Eerie Edibles Transform Classic Candies Into Frightful Treats

Last updated Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:31 AM CDT in Food Nwa

By FAMILY FEATURES

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

Red food coloring

1/2 cup red decorator's sugar

1 tube vanilla frosting

Combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Slowly add flour mixture into dough until blended. Add enough food coloring to tint dough a bright red. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

Using a rolling pin, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Use the printable templates or cookie cutter to cut out 24 lip shapes. Otherwise, you can form the dough into 24 balls and flatten each slightly to create free-form shaped lips using your hands to pinch and shape the dough. Transfer these to prepared cookie sheets. Re-roll scraps if necessary.

Sprinkle cookies with red sugar. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and immediately press an unwrapped mini into center of each cookie. Cool completely. Use vanilla frosting to pipe fangs over the candy.

Servings: 24.

Whacky Batty Cupcakes

1 bag Milky Way Fun Size Bars

1 bag M&M'S Milk Chocolate Candies

1 bag M&M'S Peanut Chocolate Candies

1 18.25-ounce chocolate cake mix

1 can (16-ounce) vanilla frosting

Yellow food coloring

1 cup dark chocolate frosting

Black food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions and spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Place 1/2 of a Milky Way in the center of each cupcake. Bake for approximately 19 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tint vanilla frosting bright yellow with food coloring. Tint chocolate frosting black with the food coloring and spoon into a resealable bag.

Spread top of cupcakes with yellow frosting. Roll edges in to the decorating sugar if desired. Place one or two black M&M'S Milk Chocolate and M&M'S Peanut Chocolate Candies on top of each cupcake as the bats' bodies. Snip a small corner from the bag with the black frosting. Pipe bat wings on the either side of each M&M'S and ears on top of each M&M'S.

Servings: 24.

Crispy Pumpkin Treats

1 bag Snickers Fun Size

2 bags Dove Miniatures Dark or Milk Chocolate

1 bag M&M'S Milk Chocolate Candies for Halloween

1 cup soft caramels

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 bag (10 ounces) marshmallows

8 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup vanilla frosting

Orange food coloring

10 1/2-by-15 1/2 inch jelly roll pan

Foil or wax paper

2 or 3-inch metal pumpkin cookie cutters or our printable template

Lollipop sticks or skewers

Styrofoam

Small harvest basket

Melt caramels, butter and marshmallows on stove or in microwave. Fold in cereal and 2 cups chopped Snickers Fun Size, stir until well coated. With lightly buttered hands, press mixture evenly into a foil lined jelly roll pan.

Melt Dove Miniatures Dark or Milk Chocolate and spread evenly over mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Using cookie cutters or our printable template, cut treats out from pan.

Tint frosting orange and transfer to resealable plastic bag with a snipped corner. Pipe detail on pumpkins, using photo as a guide and decorate with M&M'S Milk Chocolate Candies for Halloween.

Press stick into bottom of pumpkins, pressing other end into a Styrofoam-filled harvest basket. Cover Styrofoam with M&M'S Milk Chocolate Candies for Halloween.

Servings: 6.

-- BrightIdeas.com

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