6 Simple Halloween Treats For Parties

Simple and Yummy Halloween and Fall treats to make for your upcoming celebrations. Some of these could also be used for school parties allowing the kids to assemble and eat them.

Microwave Popcorn Balls
from my friend Sue Beck
10 cups popped corn
10 regular size marshmallows
½ cup butter
½ cup granulated sugar

Put sugar, butter and marshmallows in a large bowl. Microwave on high for five minutes, stirring twice.
Pour over popped corn, tossing with a wooden spoon, with clean buttered hands, form into balls. Place on waxed paper or aluminum foil. Allow to set, then EAT your yummy treat or wrap in colorful saran wrap for gift treats.

Option:
-Use food coloring to color popcorn balls orange or other colors.


Ritz Cracker Spiders
From Kraft Foods

Ingredients

12 RITZ Crackers

1/4 cup peanut butter, divided

48 small pretzel sticks

1 Tbsp. Halloween sprinkles

12 currants or raisins

Make It

SPREAD each of 6 crackers with 1 tsp. of the peanut butter; cover with second cracker for the spider's body.
INSERT 8 pretzel sticks into the peanut butter layer in each sandwich for the spider's legs.
SPREAD 1 tsp. of the remaining peanut butter onto top of each spider. Decorate with sprinkles. Add currants or raisins for the eyes.
Options:
Use raising instead of currants
Omit spreading peanut butter on top and adding sprinkles they will be less messy.

Skeleton Cupcakes INGREDIENTS:
	Chocolate-frosted cupcakes
	Mini marshmallows
	Black decorators' gel
	White icing
	Icing bag fitted with a small round tip 1. Start with a batch of chocolate-frosted cupcakes. Top each with a mini marshmallow head, using black decorators' gel to create eyes and a mouth. 2. Use an icing bag fitted with a small round tip to pipe on a stick figure, adding a couple of short horizontal lines for ribs.

Harry Daddy Longlegs Cupcakes

From Family Fun

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	Chocolate cupcake (body)
	Canned chocolate icing
	Chocolate sprinkles (hair)
	2 pieces of eye-type candy (we used Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts)
	Clean scissors
	Ruler
	1 package of black string lace licorice (legs)

1. Frost the cupcake with chocolate icing and cover with sprinkles.
2. Press the eyes into place.
3. Use scissors to cut eight 4-inch pieces of licorice for the legs. Holding all of the legs together in a bunch, bend them in half and crease. Push the end of each leg into the cupcake as shown.

Monster Paws
from Family Fun

Your kids won't wait to get their hands on these popcorn-stuffed gloves, recommended by Julie Peters of Lakewood, Colorado.
Recipe Ingredients:
Clear plastic gloves (available at beauty supply stores)
Candy corn
Popcorn
Yarn
Directions:
Begin with washed gloves. Stick one candy corn at the tip of each finger, pointy side up, for fingernails. Fill the glove with popcorn. Use yarn to tie a bow at the wrist.


Pumpkin Cake O'Latern
from Family Fun

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	Cake:
	5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
	4 tsp. ground cinnamon
	1 tsp. ground ginger
	1/2 tsp. ground cloves
	1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
	4 tsp. baking powder
	1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
	1 tsp. salt
	1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
	1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
	1 tbsp. vanilla extract
	1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, at room temperature
	1/2 cup vegetable oil
	2 1/4 cups sugar
	6 large eggs, at room temperature Frosting:
	2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
	1 tbsp. vanilla extract
	Approximately 9 cups powdered sugar
	Green food-coloring paste
	Orange food-coloring paste
	One flat-bottomed green ice cream cone
	12 large yellow and white gumdrops (6 of each)
	Sugar (to roll gumdrops on)
	2 tbsp. chocolate chips
	Clear edible cake glitter

1. Heat the oven to 350° and butter two 10-inch bundt cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. In another large bowl, beat the butter or margarine and oil together with an electric mixer until combined. Next, beat in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in the milk/pumpkin mixture and the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
6. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
7. Directions for Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Mix in the vanilla extract. Then beat in the powdered sugar gradually until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

Color about 1 cup of the frosting green and the rest orange.
8. Assemble the Cake:

Trim the bottoms of the cakes so they lie flat against each other.

Frost the flat surface of the bottom cake and place the other cake on top.

Frost the entire cake orange. When the frosting dries, add green frosting leaves and top with the ice cream cone to create a stem.
9. Decorate the Cake:

Sprinkle sugar over your work surface and use a rolling pin to flatten 12 large yellow and white gumdrops together into a pancake about 1/4 inch thick. Adults only: use a knife to cut out the eyes, nose and mouth.

Microwave 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips for about 60 seconds. Dip the left side and bottom of the facial features in the melted chocolate. Dab a small amount of water onto the top surface of each feature, sprinkle the edible glitter on top, then press the facial features onto the cake.