No tricks, just treats.....
Having kids in the kitchen is always great fun and helping you make these spooky seasonal treats will flex their creative muscle! These simple snacks are all really easy to make… though you might just want to monitor the kids when they’re wielding the black cake frosting!
Spooky spider fairy cakes
Be prepared for black frosting to get everywhere! You can either make your own cupcakes and frosting from scratch, or use commercial Victoria sponge cake mix and frosting.
Basic home-made fairy cake mix
Makes 18-20 cakes depending on size
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. In a bowl, combine 4oz/100g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 4oz/100g soft margarine, 4oz/100g caster sugar and 2 eggs. Beat mixture for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Bake using a bun sheet or separate paper cases (you’ll need to remove the cakes for decorating) for 15-20 minutes and allow to cool before decorating.
Bake commercial cake mix as per packet instructions.
You’ll need…
Ready-made black or vanilla cake frosting tinted black with food colouring (or make your own frosting by creaming together 6oz/175g margarine, 12oz/350g sifted icing sugar and tinting it black), black food colouring if you’re tinting vanilla or home-made frosting, black food colouring or icing pen, M&M’s or Smarties, licorice strips, white cake sprinkles.
What to do…
• If you’re not using ready-made black frosting, add a few drops of black food colouring to the vanilla or home-made frosting and get your child to mix it all up (make sure her sleeves are rolled up out of the way as it’ll be pretty messy!).
• Position the fairy cakes upside-down and cover with frosting.
• Position M&Ms or Smarties to form the spider’s eyes and use the black food colouring/icing pen to draw on the pupils.
• Gently place two white cake sprinkles where you want your spooky spider’s teeth to be (we found it easiest to do this using tweezers so as not to smudge the sprinkles with frosting).
• The finishing touch: use the licorice strips to make the spider’s legs.
Creepy cookies
Again, make your dough from scratch or save time by using ready-mixed refrigerated dough – you can even get dough pre-cut into Halloween shapes.
Basic home-made cookie mix
Makes around 30 cookies depending on size
In a bowl, combine 8oz/225g plain flour, 5oz/150g margarine, 50z/150g caster sugar, 1tsp vanilla essence, and 1 egg (beaten). Mix ingredients together to form a soft dough, knead, wrap in greaseproof paper and chill in refrigerator for around 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Roll out dough, use cutters to shape cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes until pale golden brown.
Bake ready-made cookie dough as per packet instructions.
You’ll need…
Icing sugar, black and orange food colouring, black food colouring or icing pen, sprinkles, bat, ghost and pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters.
What to do…
Beastly bats
• Prepare icing as per packet instructions and add a drop of black food colouring.
• Lightly cover bat-shaped cookies and position two red sprinkles for the bat’s eyes and two white sprinkles for teeth (again, it’s easier to position the sprinkles using tweezers).
Ghastly ghosts
• Lightly cover ghost-shaped cookies with plain white icing.
• Use food colouring pen to draw on its eyes and mouth – these don’t have to be perfect: in fact, blotchy looks creepier!
Jack o’ lanterns
• Add a few drops of orange food colouring to icing and lightly cover pumpkin-shaped cookies.
• Use coloured sprinkles for the eyes and mouths (you could also use M&Ms/Smarties, or differently shaped cake decorations).
Evil eyes
These bloodshot zombie ‘eyeballs’ come in savoury and sweet versions.
You’ll need…
Individual semisoft cheese circles, such as Mini Babybels, mashed avocado, chopped or sliced olives, marshmallows, icing sugar, food colouring, M&Ms or Smarties, red and black food colouring or icing pens.
What to do…
Savoury evil eyes
• Use the red food colouring pen to trace red ‘bloodshot’ veins on the cheese.
• Add a blob of avocado to form the iris and the chopped or sliced olive to make the pupils.
Sweet evil eyes
• Again, trace on the bloodshot veins, then add a blob of coloured icing with an M&M or Smartie on top.
• Dab on a crazed pupil with the black food colouring pen!
Phantom fingers
Very effective looking with their green ‘fingernails’!
You’ll need…
String cheese, soft cream cheese, sliced green peppers.
What to do…
• Cut each string cheese in half to form two ‘fingers’.
• Use a knife to carefully cut out three creases for the knuckle and scoop out a ‘nail’ shaped piece at the top of the finger.
• Blob some cream cheese into the nail shape and stick on a piece of green pepper.
Marshmallow monsters
Just about the easiest Halloween party snack you can make – and kids love them!
You’ll need…
Plain white marshmallows, black food colouring or icing pen, flat toothpicks or lollysticks.
What to do…
• Insert a flat toothpick or lollystick into each marshmallow.
• Use the black food colouring pen to draw on the monster’s eyes and mouth – we made ghosties but you could use a range of different colour icing pens to add teeth, scars and scary eyes!
Fiendish fangs
At least you’ll know there is some fruit in the mix with these…
You’ll need…
Apples, red food colouring pen, strawberry jam.
What to do…
• Slice the apple and cut the slices into pointed triangle shapes.
• Use the red food colouring pen to decorate the fangs with bloody streaks!
• Serve with strawberry jam ‘bloody’ dip.