9 Deliciously Frightening Food Ideas for Your Halloween Party

Spooky season is upon us, which means it’s time to start planning for Halloween—whether that means brainstorming the ultimate group costume or looking to get more creative with your usual decorations. For anyone hosting an epic Halloween party, that also includes coming up with spooky treats for your guests to enjoy.

If you’re aiming to up the ante this year and put out something more than a Jack-O’-Lantern-inspired veggie tray made of carrots, olives, and celery, keep reading. We’ve got nine easy snacks you can whip up in a jiffy, all spooky enough to suit any spirited celebration. 

1. Hot dog mummies
2. Pumpkin cheese ball
3. Apple monsters
4. Spooky pudding cups
5. Witch finger cookies
6. Spider web deviled eggs 
7. Zombie brain brownie bites
8. Peanut butter spider cookies
9. Doughnuts of doom!

Hot dog mummies

Night of the living hot dogs? The beauty of this festive twist on pigs in a blanket is in its flexibility—regular sized hot dogs can be used, as can cocktail sausages for a mini-version or veggie-friendly options for veggie-friendly mummies. Either way, the only other ingredients you’ll need are a package of crescent rolls and some mustard or ketchup to make the eyes. Break up the rolls so there’s one strip of dough to wrap around each hot dog, and leave some room near the top for the eyes—two dots of ketchup or mustard—to peek out. Then, preheat the oven and pop them in for about 10 minutes until they’re golden. Level up the recipe by adding cheese between the dough and dogs; you can also use edible candy eyes to make the mummies look even more realistic. 

Pumpkin cheese ball

This easy recipe is perfect for a Halloween party cheese dip display. Start by grinding up cheese puffs in a food processor and placing the crumbs on a baking sheet. Then, mix cream cheese, chives, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese in a bowl and create a giant pumpkin by rolling it all into a ball. Smush the top with your hand to make it flat, and add some lines on the sides with a butter knife to make it look more realistic. Lastly, roll the giant ball around in the cheese puff crumbs to give it a rich orange color, then place the stem of a bell pepper to act as your pumpkin stem. Serve your cheesy pumpkin with the rest of the pepper, crackers, or other veggies you’d like to dip. 

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Apple monsters

These adorable apple monsters are a great option for a not-so-scary Halloween party. You’ll need some Granny Smith apples, your preferred peanut butter (the thicker, the better), candy eyeballs, pine nuts, and some pieces of mango or cheese. Slice your apples into quarters, then carve out a mouth in each one. Use peanut butter to fill in the gaps. The rest of your ingredients serve as your little monster’s teeth (the pine nuts) and tongue (a slice of mango or cheese). Finish its face by sticking candy eyeballs to the top of your apple slice with a few dots of peanut butter. 

Spooky pudding cups

Ideal for those who appreciate a tasty “cup of dirt” type of pudding dessert, this spooky Halloween version involves a base of chocolate mousse. topped with Oreo crumb “dirt.” Use Milano cookies to make as gravestones (if you have an edible ink marker or piped chocolate on hand, you can even write “RIP” on each one) and construct little ghosts out of whipped cream. If you want to go even spookier, add candy pumpkins or gummy worms (or both!). 

Witch finger cookies

These creepy cookies are much tastier than they appear: These delicious shortbread digits are brought to life by green food coloring, chopped pistachios, cherry jam, and almonds. The secret is to chill the dough in the fridge for up to two days before you mold it to ensure the fingers stay in the correct shape. You’ll also want to add the details—pistachios as warts and almonds to make convincing fingernails—and freeze the cookies for 30 minutes before baking them in the oven. Once finished, pop the almond nail off, put some cherry jam in its place, and place it back on top, then add jam at the other end of the cookie for an extra gruesome look. 

Spider web deviled eggs 

Think of these festive deviled eggs as more of a foodie art project. In a bowl, mix blue or purple food coloring with water, then use a spoon to gently crack the shells of the hard boiled eggs. Pop them in the blue water—with the shells still on—and stick the bowl in the fridge for two hours to create a neat spider web effect. Next, peel the shells off the eggs, cut them in half, and remove the yolks. Mix them with mayo, mustard, vinegar, and green food coloring, then scoop them back on top of the egg whites. You can toss on some black sesame seeds for an even creepier effect. 

Zombie brain brownie bites

This one’s a no-brainer (see what we did there?). Not only are these brainy bite-sized brownies chocolatey and easy to bake in a mini muffin tin (unless, of course, you prefer full-sized cupcakes), the edible candy brains and green goo, made of a mix of melted candy and heavy cream, make this a perfect addition to any Halloween party. There’s a little handiwork involved, as you’ll need a brain candy mold and a food-safe paint brush to enhance the details. But the reactions from your guests—especially when they bite through the candy brain and the green goo spills out—will make all your effort worth it. 

Peanut butter spider cookies

For all the peanut butter lovers out there, these spider cookies are a (Reese’s) piece of cake to put together. You’ll only need four ingredients: peanut butter cookies (it doesn’t matter if you bake them or buy them, we won’t tell!) a package of Reese’s mini peanut butter cups, melted semi-sweet chocolate, and some candy eyeball toppers. To assemble, use the melted chocolate to stick a mini peanut butter cup to the top of the cookie to create the spider’s body, then pipe some of it through a Ziploc bag to draw four legs on each side. Finally, use the chocolate to attach the candy eyeballs to the peanut butter cup. 

Doughnuts of doom!

If you’re short on time, pick up some doughnuts from your favorite bakery or grocery store, plus a pack of silly plastic vampire teeth and some candy eyeballs, and whip up some doughnuts of doom. Simply pop those chompers into the doughnut hole, press the eyeballs into place, and off you go.