Fun Halloween dessert recipes are always popular when planning a Halloween party. It's always fun to serve desserts and treats that reflect the eerie theme of the holiday.
The Halloween themed desserts below are popular with kids of all ages and will be the hit of your party!
I've also included some creative Halloween food ideas that can help to spark your imagination. You'll be amazed at the clever ideas for Halloween party appetizers that you can come up with.
Adapted from Vintage Dessert Recipes
Hey, gingerbread cookies aren't just for Christmas anymore; they're a favorite treat any time of year. And when it comes to creepy Halloween food recipes, this one can be as startling as your kids care to make it.
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons warm water
1/4 cup raisins for decorating
White colored gel icing
For this fun Halloween dessert recipe, cream together shortening, sugar, egg, and warm molasses. Dissolve baking soda in warm water, and then add to the egg mixture. Next, add flour, spices, and salt; mix it all up until well blended. Cover and chill overnight.
Prepare a floured surface and get out the rolling pin and cookie cutters. Cut gingerbread men (or other Halloween shapes) and place an inch or two apart on a greased cookie sheet for baking.
Add white gel icing to pipe on bones. Then use raisins or cinnamon candies for eyes, mouth, and so on.
Pairing your traditional Halloween treats with the right beverage can take your party to an entirely new level. Apple cider and eggnog are traditionally served, but this Halloween Punch is an eye-stopper!
A large piece of ice shaped as a hand can make a startling addition to the party punch bowl. To make a hand of ice, first wash, and then thoroughly rinse a large vinyl rubber glove (non-latex, non-powdered).
Then, carefully stretch the glove's wrist opening tightly over the rim of a container large enough to hold the glove upright and fill to the brim with pure drinking water. Secure with an elastic band, if needed.
Carefully without spilling, set the glove in the freezer overnight to freeze solid. Once frozen, this will provide a flat base wide enough to position the hand upright in the punch bowl.
An alternative method is to fill the clean glove with drinking water and then carefully tie off the wrist opening tightly with an elastic band, as you would tie a balloon. Then, gently set the glove in the freezer overnight to freeze solid.
Just before serving your punch, carefully cut the glove from the frozen ice and set the molded ice on a plate near the punch bowl. Dribble red food coloring onto the ice, then gently set it floating in the punch bowl.
Imagine a brain-shaped gelatin dessert resting in the pop cooler to startle guests when they reach for a cold beverage!
Gelatin molds suitable for Halloween can often be obtained from a novelty store or online from Amazon.
Flesh Colored Gelatin Dessert:
Use the following ingredients and method to make the flesh colored gelatin for your mold:
3 6-ounce boxes peach flavor gelatin
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
2-1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water
Green food coloring
Lightly spray or brush your mold with cooking oil to help prevent the gelatin from sticking. Dump gelatin powder into a large bowl, add boiling water, and stir until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water, then stir in skimmed milk.
Finally, stir in several drops of green food coloring to darken the color, then pour the mixture into your mold and refrigerate until the gelatin becomes firm enough to release from the mold.
Place your brain-shaped gelatin dessert on a white Styrofoam plate and cover with plastic wrap to startle guests before serving.
Use the flesh colored gelatin recipe above, and a gelatin mold in the shape of a foot to create a startling decoration for your Halloween dessert table.
Use parsley or green shredded coconut to simulate ground cover or grass. Gelatin molds can also be gotten in hand and heart shapes to surprise your Halloween party guests.
3 ounces lemon gelatin
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup pineapple juice
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 cup mayonnaise
For this fun Halloween dessert recipe, dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup water in double boiler over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir constantly to melt.
Remove from heat and add the pineapple juice and cream cheese, beat together until smooth. Fold in whipped cream and mayonnaise. Allow to cool until firm.
Get out the melon-baller and scoop full, round balls of the candy mixture. Decorate with dark pupils and red veins using food coloring and a clean, small paintbrush (the kind that children get with watercolor sets).
You'll have slimy looking eyeball shaped treats ready to surprise your Halloween party guests. And wait for the expressions of delight once they discover how delicious these unique treats really are!
How about a colorful bowl of fruit punch themed for your next Halloween party? Like the other fun Halloween dessert recipes, this one is also very easy to make, and the punch tastes refreshingly delicious.
