1. Mummy Wrapped Brie Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 1 round (13.2 ounces) Brie cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Apple slices
• 2 dried cranberries or raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 14-in. square. Cut off corners to make a circle. Spread jam into a 4-1/2-in. circle in center of pastry. Place Brie on top; fold pastry over cheese and pinch edges to seal. Beat egg and water; brush over pastry.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet, seam side down. Roll remaining pastry into a 14-in. square. Cut four 1-in. strips; cut strips in half crosswise. Layer strips over Brie (save remaining pastry for another use). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. For eyes, cut two circles from apple slices; place on top of brie. Top each circle with a dried cranberry. Serve warm with apple slices. Yield: 10 servings.

2. Fluffy Caramel Apple Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup marshmallow creme
• 3 medium tart apples
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar, caramel topping and vanilla until smooth; fold in marshmallow creme. Cut apples vertically into thin slices.

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and water; toss apples in lemon juice mixture. Drain.

Using Halloween cutters, cut out the center of each slice. Serve apple slices and cutouts with dip. Yield: 2 cups.

3. Creepy-Crawly Hotdogs

Ingredients:

• 1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated breadsticks/biscuits/crescent rolls
• 8 smoked sausage links or hot dogs
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup potato sticks
• Ketchup and/or mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Separate dough into strips. Unroll and cut eight strips in half widthwise; set remaining strips aside. Cut sausages in half widthwise. Wrap one piece of dough around each sausage, leaving the rounded end showing. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Place reserved breadsticks on baking sheet.

Bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove bugs to a serving plate and cool 2 minutes.

Insert potato sticks into baked dough to resemble legs and antennae. Decorate with ketchup and/or mustard. Serve warm. Save remaining breadsticks for another use. Yield: 8 servings.

4. Ghost Pizzas

Ingredients:

• 2 tubes (12 ounces each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 20 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Sliced ripe olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll or pat biscuits into 2-1/2-in. circles. Place on greased baking sheets.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, onion, oregano, basil and garlic powder; spread over biscuits.       Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Meanwhile, using a small ghost-shaped cookie cutter, cut a ghost out of each cheese slice. Immediately place a ghost over each pizza; add pieces of olives for faces. Yield: 20 mini pizzas.

5. Halloween Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 package (10 ounces) pretzel rods
• 1 cup orange candy coating disks
• Yellow, orange and brown sprinkles

Directions:

In a microwave, melt baking chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip each pretzel halfway into chocolate allowing excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

In a microwave, melt candy coating disks; stir until smooth. Dip pretzel tips into coating allowing excess to drip off; sprinkle with jimmies. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2 dozen.

6. Banana Ghosts and Berry Ghouls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white baking chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3 medium firm ripe bananas
• 18 Popsicle sticks
• 1 package (14 ounces) vibrant green Wilton candy melts, melted
• 12 fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

In a microwave, melt white chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Peel bananas; cut in half widthwise. Insert sticks into bananas. Dip into melted chips, coating fruit completely; allow excess to drip off. Insert stick into a styrofoam block to stand.

Insert a stick into each strawberry. Dip into green coating; allow excess to drip off. Insert into styrofoam block. Let stand until set. Using melted chocolate, pipe faces onto ghosts and ghouls.

Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 20 minutes. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

7. Dead Man’s Finger Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Thin white sliced bread, crusts removed
• Soft margarine/butter
• Cream cheese or peanut butter
• Almonds
• Strawberry jam

Directions:

Gently flatten the slices of bread with a rolling pin to make them more pliable.

Spread with a little margarine and some cream cheese or peanut butter.

Roll up the sandwiches and make three indentations with a blunt knife to form the finger joints.

Trim the ends of the fingers into a ‘V’ shape and stick an almond on to each tip with a little cream cheese to form the nails.

Add a dollop of strawberry jam over the end of the finger for the blood.

8. Mini Doughnut Spiders

Ingredients:

• Large pretzel twists
• Mini doughnuts
• M&M’s
• Chocolate frosting

Directions:

Use a sharp knife to cut the two curved sides off a pretzel.

Carefully push 8 pretzels curves into the top of a mini donut to form legs. Press slowly so you don’t snap the pretzels.

Melt a little chocolate in a sandwich bag or place a bit of frosting in a sandwich bag. Clip off a tiny corner and pipe some chocolate/frosting onto the mini donut, and use it to stick two M&Ms on for eyes.

9. Devils on Horseback

Ingredients:

• 24 pitted prunes
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 12 strips of bacon, cut in half crosswise

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high. Soak 24 toothpicks in a small bowl of water for 15 minutes. Mist a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and place a wire rack on top.

Halve prunes lengthwise, taking care not to cut all the way through. Place a small amount of cheese in center of each prune, in cavity left by removed pit. Wrap each prune with bacon, securing with toothpick.

Broil for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

10. Cauldron Dip

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• Salt
• 1 small round pumpernickel bread (1 lb.)
• 1 (8 oz.) bag pretzel rods
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

Directions:

Halve and pit avocados. Mash flesh with a fork. Stir in tomatoes, onion, lime juice, hot sauce and salt to taste. Cover with plastic wrap touching dip; refrigerate for up to 3 hours.

Cut a half inch from top of bread and an inch from bottom. Scoop out most of soft interior, leaving 1/2 -inch-thick sides.

Arrange pretzels and peppers to resemble logs and flames on a platter. Fill bread with dip; place on top. Serve immediately.

11. Skewered Eyeballs

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 16 bite-size pieces (about 2 small breasts)
• 16 cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and stems removed
• 8 round carrot slices, blanched
• 4 small, pitted black olives, halved
• 4 large, pimento-stuffed green olives, halved

Directions:

Soak 16 round, wooden toothpicks in water for 30 minutes. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sage and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Pour half into a separate bowl. Add chicken to one bowl and mushrooms to other. Toss; let sit for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from marinade and season with 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. To make an “eyeball,” place a cube of chicken on cutting board and push toothpick through. Push mushroom onto toothpick, cap side down; center carrot round on toothpick and push into indentation in mushroom to make “iris.” Finally, center black olive half on toothpick and push onto carrot to make “pupil.” Make 8 “eyeballs” this way. For other 8, omit carrot and black olive and push green olive half into indentation in mushroom. Discard chicken marinade; reserve mushroom marinade. (“Eyeballs” can be made up to this point and kept, covered, in refrigerator for up to 8 hours.)

Preheat broiler. Place “eyeballs” on a broiler pan. Position in oven so that chicken is 6 inches from heat source. Broil until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with mushroom marinade, 6 to 8 minHutes. Arrange on a platter, in pairs, to look like a plate full of shifty eyes.

12. Hotdog Worms

Ingredients:

• Hotdogs
• Buns (optional)

Directions:

Cut bun-length hot dogs lengthwise into quarters. Place on grill rack crosswise, and grill uncovered to desired degree of doneness. They’ll curl into worms on their own as they cook. Serve alone or in buns with mustard and ketchup. In addition to red, offer colored ketchups such as green and purple.