Dead Fingers

This is a shortbread type cookie that look like fingers.The dough is piped (use a bag without any tip to get a finger sized cylinder) onto the cookie sheet. Then using the dull side of a butter knife make lines suggesting knuckle and wrinkles, and add an almond for the fingernail. I found the unblanched variety look particularly creepy. You can add a bit of red icing (ie.that translucent yuk that comes in a tube) if you want a bloody finger. I have experimented with this idea and found it better to make an impression with the almond rather then bake them and "glue" the almonds to the finger afterwards with the "blood". This gives a new twist to the term "finger foods".

 Brain Cookies

Ok if you're still with me, the next item is a brain cookie. You colour a icebox type dough a sickening purplish/gray shade and then push the dough through a colander to make extruded spaghetti shapes.Then you loosely pat spoonfuls of the dough into brain shapes (well at least most kids' notions of how a brain is shaped). I think I experimented with different kitchen tools with this one and ended up using one of those collapsable steamer things to make the spaghetti.

 French Fried Eye Balls

2 pototoes, relish, Mash potatoes and mold them into balls. Cook 160C in oven 20 min. Spread relish over and enjoy!

 Bugs in dirt sandwhiches

For this you will need white bread, a pack of mixed bug shaped lollies and milo. First, spread your slices of bread with margerine or butter. Then, sprinkle the buttered slices with milo until completely coated. Carefully stick the bugs firmly into the milo and place remaining slice of bread on top. Voila! you have bugs in dirt sandwhiches!

 Tombstoned biscuites
This recipe is a nice treat. First, you will need icing sugar, rectangular biscuites and a toothpick. Take your icing sugar and mix it with hot water until fairly runny. Dip each of your biscuits into the mixture and place onto a foiled tray. Take your toothpick and carve "R.I.P" out of the icing on every biscuit. Place in fridge for a few hours and presto! Your very own mini tombstones!

 Brain Cell Salad Tami sent these in from Gross Grub & Gross Goodies.

1 (6-ounce) package blueberry gelatin dessert mix
1 (16-ounce) container small-curd cottage cheese
1 (16 1/2-ounce) can blueberries in syrup (or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed)
blue food coloring
Prepare gelatin according to the directions on the package. Chill for four to five hours, or until firm. Scoop cottage cheese into bowl. Drain and set aside the syrup from the blueberries. Add the berries to the cottage cheese and mix well. Add three drops food coloring to turn the cottage cheese a nice qrayish color when blended. To serve salad, place a few spoonfuls of firm gelatin (congealed brain fluids) onto individual plates. Top with a scoop of cottage cheese (brain tissue) mixture and serve.

 Crusty Booger Balls Tami sent these in from Gross Grub & Gross Goodies.

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5 1/3 cups flaked coconut (about 14 ounces)
1 large 8-ounce package lime-flavored gelatin
1 cup ground, blanched almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
 

In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, coconut, 1/3 cup of the unprepared gelatin, almonds, and almond extract. Mix well with a large mixing spoon or rubber spatula. Cover bowl with platic wrap and chill for about an hour or until mixture is firm enough to mold in your hands. Scoop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls and shape into various-sized booger balls. Place them on a baking sheet, lined with a sheet of waxed paper. Make sure they are all slightly different, just as each and every booger iwsunique and special. Place a second sheet of waxed paper on your work surface and pour remaining unprepared lime gelatin on the center of the waxed paper. Roll each ball in gelatin to coat well and create a thin outer layer. Then place back on the baking sheet. Return boogers to the refrigerator for and hour befofe seving, and store any extras in the refrigerator.

 Pumpkin Cake

Bake 2 cakes in Bundt pans. Place the 2 cakes together bottom to bottom. Frost with orange frosting made from food colouring. The pumpkin face is pieces of a Hershey Chocolate Bar cut into triangles, etc for eyes, nose, etc. And finally set a chocolate frosted cupcake at the top as the stem.

Note: This ends up being a whole lot of cake.

 Yet Another Eyeball Dish!

