Halloween is all about dressing up – dressing up ourselves and our kids, dressing up our homes, sometimes even dressing up our pets – so why not also dress up our food? Here are five ideas to make ordinary party foods spooktacular:
Spider’s Nest
Mexican dip, whether 5, 6, 7, or 8 layers, is a popular party food. To dress it up for Halloween, serve it in a round bowl and pipe sour cream in the pattern of a spider web onto the top of the dip, creating an edible spider’s nest. Double the wow factor by placing a plastic spider in the web prior to serving.
Spooky Sweets
Carefully dollop whipped cream on top of pudding, jello, fruit, etc. to make a ghostly topping. Use chocolate chips for eyes.
Dead Man’s Punch
Want to make your favorite bowl of punch a bit spookier? A floating hand and some worms should do the trick! First, fill a disposable powder-free glove with water. Tie the bottom of the glove to create a hand-shaped water balloon. As tempting as it is to now throw at something, exercise restraint and put it in the freezer. Meanwhile, place one gummy worm in each compartment of an ice-cube tray, fill with water, and place it in the freezer. When you’re ready to serve the punch, cut the bottom of the glove and peel it away to reveal an ice hand. Place the hand in the punch, along with the gummy worm ice cubes that you dislodge from the tray. Your punch now looks as though a severed hand, surrounded by hungry worms, is floating in it. Bonus? These spooky additions also help keep your punch cool.
Sweet Cemetery
Turn an uncut pan of brownies or cake into a graveyard with strategically placed Milano® cookies as tombstones. Crumble Oreos® on top to create the “dirt and mist” you would see in a spooky cemetery scene. Add candy corns for a splash of Halloween color. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can use an icing pen to write R.I.P. on the edible tombstones and/or add a few whipped cream ghosts to the scene.
Eyesore Cupcakes/Cookies
Frost your favorite cupcakes or cookies white. Place a Life Savers® in the middle as the iris (you could also add a black chocolate chip or M&M® for the pupil) and pipe red gel frosting from the candy to the outside of the cupcake/cookie to create veins for an eye that looks bloodshot.
How do you dress up your food for Halloween? We’d love to hear your ideas!