Being festive and fun is a wonderful thing at Halloween. Maybe it is the crisp fall air or the bright colors on the trees that get people in the mood for a light hearted holiday.
We decorate our yards and make scary gingerbread houses and plan holiday parties, but did you know that you can carry the fun over into your own kitchen? Halloween festivities provide plenty of options for cooking creepy treats and meals for friends and family.
Heck, why not cook them throughout the October month to throw your family off guard? The little ones will never know what to expect from you when they come to sit at the table! If you want to really knick their socks off, dress in Medusa costume.
The severed finger cookies are a favorite of mine. When I served these icky goodies to my kids, they looked at me like, “You want me to eat what?”
I was able to snap a picture of the look of shock on their faces when the plate of “fingers” was placed on the table.
Remnants of a burn victim for dinner... or just meatloaf. Photo via Notmartha.org
These cookies are actually very simple. You just use refrigerated breadstick dough and sliced almonds, with ketchup (ick!) for presentation. (I’d go with red frosting.) Some morbid types will add pretzels into the cookies to render a bone breaking crunch when they are bitten.
Or, for something even more grim, try making a meatloaf shaped like a human hand. My grandkids are meatloaf lovers, so this would go over well with them, too! Fill a gelatin mold shaped like a hand to make the loaf, but remove it before cooking it. Add pieces of onion for fingernails and an onion heart for a wrist bone. Next, cover it in cheese for that burned skin texture. Piping mashed potatoes between the fingers makes it appear more realistic. How deliciously creepy! Oddly enough, now I’m hungry… moving on.
Deviled Egg Eyeballs are another wicked delight to serve up on Hallows Eve. Yes, yes!
Make your deviled egg recipe but add blue food coloring to the mixture to make the yellow turn green. Scoop into egg halves as usual and garnish with an olive and a little piece of red pepper for the pupil.
WIth a toothpick, draw veins on the white of the egg with red coloring paste and there you have it. These eyes are another spooky food to shock your family with.
Halloween should be a time to bring out the ghoulish side in us all. So, why not play around and have fun with it? Make the goodies and gobble them down…if you can stomach them, that is.
Emma Rae Curtis is a costume/dressing up/makeup & accessories expert. She mainly writes about Halloween but also about all things costume and dress-up related.
