Serve up a suitably spooky spread with minimal effort using these easy Halloween recipes. There are even a couple of healthy options using apples and pears.
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The ACT Government has given trick or treating the green light, advising people to stick to their own suburb and not to venture into well-known "treat streets" further afield.
Halloween gingerbread ghost cookies
Ingredients:
125g butter
1/4 cup CSR Dark Brown Sugar
1/3 cup CSR Treacle Syrup
1 egg
2 1/2 cups White Wings Plain Flour, sifted
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bi-carb soda
Icing:
1 egg white
250g CSR Icing Sugar, sifted
white and black food colour
Method
Cookies:
1. Beat butter, dark brown sugar and treacle syrup until light and creamy. Add egg, beat well.
2. Combine flour, spices and bi-carb soda and stir into creamed mixture, mix until just combined.
3. Turn onto floured surface, knead one minute, adding a little extra flour if dough is sticky. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 180C.
5. Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface to 4mm thickness. Using a ghost-shaped cutters, cut shapes from dough.
6. Place shapes on baking trays, lined with baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread. Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Icing:
1. Beat egg white until frothy. Gradually add icing sugar, beating well after each addition. Continue until the icing is firm and holds its shape.
2. Divide mixture into portions and tint with colour as desired; mix well.
3. Pipe/spread icing onto biscuits decoratively.
Makes 24.
- Recipe courtesy of CSR and White Wings
Haunted Halloween gingerbread house
Ingredients
250g butter
200g CSR Brown Sugar
250ml CSR Treacle Syrup
2 egg yolks
750g White Wings Plain Flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Icing:
2 egg whites
2 tsp lemon juice
400g CSR Pure Icing Sugar
food Colouring
white icing pen
lollies to decorate
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced). Line four oven trays with baking paper.
2. Use an electric beater to beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add CSR treacle and egg yolks and beat until combined. Sift flour, ginger, mixed spice, and bicarbonate of soda and mix to a dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
3. Roll dough between two sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness on oven trays. Refrigerate for 30 mins. Cut shapes for house using patterns, re-rolling dough if necessary. Cut door from front panel and place 5 cm apart on one of the baking trays.
4. Remove top layer of baking paper. Bake gingerbread door for eight minutes and larger panels for 10-15 mins or until lightly browned. Allow to cool on oven trays.
5. Icing: Lightly beat egg whites. Add lemon juice, sifted sugar and beat until glossy and stiff. Keep covered with a damp cloth to prevent icing from hardening.
6. Assemble house using icing to hold pieces together. Use icing to stick on lollies and use white icing pen to write on house.
- Recipe courtesy of CSR and White Wings.
Chocolate Halloween cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
125g dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup water
125g butter, diced and softened
1 1/4 cups CSR Caster Sugar
3 extra large eggs
2 cups White Wings plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
14 cup cocoa
To decorate:
150g butter, diced and softened
125g CSR Chocolate Buttercream Icing mixture
125g CSR Vanilla Buttercream Icing mixture
6 tsp water
edible eyes
liquorice strips
black fondant icing
Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 150C fan-forced. Place large cake cases into muffin pans.
2. Combine chocolate and water in a saucepan and heat gently until chocolate has melted. Allow to cool.
3. Place butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, beating until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Gradually fold into the butter mixture until well combined. Add cooled chocolate mixture, beating until smooth. Spoon mixture between cake cases and bake for 30 mins. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. For the buttercream icing, divide butter into two mixing bowls then beat each until soft and creamy. Gradually add vanilla icing mix and 3 tsp water until mix is smooth. Transfer to a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe peaks on each cupcake. Repeat with chocolate buttercream icing mix. Decorate with edible eyes, liquorice strips and fondant icing shaped into witches hats.
Makes 12.
- Recipe courtesy of CSR and White Wings
Halloween gingerbread ghost cookies
Ingredients:
125g butter
1/4 cup CSR Dark Brown Sugar
1/3 cup CSR Treacle Syrup
1 egg
2 1/2 cups White Wings Plain Flour, sifted
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bi-carb soda
Icing:
1 egg white
250g CSR Icing Sugar, sifted
white and black food colour
Method
Cookies:
1. Beat butter, dark brown sugar and treacle syrup until light and creamy. Add egg, beat well.
2. Combine flour, spices and bi-carb soda and stir into creamed mixture, mix until just combined.
3. Turn onto floured surface, knead one minute, adding a little extra flour if dough is sticky. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 180C.
5. Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface to 4mm thickness. Using a ghost-shaped cutters, cut shapes from dough.
6. Place shapes on baking trays, lined with baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread. Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Icing:
1. Beat egg white until frothy. Gradually add icing sugar, beating well after each addition. Continue until the icing is firm and holds its shape.
2. Divide mixture into portions and tint with colour as desired; mix well.
3. Pipe/spread icing onto biscuits decoratively.
Makes 24.
- Recipe courtesy of CSR and White Wings
Choc chip peanut butter muffin ghosts
Ingredients
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup Mayver's smooth peanut butter
2 free-range eggs
100g butter, melted
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped into small chunks
Icing:
2 cans coconut cream, chilled in the fridge overnight
1-2 tsp stevia, adjusted to your liking
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 mini dark chocolate chips
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, on a fan forced setting.
2. Grease 10 holes of a muffin tray and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl.
4. Next, add the peanut butter, eggs, melted butter and coconut milk to the bowl and stir well to combine.
5. Stir through the chocolate chips and divide the muffin mixture amongst the muffin tray.
6. Place the muffins in the oven to cook for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry.
7. After this time, remove the muffins from the oven and allow to sit for five minutes.
8. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
9. Remove the coconut cream from the fridge. Do not shake or mix the can. Scoop out all of the solid coconut cream and place it in a bowl. Avoid the liquid, leaving that in the can.
10. Add the stevia and vanilla to the bowl and use a hand mixer to whip the cream, until creamy and smooth.
11. Place the coconut cream icing in a piping bag with a round attachment. Pipe the mixture onto each muffin.
12. Once the muffins have been iced, make the eyes by adding two mini chocolate chips to each.
Makes 10.
- Recipe by Sam Wood for Mayvers.
Ghost cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup Mayver's Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup caster sugar (or sugar alternative)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups plain flour, sifted
white icing and candy eyes, to decorate
Method
1. Place butter and Mayver's Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, egg and vanilla and pulse until well combined.
2. Stir in baking powder and flour. Place in the fridge for one hour to rest.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan forced) and line three baking trays with baking paper.
4. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out dough on a large sheet of baking paper until 4-5mm thick. Cut out ghosts with your desired cutter and place onto lined baking trays. Repeat with remaining mixture.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
6. Decorate with icing and candy eyes.
Makes approximately 30.
- Recipe by Susie Burrell for Mayvers
Halloween pumpkin cupcakes
Ingredients
1/3 cup Mayver's Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
salt
2 cups wholemeal plain flour
Icing:
60g light creamed cheese
20g butter, softened
orange food colouring
12 Pretzel twigs
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a 24 mini muffin tray with butter.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the Mayver's Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter and maple syrup with a whisk, then beat in the eggs. Mix in the pumpkin puree, milk, baking soda, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and a pinch of salt.
3. Add the flour and stir through until just mixed, don't over mix.
4. Distribute the mixture between 24 mini muffin holes. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden and when a bamboo skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. To make the icing, beat together creamed cheese, butter. Add a few drops of food colour and mix, continue to add drops of colour and mixing until you have a pumpkin orange colour.
7. Smear a heaped tablespoon of icing onto cooled cupcake with a butter knife and smooth out. Use the back edge of the knife to create six grooves from the middle of the cupcake to make the pumpkin look. Stick a pretzel twig into the middle of each cupcake to make the stalk of the pumpkin.
Makes 24.
- Recipe by Susie Burrell for Mayvers
Wiltshire's Halloween spooky slice
Ingredients
Brownie layer:
200g dark chocolate, chopped
200g unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
White rocky road layer:
80g white mini marshmallows
70g milk arrowroot biscuits, broken into pieces
150g snakes (green, orange and purple), roughly chopped
cup desiccated coconut
360g white chocolate, chopped
Topping:
180g block Cadbury Dairy Milk peppermint, divided into squares
200g milk chocolate, chopped
8-10 white marshmallows
small and large candy eyeballs
Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C (fan forced). Line a Wiltshire Easybake square brownie pan with baking paper, ensuring the baking paper rises at least 2cm above the pan (these will be used as handles to pull the slice out of the pan once set).
2. To make the brownie layer, combine chocolate and butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Set aside to cool for two minutes, then add the eggs and whisk well. Stir in the flour and coconut, then spread into the base of your lined pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. To make the rocky road layer, combine the marshmallows, biscuits, snakes and coconut in a large bowl. Place the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in short bursts on half power, stirring between each burst, until completely melted. Combine the melted white chocolate with the other ingredients and stir well until completely combined. Pour into the brownie pan, on top of the brownie layer and level with an offset spatula. Using a sheet of baking paper, press down on the top of the rocky road layer to ensure it is compact and level. Top evenly with the Cadbury peppermint chocolate squares and set aside in the fridge to set.
