Source: Jenifoto, AdobeStock A vibrant, themed holiday like Halloween absolutely calls for a special menu. In this collection, you'll find recipes that not only look fantastic but are also incredibly easy to prepare. Minimum fuss, maximum atmosphere and fun! Grab a few drops of food coloring, a dash of patience, and let's get cooking!
1. Halloween Glazed Cookies
Source: AdobeStock Add different food colorings to the glaze and experiment with your decorations.
You will need:
For the dough: 250 g butter, 2 eggs, 250 g sugar, 500 g flour, 80 g cocoa, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp salt, spices to taste.
For the glaze: 100 g egg white, 400 g powdered sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice, food colorings.
Preparation: Mix softened butter with sugar, beat in eggs, and mix again. Combine dry ingredients and thoroughly knead into a smooth dough. Roll it out thinly, cut into shapes, and bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
Whisk egg whites, powdered sugar, and lemon juice with a mixer until smooth and uniform. Divide the glaze into portions and add your desired food colorings to each. Cover the cookies with glaze. First, create a thin outline, then fill in the entire surface.
2. Stuffed Spider Eggs
Source: AdobeStock A simple, delicious, and foolproof appetizer for your holiday table.
You will need: 5 eggs, 2 crab sticks, 50 g hard cheese, 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 clove garlic, 1 handful of olives, salt, spices.
Preparation: Boil, cool, peel, and halve the eggs. Grate the cheese, crab sticks, and garlic on a fine grater, mash the yolks, mix everything with mayonnaise, and season. Fill the egg whites with the mixture and decorate with olive spiders.
3. Halloween Pumpkin Muffins
Source: AdobeStock Decorate the finished muffins with cream, sprinkles, or glaze to your taste.
You will need: 300 g pumpkin, 2 eggs, 100 ml vegetable oil, 300 g flour, 150 g sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 handful of walnuts, salt, spices.
Preparation: Boil or bake the pumpkin, mash it into a puree, and mix with vegetable oil and eggs. Add all dry ingredients, and finally, chopped nuts. Spoon the batter into muffin molds and bake for 25 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
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4. Mummy Sausages in Puff Pastry
Source: AdobeStock Minimum effort, but what a creative result!
You will need: 500 g ready-made puff pastry, 10-12 sausages.
Preparation: Cut the puff pastry into strips and haphazardly wrap them around the sausages to make them look like mummies. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius or fry in plenty of oil until golden brown. Draw faces on them if you wish.
5. Witch Finger Cookies
Source: AdobeStock A Halloween classic, popular worldwide.
You will need: 200 g butter, 1 egg, 300 g flour, 100 g powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 handfuls of almonds.
Preparation: Mix flour, baking powder, and vanilla sugar, make a well in the center, and crack in the egg. Add the cold butter, diced, and quickly knead into a soft, elastic dough.
Wrap it in cling film, refrigerate for half an hour, then divide into portions and shape into fingers. Make fingernails from whole almonds or almond halves. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
6. Pumpkin Cream Soup with Spiders
Source: AdobeStock You can also draw the spiderweb using cream cheese.
You will need: 700 g pumpkin, 1 onion, 2-3 cloves garlic, 250 ml cream, salt, spices, balsamic glaze, bread.
Preparation: Chop and lightly sauté the onion and garlic directly in a pot. Add the chopped pumpkin and fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring. Pour in 600-800 ml of water, bring to a boil, season, and simmer the soup for 10 minutes over low heat without a lid.
Then, blend the mixture until smooth, pour in the warm cream, season again, and cook the soup for another 3 minutes after boiling. Ladle the finished soup into bowls and use balsamic glaze to draw a spiderweb. Cut out spiders from bread, toast them in a pan, and add them to the soup.
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7. Halloween Pumpkin Sushi
Source: AdobeStock They say all genius is simple – and we won't argue!
You will need: 200 g round grain rice, 200 ml water, 4-5 tsp rice vinegar, sugar, salt, 150 g red fish, nori.
Preparation: Rinse the rice thoroughly, cover it with water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12-15 minutes with the lid on over low heat until the water is absorbed. Then, remove the pot from the heat and let the rice sit with the lid on for another 10 minutes.
Mix rice vinegar, salt, and sugar to taste, season the rice, mix everything with a wooden spatula, and let it cool. With wet hands, form round balls and cover each with a thin slice of red fish. Make faces for the pumpkins from pieces of nori and serve.
8. Halloween Pumpkin Cookies
Source: AdobeStock If you wish, sandwich them in pairs with any cream or Nutella and make teeth from marshmallows.
You will need: 500 g pumpkin, 250 g butter, 1-2 eggs, 500-550 g flour, 400 g sugar, 15 g vanilla sugar, 15 g baking powder, 100 g pumpkin seeds, spices.
