderation Nation Contest

Contest Closed
Moderation Nation Giveaway!

Must be an Email Subscribers To Be Eligible.

WINNER ANNOUNCED ON NOV. 3. 2010

WINNER IS COMMENT #5!!!!

(chosen by random.org)

Congrats SunyBlak!!


Redrew on Nov.18
Winner is comment #1
Congrats Diva_Beaute!

Please send me your mailing address.

Thanks to all who took the time to enter and for leaving such great comments! More contests to come this month!

Ok so The Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, has collaborated with the American Dietetic Association and created Moderation Nation!! (Ahhh I love how it just rolls off the tongue) Moderation Nation! Seriously, say it. You like? 

Anyway, www.themoderationnation.com is full of all kinda stuff to help you stay fit and fabulous! You can still eat your favorite stuff, just do it in, you guessed it, moderation! Moderation Nation provides tons of tools to make it easier for busy peeps to stay fit like seven-day meal planners, healthy snack ideas, and even a meal balancing calculate that takes the guess work out of what to fix with foods you already have on hand.

My Thoughts:
I love the concept of this website! It's neat and clean, very easy to navigate. I was so excited to use the meal balance tool . I selected my meat that I had on hand (chicken) then selected the way I wanted to cook it (baked) and filled in a few more options before hitting submit. It showed my results but no recipes. Maybe it was just my computer or I was doing something wrong but I tried several times. I really love the moderation menus, just wish they were on the site and not in a PDF file. I like how lowfat hershey's desserts are listed on the site. Who doesn't love a good, low-fat chocolate dessert? Sign me up!


As a prize for one of my beautiful readers Moderation Nation is giving away this wonderful Moderation Nation Prize Pack! Which includes:

1. A moderation nation t-shirt (I use it to work out in)
2. A moderation journal to record your food intake or tips. (I use it as a to-do list)
3. A full-size bag of Hershey's kisses (I know these are only to reward yourself for doing good, but I nailed this whole bag in a 2 days. *sigh*)

 

How to enter:

Simply leave a comment below answering:

What's your best advice for eating healthy and sticking to it???

(I'm all ears because God knows I need to hear this. I can never stick to it when I attempt to eat healthy)

Prize pack, information and giveaway provided by Hershey'st hrough MyBlogSpark.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe (Vegan)

Many years ago I created this pie recipe when I needed a dessert for a holiday meal. The addition of Allspice to the pie filling really adds great flavor. I always use frozen berries to make this pie, and the consistency of the filling comes out perfect every time. The picture above is a mixed berry pie with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries in it.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe

2 - 12 oz. bags of frozen unsweetened mixed berries (24 oz. or 1-1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 2 cups of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Top with Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the oven rack where you are going to bake the pie just in case any of the filling runs over.

In a medium sauce pan add the frozen berries, sprinkle the sugar and the flour evenly over the berries, and add the Allspice and the salt. Turn the heat onto Medium and gently stir everything together. Continue to stir the berries over Medium heat constantly for about 5 minutes until it is well mixed and the filling has a nice consistency.

Make the pie crust dough and divide it in half. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, form half of the dough into a ball and set it in the middle of the wax paper. Take another large piece of wax paper and cover the ball and roll it out into a large circle between the wax paper pieces that is bigger than your pie pan.

Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Remove the top piece of wax paper, and invert the rolled out pie crust over the pie pan and peel the wax paper off it. Use your fingers to gently press the crust into the pie pan and let the edges hang over the sides. Pour the pie filling into the crust.

Form the second half of the dough into a ball and set it on the wax paper again, cover it with the other piece of wax paper, and roll it into a circle large enough to cover the top of the pie with edges hanging over. Remove the top piece of wax paper and make a few slits into the pie crust. Once again, invert the pie crust over the pie to cover it evenly and peel away the wax paper. Press the two crust edges together and roll them under and just inside the edge of the pie pan. After you've done that around the whole pie, use a fork to gently press the crust to the edges of the pie pan all around the pie. Top the pie with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let it cool before serving it.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe (Vegan)

I grew up eating my Mom's roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall after we carved our pumpkins. Her recipe was from our neighbor, Mrs. Hallam. It has Worcestershire sauce and butter in it, so I can't make these seeds for my family. I created this recipe so Sam could enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall, too. We just carved our pumpkins for Halloween yesterday, so we are all currently munching on roasted pumpkin seeds at the moment.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

3 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

Carve your Halloween pumpkins and separate out the pulp from the seeds. Rinse off the seeds to get all of the pulp off of them and lay them out in a single layer on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet or two to dry out over night, or for a few days if need be. When the seeds are dry, you can roast them.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Measure out 3 cups of dry seeds. Add them to a mixing bowl along with the vegetable oil and the salt. Use a spoon to mix it all together.

