It’s Party time and to throw a ghoulishly-good Halloween party with cute and creepy treats, frightfully-fun snacks, pumpkin desserts and main dishes, monster party ideas and more favorite Halloween recipes.
Pumpkin Pie Cutout Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Parchment paper
ICING
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
2 large pasteurized egg whites
Food coloring (optional)
Preparation
- Prepare Cookies: Beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer 5 to 7 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat 1 minute.
- Sift together flour and next 2 ingredients. Add to butter mixture all at once, and beat at medium speed 1 minute or until combined. Flatten dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375°, with oven racks in 2 middle positions. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll to 1/4-inch thickness. (If dough gets too soft to handle, chill 5 to 10 minutes.)
- Cut dough with desired cutters, and place 1/2 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Reroll scraps as needed. Chill cut cookies 30 minutes.
- Bake cookies, 2 sheets at a time, at 375° for 9 minutes. Rotate pans front to back, and top rack to bottom rack. Bake 2 to 4 more minutes or until slightly golden around edges. Remove cookies to wire racks, and cool completely (about 15 minutes).
- Meanwhile, prepare Icing: Beat powdered sugar, egg whites, and 2 tsp. water at low speed 2 minutes. (If necessary, add up to 1 Tbsp. water, 1 tsp. at a time, to reach desired consistency.) Divide icing, and tint with food coloring, if desired. Cover icing with plastic wrap or a damp towel when not in use.
- Spread a thin layer of icing over each cookie. For a swirled effect, immediately dot cookie with another color of icing, and blend with a wooden pick. Let base layer of icing dry 10 minutes before piping details. Let finished cookies dry 15 minutes before serving.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Ball
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. peanut butter, warmed in microwave
1/2 c. chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups
2 c. Reese’s Pieces, for decorating ball
Graham crackers, for serving
Directions
- In a medium bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, peanut butter, and chopped Reese’s until combined.
- Transfer mixture to plastic wrap and shape into a ball. Fold up sides and cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate until slightly firm, 1 hour.
- Unwrap and place a serving platter.
- Place Reese’s Pieces all over and let soften 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve with graham crackers.
Family-Style Taco Night
Ingredients
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper (optional)
Cooking spray
2 pounds ground turkey
3/4 cup water
16 crunchy taco shells
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped avocado (about 1)
4 ounces 2% reduced-fat preshredded Mexican-blend cheese (about 1 cup)
Directions
- Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl; add red pepper, if desired.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Sprinkle with spice mixture; cook 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add 3/4 cup water; cook 4 minutes or until thickened and meat is done.
- Heat taco shells according to package directions.
- Fill shells evenly with turkey filling, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cheese.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Yield: 1 cups seeds
Ingredients
1 1⁄2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons melted butter (olive oil or vegetable oil work well) or 2 teaspoons melted oil (olive oil or vegetable oil work well)
salt
garlic powder (optional)
cayenne pepper (optional)
seasoning salt (optional)
cajun seasoning (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- While it’s OK to leave some strings and pulp on your seeds (it adds flavor) clean off any major chunks.
- Toss pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the melted butter or oil and seasonings of your choice.
- Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on baking sheet.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Dead Man’s Finger Sandwiches
Ingredients
Thin sliced white bread, crusts removed
Soft margarine
Cream cheese or peanut butter
Almonds
Strawberry Jam
Directions
- Gently flatten the slices of bread with a rolling pin to make them more pliable.
- Spread with a little margarine and some cream cheese or peanut butter.
- Roll up the sandwiches and make three indentations with a blunt knife to form the finger joints.
- Trim the ends of the fingers into a ‘V’ shape and stick an almond on to each tip with a little cream cheese to form the nails.
- Now for the gruesome bit—add a dollop of strawberry jam over the end of the finger for the blood!