Spooky Season is upon us!  Now that it’s after October 1, we can gear up for Halloween and all things spooky 😊 Halloween is a month-long celebration at my house.  We watch all the classic movies and anything new we can find, gorge ourselves on candy, and decorate with probably too many pumpkins.  But it’s fun and helps us get in the holiday spirit!

I like to try new Halloween themed recipes every year too.  It’s fun to have themed treats for a movie viewing party or to simply enjoy throughout the week.  This year, I have 3 recipes to share with you:

• Halloween Pizza Dip
• Candy Corn Quesadilla
• Candy Corn Cupcakes

 

Halloween Pizza Dip is the perfect appetizer!  It’s loaded with cheese, pizza sauce, and pepperoni, and is enjoyed with soft pizza dough bites that are baked around the dip.  It’s served hot, right from the oven, and won’t last long 😊 It’s easy to make and comes together in about 30 minutes.

You can also customize your ingredients.  I sprinkled garlic powder on the pizza dough and mixed a little in the sauce for added flavor.  You could add mushrooms, black olives, sausage, etc. to the dip before adding the jack-o-lantern face and baking.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.  Set aside a 9-inch pie plate.

Spread the softened cream cheese on the bottom of the pie plate.  I used plain cream cheese, but you could substitute for a garlic herb to add extra flavor.  I do think it is a lot of cream cheese, but it also adds to the flavor of the dip.  If you think it’s too much, you can cut back on the amount of cream cheese you use.

Unroll the pizza dough and stretch slightly to flatten and make into an even rectangle.  Slice into 17 strips.  Tie 16 of the strips into knots and place in a circular pattern around the edge of the pie plate, on top of the cream cheese.  Cut the remaining strip into pieces for a jack-o-lantern face.

 

Sprinkle the garlic powder on top of the dough, to taste.  Or use garlic salt!

Add ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the cream cheese.  Top with the parmesan cheese.

Spread the marinara sauce on top of the parmesan cheese.  ***If you are going to add other ingredients (black olives, green pepper, etc.) I would add it now.

Add the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara.

Add the pepperoni on top of the mozzarella until completely covered.

Create the jack-o-lantern face on top of the pepperoni.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the knots are golden brown and heated through.

Serve warm and enjoy!

The recipe can be found here.

Candy Corn Quesadillas are a fun way to celebrate the spooky season!  They can be enjoyed as an appetizer or served as an entrée and will be enjoyed by both kids and adults.  The quesadillas are filled with rotisserie chicken, onions, and shredded cheese, and are topped with queso, more shredded cheese, crushed chips, and sour cream.  What’s not to like?

The recipe can be found here.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  You want the skillet to be large enough to lay a flat 10-inch tortilla in.

Butter one side of each tortilla.

Place one tortilla, butter side down, in the skillet.

Top with ¼ cup of shredded cheese, 1 cup of rotisserie chicken, ¼ of the diced onion, and an additional ¼ cup of shredded cheese.  Place the other tortilla on top, butter side up.

Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until the bottom is browned and crispy.  Flip the quesadilla.  This can be tricky because the tortillas are so big!  I used 2 large spatulas to gentry turn it over.

Spread ½ cup of queso over the top of the quesadilla.  Carefully sprinkle about ½ cup of shredded cheese around the outer edge.

Continue to cook, covered, for about 1-2 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt and the bottom start to turn golden brown.

If the cheese isn’t melting and the bottom of the tortilla is starting to burn or get too dark, you can finish melting the cheese in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

Remove to a cutting board and sprinkle crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos in the middle of the quesadilla.

 

Slice into 6 wedges and add sour cream to the point of each to resemble a piece of candy corn.

Repeat the process until all 4 quesadillas have been cooked.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

The recipe can be found here.

Candy Corn Cupcakes are a wonderful Halloween treat.  I understand there is quite the debate about candy corn…some people love it, some don’t.  Personally, I’m on Team Candy Corn.  It’s a seasonal item and can only be enjoyed for a limited time.  The cupcakes do not taste anything like candy corn (for all you haters out there).  It’s a simple white cake mix that is colored with food coloring, vanilla frosting, and a garnish of sprinkles and candy corn.  Super tasty and festive!

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.  Add paper cupcake liners to a muffin tin.

Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions.  You will most likely need eggs, vegetable oil, and water.  Add the vanilla extract to the batter and stir to combine.

Pour half the batter into a separate mixing bowl.  You don’t have to measure, just eyeball it.

Add ¼ Tsp of yellow gel food coloring to one bowl and stir to combine.  Add additional yellow coloring as needed to reach the desired color.

Add ¼ Tsp of yellow gel food coloring and 1/8 Tsp of red gel food coloring to the other bowl and stir to combine.  Add additional yellow coloring as needed to reach the desired orange color.  A little red goes a long way so you shouldn’t need to add more red coloring.

I do want to point out that I prefer to use GEL food coloring.  The gels offer vibrant colors without the additional of unnecessary liquid.  If you do not have gel food coloring or cannot find it at your local grocery store, it’s OK to substitute with liquid.  I would start with a few drops of yellow, stir, and adjust as needed.  Don’t add too much!  You can always add more color, but you can’t remove it.  Moving on…

Add the yellow batter to the muffin tin, filling about 1/3 of the way.  Add the orange batter on top of the yellow batter.  Each mold should be filled about 2/3 of the way.  If you have extra batter, it can be discarded or make an additional batch.

Bake according to package instructions, using the time indicated for cupcakes.  Insert a toothpick in the center of a cupcake to ensure the center is cooked through.  The toothpick should come out clean.

Remove the cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cool, add the frosting to a piping bag and snip off the corner.  Pipe the frosting in a decorative pattern on top of each cupcake.

Garnish with sprinkles and candy corn.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container on the counter.  Enjoy!

The recipe can be found here.

All 3 recipes I shared with you today would make great appetizers to bring to a party or can be enjoyed as entrees for weekly meal planning.  I believe we ate the entire Halloween Pizza Dip for dinner one night and don’t regret it, lol.  The Candy Corn Quesadillas made enough that we had dinner on night and lunches for a few days throughout the week.  We did share the cupcakes with coworkers, and they were a hit!  So, however you plan on spending Halloween, I hope you at least enjoy some festive, themed food.

Happy Cooking and Happy Halloween!