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55 frightfully fun Halloween dessert ideas

55 frightfully fun Halloween dessert ideas

Hosting a houseful of hungry ghosts and goblins this year? You’re going to need a few sweet treats! So we’ve rounded up our best Halloween baking ideas: creepy cookies, cakes, cupcakes and more! Wondering where to start? This candy corn-themed pie is one of our favorites. The colorful layers are tinted naturally with lemon juice, fresh mango and coconut milk so the finished dessert has a pleasantly tropical flavor — but looks just like the beloved Halloween candy. The pie is piled high with fluffy meringue (that’s toasted with a kitchen torch until browned and extra delicious) and then decorated with pieces of candy corn for a dessert that’s sure to keep your guests spellbound.

Get the Recipe: Layered Candy Corn Pie

Red Velvet Vampire Cupcakes

What looks like a gory encounter with the Count himself is just raspberry jam brightened with a drop of red food coloring. And if you dare sink your own teeth into them, you’ll find that more raspberry jam and chocolate await in the center.

Get the Recipe: Red Velvet Vampire Cupcakes

Break out your gingerbread man cookie cutter early this year; it’s just the tool you need to make these easy cookies. With a little icing, you can pipe your way to frightfully fun Halloween treats.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Cinnamon Skeleton Cookies

Stuffed Rice Crispy Cereal Brain

Want something ghoulishly delicious? This gory brain is really a giant crispy rice cereal treat filled with silky chocolate mousse.

Get the Recipe: Stuffed Crispy Rice Cereal Brain

His and hers Halloween shakes (one mint, one vanilla) are made in a single batch, then dressed up for the holiday in this ultimate trick-or-treat.

Get the Recipe: Frankenshake and Bride of Frankenshake

Halloween Cheesecake

Add some extra Halloween flair to pumpkin cheesecake with a classic jack-o’-lantern brownie grin.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Cheesecake

Everyone at your Halloween party will be love these creepy treats: decadently rich and fudgy brownies topped with a gooey marshmallow spider web and adorable candy spiders.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Brownies

Halloween Hot Cocoa Bombs

This simple method for tempering chocolate will give you smooth, shiny hot cocoa bombs. Use a good-quality bittersweet chocolate with at least 70% cacao for best results. You can make the bombs ahead of time, but wait until right before serving to cover them in the webbing.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Hot Cocoa Bombs

These spider cookies are entertaining for little ones and adults to make together. From pushing chocolate candies into warm cookies, to drawing spider legs with chocolate and making silly eyes, there’s plenty of fun for everyone.

Get the Recipe: Scary Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Brain

Spook your friends and serve a creepy brain, complete with fruit syrup “blood,” on Halloween. This no-bake strawberry cheesecake is made in a plastic mold to look hauntingly real.

Get the Recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Brain

These easy-to-make pops have tart apple slices underneath a webbed chocolate shell.

Get the Recipe: Apple Spider Web Pops

Mummy Hand Pies

Wrap up your dessert prep with Halloween-inspired hand pies you can make ahead of time and serve later.

Get the Recipe: Mummy Hand Pies

Go ahead and take a big bite out of these enchanting apples! They may look like they’re under a spell but you’ll find that they’re perfectly sweet and delicious.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Candy-Coated Apples

Ghostly Cupcakes

Spook your guests with these “boo-tiful” cupcakes topped with chocolate ghosts. For the design, you simply glaze plain cupcakes with melted dark and white chocolate.

Get the Recipe: Ghostly Cupcakes

Although it looks almost like a cake, this graveyard is made up of individual cupcakes, making it a self-serve party option. Just grab your cupcake and go — no knives necessary.

Get the Recipe: Pull-Apart Graveyard Cupcakes

Coconut Bones

Follow Giada’s recipe to transform store-bought pizza dough into a sweet two-bite snack with a “bloody” raspberry dipping sauce.

