Create Halloween Traditions With 3 Easy Treats

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Halloween is one of those great times of year for creating awesome family memories. Think back to your favorite Halloween. Several images have probably already popped into your brain. It's a time of year that’s fun, scary and delicious. Kids (and parents) wait impatiently for the night they can put on their costumes and go trick-or-treating. But the costumes are not the only reason that these moments are so ingrained in our memory bank. It is the smells and the textures - carving pumpkins is alot of fun but it is also a gooey, icky mess (which is a big part of the fun).

 When we think of Halloween we think of candy corn and the mini versions of our favorite candy bar. Still, another great way to fill your house with the Halloween spirit is to cook up something yummy and pumpkinny. 

 Here are three unique Halloween treats to add to your October traditions:


Halloween Whoopie Pies


This recipe from Joyofbaking.com can be turned into an activity for the kids to do every year (kind of like decorating Easter eggs). It uses Halloween colors (black and orange), and lets you decorate silly faces like sugary Jack-o-Lanterns.

 To make the cookies:
  • Mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
  • Beat 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a separate bowl.
  • Add 1 egg to the butter and sugar mixture, and then add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat together well.
  • In a separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup coffee (or water).
  • Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixtures together.
  • Place heaping spoonfuls of the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake 9 to 10 minutes.

 While the chocolate cookies are baking, make a few different colors of icings: purple, orange, cream or multicolored ones. Give each child a pastry bag to decorate the whoopie pies. If you don't have pastry bags, make some from sandwich bags. Fill the corner of the bags with icing, and have each child decorate a pie with smiley faces, pumpkins or whatever ideas they come up with. They will be sure to love this sweet creation for years to come.

Pumpkin Cheesecake


This treat is great for older kids and adults. What’s great about this cheesecake recipe from Kraft is that you can make it in three steps, and it doesn’t require a lot of fancy ingredients.

 To make the cheesecake:
  • Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Beat 2 packages of creem cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a dash of cloves and nutmeg.
  • Add 2 eggs and beat until smooth.
  • Pour batter into a pre-made crust.
  • Bake for 40 minutes.
  • Cool and refrigerate for 3 hours.


Candy Corn Parfaits


What’s Halloween without candy corn? Instead of just eating the store bought candy, try putting your own icy twist on this classic from Food Network.

 To make the parfait:
  • Peel a large orange, and remove the membranes and white pith.
  • Cut the segments, and mix with 1 to 2 tablespoons of orange juice (or orange liqueur for an adult version).
  • Let it sit for 10 minutes.
  • Place 3 tablespoons lemon curd at the bottom of your glass.
  • Top the lemon curd with a thin layer of whipped cream.
  • Put the oranges on top.
  • Top off with a dollop of whipped cream.
  • Sprinkle with shortbread cookies (to make it extra fancy).

 Halloween is a fun, creative time of year. There are many of opportunities to create traditions and spend time together. It's not just the costumes that we remember but also those great Halloween smells around the house too. Have fun, and happy Halloween.

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