On Halloween, no one is very mature. Adults enjoy costume parties and silly seasonal treats, too. Add these shocking appetizers to your Halloween buffet for a fun and flavor. There's a theme of edible body parts. All of these treats can rise to the level of your imagination by adding embellishments of your own or designing a little stage direction to the presentation.
Sausage Head Charcuterie Centerpiece
Sculpt this terrifying sausage head charcuterie board for a theme of classic horror.
Ingredients
foam mannequin head4 (8 ounce) packages turkey or beef meat sticks, cut into thirdswooden picks (about 150)4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto1 mini cheese round, halved (such as Babybel® Cheese)1 pimiento-stuffed olive, cut in half, plus more for serving1/2 teaspoon cream cheese10 cocktail peanut halves2 roasted red peppers, cut into thin stripswhole grain crackerscoarse grained mustardassorted cheeses
Directions
Place foam head on a cake stand, and secure with tape or a center dowel.Secure each meat stick piece with a wooden pick, arranging them around the head, custom fitting each one to resemble a face. Tear prosciutto into pieces and use the pieces to fill in any white spaces between the meat sticks.Using wooden picks, place cheese round halves in foam head to resemble eyeballs. On the same picks, place an olive half over each cheese half to resemble pupils.Spread cream cheese on the rounded side of peanut halves. Stick peanuts over mouth area on head, to resemble teeth.Arrange roasted red pepper strips in between beef pieces on top of head to resemble veins.Arrange crackers, mustard, assorted cheeses, olives, and other charcuterie accompaniments of your choice around sausage head.
Zombie Eyes (Halloween Meatballs)
These homemade meatballs are a must for your Halloween party! Not only are they fun, they're super-moist and flavorful. Or here's a cheat code: buy pre-formed meatballs and use this decorating idea to make them into Zombie Eyes.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 16 meatballs
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti½ cup grated Parmesan cheese⅓ cup panko bread crumbs1 large egg2 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon parsley flakes1 teaspoon dried basil1 teaspoon dried oregano1 pound lean ground beef1 tablespoon olive oil8 black olives, halved1 (1 ounce) stick string cheese, cut into 16 slices1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and set aside.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Whisk Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, basil, and oregano together in a large mixing bowl. Fold in ground beef and mix with your hands until blended. Form 16 equal-sized meatballs using a cookie scoop.Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer cooked meatballs to a baking sheet using tongs.Bake browned meatballs in the oven for 8 minutes.While meatballs bake, use a plastic straw to punch a hole through each olive half to create a circular "pupil." Use the same straw to punch a hole through the center of each string cheese slice. Insert the round olive piece inside the hole in the string cheese slice to create "eyes."Remove meatballs from the oven; set aside until cool enough to handle.Assemble zombie eyes by twirling a few strands of cooked spaghetti around each of 16 forks. Spear a meatball onto each fork and arrange forks on a serving platter. Spoon a dot of spaghetti sauce onto each meatball where you want to place the "eyes." Apply the olive-cheese "eye" over the sauce. Spoon remaining spaghetti sauce over the twirled spaghetti on the forks.
Spooky Witches' Fingers
Form skinny "fingers" out of easy cookie dough. Add wrinkles for knuckles and almond halves or slivers for the fingernails, oozing a little red or green gel. Daub the "chopped" ends with red gel. Serving Ideas: arrange on a platter or standing up in "dirt" made of chocolate cake crumbles.
Prep Time: 35 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Additional Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 60 cookie fingers
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened1 cup confectioners' sugar1 large egg1 teaspoon almond extract1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt¾ cup whole almonds, half almonds or almond sliversseedless strawberry jam or red decorating gel, as needed
Directions
Place softened butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl; beat together with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating until combined; refrigerate dough for 20 to 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of jam or red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the jam to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.
Variation: add a drop or two of green food coloring to make slightly grosser skin color!
Candy Corn Jell-O Shots
These layered Halloween jello shots look like candy corn and make a fun, boozy treat for adults. This version goes for a triple shot, so drink responsibly. Serve with candy corn on the side. The prep time is from refrigerating each layer as you build the different candy corn colors.
Prep Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
Yield: 16 jello shots
Ingredients
Yellow Layer:
¾ cup boiling water1 (3 ounce) package lemon-flavored gelatin mix (such as Jell-O)1 cup vodka3 ice cubes, or as needed
Orange Layer:
¾ cup boiling water1 (3 ounce) package orange-flavored gelatin mix (such as Jell-O)3 ice cubes, or as needed1 cup vodka
White Layer:
2 tablespoons hot water1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk½ cup light rum
Directions
To make the yellow layer: Pour boiling water into a small bowl. Add lemon gelatin mix and stir until dissolved.Pour vodka into a 2-cup liquid measure; add enough ice to make 1 1/4 cups. Pour into lemon gelatin mixture and stir until slightly thickened; remove any unmelted ice. Pour mixture into 16 tall shot glasses, filling each 1/3 full. Refrigerate until lemon gelatin is set, at least 1 1/2 hours.When lemon gelatin is set, make the orange layer: Pour boiling water into a small bowl. Add orange gelatin mix and stir until dissolved.Pour vodka into a 2-cup liquid measure; add enough ice to make 1 1/4 cups. Pour into orange gelatin mixture and stir until slightly thickened; remove any unmelted ice. Pour into shot glasses over lemon gelatin. Refrigerate until orange gelatin is set, at least 1 1/2 hours.When orange gelatin is set, make the white layer: Stir hot water and unflavored gelatin together in a bowl until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in condensed milk and rum. Pour into shot glasses over orange gelatin. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.
Recipe Tip
Use tall, skinny shot glasses. You may use any glass or container tall enough to show off the three layers of color.
Hot Dog Mummies
8 hot dogs1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls1 teaspoon yellow mustard, or as needed (Optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).Place hot dogs in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Drain.Roll crescent dough onto a work surface; tear into 8 pieces. Roll 1 piece dough around each hot dog, creating the look of a mummy. Place dots of mustard on the top of each for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Arrange hot dogs on a baking sheet.Bake in the preheated oven until crescent dough is golden brown and flaky, about 10 minutes.
Cook's Note
You can use ketchup (or edible candy eyes) instead of mustard to make the facial features.