Buy a can of lychee fruits and simply stuff the little devils with grapes (try mixing red and green grapes). Serve in a hollowed out gourd.

Wash this down with Vampire blood. Any red-coloured drink will do. Simply serve it in small pumpkin-type gourds that have been cleaned out. Use black liquorice for straws, and start sucking.

 Frog's Eye Salad

1 cup Acini De Pepe
2 cups mandarin oranges
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1 1/2 cups marshmallows
3 egg yolks
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
1 reg. size Cool Whip

Boil Acini De Pepe in salted water til tender, but not soft (about 10 minutes) and drain. Drain fruit. Thicken fruit juice, egg yolks, flour and sugar. Add drained Acini De Pepe while dressing is still hot, then let the whole mixture cool. When cooled, fold in marshmallows, fruit, and Cool Whip. Chill.

 Graveyard Treat

Crush a full bag of Oreo cookies and spread some in the bottom of the pan. Reserve the other half for the top. Next mix chocolate pudding and coolwhip, and spread over the crust. Spread the remaining crumbs over the pudding, covering completely. Use cookies to represent the tombstones, oval cookies are best, you can even pipe on saying with icing (R.I.P. etc) I have some bats on sticks that I stick down in the cookie tombstones (if they are sandwich cookies). Just use your imagination to decorate your graveyard. Hope you enjoy this ghoulish treat. Happy Haunting!

Kitty Litter Cake from a Crafty Friend

1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 pkg. white sandwich cookies
green food coloring
12 small tootsie rolls
1 pkg. vanilla pudding mix
1 new kitty litter box
1 new pooper scooper

Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions. Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender. They tend to stick, so scrape often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food coloring and mix using a fork.

When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Gently combine. Line new, clean kitty litter box. Put mixture into litter box.

Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top, this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter.

Heat remaining Tootsie rolls, 3 at a time, in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Serve with a new pooper scooper.

This does take a bit of time. My friend made it for an adult's Halloween party, I swear you can't tell it from the real thing if you follow the directions carefully. Try it, you'll like it. Serves 24

Ok..all you guys that are going to make the gruesome delight pay attention now! I've found a great way to shape the Tootsie rolls. When they are soft and shapaeable you blunt the ends as per the original instructions. Then you roll slightly to make them evenly cylindrical (pencil width) then indent with your [CLEAN] fingernails to ring it like a racoon tail, stretch slightly then push gently back together. I think you guys get the idea right??? More "realistic" the better [grosser]!!!!!!!

 There's a Bug in my Drink!

Put raisins in your punch for bugs!

 Bone Sandwiches

Cut the crusts off of some slices of white bread. Spread peanut butter and jam on the bread. Roll the sandwiches up. Ta da! You have bones with blood and marrow for dinner!

 Dinner in a Pumpkin From the Girl Scouts

1 small to medium pumpkin
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS brown sugar

Cut off top of pumpkin; clean out seeds and pulp. Paint on appropriate face on front of pumpkin with pemanent marker or acrylic paint. In a large skillet, saute' onion in oil until tender; add meat and brown. Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven or until inside meat of pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate; remove top and serve. For your vegetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6 people

 Vampire's Blood Shake

2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package frozen starwberries or raspberries, thawed
ice cubes
1 pint strawberry ice cream

1.Mix yogurt, vanilla, and berries in the blender.
2.Pour into tall glasses over ice cubes, or chill.
3.Top with a big spoonful of strawberry ice cream.
 

 Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
vegetable oil

1.Separate pumpkin seeds from the pulp but don't wash the seeds.
2.Mix seeds, butter, salt, and stir.
3.Grease baking tray with oil and pour on buttered seeds. Gently shake the pan to even out the seeds.
4.Bake seeds at 200 degrees F. for 45 mins.
 

 The Classic Apple Dunking

Apples
Water
A deep pan or a half barrel
Lots of kids

You can blindfold the players or not. Put the water and apples in the barrel. Without using hands the players must pick up an apple with their teeth! (If you wear glasses then don't forget to take them off.)

 Pumpkin Cake

This tastes like pumpkin!