Pour out the pumpkin seeds and lay them out in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet or sheets. Roast them for 1 hour total roasting time, taking them out every 15 minutes and using a spatula to turn all of the seeds and lay them out again in a single layer. At the 1 hour mark, your seeds will be darkened and crispy. Let them cool, store them in an air-tight container, and enjoy!

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For those of you who can do Worcestershire sauce and butter, here is Mrs. Hallam's original pumpkin seed recipe:

2 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

(for 3 cups of seeds, use 2 1/4 tbsp melted butter, 1 3/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce)

Follow the roasting instructions above, and enjoy!  These are truly decadent.

Creamy Yam Soup with Mini Meatballs Recipe

I love creamy, dairy-based, squash and potato soups I get every now and then at restaurants. I can't make these kinds of soups at home, so I decided to come up with a way I could make a creamy-type soup we can eat at home without using milk or cream. I had some left-over Roasted Yams and Carrots in my fridge and realized the roasted yams would be really good pureed in my blender with some chicken broth and put into a soup. The Egg-Free Mini Meatballs are a fantastic addition in place of pasta. This soup is so creamy and full of flavor, it is perfect as a main dish for lunch or dinner.

Creamy Yam Soup with Mini Meatballs Recipe

Make Roasted Yams and Carrots using this recipe. It will take 1 hour to roast the vegetables for this soup. You will need to let the roasted vegetables cool off before putting the yams in the blender to make the soup.

Make Egg-Free Mini Meatballs using this recipe. It will take about 30 minutes to make the meatballs. You can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to make the soup.

For the soup:

4 cups water, divided
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base(Kosher if you can find it), divided
Shredded parmesan cheese (fresh) (optional)

When the yams and carrots are cooled, remove the carrots and slice them in uniform slices. Put the sliced carrots aside.

Next, put half of the cooled, roasted yams in a blender. Add 2 cups of water mixed with 1 tsp of Better than Bouillon and "Liquify" the mixture. Pour the yam soup into a large soup pan over Medium-High heat. Put the second half of the roasted yams in the blender with 2 cups of water mixed with 1 tsp of Better than Bouillon and "Liquify" the mixture again. Pour it into the soup pot as well. Add the sliced carrots to the soup pot, along with the mini meatballs.

Gently stir all of the ingredients together in the soup pot. Let the soup come to an initial boil, then reduce the heat to Medium-Low and let it simmer for 30 minutes before serving. Shredded parmesan cheese (fresh) is a great topping for this soup. Serves 4 as a main dish.

Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (Vegan)

Being in the midst of Fall made me crave gingersnap cookies. I took my Basic Cookie Recipe and made a few revisions to it and came up with a very flavorful gingersnap cookie that satisfies my craving for spices.

Gingersnap Cookie Recipe

1-1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Top with Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Make sure to get all the lumps out of the brown sugar. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Roll out part of the dough between 2 pieces of wax paper to 1/4" thick and use a 2" round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Use a spatula to move them to the cookie sheet. Recipe will yield 20 cookies with this method. Or you can use a tablespoon to scoop out a ball of dough and roll it into a ball in your hand. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and press it with your fingers to make a flat circle. Arrange cookies in 3 rows of 5 across. Recipe will yield 15 cookies using this method. Sprinkle tops of cookies generously with Sugar in the Raw. Bake for 15 minutes.

If you want to make Gingersnap Cookie Bars, spread the batter into an 8x8 baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Use the back of the spoon to spread the batter evenly and press it firmly into the pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Wait for it to cool before cutting into squares.  Makes 16 cookie bars. 

If using rice flour to make these cookies use the following in place of the unbleached flour above:
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp white rice flour
2 tbsp binder (potato starch, tapioca flour, arrowroot powder, etc.)

Egg-free Mini Meatballs Recipe

These eggless, mini, bite-sized, meatballs are a perfect addition to any pasta sauce or soup. They are so tasty, they can even be served alone, hot off the skillet, with toothpicks at a party. They are great for anyone with an egg sensitivity.

