By: Mariam Elhamy
Whether you’re having guests over this Halloween or making your kids a dish for the school’s dish party. Make this Halloween extra special and spook everyone with these easy Halloween recipes full of scares. Have a spooky Halloween!
Halloween Avocado Toast
Ingredients:
Makes 4 Avocado Toasts
- 4 avocados
- 4 pieces of toast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 sheets of seaweed
- Radishes
- Black olives
- Mini dill pickles
- Cherry tomatoes
- Walnuts
- 1/2 red bell pepper
Instructions:
- Slice the avocados in half, remove the seed, and scoop out the avocado flesh into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and pinch of salt and pepper, then mash with a fork.
- Prepare the toppings for the facial features of the toast faces. Use sharp scissors to cut out shapes from the seaweed. You’ll need circles for eyes, zigzags for hair, and thin strips for smiles, scars, noses, and eyebrows. Chop the red bell pepper into small pieces to make lips, fangs, nostrils, and pupils. Slice the radishes for eyeballs. Slice the olives into rings for eyes.
- Spread the mashed avocado onto the toast pieces and decorate. Let your imagination run wild!
Spider Biscuits
Ingredients:
- 70g butter, softened
- 50g peanut butter
- 150g caster sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 180g plain flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 20 peanut butter cups or Maltesers
- 100g milk chocolate, chopped
- Icing eyes
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 180/160C and line two trays with baking sheets.
- Using an electric hand whisk, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Once combined, stir in the flour, bicarb and ¼ tsp salt.
- Scoop 18-20 tbsps of the mixture onto the trays, leaving enough space between each. Make a thumbprint in the center of the cookies.
- Bake for 10-12 mins or until firm at the edges but still soft in the middle. Leave to cool on the tray for a few mins then top each biscuit with a peanut butter cup or Malteser.
- Heat the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, until just liquid. Scrape into a piping bag and pipe the legs onto each spider, then stick two eyes. Kids will love these!
Halloween Popcorn Treats
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 cups mini marshmallows
- 6 fun-size Snickers, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 3 chocolate chip cookies, crumbled
- 1/3 cup chopped salted almonds
- 1/2 cup orange and black M&Ms
Instructions:
- Lightly spray a baking sheet and a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a 3 quart or larger, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil and popcorn over medium-high heat. Cover the pan and shake gently. Cook until all the kernels have popped, about 3 minutes. Place the popcorn in the bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over low heat. Add the vanilla extract and marshmallows. Stir constantly until the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the popcorn.
- Using a spatula, sprayed with cooking spray, stir until the popcorn is coated. Spread the mixture over the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with the chocolate bar pieces, cookies, almonds and chocolate candies. Using a spatula, gently press the toppings into the popcorn. Allow the mixture to dry for 1 hour.
- Break into 2-inch pieces and voila!
Spider Web Cereal Treats
Ingredients:- 4 tbsps butter
- 1 bag of mini marshmallows
- 6 cups crisp rice cereal
- 1 cup dark chocolate, melted
- 1/2 cup white chocolate, melted
Instructions:
- Place butter and marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 30-60 seconds until marshmallows are puffed and melty. Watch carefully so they do not overflow in the microwave.
- Stir until smooth and butter is melted. Add in cereal and stir to coat. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking dish.
- Pour the melted dark chocolate over cereal treats and spread with a spatula. Allow to cool and set for several minutes.
- Cut treats into squares. Transfer melted white chocolate to a zip-top bag and snip a very small piece off of one of the corners. Pipe on spider webs.
- Allow chocolate to set before serving and enjoy!
Halloween Buffalo Chicken Skillet Dip
Ingredients:
For 12 servings
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 225 g cream cheese
- ½ cup Monterey jack cheese (50 g)
- ⅔ cup cheddar cheese (65 g)
- ½ cup buffalo sauce (240 g)
- ½ cup ranch dressing (120 g)
- 2 refrigerated pizza dough
- 125 g cheddar cheese cubes
- 2 tbsps butter, melted
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- In a bowl, combine chicken, cream cheese, Monterey jack, cheddar, buffalo sauce, and ranch.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one pizza dough. Cut out triangles for eyes, and a mouth and bake for 12 minutes, or until the pieces are golden brown, slightly risen and cooked through.
- Cut the remaining dough into squares, place a cube of cheese on each one, and roll into balls. Place the balls in a ring around the edges of a greased pan.
- Fill the middle of the pan with the dip filling and bake for 35 minutes.
- Coat all of the dough with melted butter. Enjoy!
Apple Spider Web Pops
Ingredients:
- 2 large apples, stemmed
- 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
- 8 wooden ice-pop sticks and a toothpick
Instructions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon baking mat.
- Cut the apples lengthwise (stem to bottom) into 4 thick slices each. Remove any visible seeds but keep the core intact. Cut a thin slice off so they lay flat. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each slice with a wooden ice-pop stick and push halfway into the apple.
- Combine the bittersweet chocolate and 1 tsp of the coconut oil in a bowl and microwave at medium power for 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Add the white chocolate and remaining 1 tsp coconut oil to another bowl and microwave at medium power for 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Dip half of the apple slices completely in the bittersweet chocolate, letting the excess drip back into the bowl and place on the prepared baking sheet. Dip the remaining apple slices in the white chocolate. Let sit at room temperature so the chocolate thickens a bit, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the leftover dark and white chocolate to 2 separate small resealable plastic bags and snip a small corner off each bag. Pipe 3 to 4 dark chocolate concentric circles on the white chocolate-dipped apples and visa-versa.
- Drag a toothpick through the circles, starting the center and working your way out to create a spider web design. Refrigerate until hardened, 15 to 20 minutes.
Candy Apples
Ingredients:
- 400g caster sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- A few drops of red food coloring
- 8 chopsticks or lolly sticks
- 8 red apples
Instructions:
- Remove the stalks from the apples, then put them in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle to cover completely and leave for 3-4 mins.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry. (This removes the protective wax from the skin and makes the toffee stick to the apples better.)
- Push the sharp end of each stick into the stalk-end of each apple, making sure it’s firmly wedged in. Put a large piece of baking parchment on a board.
- Put the sugar into a large saucepan, add the lemon juice and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around, but don’t stir.
- Add the golden syrup and simmer the mixture (be careful it doesn’t boil over) until it reaches the ‘hard crack’ stage or 150C on a sugar thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the toffee by dropping a small amount into cold water. It should harden instantly. If it’s soft, continue to boil. When it’s ready, drip in some food coloring and swirl to combine then turn off the heat.
- Working quickly, dip each apple into the toffee. Allow any excess to drip into the pan before placing on the baking parchment. Gently heat the toffee again, if you need to.
- Leave to set then enjoy.