Get the Recipe: Coconut Bones

Sprinkle chocolate-glazed doughnut holes with festively colored nonpareils for sweet treats everyone will want to munch on.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Doughnut Holes

Cinnamon Cereal Treat Mummies

Conjure up some Halloween fun with these yummy mummy cereal treats. Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each treat to make a grab-and-go snack for your favorite little monsters.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Cereal Treat Mummies

This versatile pie can morph to fit many moods. Freeze it for an icy delight, or just refrigerate instead if you’re looking for something a little softer (or you run out of time). Or leave out the candy all together for something a little less rich. You decide.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Candy Pie

Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

Ree’s homemade popcorn balls, studded with peanuts and candy corn, are party-ready in just 25 minutes.

Get the Recipe: Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

Ree takes her caramel apples to the next level by rolling them in crushed chocolate cookies for a “dirt” finish.

Get the Recipe: Caramel Apples

Black Cat Pops

Giada’s Black Cat Pops are a purrfectly sweet Halloween party treat — and healthy to boot!

Get the Recipe: Black Cat Pops

Meet your apple-a-day quota in the sweetest way possible. These beauties are dipped in an orange-colored candy coating, then drizzled with chocolate.

Get the Recipe: Orange Candy Apples

Pumpkin Cut-Out Pie

Jazz up pumpkin pie with a simple jack-o’-lantern cut-out made with extra dough. It bakes with the pie so there are no extra baking steps; and your guests will love the whimsical attention to detail.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Cut-Out Pie

Flip pear halves upside down and you’ve got yourself skulls! A resealable plastic bag makes it easy to pipe the candy faces.

Get the Recipe: Candy-Coated Pear Skulls

Pecan-Caramel Spiders

These aren’t turtles anymore! Give caramel and pecan clusters a creepy-crawly makeover with black licorice “legs.”

Get the Recipe: Pecan-Caramel Spiders

You’re only five kitchen staples away from having a dozen bones to pick. Use your favorite strawberry or raspberry jam to hold these creepy treats together.

Get the Recipe: Meringue Bones

Candy Corn Fudge

The secret to this candy corn-inspired fudge is a quick chill in the fridge between layers so the colors set.

Get the Recipe: Candy Corn Fudge

Whip up some egg whites and sugar to turn out these phantom meringue cookies.

Get the Recipe: Ghastly Meringues

Crispy Treat Witch’s Hat

Get crafty with this edible witch’s hat: chocolate-flavored rice cereal, green food coloring and edible gold dust transform ordinary crispy rice treats into a sweet Halloween centerpiece.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Treat Witch’s Hat

County fair funnel cakes take a haunting turn as cinnamon-spiced fritter “webs.” Serve with gummy spiders for the full effect!

Get the Recipe: Maple Cinnamon Spider Web Fritters

Dirt Cake

Crushed chocolate cookies are the “dirt” in this no-bake dessert, while gummy worms on top add even more squeal-appeal. For the pudding layers, we folded in whipped sweetened cream cheese for flavor and loft. Be sure to assemble it in a glass dish so you can see the layers.

Get the Recipe: Dirt Cake

These aren’t ordinary popcorn balls. Giada’s sticky treats contain chopped chocolate bars, chocolate chip cookies, salted almonds and Halloween-colored candies.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Popcorn Treats

Ghostly Pumpkin Pudding

Add some ghostly character to homemade pumpkin pudding with a dollop of meringue and some candy eyes.

Get the Recipe: Ghostly Pumpkin Pudding

These hi-hat cupcakes hide a sweet surprise of festive candy corn colors.

Get the Recipe: Candy Corn Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Angel’s Food Cupcakes

A pillowy meringue frosting and white candy halos make these super-light cupcakes especially angelic.

Get the Recipe: Angel’s Food Cupcakes

Marshmallows are the “web” on top of these classic candy apples, which are guaranteed to bring a touch of sweet nostalgia to your Halloween bash.

Get the Recipe: Marshmallow Web Candied Apples

Apple Spice Cake Mummies

These fall-flavored treats are the perfect addition to any monster mash. Spoon vanilla frosting into a plastic bag and pipe in a zigzag pattern to make the deathly delicious mummy wrappings.

Get the Recipe: Apple Spice Cake Mummies

Sinfully dark cupcakes with a bittersweet chocolaty glaze make these little cupcakes a perfect sinister snack.

Get the Recipe: Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Spider Bites

Three ingredients are all you need to make Sandra’s easy spider bites. The chocolate-covered pretzels are just creepy enough for young kids to enjoy.

