Today's blog isn't necessarily about gifts. But it is creative!
Actually, I think the best gifts are thoughtful little gestures that you do for family and friends, like tucking a specially decorated Halloween cookie in their lunch or serving a special dessert for Halloween supper.
Yes, I know you can go out and buy cakes, cookies and cupcakes decorated with orange frosting and little plastic pumpkins. But I still think they know the difference and truly appreciate the extra time and effort you took to make it yourself.
If your busy schedule prevents you from making special foods from scratch, consider using mixes to decrease the preparation time. Bisquick-mix pancakes become a special fall treat when you add a bit of canned pumpkin and some pumpkin spice. A brownie mix eliminates the need to assemble and measure ingredients, giving you more time to focus on creative decorating.
To save even more time, use pre-made, packaged items and embellish them. For example, graham crackers can be dipped in white chocolate and then piped with "R.I.P" using black frosting. Nutter Butter cookies can also be dipped in melted white chocolate to look like ghosts; use mini chocolate chips for their eyes.
You don't have to reserve those special touches for dessert, either. Your refrigerator's vegetable bin is filled with potential treats for Halloween. That orange sweet pepper could be transformed into a jack-o-lantern by cutting eyes and a mouth in it. Or that small celery stalk can be turned into a green spider by cutting the stalk in strips (leaving the end intact) and then soaking the celery in ice water so it curls.
The possibilities are endless!
Here are some of my favorite websites for easy Halloween food.
The Nabisco website has 28 recipes of Halloween themed food including Monster cookie pops made with Fig Newton(r) cookies, Boo Cups made with chocolate pudding and a spider web pizza spread made with spaghetti sauce. Most of the recipes take just 10-15 minutes to prepare.
http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/RecipeSearchResults.aspx?keywords=halloween
The Hershey's website has a variety of recipes using Hershey's kisses, chocolate syrup, Reese's(r) pieces and more. Click here to check it out.
Check out their eyeball cookies made with Whoppers Malt Balls:
The Mars website has a very creative cookie called "Vampire Bites" using Milky Way(r) mini candy bars. Here is the link to that recipe:
Or you can search all their recipes by clicking here.
If you have favorite websites for quick Halloween treats, please drop me a note and share them. I would love to hear about them!
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