When Halloween rolls around, you know it's time to pull out all the stops. This autumn celebration is all about good fun and a little spook from crazy costumes and mini chocolate bars to bloody punch and lit jack-o'-lanterns. Even if you're the type to shut off the lights to avoid trick-or-treaters, these fun, creative, and creepy foods will get you into a festive mood by the time October 31 arrives. When you're entertaining kids on Halloween, the good times are exponentially multiplied. This year, show your Halloween spirit when you and the kids serve up some of the spookiest goodies out there. Here's a list of delightful creations that are as scary as they are tasty, as innovative as they are easy.
Meringue ghosts
Your kids will concur that no Halloween celebration would be complete without some spooky energy. Ghostly vibes, to be precise. Spirits from the dead lend any gathering a chilly air of frightfulness. Boo! That said, possessing the right mix of otherworldly mystery and sugar is key to success on this special autumn day. Your solution for party time success? Meringue ghosts are the way to go. They require few pantry ingredients, are easy to make, and please children and adults alike.
This expert recipe from Joy of Baking makes it easy for you to whip up enough meringue ghosts to satisfy even the pickiest group of children. Using only a few egg whites, a pinch of cream of tartar, superfine sugar, and a dash of vanilla extract, you end up with a tray of delightful treats. These glossy confections are light and airy, crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth good on the inside. I love the way these little guys are all unique looking depending on the way you pipe them. Add scary (candy) eyes or dots of melted chocolate to bring the whole look together. Pro tip: let your egg whites come to room temperature before starting. Doing so will help them to whip up faster and with more volume.
Spooky sugar cookies
From vampires and mummies to pumpkins and spiders, you can't let Halloween go by without showcasing all the scary fun characters of the season. Besides your house decorations, don't forget to include everyone's favorite bakery pick: sugar cookies. These sweet and universally pleasing treats are staples of kid-friendly holidays for a good reason. They are simple, hard to mess up, and always a hoot to decorate with colorful icing. With the bonus of being easy enough to make with your children, I can't think of a better way to spend time together and eat delicious cookies. Win-Win.
This streamlined recipe from Family Fresh Meals makes about two dozen cookies. While there are countless recipes out there for basic sugar cookies, I appreciate that this one yields soft and chewy ones. There's a time for thin and crispy, but this isn't one of them. Sweet and pillowy, these delectable treats provide plenty of surface area for wild, messy decorating — cue the kiddies. Be sure to allow your cookies to cool completely before decorating. You don't want to melt your scary clown face icing — or do you?
Spider cupcakes
Sure, you can tell yourself that Halloween is just for the kids, but some treats are so adorable they'll make you just as happy. I'm talking about ridiculously cute little cupcakes decorated like spiders. While these eight-legged creatures may give some of us the creeps, they are much more manageable when they're made of butter and sugar. Creepy enough for a killer Halloween spread and sweet enough for the scaredy-cat at heart, these adorable cupcakes are a must for any spooky celebration.
These cupcakes from Damn Delicious are delightful to behold. The cake portion is soft, tender, and crumbly. The chocolate glaze is sweet and rich in cocoa flavor. Your decorating ingredients? Sprinkles for the spider bodies, candy eyeballs, and licorice legs. This baking project is as easy as it is fun, making it the perfect kid-friendly afternoon activity. If you're planning on getting some little hands to help you, be sure to have all the ingredients and tools set up. Doing so will make the whole process go smoothly, leaving you lots of time to enjoy your creations and your company.