Creatively Creepy Halloween Recipes

These are not your typically elegant tea cookies, but these eerily realistic finger cookies are as delicious as they are unnerving. This recipe from the blog Fleur de Sel is inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe, and modifies classic Russian tea cakes with strawberry jam and sliced almonds to add the gory features. To make the fingers:

• Beat 1 cup of unsalted butter.
• Add 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 3/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
• Form your fingers on a baking sheet.
• Add an almond sliver for the fingernail and strawberry jam for bloody effects.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Party guests may be scared to eat these sharp-looking cupcakes until they see how tasty they are. First, choose your favorite cupcake recipe (vanilla looks good with the fake red blood), and choose a white or light-colored frosting so the red shows well. BakeThenEat suggests a red velvet cupcake with white frosting. To make the sharp glass shards:

• Line a shallow pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
• Bring sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar to a boil in a saucepan, and stir constantly.
• Once it reaches 300 degrees, carefully pour the mixture into the lined pan.
• When the mixture is completely cool and hard, tap it with a heavy object to get the glass shards.
• Stick the shards on top of the cupcakes and drizzle red gel food coloring to complete your dangerous-looking dessert.

For a delicious pre-trick-or-treat dinner, make your kids a slithery snake calzone from Kraft Recipes to get their skin crawling. To create the snake shape:

• Roll out pizza dough into a large rectangle.
• Put in your favorite toppings (like pepperoni and black olives).
• Top with mozzarella and ricotta cheese, leaving a 1-inch border on either side.
• Next, roll up the toppings inside the dough and pinch the ends together to close the calzone.
• Then, shape the roll into an "S" with one end pointed for the tail and the other end rounded for the face.
• Beat an egg white and green food coloring together and brush the outside of the snake.
• For the finishing touch, add two black olive eyes and a pepperoni tongue to complete your snakey surprise.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

For the Halloween-loving adult crowd, some spooky libations are sure to get them in the holiday spirit. Halloween drinks don’t have to be cheesy either. Food and Wine features some classy cocktails to impress everyone at the costume party. For example, the dark and stormy death punch takes a new twist on the classic ginger beer and rum drink by adding lychees stuffed with brandied cherries. These not only resemble eyeballs, but are downright delicious. Another idea is the refreshing blood peach bellini. This striking red drink combines Campari with white peach puree and grenadine.