4. Once set, melt the milk chocolate in the microwave using the same method as the white chocolate. Working quickly, spoon a teaspoon full of chocolate over each peppermint chocolate square, then pour the remaining chocolate on top of the slice and tilt the pan to move the chocolate around and ensure the top of the rocky road is covered. Set aside in the fridge to set completely, preferably overnight.
5. To decorate the top of your slice, remove the slice from the pan and place it on a board. Microwave the marshmallows for 20 seconds until melted, then stir with a spoon to combine. Leave for 30-45 seconds. Using just your fingertips, dip both hands in the melted marshmallow then press the fingertips of your hands together and pull them apart to form "cobwebs". Lay the cobwebs over your slice then repeat with more cobwebs until you are happy with coverage. If marshmallow cobwebs do not form, then the mixture may either be too hot or too cold. Either leave it to sit a little longer or reheat the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds. Top with candy eyeballs and serve!
- Recipe by Chewton for Wiltshire.
Bat crackers with roasted beetroot and apple dip
Ingredients
6 small tortillas
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp fine salt
1 Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup roasted beetroot
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup aioli
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Use a bat-shaped cutter on the tortillas, then arrange the shapes on a lined oven tray. Mix the oil, seasoning and salt, brush onto the bats, then bake for 15-18 minutes, until crisp. Cool on a wire rack.
2. Grate the apple coarsely and squeeze out the excess liquid. Put in a food processor with the beetroot, garlic and aioli and puree until smooth. Serve with the crackers.
Makes 48.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador
Jack-o-lantern devilled eggs
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
sea salt flakes and freshly-ground white pepper
1 slice prosciutto, sliced into fine strips
2 chives, cut into 2cm lengths
Method
1. Place the eggs in a saucepan of cold water and set over a moderate heat. Bring to a simmer then cook for eight minutes. Immerse in iced water until completely cold. Peel, then halve with a wet knife.
2. Gently scoop out the yolks and mash in a bowl with a fork. Mix in the mayonnaise and spices. Season with salt and pepper. Pipe back into the eggs. Decorate with prosciutto lines and a chive stem.
Makes 12.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador
Spider bites
Ingredients
1 ready-to-use pizza base
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
24 pitted black olives
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Use a 6cm round cutter to make 12 discs from the pizza base. Arrange on a lined oven tray then top with sauce and cheese. Bake for 12 minutes, until the cheese is just golden.
2. Halve 18 olives lengthways and six olives across the middle. Use a long olive half for the spider bodies and an end piece for the head of each. Slice the remaining halved into four pieces each and arrange on the pizzas to make the spider legs.
Makes 12.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador
Funny monster apples
Ingredients
2 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1/4 cup rockmelon
candy eyes, to decorate
Method
1. Cut the apples into quarters, then cut a wedge out of the middle of each with a small knife. Fill with peanut butter.
2. Insert flaked almonds into the top and bottom of the open wedge to make teeth. Cut the rockmelon into small thin triangles and place in the mouths as tongues. Stick on candy eyes with a small amount of peanut butter.
Makes 8.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador
Mummy pops
Ingredients
1/2 Madeira cake
200g dark chocolate melts
1/2 cup chocolate sprinkles
100g white chocolate melts
candy eyes, to decorate
Method
1. Cut the cake into four slices, then make two 6cm discs out of each with a biscuit cutter, then insert a paddle pop stick into each. Freeze until firm.
2. Melt the dark chocolate and coat the cakes, then finish with sprinkles. Melt the white chocolate and load into a piping bag with a fine tip and pipe on to make mummy bandages. Stick candy eyes on with the remaining white chocolate.
Makes 8.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador
Roasted pear spooky mummies
Ingredients
8 pears
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
candy eyes, to decorate
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Use a melon ball to remove the pear cores from the base, then use a small knife to slice off the cheeks of the pears. Reserve the pear trimmings for another use.
2. Slice the pastry into fine strips, then wrap around the pears in overlapping layers to make bandages. Brush with the egg, arrange on lined oven trays, then bake for 18 minutes, until golden and crisp. Decorate with candy eyes.
Makes 8.
- Recipe courtesy of Ed Halmagyi, Mitsubishi Electric Australia Ambassador