1 (32 ounces) bottle apple juice, chilled
1 (12 ounces) can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 cup orange juice, fresh or frozen
50 ounces (1-1/2 liters) ginger ale
1 apple, sliced thinly
Large marshmallows
Take a large punch bowl or other serving container and combine the apple juice, cranberry concentrate, and orange juice. Stir until any frozen bits are dissolved. Slowly mix in the ginger ale.
To add the surprise, slice the apple in large thin slices to float on top as brain-like slices among the marshmallow eyes.
The ginger ale may be left out until just before your guests arrive to preserve the fizz.
For a fun Halloween treat, serve Dracula Dentures Cookies. Start by making a batch of old fashioned chocolate chip cookies cut to uniform circle shapes.
Place a layer of red strawberry jam on one chocolate chip cookie and add white miniature marshmallows to form the teeth. Slivers of almond can be inserted to create the fangs, a pair on opposite sides.
Layer a second chocolate chip cookie with strawberry jam and lay it over the marshmallow teeth on the first cookie. Carefully cut cookie sandwich in half to form two sets of Dracula Dentures.
Here's a fun Halloween dessert recipe that's fun for kids to make and eat. Imagine delicious marshmallow spiders with Chow Mein legs, and candy coated eyes.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
24 large marshmallows
1 (6 ounce) package Chow Mein noodles
1 (12 ounce) package mini candy-coated chocolate pieces
In the top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips and butter. Heat over hot water until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth, then set aside.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Stick 4 Chow Mein noodles into each side of marshmallow for legs, and arrange on wax paper.
Carefully drizzle chocolate over the marshmallow spiders. Attach 2 colored candies to each marshmallow for eyes.
Chill until chocolate hardens firm. This fun Halloween dessert recipe makes 24 marshmallow spider treats.
1/4 cup butter, cubed
8 ounces Semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 bags fun-sized (small) candy bars, chopped into small pieces
Melt butter. Remove from heat and add semisweet chocolate. Cover and let sit until chocolate is melted (3 to 5 minutes approximately) then stir to smooth.
Gradually and carefully add in the heavy cream while stirring, keep stirring while you pour or the chocolate will lose its shine. Refrigerate about 25 minutes to gain a little firmness for shaping.
Roll globs of the chocolate into round wart-shaped balls in the palm of your hand, then roll them in the chopped-up candy bars pressing so that it sticks to the edges.
Instead of chopped candy bars, this recipe offers a great way to get creative with the leftover Halloween candy, after trick or treating. (That's if your kids have any remaining to chop up!)
The real fun in any Halloween party menu is in the creative names you give to the food. Spider Stew, Bat Burgers, Black Cat Chili, Giant Wart Cupcakes, and Cupcakes with Booger Icing are some suggestions to jump-start your imagination.
Children tend to be fascinated by less-than-attractive food associations that they consider great fun. Fortunately, almost any food item can be chosen, as long as you choose a Halloween themed name and description for the dish.
For instance, spaghetti can be associated with worms and risotto can be thought of as maggots, and if the pasta dishes are offered in a blood-red tomato sauce enhanced with a little red food coloring, so much the better.
Use the fun Halloween dessert recipes to spark your creativity. You can create startling Halloween treats from almost any dessert recipe with the help of a little imagination.
So, start with these fun Halloween dessert recipes and let your imagination run wild. Believe me, your homemade Halloween desserts will be a big hit with your crowd.
Once you have chosen several fun Halloween dessert recipes and have settled on your food choices, it's a good idea to produce a Halloween Menu that describes the themed dishes you're offering.
Post the menu poster size in the eating area or hand each guest a printed copy as a souvenir. It's sure to be an icebreaker that gets the kids speculating on what they're about to be served. Conversation will flow along with loud laughter and pretend expressions of disgust.
Remember to keep everything fun and in good taste (pun intended). If you cross the line with descriptions that are too gory, young appetites might be turned off, and you'll have unhappy party goers.
Your table setting can also be used to good effect to display your Halloween treats. Look for cheap, dollar-store accessories that you could use to set an eerie Halloween theme.
For instance, float gummy worms in the soup or rubber snakes in the punch bowl. Spread fake spiders and coffee grounds (fake dirt) around the plates.
ALWAYS take proper care for hygiene and the safety of younger children when choosing your decorations. Make sure to carefully wash ALL store-bought items that will come into contact with food.
Above all, have fun with these fun Halloween dessert recipes and make your next party one that will be talked about and remembered.
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