Halloween’s never really been my favorite holiday. Deciding on a costume, procuring all the stuff needed for that costume without spending a fortune, then battling the crowds at the top parties…I was over it by about age 23, I gotta admit.
However, I do LOVE pumpkin carving. So this weekend, we invited our nearest and dearest over for a little pumpkin carving fun, and that gave my the opportunity to make some super-fun Halloween themed treats, including ghost tea sandwiches, a guacamole graveyard, deviled egg eyeballs, and chocolate dipped pretzel rods.
Recipes for everything after the jump! (Press “continue reading” to see more!)
Ghost Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf thin-sliced white bread
- 2 pkgs smoked salmon or lox
- 1 small tub of cream cheese
- fresh dill
- black pepper
- black gel decorating icing
Directions:
- At least two hours before you even begin to think about starting this recipe, do yourself a favor: take the cream cheese out of the fridge and let it start to thaw to room temperature. You cannot do this with cold cream cheese, you’ll just end up with a lot of ripped bread.
- Once your cream cheese is properly thawed, spread a thin layer of cream cheese on two pieces of bread.
- Grind some fresh black pepper on your cream cheese, and tear some fresh dill – maybe 2-3 sprigs per sandwich.
- Layer with your smoked salmon, and combine. Then, using a ghost shaped cookie cutter (we got ours at Wal Mart) press firmly down through the entire sandwich. You may need to trace the edge with a sharp knife to cut through any stringy salmon bits.
- Remove the excess bread and release your ghost sandwich. Then, using your gel icing, paint two “I”s for eyes and an “O” for a mouth. Voila! This recipe makes about 10 large tea sandwiches.
Guacamole Graveyard
Ingredients:
- 4 medium avocados
- Juice of two large limes
- 8 oz store made pico de gallo (if you can’t find store made, finely dice the meat of one large tomato–no seeds or juice–, a quarter of a white onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 small jalapeno (cored and de-seeded), and chopped cilantro to taste)
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- black gel decorating icing
- Pita chips
Directions:
- Peel, core, and cube all the avocados. Add the lime juice and spices, then mash with a fork until you reach the desired consistency.
- Fold in the pico de gallo until well combined. Then, spoon into a square baking dish, and level out with the back of a spoon.
- Draw “graves” with the get icing by piping rectangles shapes onto the field of guacamole. Then, pipe “epitaphs” onto the pita chips to serve as your “gravemarkers”. Put a pita chip at the head of each “grave”.
Deviled Egg Eyeballs
Ingredients:
- 1 Dozen Eggs
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsbp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp sweet relish
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- 1 small tin of sliced black olives
Directions:
- Put your dozen eggs in the bottom of a large pot and cover with one inch of water. Add in your 1 tsp of baking soda and stir until dissolved. Then, heat over high heat until the water comes to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for another three minutes.
- Drain your eggs, and allow to cool. Roll each egg on a hard surface to crack the shell, then peel. (Including the baking soda should make this an easy job.) Slice eggs in half, length wise.
- Scoop out the yolk into a mixing bowl, and combine with the mayo, dijon, and relish until combined. Season with salt and pepper until combined.
- Pipe your yolk mixture back into the center of your whites, and place on a plattter. Sprinkle with paprika, then top each egg with a sliced olive to serve as your “retina”.
Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
Ingredients:
- 1 bag pretzel rods
- 1 bag dark chocolate morsels
- Halloween-themed sprinkles or colored royal icing
Directions
- For this recipe, you’ll want to use a double boiler. Find a glass pyrex bowl or metal mixing bowl that fits snuggly on top of a saute pan. Add a couple inches of water (not enough to touch bottom of top bowl) then bring to a boil.
- In the top bowl, add your melting chocolate. Using a silicone spatula, stir regularly.
- Once fully melted, dip half of your pretzel sticks into the chocolate, using the spatula to wipe off extra. Place recently dipped rods on parchment or wax paper.
- If you’re using sprinkles, apply before your chocolate dries. If you’re using icing, let the chocolate sit up a bit before adding.
- Let dry for at least 4 hours in the fridge.