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 c. dark molassses
3/4 c. milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda

 Mix together sugar, butter, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add one egg and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and milk. Combine flour and basking soda and add to wet mixture. Bake in a round pan at 325 degrees F. for 35 minutes. When cooled frost with orange icing.

 A Gruesome Brew

1/2 c. lemon juice
1 quart apple cider
5 cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks toads and salamanders

1.Mix lemon juice and cider in a saucepan.
2.Put spices in a tea ball and add to cider.
3.Bring mixture to a boil over low heat and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
4.Cool slightly, remove tea ball, and serve. Also good cold.

 Green Eye Pie

In a bowl combine 2 cups of washed and dried green grapes and 1/2 cup of sour cream. Pour into 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust. Right before serving sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

 Gory Yello Hand - Presentation is everything.

This is both a yummy treat and a great decoration to scare your friends. Use a clean rubber glove. Make a strong cherry or other red jello by using 3/4 of the recommended amount of water. Hang the glove over the sink by using clothes pins attached to thin strips of wood. When the jello has cooled pour into glove and place in the deep freeze. Be careful not to have the hand pressing against anything or it will ruin the shape. When the jello is frozen cut the glove off using small scissors. Keep your masterpiece in the fridge until ready to display.

 Gory Hand of Ice

Take a clean rubber glove and fill it with water, tie it and put it in the deep freeze. Keep it in there until your party. When you're ready take it out of the glove and put it in the punchbowl instead of ice!

 Eyeball Snacks

1 lb. icing sugar
1 egg white
peppermint essence
black liquorice
blue or green colouring
 

Beat the egg white lightly and blend with a small amout of icing sugar and a few drops of peppermint essence. Mix until you get a fine dry paste. Using your hands knead the paste adding small amounts of icing sugar until the paste will absorb it. Separate a small quatitiy to make the irises, adding a few drops of blue or green coloring and mix. Roll the white mixture into small round balls. Press a hole in the top of the ball with your finger and add some of the colored mixture. Cut a small piece off of the liquorice and place in the middle of the colored mixture for the pupil. Voila!

 Spider Salad

1.Place one half of a canned peach on a plate, flat side down.
2.Cut eight curls off of a carrot with a vegetable peeler.
3.Tuck the curls under the peach to make spider legs.
4.Put raisins on top of peach for eyes.
5.Put a small piece of marachino cherry under the raisins for the mouth.

 Easy Insects

1.Melt a 6oz. package of butterscotch chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
2.Remove chips from heat and stir in 1 cup peanuts and 3 cups chow mein noodles.
3.Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper and cool.

 Cheese Eyeballs

Ingredients:
     1/2 lb (2 c) Cheddar cheese, grated
     1/2 c Margarine
     1/2 ts Salt
     1 ts Paprika
     1 c Flour
     6 oz Bottle stuffed green olives

     Directions:
     Preheat oven to 400 degrees Shred cheese in work bowl of food processor, then place metal chopping blade in work bowl and add margarine. Combine salt, paprika, and flour in separate bowl. Turn on food processor, and slowly add flour mixture tbrough the feed tube. Stop processing as soon as ingredients are combined. Measure      approximately one ts of this mixture and form an "eyeball" around an olive. Turn the olive in the "eyeball" so that it is "staring" outward.

 This recipe will yield about 24 "eyeballs".
Line up the eyeballs on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.  If you want to make these ahead of time, freeze them UNBAKED on the cookie sheet and transfer to a plastic      bag when frozen. Then just thaw and bake when needed.