Get the Recipe: Spider Bites

Use gooey marshmallow “threads” and candy eyeballs to turn frozen banana treats into mummies for Halloween.

Get the Recipe: Banana Mummies

Caramel Pear Mice

Try this fun take on classic caramel apples: Cut fresh pears into wedges, coat with homemade caramel and make mousey “faces” with sesame seeds for the eyes and candy button noses.

Get the Recipe: Caramel Pear Mice

Simple, sweet and just a little eerie, these bite-size mummies are a de-frightful party treat.

Get the Recipe: Mummy Cream Horns

Black Magic Cake

This deep, dark chocolate cake is the perfect canvas for an eerie holiday dessert. Top it with a spider web or a mummy made from melted and stretched marshmallows.

Get the Recipe: Black Magic Cake

Not only does this festive bull’s-eye cake slice up into pieces that look like giant candy corns, the inside holds a secret cache of the treats themselves that spill forth when you open it up.

Get the Recipe: Stuffed Candy Corn Cake

Hidden Horror Black Widow Cake

Give your guests a sweet scare with this gruesomely tasty spider dessert.

Get the Recipe: Hidden Horror Black Widow Cake

Short on time and ingredients? A few pantry staples are all you need to make a last-minute treat guests can enjoy by the eyeful.

Get the Recipe: Here’s Looking at Boo Treats

Gummy Eyeballs

Don’t be scared at the sight of these eyeball-inspired gummy treats — they’re a tasty mix of chocolate chips, jiggly gelatin and coconut milk.

Get the Recipe: Gummy Eyeballs

Cute little monsters share the stage with pumpkins and ghosts on this Halloween dessert platter. For variety, you can create monsters with different colors of sanding sugar–just make sure to match the candy melting wafers to the sugar. You can make these treats several hours ahead and refrigerate them, but don’t refrigerate the monsters for longer than an hour as the moisture in the refrigerator will cause the candy eyes to run.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Spiderweb Dirt Cups

These Halloween-themed pudding “dirt” cups have the spooky addition of black cocoa whipped cream plus white spiderwebs. The spiderwebs are easy: you pipe them over a crushed-ice bath so they set almost immediately. For the best results, be sure to flatten the surface of the crushed ice as much as possible before piping the webs. Little “spiders” made from sugar-coated gummy bears complete the eerie effect.

Get the Recipe: Spiderweb Dirt Cups

A couple of easy piping techniques transform a simple meringue into spooky ghosts, pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween. You’ll need some orange and green food coloring; make sure they’re not oil based, since fat can make a meringue deflate.

Get the Recipe: Meringue Ghosts and Pumpkins

Halloween Oreo Roll

This easy chocolate roll cake starts with a package of chocolate wafer cookies that becomes a Halloween dessert centerpiece. We upped the spooky effect by decorating the cake with gummy spiders on a “web” made from melted marshmallows. We color the marshmallow with orange food coloring but feel free to change it to green or whatever color you like. When ready to serve, slice through the marshmallow webbing and scary spiders to reveal a beautiful hypnotic swirl.

Get the Recipe: Halloween Oreo Roll

For an easy Halloween treat, try these adorable ghosts made from crispy rice cereal. All you need is a handful of ingredients and a ghost-shaped cookie cutter. Stamping out and decorating the ghosts can be a fun activity with kids. The treats are dusted with white sanding sugar, which gives them a nice crunch and beautiful sparkle.

Get the Recipe: Ghost Crispy Rice Treats

Ghost Brownies

These Halloween-themed brownies provide a scary-good backdrop for spooky white chocolate ghosts. The ghosts are super easy to make with melted white chocolate and dabs of store-bought black icing for the eyes and mouth. Somewhere between fudgy and cakey, the brownies are spread with a salty-sweet chocolate glaze, which really makes the ghosts pop.

Get the Recipe: Ghost Brownies

This adorable Halloween dessert is incredibly simple to make – all you need is one square cake, one round cake and a couple of easy knife cuts. Top the whole cake with a quick homemade vanilla frosting, then pipe on eyes and a mouth, for the friendliest ghost your little goblins will love.

Get the Recipe: Easy Ghost Cake

Source: https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/packages/halloween/halloween-desserts