Cheese Ball Eyeballs

Use the ideas of the http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/Halloween-kid-recipes.html page for Eyeballs, I made two large eyeballs from a cheese ball. I placed two eyeball candies in the center of each and served crackers for a creepy Halloween snack.

Creepy Carrot Fingers

by Claire
(Plattsburgh, NY, USA)

12 baby carrots
12 slivered almonds
Ketchup

Arrange the carrots in a circle, with (if there is one) the little end pointing outwards. Place a dab of ketchup on the carrot, then stick the almond in place for a fingernail. If you would like, you can dab ketchup on the inward-facing ends of the carrots for a slightly creepier look.

Halloween Meals

Easy Additions for Perfect Halloween Meals
It’s Halloween! With just a few little changes or additions to things that you probably already make, you can put the spirit of Halloween on your table.

Scary Eyeballs – Add a little more mustard into the egg centers or a thin dollop under where you will lay a black olive into the creamy center.


Ghost Sandwiches – Cut your bread into ghosts, add the filling of your choice and your children will have a ghostly treat for their school or after school sandwich.


Wormy Hot Dogs – Thinly slice your hot dogs and then microwave. This will make them curl to look like worms. Put them on a hamburger bun and dress with mustard, catsup and pickles to make a slimy swamp underneath.


Ghostly Toast – Toast your bread. When it is cool enough to cut, with a gingerbread girl cutter or a plain knife, cut to make a ghost body. Top with whipped cream cheese or flavored yogurt with raisins or dates cut for eyes.


Orange Jack O Lantern – With a toothpick, gently carve a face into the orange. Careful not to injure the meat/pulp of the orange, your child will have a small version of the Jack O Lantern that is healthy and edible.


Graveyard Snack – Take a cup of plain or buttered popped popcorn; add a half cup each of mini pretzels, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, goldfish crackers and raisins.


Spider Snack – Taking two round crackers, such as the ritz, put peanut butter in the middle. Take 8 small pretzels and stick all around, 4 on each side to make the legs. Add raisins for eyes.


Salty Bones – Making breadsticks for your spaghetti tonight? Here’s a Halloween twist. Unroll a tube of refrigerated breadstick roll and separate the triangle pieces. Stretch each individual piece to make a long bone like figure. Cut about a 1 and a half inch slit in each end with your kitchen scissors. Roll the remaining 4 flaps into what would make the end of a dog bone. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake as directed.


Goblin Tongues – Using mini bagels, spread cream cheese or mayonnaise, your preference, onto bagel. Cut slices out of circular pieces of bologna lunch meat to look like tongues and put into the top center of the bagel, leaving it to hang out like a tongue.


These are just a small sampling of things you can do to impress the kids or grandkids. Nothing fancy, quite simple for you but they’ll love them. Presentation and excitement is part of children accepting new and different things. Let them help you when creating these treats and they may just be a little more receptive to the new Halloween changes in foods they already love.

Creepy Fingers Recipe

Creepy Fingers Recipe: Perfect for a Child’s Halloween Get Together

These are most fun to make, most fun to eat and the kids just love them! They add a nice touch to a school treat or just to have when having friends over.

I’m going to give you the tips first. I’ve found that if the tips are before the recipe I am more apt to read them and not be at the end of my recipe and wonder why or where something went wrong.

Some people omit the egg white brush. The only reason I like it is because it seems to add an old, weathered, yellowish dead look. I don’t think it makes much difference in taste. However, it may help in solidifying the almond into the finger.

You must roll these cookies thin. Believe me; they will spread out in the oven. Also, take them from the oven a few minutes early and reshape them the way you want them and then finish cooking.

The recipe doesn’t call for it, but if you wanted to slip a few slivers of almond into the fingers at random spots you can get that exposed dead bone look. You might also want to put fine lines of red icing to resemble blood in various spots onto the cooked fingers.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons red food coloring
30 sliced almonds
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
5 T. sugar
Pinch of salt
1 2/3 cups flour
Couple drops of almond extract

Directions:
1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

3. Put food coloring in a shallow bowl and add the slivered almonds into the bowl. Leave them set until they are as deep red as you’d like. Every so often, stir them around to make sure they are getting completely covered.

4. Separate 1 egg, sitting the white aside in a separate bowl. In a different bowl, take the entire 2nd egg with the yolk of the first egg and whisk it together; add vanilla and set aside.

5. In large bowl, combine softened butter, confectioners' sugar, sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add egg mixture and almond extract, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until put together. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

6. Once firm enough divide the dough into two halves. Keep the one you’re not working with covered in the plastic wrap and chilled. Separate the dough you’re working with into fifteen pieces. Lightly flour your counter or work space. Roll each piece back and forth with palms into finger shapes about 3 and a half to 4 inches long. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. Score each knuckle lightly with the back of a small knife. Transfer fingers to the previously prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

7. After you have formed all your fingers, using a pastry brush, brush lightly with the egg white from the first egg in step 4.

8. Position almonds into nails and push into dough to keep firm.

9. Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes, however, you will remove them at about 9 minutes and reshape them the way you want them to look. Cool completely.
Kids love these icky fingers. Even more fun than eating them is making them, so don’t be afraid to let them join in the process. You’ll all have fun and the kids will learn a few life skills at the same time.

Spooky Finger Spidera

olives (as many as you need) or doughnut holes which ever suits your recipe

pretzel STICKS

Just stick 2-3 pretzel sticks on each side of the olive/doughnut

Set on a plate and they become finger food spiders

Marshmallow Pumpkins

Marshmallow pumpkins -Halloween Treat
Take large marshmallows & poke a small thin pretzel stick half way into top.
Dip marshmallow into melted candy discs (orange colored).
While chocolate is still warm decorate w/ holiday sprinkles.
Cool & enjoy.