I tried my hand recreating Halloween Pinterest treats — and others. Here’s how that went.
Photo by Morgan Banno
Growing up, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. We decorated the house, carved pumpkins, watched Hocus Pocus — it was perfect. Each year, my incredibly talented and crafty mother would sew my brother and me homemade Halloween costumes. We dressed up as everything from bears and barnyard animals to Mozart to goblins. Not only would my mom work tirelessly on our costumes, but she would always bake the best Halloween goodies to accompany the holiday. While nothing I make compares to her confections, I found some quick and festive recipes on Pinterest for tasty Halloween treats. But what’s more entertaining? I attempted to recreate them.
Pretzel Rod Witch Fingers
Witch finger pretzels are fun to make and display. The sliced almonds add the final touch as nails to make these “fingers” come to life. You can make the fingers with pretzel rods, which is the easiest way, or with rolled shortbread cookies. I like using pretzels because they’re easy to coat in the melted chocolate. It also reduces prep time instead of making homemade cookies. Either way, this treat will give you the creeps.
Yield: 12 Fingers
8 ounces melted white chocolate chips
Green food dye
12 large pretzel rods
Slivered almonds (for the fingernails)
Melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat. Dip pretzels in chocolate and cover rod about 3/4 of the way with chocolate. Press slivered almond on ends. Using a toothpick, scrape away parts of chocolate to look like knuckles.
Just a few ingredients make these fingers come to life.
Photo by Morgan Banno
Chef tip: Wait until the chocolate cools before carving the knuckles.
Graveyard Dirt Cups
Graveyard dirt cups are an old elementary school favorite. Each year we’d eat these in our class Halloween parties, offering a wonderful sugar rush. The pudding and whipped topping create a mousse-like dessert and you can’t beat the crushed Oreo “dirt.” Gummy worms and cookie gravestones add a little Halloween flare. Get the fine-tipped liquid food dye pens, and write on the gravestones. Otherwise, if you have a steady hand, you can pipe melted chocolate on them.
Yield: 6 Servings
1 box instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 cup whipped topping
12 Oreo Cookies, crumbled
12 gummy worms
6 Milano cookies, halved
Prepare pudding according to box instructions. Fold in the whipped topping to create a mousse-like consistency. Fill cups halfway with pudding mixture. Top with crumbled Oreos. Add another layer of pudding followed by another layer of Oreos. Garnish with gummy worms and Milano cookie “gravestones.”
Dirt cups were a classic Halloween treat when I was growing up.
Photo by Morgan Banno
While the process of making these dirt cups isn’t difficult, I struggled trying to write on the cookies to make the gravestones. Even though I cut a small tip out of my piping bag, it turns out, it’s much more difficult to write lettering in chocolate than I originally thought. Yet another reason why I’m not a pastry chef.
Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats
It doesn’t get much easier than Rice Krispie treats. Making pumpkins is super simple as the treats are pliable and can be easily shaped. Using candy adds a lifelike touch for the stump and leaves. Plus, what’s Halloween without extra sugar?
Rice Krispie pumpkin come together in minutes and are a festive treat for any table.
Photo by cookingclassy.com
Yield: 6 Servings
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (10 ounce) package mini marshmallows
Orange food dye
Cooking spray
6 Rolo candies
3 pieces green Air Heads candy (option, for the leaves)
Read the full recipe at cookingclassy.com.
Festive Rice Krispies will step up your Halloween game.
Photo by Morgan Banno
I recommend using more food coloring than you’d think for this recipe or else your pumpkins will look more like peaches, like mine. I used Rolos instead of pretzels for the stumps because I like squatty pumpkins.
Zombie Brain Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are always a huge party hit in my crowd but with a little cracking, you can turn ordinary hard boiled eggs into zombie brains with veins. Go the extra mille on this dish by dying the filling for added fun. Tap the eggs lightly with the back of a spoon to get small cracks — it’ll look really cool after they sit in the dye. These spooky appetizers look fun with different color dyes and can also double as dinosaur eggs, or bloodshot eyeballs, depending on your party theme.
Yield: 6 Deviled eggs
6 hard boiled eggs
3 drops blue food dye
3 tablespoon mayo
2 drops green food dye
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Salt/pepper to taste
Mix water and blue food dye in large bowl. Gently crack eggs without removing shell. Let eggs sit in dye bath for two hours. Remove, peel and cut in half. Scoop out yolk (set whites aside) and add mayo, green food dye, mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well and pipe the filling back into the egg whites.
Perfect hard boiled eggs for a Halloween party.
Photo by Morgan Banno
I dyed my eggs with purple food coloring for the veins. But bright green makes for a fun filling to make these zombie brains come to life. Season and garnish as desired.
Halloween’s that time of year to let loose and get creative in the kitchen. Go wild with food coloring and make your creations come to life!
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