Preparation: Prepare and cool pumpkin puree in advance using any convenient method. Mix softened butter with sugar and beat in the eggs. Mix again, add the pumpkin puree, then the flour with baking powder.
Fold most of the seeds into the dough and, using a spoon or pastry bag, place the cookies onto parchment paper. Sprinkle with the remaining seeds and bake for 20 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
9. Ghost Pizza
Source: AdobeStock Kids and adults alike will surely be delighted!
You will need: 1 ready-made pizza base, 2 tomatoes, 150 g sausage or ham, 150 g mushrooms, 150 g mozzarella, 6 tbsp tomato sauce, olives.
Preparation: Spread tomato sauce on the pizza base and arrange slices of tomatoes and sausage. Halve the mushrooms, cut out eyes and mouths, and arrange them on the pizza. Next, cut the mozzarella into ghost shapes and also arrange them on top. Make eyes and mouths for them from olives. Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.
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10. Spider Meatballs
Source: AdobeStock Serve them alone or with a side dish, as you prefer.
You will need: 500 g ground meat, 1 onion, 50-100 g white bread, 50 ml milk, 1 egg yolk, salt, spices, pretzel sticks, mayonnaise, olives.
Preparation: Soak the bread in milk, grate the onion, and thoroughly mix all ingredients with the ground meat. If it's too stiff, add a little ice water. Beat the mixture, refrigerate for half an hour, then form patties with wet hands. Fry them until cooked through in a pan over medium heat. Make spider legs from pretzel sticks, and faces from mayonnaise and olives.
11. Spider Cookies
Source: AdobeStock Simple to make and yet very original.
You will need: 200 g butter, 2 eggs, 200 g powdered sugar, 500-600 g flour, 100 g chocolate, round chocolate candies, rice crisps.
Preparation: Mix softened butter with powdered sugar, beat in eggs, and gradually incorporate the flour. Roll out and cut the dough, then bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler, draw spider legs with it, and add a chocolate candy on top for the body. Attach rice crisps for eyes using leftover chocolate and draw pupils.
12. Hot Halloween Sandwiches
Source: AdobeStock Even a standard snack can be festive and themed.
You will need: 1 loaf of bread, 2 tomatoes, 150-200 g sausage, 150 g hard cheese, ketchup, olives.
Preparation: Slice the bread, spread with ketchup, and arrange slices of sausage and tomatoes. Cut the cheese into strips and place on top. Make eyes from olives. Bake the sandwiches for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
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13. Ghost Meringues
Source: AdobeStock Another Halloween classic – how can you resist?
You will need: 1-2 egg whites, 50 g sugar, 50 g powdered sugar, dark chocolate.
Preparation: Whisk egg whites with a mixer until lightly foamy and, continuing to whisk, gradually add sugar, then powdered sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form and, using a pastry bag, pipe the mixture onto parchment paper. Dry the meringues for 1-1.5 hours in the oven at 60-80 degrees Celsius. Make eyes and mouths from melted chocolate.
14. Halloween Pumpkin Cheesecake
Source: AdobeStock Decorate it with a spiderweb made from melted chocolate or figures made from fondant.
You will need: 300 g chocolate cookies, 100 g butter, 400 g pumpkin, 500 g cream cheese, 1 egg, 100 ml heavy cream, 100-120 g powdered sugar, 0.5 tbsp cornstarch, spices.
Preparation: Prepare and cool pumpkin puree in advance. Crush the cookies, mix them with melted softened butter, and press into a springform pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Whisk pumpkin puree, cream cheese, egg, cream, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and spices with a mixer.
Pour the mixture onto the crust, bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees Celsius, then for 50-60 minutes at 110 degrees Celsius. Let it cool in the turned-off oven, then leave it on the counter for several hours, and finally refrigerate overnight. Decorate the cheesecake for Halloween.
15. Halloween Cupcakes
Source: AdobeStock Use any festive decorations you like.
You will need:
For the batter: 100 g butter, 150 ml milk, 2 eggs, 100 g sugar, 200 g flour, 10 g baking powder, 4 tbsp cocoa.
For the cream: 200 g cream cheese, 150 g sour cream, 100 g sugar, 15 g gelatin, food coloring.
Preparation: Whisk softened butter with sugar until fluffy, beat in eggs, pour in milk, then add dry ingredients. Mix into a smooth batter, spoon it into cupcake molds, and bake for 20 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees Celsius.
Whisk sour cream with sugar, add cream cheese, and whisk again. Add a drop of food coloring. Dissolve gelatin in water according to package instructions and carefully fold it into the cream. Refrigerate this cream for 10-15 minutes to thicken slightly, then use it to decorate the cupcakes and refrigerate everything until set.