Easy Tricks for Scary, Fun Treats Your Whole Family Will Love

Need a Halloween-themed dish in a hurry? Whether you’re attending a ghoulish gathering or hosting a big event like a Halloween block party, don’t let kitchen prep work spook you. 

You’ll need: Your favorite recipe and Halloween cookie cutters.

The right cookie cutters can Halloween-ify any dish. Sure, you can—and should—consider cookies, but don’t rule out other foods. 

If you can cut it with a knife, you can cut it with a cookie cutter. Just make sure the food’s surface area is big enough.

Grilled cheese ghosts, PB&J bats and pumpkin-shaped pancakes are all easy to make. And speaking of breakfast, don’t forget waffles, biscuits and toast. 

To keep things healthy, let your cookie cutters loose on some melons, pineapples and mangos for a frighteningly good fruit salad.

Want to make your kid’s day? Stash some spooky shapes in their next school lunch.

You’ll need: Clear, food-safe, latex- and powder-free plastic gloves (the kind made for food prep), popcorn or Halloween candy. 

If you’re looking for an easy button, this is it. Just fill a food-safe plastic glove with popcorn or Halloween candy. Tie it up at the end with ribbon, and call it a day.

You’ll need: Bananas and chocolate chips. 

That easy button must be stuck, because this one’s a breeze. As an added perk, it’s also healthy…as long as you don’t get carried away with the chocolate chips.

Cut a banana in half. Press 3 chocolate chips into each piece near the rounded end to make wide eyes and a howling mouth. And...Boo! Now you’ve got 2 banana ghosts. 

You’ll need: Clementines and celery sticks. 

Peel a clementine, but don’t split the pieces. (This is the body of your pumpkin.) Now for your stem: Cut a sliver of celery, and stick it in the clementine’s top to complete your tiny, citrusy pumpkin tribute. 

You’ll need: Chocolate ice cream or pudding, Oreo® baking crumbs and candy worms. 

Relax. This isn’t Fear Factor^®. All you’re doing here is dressing up dessert. Just pick your favorite chocolate ice cream or pudding. Then top your bowl or cup with Oreo crumbs and candy worms. 

You’ll need: Your favorite punch and dry ice. 

Turn any punch bowl into a creepy cauldron with a block of dry ice. New to dry ice? Make sure you know how to find it and handle it safely. 

For extra flair, add a skull-shaped ice cube to each glass. 

You’ll need: Deviled eggs and pitted black olives. 

With a wave of your wand and a slice of your knife, give your favorite deviled egg recipe a Halloween twist. 

Cut an olive in half, and place one half (your spider’s body) on top of a deviled egg. Slice the olive’s other half into 8 slivers. Now you’ve got spider legs. EEEEEK!!...A spider!

You’ll need: White chocolate–covered strawberries and candy eyes.

Valentine’s Day is just a few months after Halloween. So why not practice whipping up romantic treats like chocolate-covered strawberries? For a Halloween twist, just substitute white chocolate and add candy eyes before the chocolate cools.

You’ll need: Pretzel rods, white chocolate chips and candy eyes.

With a little help from their mummy, even your kid can tackle this treat. 

Dip three-quarters of a pretzel rod into a cup of melted white chocolate chips. Add candy eyes to the chocolate-covered end before it hardens. Once your first layer cools, drizzle melted chocolate across the pretzel to create the mummy’s wrap.