Spaghetti & Hot Dog Spiders

I have to admit, even I am surprised how cute these turned out!  At first I wasn't sure how well they would be received...I have the girliest girl ever. I didn't know if she would think it was fun to make edible spiders or not?!?  Let me tell you, there was no need to worry- she absolutely loved them!  Looks like we'll be making them again, probably even after Halloween has long passed. Oh, and don't forget to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider while you are making them.  It is a must according to my little helper!

 What you need to make these:

Hot Dogs

Spaghetti Pasta

Ketchup

 Cut your hot dogs into bite size pieces.  I cut my hot dogs into quarters. 

 Then insert 1 piece of spaghetti at a time into the center of the hot dog.  I did 4 pieces of spaghetti her hot dog piece.

 I know, 4 legged spiders are not anatomically correct.  But that's what worked best so I went with it.  Thankfully Miss Hannah didn't call me out on it. 

 While you (or your little helpers) are threading the hot dog pieces with the spaghetti, bring a large pot of water to boil. 

 Carefully drop in the raw spiders into boiling water & cook until the pasta is tender.  So easy & fun!!

 When the spiders are cooked, carefully drain them.  I drained most of the water out of the pan & used tongs to plate the spiders. 

 Dot the hot dogs with ketchup for eyes!

 Creepy Crawly Spiders!

 Yummy!

 Spider Legs!

 I got an enthusiastic thumbs up for this super fun lunch!

Have Spiderific Halloween!!

Soft Pretzel Bones

These are my favorite this Halloween.  Big, buttery, soft pretzel sticks with the ends tied in knots to look like bones.  Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce- Jalapeno Cheese, Mustard or simply enjoy them by themselves! 

 Follow the directions for my Homemade Soft Pretzels to make the dough for these. 

 Once you have cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, roll each piece into a 24" rope.  Then cut in half.  Tie a knot in each end & place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

 Continue to follow the directions for boiling in a water & baking soda solution then baking. 

 These are bone chilling good! 

Pumpkin Shaped Tortilla Chips

 When I found these adorable pumpkin shaped cookie cutters I had to get them.  I've been making all kinds of pumpkin shaped things with them.  I've made sandwiches & quesadillas with the large one & I made these cute pumpkin shaped chips with the small one.  They were perfect at our Pumpkin Carving Party!

Using corn tortilla shells, cut out pumpkin shapes with the cookie cutter.  I got 1 whole pumpkin & 2 halves per tortilla. 

 Follow my Homemade Tortilla Chip recipe for frying. 

 I served with a bowl of salsa topped with a piped spider web of sour cream on the top- everyone loved it!!

Happy Halloween!!

Witches Wands

 These little treats are the perfect marriage of salty & sweet.  They are incredibly easy to make & look beautiful too!  They made the most adorable, edible center pieces for our Halloween party this year!

What you need to make these:

Chocolate Almond Bark

Pretzel Sticks

Halloween Sprinkles

In a small sauce pan, over the lowest heat, melt the almond bark stirring occasionally.  I did 8 squares for the pretzels here.  While the chocolate is melting, I laid a piece of parchment paper out on the counter.  And poured the sprinkles into glasses.  I would recommend putting the sprinkles in bowls though, a wider opening will make it easier to sprinkle on the the pretzels. 

When the chocolate is fully melted, dip the pretzel sticks into the chocolate & let the excess drip off.  If the chocolate is too thick, it will drip off into your sprinkles!  Working quickly, while the chocolate is still wet, add the sprinkles.  Don't dip the pretzels into the sprinkles, pinch the sprinkles in your fingers & while holding the chocolate dipped pretzel over the bowl, sprinkle them on.

We did 2 different types of sprinkles.  My favorite was the sparkly colored sugar!

This is a perfect project for little helpers.  The chocolate doesn't get too hot so they can easily help with dipping the pretzels or my daughter's favorite, adding the sprinkles!!

 I put them in glasses filled with candy to serve.  So cute & even more tasty!!