 Creature Eggs

Ingredients:

     6 Or 12 canned peach halves
     - AND -
     1/3 c Syrup
     - OR -
     For small creature eggs, use
     - apricot halves instead and - double up
     1/2 c Orange-flavored liqueur,
     - such as Cointreau, opt.
     1 c Whipping cream
     2 ts Powdered sugar
     1/2 ts Vanilla
 

     Directions:
     Put peaches/apricots, cut side down, and syrup in an 8 inch square pan. Add liqueur; cover and chill 6 hours or up to overnight. With an electric mixer, whip cream, sugar and vanilla until cream holds soft peaks. Spoon 1/6 of the cream onto each of 6 salad plates and spread out to form a disk about 4 inches across for 'egg whites'. With slotted spoon, lift peaches/apricots from syrup and arrange 1 peach or 2 apricots ('double yolks'), round side up, in the center of cream on each plate to make 'yolks'. Pour syrup into a small pitcher and offer to pour onto individual portions. Makes 6 servings. MY notes: this is 'especially' effective if black plates are used. They really look like sunny-side up eggs! And the Cointreau adds a delightful taste sensation. Add a Hand to the Punch

     Adding an icy hand to the punch is creepy fun and functional as well. The ice keeps the punch cold and as the hand starts to melt, the fingers get thinner and begin to break off. Soon, you have icy fingers throughout the bowl.

     What You Need:
     1 Playtex Glove
     Water to fill the glove
     Food Coloring (Red or Green work well)
     1 Heavy rubber band
     1 Bowl of Punch

     Directions:
     Turn the Playtex glove inside out so the flannel is on the outside. Choose a food color that contrasts with the color of the punch. Color sufficient water to fill the latex glove then seal the glove with the rubber band. Put the water-filled glove in the deep freeze (you can use the refrigerator freezer, but the deep-freeze will be colder) and allow to freeze solid (overnight, at least). When the punch is ready for serving, remove the glove from the freezer.  Run hot water over it - not too long, just enough to unstick the glove from the ice. Peel or cut the glove off the "hand" and place the hand in the punch where it will float and keep the punch cool.

 Spider Cake

     Directions:

     Take your average cake mix. Bake it up in 2 metal bowls--1 bigger than the other. One unmolded, cut the bigger one (the "body") in half, horizontally. CAREFULLY scoop out an adequate cavity in each half. FILL with well-whipped set green Jello, and reattach the halves. Frost black, arrange on serving platter. Use licorice stix as legs. Use 2 BIG green gumdrops and 6 little ones as eyes. When the cake is cut into, it spurts green goop, just like a real spider when stepped on.

 Squirmy Worms

     Ingredients:
     Spaghetti lg. diam. not vermicelli
     Grapes, loose
     Sm. Waste Basket w/ liner
     Cooking oil

     Directions:
     Cook spaghetti until done. Rinse well to separate. Coat well with oil to make it nice and slippery. Put spaghetti in waste basket lined with a plastic bag. Add the grapes and mix well. Cover waste basket with a black and orange cover. Secure tightly. Cut a hole in the center of the cover large enough to put your hand through. Invite Trick or Treaters to dig in for their treats. HAVE FUN.

 Eerie Witch's Brew

     Ingredients:
     4 c Cranberry juice cocktail
     1 c Chopped candied ginger, - (1 jar)
     3 md Oranges
     12 oz Cn thawed frozen apple juice - concentrate
     6 oz Cn thawed frozen limeaid - concentrate
     2 c Seedless grapes
     4 c Water
     2 Bottles (32 oz each) gingerale
     1 To 2 lb dry ice

     Directions:

A smoking cauldron of punch made with grapes and orange peel masquerading as eyeballs and worms.  A SERIOUS CAUTION: never touch dry ice; use tongs to handle. In a 1 to 2 quart pan, bring 1 cup of cranberry juice and candied ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered,  about 2 minutes, set aside. With a vegetable peeler, pare peel (colored part only) from oranges; cut peel into thin 2 in long worms; or use an Oriental shredder to make long shreds. Add orange peel to cranberry mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.  Juice oranges; put juice in a 6 to 8 quart pan or heavy bowl. Stir in cranberry-ginger mixture, the 3 cups cranberry juice, apple concentrate, limeade, grapes and water. If made ahead, cover and chill up to 2 hours. Add ginger ale and about a 1 pound piece of dry ice (DO NOT put small pieces in punch or cups); ice should smolder at least 30 minutes. Ladle into cups. Add any remaining ice when bubbling ceases.  Makes 5 qt; allow about 1 1/2 c for a serving.