Must-Try Halloween Treats Recipes
No one expects their little girl to become a zombie cheerleader.
You expect a Disney princess, a fairy, a butterfly. Maybe even a Marvel superhero or a classic Hermione from Harry Potter.
But no. My 8-year-old would-be princess has decided that this Halloween, she’d like to go decked out as a zombie cheerleader.
This is especially horrifying considering that I come from a line of DIY-costumers who excel at putting together complicated tulle dresses and making props out of everyday household items.
See, my mom was the queen of homemade costumes.
Every year, we could dream up whatever we wanted to be for Halloween, and no matter how intricate or unlikely it seemed, my mom would find a way to make it.
I was Alice in Wonderland, Bam Bam from the Flinstones, Smurfette, even a tasteful French Maid. She would have scoffed at a zombie cheerleader simply because the sewing process would be too easy.
My sister picked up the costume creation gene as well. Her real strength is in props. She can make a rain cloud of an umbrella and LED lights, a Ninja Turtle shell out of felt and stuffing, and even bring to life BB8 from Star Wars.
Naturally, I did not inherit this particular gene.
I’m firmly in the order online camp. A zombie cheerleader, theoretically, is right up my alley (though trust me, it’s not happening.)
But I did get one creation kind of gene.
This won’t come as much of a surprise, but it has to do with cooking.
My contribution to Halloween? The homemade treats. The kid-approved, just-spooky-enough-to-look-cool-but-not-so-gross-you-don’t-want-to-eat-them kind of treats that kids and adults go crazy for.
Because at the end of the day, part of the magic of Halloween is in the creating.
Whether it’s creating costumes, jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses, scary stories, or spooky treats, Halloween is built on the unique creations we bring to the table and share with those close to us.
It doesn’t have to be as intricate as a fully hand-stitched princess ballgown. It can be as simple as gluing googly eyes on popsicle sticks as long as it allows you to have a little fun with the holiday.
So in case you’re still collecting new tricks to try, I wanted to share a few of mine.
Halloween Treat Recipes
Graveyard Dirt Cake
Ingredients:
1 14.3 oz package Oreo cookies
2 3.4oz packages Jello Instant French Vanilla Pudding
4 cups whole milk
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8oz tub Cool Whip, thawed
Toppings:
Milano Cookies
Black Writing Gel
Pumpkin Candies
Bone Candies
Directions:
Crush Oreos into fine crumbs using a food processor. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together both boxes of instant pudding with the milk for about 2 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes.
In bowl of standing mixer or in a bowl using handheld mixer, cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add pudding to butter/cream cheese mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in cool whip until mixture is completely combined.
Assemble:
You can assemble in many different ways.
For a rectangle serving dish, pour half of pudding mixture into bottom of dish, spreading until level. Sprinkle half of crushed Oreos on top of pudding. Repeat layers with remaining pudding and Oreos.
You can also use a trifle dish or individual cups. However you serve it, layer the dessert with alternating layers of crushed Oreos and pudding mix, ending with the Oreos.
Decorate top with candy. Create “tomb stones” with Milano cookies, using the writing gel for decorating the tomb stones.
Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Halloween Puppy Chow
Ingredients:
1 12oz box Rice Chex
1 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup peanut butter
1 stick unsalted butter
11/2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp table salt
4 cups powdered sugar (or more as needed)
1 ½ cups candy corn, m&ms
Directions:
Place Chex cereal in a large bowl. Set aside.
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a sauce pan. Heat until butter and chocolate chips are melted.
Whisk until smooth, then stir in vanilla and salt.
Pour chocolate mix over cereal and stir gently.
Stir in powdered sugar, tossing gently to coat. Add more if necessary; cereal should be completely coated in white.
Mix in candy.
Let cool completely and store in airtight container.
Enjoy!
Mummy Dogs
Ingredients:
1 8oz can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 package mini hot dogs, little smokies, or hot dogs
Yellow Mustard
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Unroll crescent dough. Separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press diagonal perforations together to seal. You should have 4 separate rectangles.
Cut each rectangle into thin strips. You will get approximately 10 per rectangle. Wrap dough around each hot dog to look like “bandages”. If using regular hot dogs, it should take approximately 4 strips. If using mini hot dogs/smokies, it should take approximately 1 strip.
Place mummy dogs on an ungreased baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray.
For regular size, bake 13-17 minutes until dough is lightly brown and hot dogs are hot.
For minis, bake 10-12 minutes
Decorate mummies with yellow mustard dots for eyes, or serve with mustard on the side.