Mummy Dogs

I've been making these cute Mummy Dogs for years now.  It's sort of the Halloween version of Pigs in a Blanket.  They are super easy & always a crowd pleaser!

All you need to make these are store bought crescent rolls & hot dogs!  (Plus ketchup & mustard for the dipping web!)

Preheat the oven according to the crescent roll directions.  Unroll the crescent dough, & separate into squares.  A roll of 8 crescent rolls should make 4 squares.  Gently press the diagonally perforated line together.  Then cut into thin strips.  I used a knife this time but usually I use a pizza cutter to cut the strips. 

Wrap the strips around the hot dogs, mummy like.  Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I got about 2 hot dogs wrapped per square. 

Bake according to the crescent roll packaging. 

I make a web for dipping by squirting ketchup into a ramekin.  Then I make a round spiral on the top with mustard.  Using the point of a tooth pick, I make lines through the mustard, going from the center out.  Use mustard or ketchup to give the mummy eyes.

Happy Halloween!!

Candy Corn Shaped Pizza

This was a huge hit at our Pumpkin Carving Party this year.  It's pizza dough smothered in a mixture of butter, olive oil & garlic & topped with Cheddar & Mozzarella cheeses.  So cute & so yummy!

 Ingredients:

(see measurements in the directions below)

Pizza Dough

Melted Butter

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic Cloves

Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Directions:

I used my Homemade Pizza Dough & made a 16" pizza using a little over half of the dough.  I froze the rest of the dough for later.  To make this even easier, you could use store bought dough too.  (Just adjust the amount of toppings & cooking time accordingly.)

 Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Stretch & press the dough into a pizza pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray. 

Spread the minced garlic over the pizza dough.  For a pizza this size, I used 4 garlic cloves.  Drizzle the melted butter & olive oil over the garlic.  I used about 2 tbsp of each.  Using a pastry brush, spread the butter, olive oil & garlic evenly over the pizza, all the way to the edges. 

 Top the cheddar cheese around the outside edge of the pizza then fill in the center with mozzarella.  Bake in a preheated oven at 500 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting into wedges & serve.   

Yummy, like a big piece of cheesy garlic bread!
Happy Halloween!!

Ghoulishly Fun Halloween Cookies

 Make some spooky fun this Halloween with these adorable ghost & goblin cookies.  They are so incredibly quick & easy.  There's hardly any cooking involved, making this perfect for little kitchen helpers!

Here's what you need to make them:

Vanilla Flavored Almond Bark

Oreo Cookies

Nutter Butter Cookies

Mini Chocolate Chips
Toothpicks (optional)

Directions:

Heat the almond bark in a sauce pan over your stove's lowest level of heat. 

 You could use white chocolate chips too.  But I find that almond bark melts more smooth & easily.  Just to give you an idea of how much to use, I did about 12 of each type of cookie using about 8 squares of chocolate. 

 While the chocolate is melting, get your cookies ready.  I inserted tooth picks into the center to make them easier to dip.

 You'll need to be careful not to stick the toothpick too far into the the Nutter Butter cookies or they will come apart. 

You need to stir the chocolate occasionally while it melts, but as long as you keep the stove on low, this really is effortless. 

When the chocolate is melted, set up an assembly line.  I set out a sheet of parchment paper.  Then stacked up all the cookies at one end, with the melted chocolate. 

 Dip the cookies, one at a time into the chocolate, then lay flat on the parchment paper.  Put 2 mini chocolate chips on as eyes & allow the cookies to set.  My 4 year old was the perfect helper, she put the eyes on the ghosts & goblins while I dipped then in the chocolate.  Really, kids could dip cookies too.  The chocolate doesn't get too hot making this the ultimate kid friendly activity.

Let the cookies set on the parchment paper before you plate them.  I didn't time it, but probably 10-15 minutes.  You can leave the toothpicks in them & serve like little lollipops or take them out. 

BOO! 

Happy Halloween!!