Egg-Free Mini Meatballs Recipe

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup Rice Chex cereal
1/2 cup Wheat Chex cereal
1 tsp dried crushed basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Use a coffee grinder or food processor to grind the cereal into a fine meal (recipe will make 1/3 cup total cereal meal). Put the cereal in a medium size mixing bowl. Add the basil, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix everything thoroughly. Now is a good time to remove your rings. Put the ground beef into the bowl and use your hands to mix it all together.

Take a small amount of meat in your hand and roll it into a 1/2" to 1", bite-sized, ball. Keep setting the meatballs aside until you have formed all of them. Heat a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to Medium-High heat and add all of the meatballs in a single layer. When the bottoms are browned, use a spatula to turn the meatballs and brown the other sides. Continue turning the meatballs until all sides are browned. Makes about 50 mini meatballs.

Roasted Yams and Carrots Recipe (Vegan)

This side dish is one of our favorites. We eat it quite often with my Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe. The carmelized yams and carrots are a nice addition to any meat dish.

Roasted Yams and Carrots Recipe

2 medium yams
1 long carrot
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the yams. Cut them in half, then in half again, and cut each piece into three more pieces. Put the yam pieces in a single layer in a 9x12 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Peel the carrot and cut it into four pieces to match the size of the yam and add them to the pan with the yams. Drizzle a little olive oil over the yams and carrots, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and roast for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and roast for 10 more minutes (1 hour total roasting time). Serves 4 as a side dish.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Southern Sweet Potato Casserole

My husband got me into eating sweet potato casserole. He was constantly bragging about how good his moms sweet potato casserole was. Finally Thanksgiving rolled around and I couldn't wait to taste this gem of a dish and better yet, get that recipe!! (Yall know I'm such a recipe whore!)

Her recipe didn't dissapoint! It was creamy, sweet with a bangin, crunchy topping and you better believe I got around to adding it to my collection!  When I decided to do a blog on sweet potato casserole I immediately whipped out this recipe with the intentions of following it to the T! Then I remembered  how freaking delicious my grandmothers whipped sweet potatoes were *light bulb moment*

Hmmm....I wonder what would happen if I combined my grandmothers recipe, with my mother-in-laws recipe???? I'll tell you what happens, pure sweet potato casserole bliss!!!!

Here's why I ADORE this recipe so much
1.) It has the perfect balance of sweetness.
2.) The spices in this recipe enhances the natural flavors of the sweet potatoes, making them down-right addictive.
3.) The sweet potatoes are sooooo creamy, fluffy and light. Baking the fresh sweet potatoes is a must! Don't you dare go for the can or boiling water!!!
4.) The topping. Mercy, the topping. Crunchy, sweet...step aside marshmallows you don't stand a chance up against this topping.

I have to eat this stuff slow to make it last longer or not I'll convince myself that I need "just a lil bit more" and before I know it, I've cleared off another row in the pan all by myself. Did I mention I'm normally not a big sweet potato eater??

Note* If you prefer a more caramelized crust try baking in a smaller pan or adding more butter.

Watch me make this Sweet Potato Casserole from start to finish!

INGREDIENTS:
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup of half-n-half
1/4-1/2 cup white sugar
1/4-1/2 cup light brown sugar
1-2 teaspoon of cinnamon
few pinches of ground cloves
few pinches of ground ginger
few pinches of ground nutmeg (optional)
1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten

TOPPING
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
few dashes of cinnamon
5 Tablespoon butter melted

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Punch a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork.
2. Bake for 1 hour or until fork-tender.
3. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
4. Slice the sweet potatoes and use a spoon to scrape the tender insides into a large bowl.
5. Mash the potatoes up with a potato masher to break up and large pieces.
6. Add in the half-n-half
7. Mix the sweet potato mixture thoroughly until creamy. 
8. Add in the brown sugar and white sugar
9. Add in the cinnamon, cloves, ginger & nutmeg
10. Add in the melted butter.
11. Add in the flour to thicken if needed. Mix well.
12. Taste the mixture to make sure it taste good and sweet (but not to sweet since we still have that yummy sweet topping to add to it.  Add in more spices to suit your taste buds if needed.)
13. Add in the eggs and mix well.
14. Spoon the mixture evenly into a 9X9 inch pan. Set aside.
15. In medium bowl, add in all of the topping ingredients. Stir until crumbly.
16. Spoon  the topping mixture evenly on top of the sweet potato mixture.
17. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.