It’s that ghoulish time of year again! When the weather starts to cool down, the leaves are changing colors and the sky darkens before dinner time. There’s no better way to celebrate Halloween than with some spooktacular sweet, scrumptious and savory recipes guaranteed to charm any goblin, vampire or ghostly taste buds. Feeling festive? Follow the recipe ideas listed below to add some gravely gourmet Halloween delectables to a solo party or a socially-distanced meet-up.
Spider Web Taco Dip
Transforming the traditional American seven-layer dip into a web of delicious guacamole, sour cream and cheese, this recipe is adaptable for all ghoulish taste buds. Pairing perfectly with beef, chicken or a vegetarian option of refried beans, this appetizer is sure to lure in the hungry. For a fun, festive twist, be sure to complete the dip with a fake, plastic spider to add some eight-legged approval before dipping.
Highlighting the vegetarian choice, stir together a can of refried beans, 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning and ¼ cup of taco sauce. Warm the beans up on the stovetop. Spread the bean mixture over the bottom of a glass pie plate, then add your favorite guacamole on top of the bean spread. To get festive, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of milk to sour cream, making it thin enough to put in a bottle, squeezing out a spider web design over the guacamole and bean spread. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup of chopped tomato, ½ cup of sliced black olives and 1 green onion thinly sliced. Serve the taco dip with warm tortilla chips.
This recipe calls to make guacamole accordingly: 1 ripe avocado, 1 teaspoon of lime juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of garlic powder.
Not looking for a meatless version? No worries! Before adding the guacamole over the warm bean mixture, simply add 1 pound of cooked ground beef or shredded chicken to cover the beans.
Monster Mash Halloween Brownies
Looking to fulfill a sugar high? These fun Monster Mash brownies have the sticky-sweet, ooey-gooey goodness of fudgey chocolate chips. Magically swirled with bright purple and green buttercream, this treat has a trick inside. Completed with a plethora of sprinkles, this recipe is adaptable for homemade or store bought brownie mix.
Here’s a trick: use store bought super fudgy brownie mix to cut back on time and ingredients. Stick 1 cup of peanut butter cups directly into the batter before baking to add an extra dose of chocolate. To prevent the brownies from sticking, spray the baking pan with butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray, line with parchment paper and coat the paper with more non-stick spray.
The ingredients for the brownies depend on which store bought box is purchased. For the buttercream frosting, combine 1 cup of room temperature butter with 4 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature. Thoroughly combine the butter and cream cheese mixture with 4 cups of powdered sugar until crumbly. Gradually add 5-6 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream and ½ teaspoon vanilla. In separate bowls, divide the frosting and mix in half and add purple and green gel food coloring to the halves until the desired shades are acquired.
Once the brownies have finished baking and cooling for 15 minutes, frost the brownies with a generous amount of icing, alternating colors. Using a wooden skewer or knife will help create a swirl pattern. Deck out the brownies with sprinkles and an optional helping of additional candy, cut into squares and enjoy.
Cupcake Vineyards Vampirita Party Punch
Warning: this recipe contains alcohol. This recipe can be made alcohol-free as a mocktail for Otters under the age of 21.
This fruity, flavorful Halloween punch is sure to win over the goblins and ghouls of your Halloween night. It’s garlic-free, so even vampires can enjoy. How do you make the concoction? It’s relatively simple and easy, requiring only seven ingredients in total. For a smokey effect, you can add dry ice to the punch bowl to make it appear as a witches cauldron. Be careful not to consume the dry ice itself, as it falls to the bottom of the glass.
Start by pouring in 1 bottle of Cupcake Vineyards red velvet wine over regular – not dry- ice. Next, pour in 4 cups of blackberry juice and 4 cups of blood orange soda. After adding the juice and soda, mix in 3 cups of tequila – the brand of tequila used is the preference of the consumer. Complete with 1 cup of lime juice and a sliced orange on top for flavor and decoration. Bam! A terrifyingly delicious cocktail perfect for spooky nights.
Looking for the mocktail version? Simply exclude the red wine and substitute either cranberry or raspberry juice and withhold the tequila.